Tell my wife I love her very much

August 27, 2011 6:45 AM

Illustrator Andrew Kolb asks Have you ever listened to a song and your mind's eye is immediately filled with visuals? David Bowie's Space oddity as a childrens book.

Flickr stream

posted by Sailormom (61 comments total)

Lovely.

Actually, this is the way I listen to a lot of songs, particularly Peter Schilling's "Major Tom."
posted by Countess Elena at 6:53 AM on August 27, 2011

My favorite "Space Oddity" visualization is that one Venture Brothers episode.
posted by Mooseli at 7:03 AM on August 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

I think you meant to title this post: "Tell my wife I lover her very much."

Damn typos!
posted by cjorgensen at 7:28 AM on August 27, 2011

That's a heck of a tin can.
posted by ChuqD at 7:34 AM on August 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Love the drawings. Cute idea.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:42 AM on August 27, 2011

The message to kids I guess being if you want to be an astronaut you might die, stuck in space, alone. I rather like the book, but I can't help but wonder whats next? A children's book of The Wall?
posted by midnightscout at 7:42 AM on August 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Ashes to ashes
Fun to funky
We know the caterpillar is hungry.
posted by The Whelk at 7:45 AM on August 27, 2011 [16 favorites]

Remember kids: Space travel is an allegory for heroin addiction!
posted by to sir with millipedes at 7:46 AM on August 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

Kids' bookify this next, please. Thaaaanks!
posted by phunniemee at 7:46 AM on August 27, 2011

Message to kids is pretty much anything will kill you, so you might as well do what you want. At least that's the way I lived my life.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:49 AM on August 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

I wear Old Navy's shirts.
posted by tommasz at 7:54 AM on August 27, 2011

Do Hotel California next!
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:57 AM on August 27, 2011

Shine on, you crazy diamond!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:17 AM on August 27, 2011

Baby's First Glam Rock Alphabet
posted by The Whelk at 8:39 AM on August 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

A is for Alice Cooper
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:45 AM on August 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

B is for Brian Eno
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:48 AM on August 27, 2011

C is for Cocaine
posted by The Whelk at 8:49 AM on August 27, 2011

D is for Diamond Dogs
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:50 AM on August 27, 2011

E is for Eddie Van Halen
posted by MexicanYenta at 8:51 AM on August 27, 2011

F is for Fame, makes a man think things over.
posted by The Whelk at 8:52 AM on August 27, 2011

G is for (sorry) gary Glitter
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:53 AM on August 27, 2011

H is for Heroin
posted by The Whelk at 8:56 AM on August 27, 2011

I is for Iggy
posted by Jikido at 8:57 AM on August 27, 2011

J is for Jane's Addiction
posted by MexicanYenta at 8:58 AM on August 27, 2011

K is for Krokus
posted by MexicanYenta at 8:59 AM on August 27, 2011

L is for a god awful small affair
posted by ian1977 at 9:02 AM on August 27, 2011 [3 favorites]

L is for Led Zeppelin.
posted by midnightscout at 9:02 AM on August 27, 2011

I like the idea, but I always pictured Major Tom as just opting to float forever, not as a result of some calamity. 'Planet earth is blue and there's nothing I can do' is him surrendering to his mortality and meaningless existence, not a breach in the hull of his space balloon.
posted by ian1977 at 9:04 AM on August 27, 2011 [3 favorites]

M is for Makeup
posted by elizardbits at 9:05 AM on August 27, 2011

N is for New York Dolls
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:12 AM on August 27, 2011

O is for Os Mutantes
posted by phunniemee at 9:12 AM on August 27, 2011

P is for Preening
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:16 AM on August 27, 2011

Q is for Queen
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:16 AM on August 27, 2011

R is for Roxy Music
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:17 AM on August 27, 2011

S is for Sex

T is for T-Rex
posted by The Whelk at 9:21 AM on August 27, 2011

U is or Ultra Rare Trax
posted by treepour at 9:24 AM on August 27, 2011

U is for Ur favorite band sux
posted by found missing at 9:24 AM on August 27, 2011

