Writer Chris O'Leary discusses his revised book 'Rebel Rebel,' revelations from the past decade of David Bowie archival releases, and why chronicling artists may become impossible for future generations.
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Today, the Spotlight shines On writer Chris O'Leary.
Chris has spent over a decade and a half writing what's become the definitive study of David Bowie's songbook. His blog, Pushing Ahead of the Dame, covers every song on every album in Bowie’s extensive canon. The first post from 2009 covers David’s first single, 1964’s “Liza Jane”, and the most recent is about Chris’s latest work, a newly revised edition of Rebel Rebel, a collection of his writings on Bowie songs from 1963 - 1976. Chris has written for Pitchfork, Slate, and Billboard, and he's currently working on an online project called 64 Quartets, a series exploring musical quartets across genres.
I previously booked Chris back in 2021 to speak at the Bowie 75 pop-up I produced in New York City. There, he presented on Bowie and Brian Eno's 1995 album Outside.
Chris is here to discuss his updated book, what new archival releases have taught us about Bowie's creative process, and why he chose the blog format to tackle one of music's most ambitious projects.
If you are interested in more of our episodes touching on the life and work of David Bowie, check out last week’s episode with Donny McCaslin, 2022’s episode with Chris Duffy, or 2021’s episode with David Whitehead.
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00:01:52 - Revelations from the Rebel Rebel revision
00:05:03 - Proto Bowie: the shadowy 1968 period
00:08:54 - "Cygnet Committee" as a time machine
00:10:21 - Finding the trend vs. finding yourself
00:14:34 - The Toy sessions and looking backward
00:19:27 - Rediscovering Heathen and Reality
00:21:26 - Memoirs that matter: Hutchinson and Finnegan
00:25:55 - Pushing Ahead of the Dame: from blog to book
00:32:52 - When to stop: completionism and closure
00:36:42 - How Chris listens: the process
00:41:58 - Finding your lineage in music criticism
00:45:07 - The future of music writing and archiving
00:48:34 - What's left to discover about Bowie?
00:51:10 - Favorite Bowie eras and albums
00:55:00 - The American vs. UK Bowie experience
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- Chris O'Leary's blog "Pushing Ahead of the Dame" → https://bowiesongs.wordpress.com/
- Rebel Rebel: The Songs of David Bowie, 1963-1976* (revised edition, July 2025) → https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/777475/rebel-rebel-by-chris-oleary/#
- Ashes to Ashes: The Songs of David Bowie, 1976-2016 → https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/599842/ashes-to-ashes-by-chris-oleary/
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