"I'm Afraid of Americans" is a song by English musician

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from his album '' Earthling'' on 14 October 1997 through

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

. The song was co-written by Bowie and

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

and originally recorded during the sessions for Bowie's 1995 album '' Outside''; this version was released on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

of the 1995 film ''

Showgirls ''Showgirls'' is a 1995 erotic drama pulp noir film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. The film stars Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer, Robert Davi, Alan Rachins, and Gina Ravera. Produ ...

''. The song was then remade during the sessions for ''Earthling'' with his then-current band, guitarist

Reeves Gabrels Reeves Gabrels (born June 4, 1956) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. A member and guitarist of British band the Cure since 2012, Gabrels worked with David Bowie from 1987 to 1999, and was a member of the band Tin Machine. ...

, pianist

Mike Garson Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight and The Smashing Pumpkins. Early career Garson went to Lafayette High School in Broo ...

, bassist

Gail Ann Dorsey Gail Ann Dorsey (born November 20, 1962) is an American musician. With a long career as a session musician mainly on bass guitar, she is perhaps best known for her lengthy residency in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to Bowie's death in 2016. Asid ...

and drummer

Zack Alford Zachary "Zack" Alford is a professional drummer, known for his work with the B-52's, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Tomoyasu Hotei. Alford was brought in by Danny Kortchmar to drum on Billy Joel's ''River of Dreams'' album. Alford contribut ...

. The remake was recorded between August and October 1996 at Looking Glass Studios in New York City and featured rewritten lyrics,

overdubs Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

and transposed verses. An

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

and

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

track, it presents a critique of America through the eyes of a stereotypical 'Johnny' and is characterised by drum patterns, synthesisers, various loops and vocal distortions. Following its release on the album,

issued the song as a

maxi-single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, "In the Summertime" was the ...

in North America only with six different

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es. The remixes were mostly created by

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

frontman

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...

, continuing his and Bowie's association following the

Outside Tour The Outside Tour was a tour by English rock musician David Bowie, opening in September 1995 and lasting over a year. The opening shows preceded the release of the '' 1. Outside'' album which it supported. The tour visited stops in North Americ ...

; the 'V3' mix featured

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

while the 'V5' mix was created by

Photek Rupert Parkes (born 6 September 1971), known as Photek, is a Los Angeles-based British electronic music DJ/record producer, and TV and film score composer. Photek was born and raised in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Photek has contributed music ...

. Reznor subsequently appeared in the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, which reflected the song's theme of a frightened European in an American city. A top 20 hit in Canada, the single peaked at number 66 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and spent 16 weeks on the chart. It was the final Bowie single to chart on the Hot 100 until 2015. Reznor's 'V1' mix has since appeared on several

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s. The song has received positive responses from critics and biographers. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' named it one of the 30 most essential songs of Bowie's catalogue in 2016. Some American commentators later acknowledged the significance of the lyrics in the late 2010s. Bowie performed "I'm Afraid of Americans" frequently on his concert tours, from the 1997 Earthling to 2003 A Reality tours. Live performances have been released on numerous

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s. Reznor has performed the song live with Nine Inch Nails as well.

Writing and recording

"I'm Afraid of Americans" was written by David Bowie and Brian Eno and originally recorded during the sessions for Bowie's 1995 album '' Outside''. According to biographer Chris O'Leary, recording took place in late 1994 at

Mountain Studios Mountain Studios was a commercial recording studio founded by American singer and composer Anita Kerr and husband Alex Grob in 1975 within the Montreux Casino in Montreux, Switzerland. The studio was under the ownership of Queen and then long ...

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approximat ...

, Switzerland and the early weeks of 1995 at the Hit Factory in New York City. Titled "Dummy", it featured different lyrics, such as "I'm afraid of the ''animals''" instead of "''Americans''". Eno recalled in 2016: "I remember avidrecording 'I'm Afraid of Americans' and saying, after one of the early takes, 'No, he 'Dummy' character'sgot to be more self-doubting than that.'" This version was intended for release on the soundtrack for the 1995 film ''

Johnny Mnemonic "Johnny Mnemonic" is a science fiction short story by American-Canadian writer William Gibson. It first appeared in '' Omni'' magazine in May 1981, and was subsequently included in ''Burning Chrome'', a 1986 collection of Gibson's short fiction. ...

