Song of the Day 7/21: David Bowie, “I’m Afraid of Americans”
David Bowie included this one, co-written with Brian Eno, on his 1997 album “Earthlings.” As is so often the case, its point has been sharpened in the years since its release.
Though the video’s critique of American culture centers on guns, Bowie’s intent was broader. A press release for the LP quoted him:
It’s not as truly hostile about Americans as say “Born in the U.S.A.” It’s merely sardonic. I was traveling in Java when the first McDonald’s went up: it was like, ‘for fuck’s sake.’ The invasion by any homogenized culture is so depressing, the erection of another Disney World in, say, Umbria, Italy, more so. It strangles the indigenous culture and narrows expression of life.
“Johnny” is portrayed in the video by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, who toured and collaborated with Bowie in the mid-’90s. “They wanted a kind of Taxi Driver feel to the whole thing,” he told an interviewer. “That’s kind of what it’s based on. That’s why I’m in my Travis Bickle outfit!” He got involved with the song when he heard the original and created a series of remixes, one of which is now considered the official video.
The song was actually written a couple of years earlier, and its original version sounded more like the electronic music Eno specializes in. It was included in the soundtrack for the much-maligned 1995 movie “Showgirls,” though it was written for a different contemporaneous film, “Johnny Mnemonic.” You might notice that in this early version, it’s “dummy,” not “Johnny,” who represents the quintessential American.