V is for V-2 Schneider
posted by to sir with millipedes at 9:30 AM on August 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Y is for Yes
posted by aerosolkid at 9:32 AM on August 27, 2011

Z is for Zappa
posted by aerosolkid at 9:32 AM on August 27, 2011

(Sorry, not very glam. Just alphabetically correct)
posted by aerosolkid at 9:33 AM on August 27, 2011

Of course Z could also be Ziggy!
posted by lisa g at 9:42 AM on August 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Z is for Ziggy plaaaaaaayed ......gguuuuuuiiiiiitaaaaaaaaaaar
posted by The Whelk at 9:43 AM on August 27, 2011 [8 favorites]

*holds up zippo lighter, sways gently*
posted by ook at 9:46 AM on August 27, 2011 [4 favorites]

I'm waiting for the children's book adapted from Frank Zappa's "Dynamo Hum."
posted by Man-Thing at 9:54 AM on August 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm a little late to the party, but in the Glam Rock Alphabet, J has got to be for Jobriath.
posted by rebel_rebel at 9:57 AM on August 27, 2011

I do believe I need some of these images tattooed to me.

David Bowie is one of my all time favorite sci-fi writers.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:57 AM on August 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

I've always imagined something more out of 2001: A Space Odyssey - an alien/other-worldly force taking over the ship and the Major.
posted by ymgve at 10:12 AM on August 27, 2011

W! You forgot W.

W may be out of order but after all perennially W is for Wizzard.
posted by Mike Mongo at 10:16 AM on August 27, 2011

Wizzard - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday
posted by Mike Mongo at 10:17 AM on August 27, 2011

For a solitary space mission, his spaceship sure has a lot of chairs.
posted by kingv at 10:47 AM on August 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

Yeah, the spacecraft shown is far too large. In my mind, Major Tom is very clearly crammed into a Mercury capsule.
posted by BrashTech at 11:39 AM on August 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm waiting for the children's book adapted from Frank Zappa's "Dynamo Hum."

Dinah-Moe Humm

As in the woman's name featured in the song.

/pedant
posted by krinklyfig at 1:39 PM on August 27, 2011

I'd like to see him pull off Five Years as a childrens book
posted by Sailormom at 1:41 PM on August 27, 2011

I thought of printing this out and binding it for a friend's kid, but then I imagined how it would go down:

DAD: *closes book* Ok, time for bed.
CHILD: But, what about the astronaut?
DAD: He's in the spaceship.
CHILD: He.. He's stuck up there? Forever?
DAD: Er..Probably..
CHILD: *crying*
CHILD: He'll never get to see his mom and dad again *sniffle*
DAD: But..

(20 minutes later)

DAD: Ok, one more story, but we can watch this one on the iPad.
CHILD: *slobbering teary drool*ummm..ok..
DAD: This is a very special story, read by Samuel Jackson.
posted by hanoixan at 1:44 PM on August 27, 2011 [10 favorites]

I'm all for children's books that don't sugarcoat things.
posted by orme at 1:44 PM on August 27, 2011 [3 favorites]

Dude! DUDE DUDE DUDE I SHIT THEE NOT!

For the longest time I've had this idea...

I just bought a Wacom Tablet last night and so while dicking around on it tonight I mocked up the idea...

Sitting in a tin can.

SRSLY! (though this is nowhere near as cool as I see it in my brain, but it gets the idea across).
posted by symbioid at 6:51 PM on August 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

A song that Bowie actually wrote for his son: Kooks.
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:54 PM on August 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

Punk, metal, and country ABCs

Very cute.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 8:59 PM on August 27, 2011

Perfect Day is begging for this treatment.
posted by Jilder at 11:35 PM on August 27, 2011

What happened to Kolb's Space Oddity? It may have gone for ever : (
posted by asok at 7:40 AM on September 11, 2011 [1 favorite]