'' but was instead released on the

for the 1995 film ''

''. During the sessions for his next album ''Earthling'' (1997), Bowie decided to remake the song with his current band—guitarist

, pianist

, bassist

and drummer

. Bowie stated: "That was something that Eno and I put together, and I just didn't feel it fit ''Outside'', so it didn't go on it. It just got left behind. So then we took just the embryo of it, and restructured it with this band." Recording for the remake took place between August and October 1996 at Looking Glass Studios in New York City with engineer

Mark Plati Mark Plati is a New York–based musician, record producer, and songwriter, best known for his work in the 1990s with David Bowie. Plati also has worked with Spookey Ruben, The Cure, Duncan Sheik, Hooverphonic, Robbie Williams, Joe McIntyre, D ...

, who had extensive experience there. Plati and Gabrels were credited as co-producers while Bowie himself mostly self-produced. Regarding the remake, Plati explained: "We pulled things off several different reels to make this new composite. It was quite a clean-up job, not the most enjoyable." Bowie revised the lyrics, changing "Dummy" to "Johnny", and transposed verses while the band provided additional overdubs. Gabrels stated that he added fuzz boxes "until I ran out".

Composition

In an interview with ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'' magazine in 1997, Bowie described the song as "one of those stereotypical 'Johnny' songs: Johnny does this, Johnny does that". The absurdist lyrics present a critique of America, in line with Bowie's 1975 track "

Young Americans ''Young Americans'' is the ninth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 7March 1975 through RCA Records. The album marked a departure from the glam rock style of Bowie's previous albums, showcasing his interest in soul and ...

". Commentators have insighted similarities between the song's titular 'Johnny' and the 'Johnny' of the '' Lodger'' track "Repetition" (1979); while the 'Johnny' of the former craves objects of status through self-entitlement, the 'Johnny' of the latter emotionally abuses his wife due to his lower status. The song concludes with the revelation that "God is an American", which biographer

Marc Spitz Marc Spitz (October 2, 1969 – February 4, 2017) was an American music journalist, author and playwright. Spitz's writings on rock and roll and popular culture appeared in ''Spin'' (where he was a Senior Writer) as well as ''The New York Times' ...

considers an "ironic jingoism". Musically, reviewers have categorised it as

, with author James Perone writing that it mixes various

and techno styles of the 1980s and 1990s. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''s Caroline Sullivan found the melody reminiscent of Bowie's " Ashes to Ashes" (1980), with a "perky

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

percussion loop", ultimately creating "a most singular fusion of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and

drum & bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-b ...

". Characterised by drum patterns, synthesisers, various loops and vocal distortions, O'Leary writes that the remake retained the original's "'laughing' hook" and "synth hook pinging around an E octave". Both the original and remake are also in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consis ...

. Biographer

Nicholas Pegg Nicholas Pegg is a British actor, writer and director. Educated at Nottingham High School and graduating with a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Exeter, Pegg subsequently trained at the Guildford School of Acting. Acti ...

calls the remake "darker" and "

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

ier" compared to the original, while Spitz compares the track's "loud/quiet/loud anthem c quality to the

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

. Perone notes the musicality as "richer" than other ''Earthling'' tracks.

Releases

The original version of "I'm Afraid of Americans" was released on the ''Showgirls'' soundtrack on 26 September 1995. ''Earthling'' was released on 3 February 1997 on CD and LP formats through

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

in the UK,

in the US, and

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

and its parent distributor BMG elsewhere. "I'm Afraid of Americans" was sequenced as the eighth and penultimate track, between "The Last Thing You Should Do" and "Law (Earthlings on Fire)". Nine Inch Nails at Voodoo 2005

Virgin issued "I'm Afraid of Americans" as a

in North America only on 14 October 1997, where it was backed by six remixes; the 'V3' mix featured guest vocals from rapper

while the 'V5' mix was created by producer

. The project was instigated by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, continuing his and Bowie's association following the

. Reznor, who stated that he "tried to make it a bit darker", stripped the production to its roots to create what biographer David Buckley calls "an eerie, psychotic track". The ending result is an almost 40-minute project that, in Bowie's words, was "not just a remix utalmost...an album piece in itself. I was absolutely knocked out when I heard what eznorhad done. It was great." Commercially, the single reached number 66 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and remained on the chart for 16 weeks, becoming Bowie's biggest hit in the country since "

Day-In Day-Out "Day-In Day-Out" is a song recorded by English singer David Bowie, serving as the opening track for his seventeenth studio album, '' Never Let Me Down'' (1987). It was issued as a single on 23 March 1987 ahead of the record's release. The reco ...

" ten years earlier. It was the final Bowie single to chart on the Hot 100 until the release of "

Blackstar ''Blackstar'' is an American animated science fantasy television series, produced in 1981 by Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott for Filmation. The series was Filmation's second fantasy epic, the first being '' The Freedom Force'', a segment of '' ...

