"New Killer Star" is a song written and performed by David Bowie in 2003 for his album Reality. This was the first single from the album.
"New Killer Star" | ||||
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Single by David Bowie | ||||
from the album Reality | ||||
B-side | "Love Missile F1-11" | |||
Released | 29 September 2003 | |||
Recorded | Looking Glass Studios, New York City | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 4:40 (Album version) 3:43 (Radio edit) | |||
Label | Columbia/ISO Records COL 674275 9 | |||
Songwriter(s) | David Bowie | |||
Producer(s) | David Bowie, Tony Visconti | |||
David Bowie singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"New Killer Star" on YouTube |
While it is uncertain what the song is really about (like other Bowie songs), the lyrics make oblique reference to life in post-9/11 New York City. However the video clip, directed by Brumby Boylston of National Television, tells a surreal story using lenticular-postcard-like images of a spaceship almost crashing into the modern American heartland. Bowie himself said of the song: "I'm not a political commentator, but I think there are times when I'm stretched to at least implicate what's happening politically in the songs that I'm writing. And there was some nod, in a very abstract way, toward the wrongs that are being made at the moment with the Middle Eastern situation. I think that song is a pretty good manifesto for the whole record."[1]
The song title is a play on the words 'nuclear star'.[2]
The B-side is a cover of Sigue Sigue Sputnik's "Love Missile F1-11".
The music video features lenticular images throughout.
Chart | Peak position |
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France | 69[3] |
Italy (FIMI)[4] | 48 |
Argentina | 5[5] |
According to Chris O'Leary:[6]
Production