From “David Bowie is” at Brooklyn Museum. (Photo: Daniel Maurer)
The opening of the mammoth “David Bowie is” exhibit last week at the Brooklyn Museum left a lot of people nostalgic for the late Starman. Lucky for all the Ziggy Stardust acolytes out there, the Bowie love continues with a slew of new record releases in April and a batch of themed cocktails at Crown Heights bar and restaurant. So take your protein pills, put your helmet on and let the Bowie mania begin.
Four previously unreleased Bowie records will drop on Record Store Day 2018, with three full-length albums and a 12-inch single. From the Republic label comes a revamped version of Bowie’s debut album, released on heavyweight red and blue vinyl. A far cry from his later glam-rock and soul-inspired albums, David Bowie is a disarmingly quaint first record for one of rock’s giants. Other Record Store Day releases are Welcome To The Blackout, a live recording from concerts in Earls Court, London in 1978, and David Bowie Now, a rare 1977 U.S. compilation featuring tracks from Low and Heroes that had previously been available for promotional use only. The full length demo of 1983’s “Let’s Dance,” released as a 12-inch single, rounds out the offerings that will be available at participating record stores on April 21.
If you need a more immediate Bowie fix, preferably in the form of craft cocktails, then Brooklyn Winery‘s BKW in Crown Heights is worth a visit. Inspired by the Brooklyn Museum exhibit and the Thin White Duke himself, bartenders Nicole Kanev and Wesley Straton pay tribute to Bowie with a selection of cocktails that reference everything from his glam rock alter egos to later film roles (think Jareth the goblin king from Labyrinth). The Ziggy Stardust concoction features gin, sparkling wine, and thyme syrup with an orange Jell-O star, while the Thin White Duke combines milk, black pepper honey, and ancho chile liqueur– a nod to Bowie’s rumored 1970s diet of milk and peppers (in addition to other, ahem, substances). Other appropriately-named libations (like the Major Tom and Aladdin Sane, with a stenciled lightning bolt on its surface) make up the limited-edition menu, which will last through May along with the exhibit.