" in 2015. It also stayed in the Canadian top 50 for six months. Reznor also starred as the titular 'Johnny' in the

Dom and Nic dom&nic is the working name of directors Nic Goffey and Dominic Hawley. They have been directing music videos and commercials since 1994. They have won numerous awards for their work, including the Gold Lion at the 1999 Cannes International Adv ...

-directed

, which was shot in New York City in October 1997 during the American leg of the

Earthling Tour The Earthling Tour was a concert tour by British musician David Bowie, in promotion of his album '' Earthling'', released in 1997, The tour started on 7 June 1997 at Flughafen Blankensee in Lübeck, Germany, continuing through Europe, North Am ...

. Regarding the choice of Dom and Nic, Bowie explained that the duo were "making very interesting, quite hard-edged British videos at the moment. I felt it was important that it retained that outsider's perspective of America, you know." The video depicts Bowie as a man who is chased around the streets of New York by a stalker portrayed by Reznor, reflecting the song's theme of a frightened European in an American city. Discussing his character, Reznor stated: "They wanted a kind of ''

Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...

'' feel to the whole thing. That's kind of what it's based on. That's why I'm in my

Travis Bickle Travis Bickle is a fictional character and the anti-hero protagonist of the 1976 film ''Taxi Driver'' directed by Martin Scorsese. The character was created by the film's screenwriter Paul Schrader. He is played by Robert De Niro, who received an ...

outfit!" According to Spitz, the video received heavy rotation on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, a first for Bowie in over a decade. It also earned Bowie a nomination for

Best Male Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video was one of four original general awards that have been handed out every year since the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, though, the award was briefly renamed Male Artist of the Year, and ...

at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. O'Leary states that while the track has no "definitive" version, Reznor's 'V1' mix is the most recognisable, which has appeared on the

s '' Best of Bowie'' (2002), ''

Nothing Has Changed ''Nothing Has Changed'' (stylised as ''Nothing has changed.'') is a compilation album by English musician David Bowie. It was released on 18 November 2014 through Parlophone in the United Kingdom, and Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings in ...

'' (2014), and ''

Bowie Legacy ''Legacy (The Very Best of David Bowie)'' (also known as ''Legacy'') is a greatest hits album by English musician David Bowie, released on 11 November 2016 through Sony Music Entertainment in the US and Warner Music Group in the UK and several t ...

'' (2016). The ''Showgirls'' version, 'V1' mix and Plati's "Original Edit" were included on the bonus disc of the ''Earthling'' expanded edition in 2004.

Reception and legacy

Reviewing ''Earthling'' on release, ''Mojo''s Andy Gill considered "I'm Afraid of Americans" the "most direct" track on the album. In another review for ''

'',

Mark Kemp Mark Kemp (born April 10, 1960) is an American music journalist and author. A graduate of East Carolina University, he has served as music editor for ''Rolling Stone'' and vice president of music editorial for MTV Networks. In 1997 he received ...

acknowledged the song as "a stuttering rocker" that "seems detached from the other songs". Upon release of the single, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' writers Larry Flick and Shawnee Smith praised Reznor's remix as an improvement on the "already deeply moody and largely sharp" original. They further opined that the Ice Cube remix could provide a successful foray into a

hardcore hip hop Hardcore hip hop (also hardcore rap) is a genre of hip hop music that developed through the East Coast hip hop scene in the 1980s. Pioneered by such artists as Run-DMC, Schoolly D, Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy, it is generally cha ...

album. Reviewing the maxi-single for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Christian Huey criticised it as "too derivative of '' Downward Spiral''-era Nine Inch Nails" to please Bowie's fans. He argued that it acts better when viewed as a Reznor project rather than a Bowie one. He nevertheless praised Reznor's work on the remixes as well as Photek's contribution. In later decades, Pegg describes the track as "terrific" while Spitz considered it Bowie's finest single since 1984's "

Loving the Alien "Loving the Alien" is a song written and recorded by David Bowie. It was the opening track to his sixteenth studio album ''Tonight''. One of two tracks on the album written solely by Bowie, an edited version of the song was released as a singl ...

". Following Bowie's death in 2016, ''Rolling Stone'' named "I'm Afraid of Americans" one of the 30 most essential songs of Bowie's catalogue. That same year, ''

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

'' placed "I'm Afraid of Americans" at number 23 in a list ranking every Bowie single from worst to best, calling it the best song on ''Earthling'' and Bowie's best song in over a decade, further commenting: "It would be another decade and a half before he was this good again." A year later, ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

'' placed "I'm Afraid of Americans" at number 66 on their list of Bowie's 70 best songs, writing: In 2017, ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

''s Jill Krajewski commented on the song's relevance during the

presidency of Donald Trump Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...

