Vogue (magazine) the American issue (the other two men were actors George Clooney and Richard Gere), and the first in which the man was black. Some observers criticized the cover as a prejudicial depiction of James because his pose with Bündchen was reminiscent of a poster for the film "King Kong". Further criticism arose when the website "Watching the Watchers" analyzed the photo alongside the World War I recruitment poster titled "Destroy This Mad Brute". James reportedly however liked the cover shoot. In February 2011, just before the 2011 Syrian protests unfolded, "Vogue" published a controversial piece by Joan Juliet Buck on
The Man Who Sold the World up with contemporary Beck to perform "The Man Who Sold the World" at a pre-Grammy Awards party, in tribute to Bowie, who had died the month prior, with Beck performing the vocals. In 2017, to mark what would have been Kurt Cobain's 50th birthday, the Phonographic Performance Limited released a list of the top twenty most played Nirvana songs on the TV and radio in the UK in which "The Man Who Sold the World" was ranked at number six. A louder electric guitar cover appears on the bands 'Live and Loud' set list. The song appears on the compilation