David Bowie: The next thread and the next thread...

[BVS]

They got into Eno (that dude sure makes music for the masses!) through Bowie, they went to Hansa because of "Heroes," one of Bowie's "artiest" records. Bono saying he doesn't like arty Bowie as much as populist Bowie is bizarre. Would he really take 80s Bowie over the "Berlin" trilogy? ...Hours over Heathen? Black Tie White Noise over Outside? Probably what he means is that his favorites are Ziggy Stardust and Hunky Dory though.

It makes sense that a guy who prefers melodic Bowie would love Blackstar. Bowie's melodies haven't been this strong since Station to Station, and he hasn't made an album with so many hooks since then too. Blackstar is just a great album. Bono seems too smart to divide music into "arty vs. not arty." He should leave that shit to philistines and dullards with poor vocabularies.

You didn't read it did you?


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[Hollow Island]

Well if you actually read the piece you'd know that Bono said he prefers Bowie in the middle of the tug of war between art and pop. Not one side or the other. If you going to criticize that compromise, so be it, but don't misrepresent his words.

Once again:

I like Bowie when he’s evenly pulled in the direction of being a pop star and Picasso, where he’s right down the middle. That’s usually my favorite, when the songwriting is disciplined but the recording is not. I love when he’s pulled equally in the directions of art and populism. Blackstar is much more art, so I shouldn’t like it as much as I do. But I really loved it.

You're right. But now that I read it again it's even stranger. What constitutes disciplined songwriting and undisciplined recording? It's a meaningless statement. Bowie's recording was always disciplined. The songwriting was a bit sloppy for a solid decade though.

 

[LemonMelon]

What constitutes disciplined songwriting and undisciplined recording?

I have no idea what this means either.

What exactly is "artsy" Bowie? And why wouldn't he love that side when it so closely influenced Achtung Baby?

 

[bono_212]

Instead of picking at something that doesn't exist, let's bitch out someone who actually did commit an atrocity against Bowie and taste:

David Bowie Auditioned for Lord of the Rings | News | Pitchfork

(Nothing against ya, Hugo Weaving)

 

[Kieran McConville]

If Jackson had made Lord of the Rings fourteen years earlier, Elrond would look exactly like Bowie in 'Labyrinth', regardless of who was playing the part.

 

[lazarus]

You can say what you want about 2000s U2, but they never did anything even half as bad as Bowie's Never Let Me Down.

Dear lord it's awful. Makes Hours look like the work of a genius.

Pro-tip: don't let this be the last Bowie album you hear for the first time. Even if your only other option is Tonight.

 

[cobl04]

Just reading up on it, Bowie himself was absolutely savage on it. But it has Time Will Crawl and Day-in Day-out, both of which I quite like. Tonight has Blue Jean, which saves it alone, and Tonight is a really good song even if it's lazily ripped from Iggy.

Hours is his nadir. I'd have to go back through the survivor threads to see if I thought there was anything redeemable on it, but it is straight up trash, from the cover to the songs.

 

[lazarus]

At least Hours sounds less dated.

 

[iron yuppie]

It seems like he did a bit of a Pop treatment on Hours, re-releasing several of those tracks as remixes/reworks on things like Nothing Has Changed. I haven't bothered to listen to them yet, but I am curious.

Re: Never Let Me Down - this remix of Time Will Crawl shows some of those songs had quality buried under all the 80s overproduction.

 

[Hollow Island]

The remixes of Hours songs are really good. That album was a missed opportunity; the songwriting was good. Never Let Me Down had terrible songs, though they aren't as bad as the production and arrangements.

Tonight sucks, but Loving The Alien is great, in addition to Blue Jean.

And yeah, U2 were nowhere near as bad as 80s Bowie. But they also haven't had late career glories like Outside, Heathen, TND, or Blackstar. Or even Earthling.

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[Diane L]

I've visited this thread several times during the last couple of weeks. I was a casual fan of the man. I liked many of his songs and owned the Young Americans, Station to Station and Let's Dance albums. But I never had the desire to see him in concert. I really didn't give him much thought at all until he died.

Since that sad day, I've been reading and watching everything I can about Bowie. I only heard Life On Mars? for the first time last Saturday. Where was this song all my life? My new favorite song, and I've watched that video over and over again. (I'm not alone, it has over 31 million viewings now). Moonage Daydream live--Ziggy strutting across the stage, the magnificence of Mick Ronson's guitar playing, the young female audience losing their minds...amazing. Just amazing.

It's three weeks now since David's death, and I suppose in time my sadness won't be at the forefront of my mind as it is now. But I am looking forward to the discovery of new treasures in the body of work he left behind. It's a cliche, but with him, it fits--he truly was a one-of-a-kind performer and we are so very lucky to have had him in the world.