, stating: "'I'm Afraid of Americans' has a darker resonance today not through its chorus, but in a context that gives it unnerving prescience: a snapshot of the ra we live in today" She argued that the "working-class everyman" ('Johnny') were responsible in sharpening the political divide and widespread hate on the internet, presenting a sense of unease living in America as she concludes, "I ''am'' afraid of Americans". The same year, Lior Phillips of ''

'' opined that "The title is a picture-perfect distillation of what it means to live in this world."

Live versions

Following its release, Bowie performed "I'm Afraid of Americans" frequently on concert tours and television appearances. He first performed the track ahead of ''Earthling''s release on 9 January 1997 at his fiftieth birthday concert in New York City with the band

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

. The song then made regular appearances throughout the Earthling Tour later that year. A July performance was released on '' Look at the Moon!'' in 2021 as part of the ''

Brilliant Live Adventures ''Brilliant Live Adventures 995–1999' is a box set by English musician David Bowie, released incrementally throughout late 2020 and early 2021 as a series of six live albums taken from various concerts performed in support of '' Outside'' (1 ...

'' series (2020–2021), while another performance recorded in New York on 15 October 1997 was released on '' LiveAndWell.com'' in 1999, which was officially issued as part of ''Brilliant Live Adventures'' in 2021. Another live version from the

Hours Tour The Hours Tour was a small-scale promotional concert tour by David Bowie comprising a handful of live performances and numerous television appearances in support of the album ''Hours (David Bowie album), Hours'' in late 1999. Several live songs ...

was released in 2021 on ''David Bowie At The Kit Kat Klub (Live New York 99)'' as part of ''Brilliant Live Adventures''. Bowie performed the song again at

Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terre ...

's forty-fourth birthday concert in 1998. Bowie's 25 June 2000 performance of the song at the

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

was released in 2018 on ''

Glastonbury 2000 ''Glastonbury 2000'' is a live album by English musician David Bowie. It was recorded during his Sunday night headline slot at the Glastonbury Festival on 25 June 2000. The album marks the first time the full video and audio of the performance a ...

''. Another live version, recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre, London on 27 June 2000, was released on the bonus disc accompanying the first releases of ''

Bowie at the Beeb ''Bowie at the Beeb'' is a compilation album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, first released in 2000. Originally, it came in a three-CD set, the third, bonus CD being a live recording made on at the Portland BBC Radio Theatre. Later ...

'' in 2000. A performance from his 2003

A Reality Tour A Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by David Bowie in support of the ''Reality'' album. The tour began on 7 October 2003 at the Forum Copenhagen, Denmark, continuing through Europe, North America, Asia, including a return to New Zealan ...

was included on the ''

'' DVD (2004), and later on the ''

'' album (2010). Reznor has performed the song live with Nine Inch Nails as well.

Track listing

All tracks are written by David Bowie and Brian Eno. 12" and CD: Virgin / 7243 8 38618 1/2 (US) A-side: # "I'm Afraid of Americans" (V1) – 5:31 # "I'm Afraid of Americans" (V2) – 5:51 # "I'm Afraid of Americans" (V3) (with

) – 6:18 # "I'm Afraid of Americans" (V4) – 5:25 B-side: # "I'm Afraid of Americans" (V5) – 5:38 # "I'm Afraid of Americans" (V6) – 11:18 V1, V2, V3, V4 and V6 remixed by

, V5 remixed by

Personnel

According to biographer Chris O'Leary: Original version *

– lead and backing vocals, keyboards, loops, producer *

– keyboards, synthesisers, loops, producer *

Carlos Alomar Carlos Alomar (born 7 May 1951) is a Puerto Rican guitarist. He is best known for his work with David Bowie from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s, having played on more Bowie albums than any musician other than pianist Mike Garson. He has als ...

– guitar * David Richards – engineer ''Earthling'' version'' *David Bowie – lead and backing vocals, keyboards, producer *

– guitar, producer *

– keyboards, synthesisers, loops, producer, engineer *

– electric piano *

– bass *

– drums

Charts

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{authority control 1995 songs 1997 singles Anti-Americanism David Bowie songs Songs written by David Bowie Nine Inch Nails songs Songs written by Brian Eno Song recordings produced by David Bowie Songs about the United States Techno songs