Achtung Bubba
Refugee
No, I'm not condemning the guy. 
After hearing two songs via Yahoo's Instant Messenger "IMVironment," I was convinced that Mr. Bowie's new album might be quite nice. So, on a whim, I bought Heathen last Tuesday, the day of its release.
As did many others, apparently. According to Billboard.com: "David Bowie has his strongest sales performance on The Billboard 200 in the 12-year SoundScan era, as "Heathen" (ISO/Columbia) sold 55,000 units to land at No. 14. "Heathen" also earns Bowie his best chart position since 1984's "Tonight," which peaked at No. 11."
Impressive, given little or no airplay on radio and MTV; a single ("Slow Burn") that doesn't pander in any way to modern trends; on only a handful of appearances, including Letterman, the Today Show, and Conan this past week.
To be honest, I've liked pretty much everything of Bowie's I've ever encountered:
* Space Oddity, a damn great song
* The Man Who Sold the World, original and Nirvana's cover
* Heroes
* Golden Years (and its cute inclusion in A Knight's Tale)
* that creepy/haunting Christmas duet with Bing Crosby
* those throway songs of the 80's, China Girl and Let's Dance
* Labyrinth and its soundtrack (and Jennifer Connelly)
* and most of this decades singles: "The Heart's Filthy Lesson," "Little Wonder," "Thursday's Child," and "Dead Man Walking" - I liked DMW so much I included it in a compilation disc I ordered through a Pizza Hut/CDNow offer.
So, I took the plunge with Heathen, and my expectations were not only met, but greatly exceeded.
It's a bit like ATYCLB: the artist's signature is plastered across the disc, but it still feels fresh.
There's a sense of space - outer space and the similarly felt isolation of life in the modern world - something simultaneously beautiful and cold (not surprising, given Bowie's past work with Eno, particularly in a famous little studio in Berlin). There's "Heroes-esque" (heroic?) guitar work from Pete Townshend accompanying Bowie's confident voice. There's ironic wordplay that out-Fly's Bono. There's even a little guitarwork reminiscent of the Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands To Yourself."
And there are lines that only Bowie would use - and use to great success:
Ahem.
Twinkle, twinkle, Uncle Floyd.
At any rate, I really like this album, and I was wondering if anyone else has discovered it.
Bubba
After hearing two songs via Yahoo's Instant Messenger "IMVironment," I was convinced that Mr. Bowie's new album might be quite nice. So, on a whim, I bought Heathen last Tuesday, the day of its release.
As did many others, apparently. According to Billboard.com: "David Bowie has his strongest sales performance on The Billboard 200 in the 12-year SoundScan era, as "Heathen" (ISO/Columbia) sold 55,000 units to land at No. 14. "Heathen" also earns Bowie his best chart position since 1984's "Tonight," which peaked at No. 11."
Impressive, given little or no airplay on radio and MTV; a single ("Slow Burn") that doesn't pander in any way to modern trends; on only a handful of appearances, including Letterman, the Today Show, and Conan this past week.
To be honest, I've liked pretty much everything of Bowie's I've ever encountered:
* Space Oddity, a damn great song
* The Man Who Sold the World, original and Nirvana's cover
* Heroes
* Golden Years (and its cute inclusion in A Knight's Tale)
* that creepy/haunting Christmas duet with Bing Crosby
* those throway songs of the 80's, China Girl and Let's Dance
* Labyrinth and its soundtrack (and Jennifer Connelly)
* and most of this decades singles: "The Heart's Filthy Lesson," "Little Wonder," "Thursday's Child," and "Dead Man Walking" - I liked DMW so much I included it in a compilation disc I ordered through a Pizza Hut/CDNow offer.
So, I took the plunge with Heathen, and my expectations were not only met, but greatly exceeded.
It's a bit like ATYCLB: the artist's signature is plastered across the disc, but it still feels fresh.
There's a sense of space - outer space and the similarly felt isolation of life in the modern world - something simultaneously beautiful and cold (not surprising, given Bowie's past work with Eno, particularly in a famous little studio in Berlin). There's "Heroes-esque" (heroic?) guitar work from Pete Townshend accompanying Bowie's confident voice. There's ironic wordplay that out-Fly's Bono. There's even a little guitarwork reminiscent of the Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands To Yourself."
And there are lines that only Bowie would use - and use to great success:
Ahem.
Twinkle, twinkle, Uncle Floyd.
At any rate, I really like this album, and I was wondering if anyone else has discovered it.
Bubba
