In this week’s episode we listened to Lou Reed’s 1972 album Transformer and David Bowie’s 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars. Transformer is an album mostly composed of songs Lou Reed wrote while working with Andy Warhol in the influential band, The Velvet Underground. The album was produced by David Bowie and Mark Ronson, and the themes of the album touched on bisexuality, transsexuals, prostitution, and sex in general. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust is centered around David Bowie’s fictional androgynous, bisexual glam rock persona, Ziggy Stardust. The album also touches on sexuality and was a big break for David Bowie in the music scene due to its popularity in the UK. Both Lou Reed and David Bowie’s work have inspired many alternative artists.
