Space Oddity/David Bowie

Prior to his breakthrough in 1972, he recorded a proto-metal record and a pop-rock album, eventually redefining glam-rock with his ambiguously sexy Ziggy Stardust persona. By the mid-'70s, he developed an effete, sophis- ticated version of Philly soul that he dubbed "plastic soul," which eventually morphed into the eerie avant-pop of 1976's Station to Station. Shortly afterward, he relocated to Berlin, where he recorded three experimental electronic albums with Brian Eno.

At the dawn of the '80s, Bowie was still at the height of his powers, yet following his blockbuster dance-pop album Let's Dance in 1983, he slowly sank into mediocrity before salvaging his career in the early '90s.  Even when he was out of fashion in the '80s and '90s, it was clear that Bowie was one of the most influential musicians in rock, for better and for worse. Each one of his phases in the '70s sparked a number of subgenres, including punk, new wave, goth-rock, the New Romantics, and electronica. Few rockers ever had such lasting impact.

Space Oddity by David Bowie

Ground control to Major Tom
Ground control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills
And put your helmet on

10
Ground control to Major Tom
9 - 8 - 7 - 6
Commencing countdown, engines on
5 - 4 - 3 - 2
Check ignition
1
And may God's love be with you
Liftoff

This is ground control to Major Tom
You've really made the grade
And the papers want to know
Whose shirts you wear
Now it's time to leave the capsule
If you dare

This is Major Tom to ground control
I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in the most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today
For here

Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do

Though I'm past 100,000 miles
I'm feeling very still
And I think my space ship knows
Which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much
She knows

Ground control to Major Tom
Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong
Can you hear me Major Tom
Can you hear me Major Tom
Can you hear me Major Tom
Can you hear

Am I floating round my tin can
Far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do

  Songs referenced: 

Riot Poof