 

[cobl04]

Cool he's getting so many new fans.

 

[Hollow Island]

Clear 40 minutes from your schedule and listen to Low ASAP

 

[corianderstem]

A few years ago I'd listened to all the 70s albums I wasn't familiar with. For the most part, I didn't "get it." I stuck with the few I had (Hunky Dory, Aladdin Sane, Ziggy). Now I'm doing it again.

Already added Pin Ups and Diamond Dogs to my wish list. Didn't care for Young Americans. I suspect Station to Station will go on my list.

Am curious to see if the Berlin albums will interest me any more this time.

 

[Mack_Again]

should I be looking forward for Bowie tribute performances in bunch of award shows?

 

[corianderstem]

Yes. Lady Gaga and Nile Rodgers will be featured in a Bowie tribute on the Grammys.

 

[Mack_Again]

Nile, of course. I mean he plays songs he produced in his own Chic shows, right?

 

[corianderstem]

Yeah, I saw Chic open for Duran Duran last summer, and half his set was non-Chic stuff he'd produced. Let's Dance was a highlight of their set for sure.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Yes. Lady Gaga and Nile Rodgers will be featured in a Bowie tribute on the Grammys.

This is going to be awesome. Really looking forward to it.

 

[Mack_Again]

It's too bad that i see tons of bashing of choice of Lady Gaga online.

Spoiler

i secretly wished that Iggy Pop were to to this kind of thing in some shape of form.

 

[cobl04]

I can't fucking stand people like that. So many people are prejudiced against any music made after the late 80s or early 90s. I spent two days arguing about it on Facebook the other day. Lady Gaga will perform a stunning tribute but these people won't acknowledge it because she's a modern pop star.


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[Mack_Again]

unrelated to Bowie, but if Lady gaga can pull this off, then I guess she can sing Bowie songs





but if they were to choose modern stars to pay tribute, it could've been people like Annie Clark, I think.

 

[cobl04]

I love St Vincent as much as the next person but why? Lady Gaga has amazing pipes and has clearly loved and been influenced by Bowie for a long time. I can't wait to see what she does.


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[LemonMelon]

Yeah, Gaga has the theatricality and gravitas to give proper justice to Bowie's music. Plus, she can really sing. I'm sure she'll do well by him.

 

[bono_212]

I can't fucking stand people like that. So many people are prejudiced against any music made after the late 80s or early 90s. I spent two days arguing about it on Facebook the other day. Lady Gaga will perform a stunning tribute but these people won't acknowledge it because she's a modern pop star.


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You might be interested in joining the mockery of these people here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/lewronggeneration/

 

[Mack_Again]

internet mockery is infinite. I guess people don't know how to tolerate other people's opinions.

 

[david]

I can't fucking stand people like that. So many people are prejudiced against any music made after the late 80s or early 90s. I spent two days arguing about it on Facebook the other day. Lady Gaga will perform a stunning tribute but these people won't acknowledge it because she's a modern pop star.


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This other music forum I post at, full of baby boomer audiophiles, is pretty savage when it comes to new artists.


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[Mack_Again]

full of baby boomer audiophiles
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so basically worst kind of music snobs?

 

[gump]

It occurred to me that other than a few YouTube videos, I had never heard Bowie in a full concert. So I corrected this today and listened to the Reality Tour live album. And oh wow, he is fantastic live throughout the whole thing (I assume it's compiled from several shows). He sounds so incredibly fresh. I wish I had seen him during that tour. That will remain one of the biggest unfulfilled bucket list acts (I'm happy I saw Paul a few years ago).

Anyways, Rebel Rebel sounded epic live. Be My Wife was everything I hoped it would be. Ashes to Ashes and The Man Who Sold The World were equally great. Of the warhorses, Heroes and Changes were probably my favorite. It's a fun concert, so I recommend it for those who, like me, didn't hear his love show.

 

[trevgreg]

It occurred to me that other than a few YouTube videos, I had never heard Bowie in a full concert. So I corrected this today and listened to the Reality Tour live album. And oh wow, he is fantastic live throughout the whole thing (I assume it's compiled from several shows). He sounds so incredibly fresh. I wish I had seen him during that tour. That will remain one of the biggest unfulfilled bucket list acts (I'm happy I saw Paul a few years ago).

Agreed. His final tour came just around the time that I finally started going to shows, so I never got the chance to see him either.

Anyways, Rebel Rebel sounded epic live. Be My Wife was everything I hoped it would be. Ashes to Ashes and The Man Who Sold The World were equally great. Of the warhorses, Heroes and Changes were probably my favorite. It's a fun concert, so I recommend it for those who, like me, didn't hear his love show.

Ashes to Ashes really seemed like it was a highlight from that era, for sure.