Plenty has changed in our culture over the past two decades, not least of which is the irreverence we paid David Bowie and his pair of art-rock LPs in the early 2000s, Heathen and Reality. Within this similar period, we missed out on plenty of equally intriguing rock records from artists like Kristeen Young as, in Young’s words, “[people] would say, ‘We’ve already got a girl on our roster.’” “Saviour,” her collaboration with Bowie for her 2003 record Breaticles, is mostly forgotten at this point, which is exactly why she’s reviving it for the new Record Store Day release The Turning: Kate’s Diary.
“American Landfill,” a reworking of “Saviour,” features the same vocal track from Bowie, which the pair recorded after Bowie caught one of Young’s shows and agreed to record with her as soon as he heard a demo of the song. “He came in and did his vocal and we had pizza afterward,” she recalls. “I then sang on some of his songs in the months and years afterward, often singing his own vocal an octave higher to ‘pin the vocal,’ as he would say.”
The reason “American Landfill” is arriving now—besides its resonant lyrical subject matter—is that it was written, again, in a very different era. “People were sexist,” Young bluntly notes. “They didn’t know ‘what to do with the song,’ as it didn’t fit a genre. As for Bowie they would say, ‘Why is he still making music? He’s irrelevant.’ I love the song. Bowie loved the song. I was very lucky that Justin Raisen wanted to remake the song with me. Justin is an incredible producer and mixer. I went to him because I loved the Kim Gordon solo album that came out last year.”
You can hear the track ahead of its October 24 RSD release, featured below in the music video directed by Young herself, and featuring plenty of homages to Bowie embedded in the visual. The song will also be available tomorrow via KRO/Sony.
