David Bowie R.I.P

I turn on the tube and what do I see
A whole lotta people cryin' 'bout the death of Bowie
Get over it! Get over it!

lol

I expected Glenn to defend Don's voice ("We had Don Henley" re Philly sound)

Man, you'd think you could at least find a picture of Joe Walsh and Bowie, but no.

This is the work of an old friend of mine. As he put it "c.R.I.P. David Bowie"
https://www.facebook.com/ceez.diem/videos/962301587179503/?pnref=story.unseen-section

Sorry if this has been posted, but good to know about five more demos, and that had another album in mind: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/12099154/David-Bowie-recorded-five-new-tracks-as-he-planned-follow-up-album-to-Blackstar.html

Haven't had time to listen to this podcast yet, but its gloss looks good, Presley's "Black Star," philosophy and all:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/13/arts/music/popcast-love-death-and-david-bowie.html?ref=music

better version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7KdLuMmwo0&feature=youtu.be

You know, regarding the musicianship subject discussed earlier today, I watched that Rick Wakeman clip BBC put up the other day where he plays "Life on Mars" and was talking about how impressive he thinks the harmonic structure is. I totally agree! How many times does that song modulate? I was figuring out how to play "Ashes to Ashes" today and was very impressed with it.

here's my attempt at a tribute:

http://thoughtsfrommareincognitum.tumblr.com/post/137119532834/the-stars-look-very-different-today

Nice!

Yeah really well done.

lol

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_worst_bowie_tribute

Ha

You know, regarding the musicianship subject discussed earlier today, I watched that Rick Wakeman clip BBC put up the other day where he plays "Life on Mars" and was talking about how impressive he thinks the harmonic structure is. I totally agree!

I haven't watched the clip but I also agree that this chord progression is something else.

For "non-musicians" Bowie and Eno sure outpaced a number of legitimate musicians.

Most ludicrous is not obviously worst, considering the subject.

Oh, next albums (etc) charts in four hours..

it's so weird i never thought of Bowie as a "non-musician", kind of bizarre to see so many jump onto this

I've been wracking my brain this week: is there a precursor to the way the verses are structured in 'Young Americans'? It seems like such a unique approach but I feel like there's some obvious inspiration that I'm overlooking.

xpost I've never seen or heard Bowie referred to as a non-musician before this week, and I never would have thought of him as such. It is weird, I agree.

no source for "Young Americans" but i have always loved this rip-off

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UxniXcBj3o

I keep thinking the 'Young Americans' verses almost feel like proto-hip hop, structurally speaking, but I can't think of a clear latter-day example to support that, either.

Timaru thing = classic

Kind of want to clarify what I was typing about, seeing James et al. reduce my Facebook post to "pooh-poohing his musicianship" is 100% missing the point, and makes me frustrated with either my lack of clarity or other's lack of literacy; Bowie is and was my absolute favourite musician. I was celebrating him as a stage performer, an actor, and most of all, a curator. I wasn't pooh-poohing his chops, I was expressing gratitude for teaching me/us that chops are valueless without a loudspeaker. "Not a gifted musician" were Bowie's own words. Anyone who has attempted to sing "Young Americans" knows that Bowie was actually a fabulous singer, but the point was that, at his best, he was never trying to sing WELL, he had better ideas.

Saying he wasn't "hooky" or "couplet-y" isn't meant to say "he couldn't write hooks or couplets" but that his best moments overturned traditional melodic and lyrical conventions. "Drive-In Saturday" is one of my favourites for this, describing the experience of future-people watching contemporary romantic film, while the song is itself a rotted version of doo-wop, what kind of chorus is "His name was always... BUDDEH!!!! and he'd shrug and ask to stay" and isn't "She's uncertain if she likes him / but she knows she really loves him" honestly the best, most broken, greatest line of all time, idk, can't you see how.. unconventional this is? Not entirely unprecedented, if you go back to Brel and Brecht etc.

It's like: "good" doesn't mean "beautiful"

I just wish I could communicate better, and with people listening in good faith, instead of trying to paint me as some snooty talent-having school-attending zealot, when I've spent my entire adult life arguing that "talent" is of no value, "training" is of no value, "chops" are of no value. I wish I could tell you how rehearsing with Bowie was not-especially exciting, watching the man struggle to remember the chords to his own songs, missing his entries. And then the blinding contrast to that of seeing him in a yellow suit, stride out onstage with more confidence than I've ever seen in anyone ever, and sing "Queen Bitch" with such perfect clarity and every stage move so perfect, and feeling my violin in my hands and thinking so clearly that "there is nothing special about me and the exercises I've done to get me on this stage, there is nothing special about the fact that I know every chord to every song of his, Bowie is everything that is great about pop music, I will always be a cog in the machine of people with greater vision" and the immense relief and letting-go that accompanied that moment, but anyway, forget it it's the Internet, etc.

That's pretty beautiful - thanks.

great post fgti

Great post. Seeing Ziggy Stardust for the first time actually contributed to me totally rethinking the way I saw musical performance, and I came to a lot of the same conclusions you did. I never had the personality to be that kind of a performer, but it shook me out of my silly "just about the music, maaaaan" attitude.

Also, "Eno, non-musician" is being misinterpreted. That statement means imo 1. he don't play hot licks, 2. he VCS and my studio weren't considered "instruments" in the 60s and 70s, 3. assuming that one has no musical ability is a strong starting point for any musically creative act, there's an enormous amount of forgiveness and acceptance implied

Yes, well put. FWIW, I hadn't read your post and had no idea where the 'Bowie = non-musician' sentiment had begun.

Young Americans = Little Richard x Bob Dylan, no?

"I keep thinking the 'Young Americans' verses almost feel like proto-hip hop, structurally speaking,"

i thought of that watching that dick cavett thing yesterday.

i think those future people are watching porn, fgti xxxp

Oooooh of course they are, ty!

fwiw when I heard the a cappella tracks for Under Pressure, I gained massive respect for Bowie as a vocalist. He had such a *powerful*, expressive voice. Really, as far as the history of rock music goes, I can't think of 5 other vocalists who are more distinctive than him.

Also, I have to say, this entire week has been about discovering Bowie to a large extent for me -- going through his discography 1970-83, and understanding his songwriting style, vocals, etc. He might not have been interested in being a "good" musician, but if you listen to the chord sequences in Changes, or big melodic leap in Life On Mars -- these kinds of musical choices (I don't want to say "instincts", because I have no idea the process of how he came up w/them) = not just good musicianship, but good artistry.

vocally, the sweet thing suite might be my favorite bowie thing ever when i think of it! that whole thing is kinda everything i love about everything and everything i love about bowie. and the candidate rap in the middle is so awesome. (that whole album though...)

when i think of him as a musician i think of an amazing singer with the best ideas about singing. for rock music anyway. (and obviously one of the most influential singers ever.)

Revisiting his catalog, it strikes me how strongly he channeled other singers like Lou Reed, Dylan etc. It doesn't feel apey or ironical and it doesn't feel derivative either somehow, but I can't think of another artist who incorporated his contemporaries' styles so deliberately.

I've always written off "Life On Mars" as too close to "My Way" to give Bowie full-credit for, but in terms of "amazing chord sequences, brilliant melodies" you can't get any better than "The Man Who Sold The World", "Drive-In Saturday", the bizarre "go-o-o-o-olden years" tumble at the end of the chorus, the "cause we'll never say anything nice again, will we?" on "Fantastic Voyage", the melodic/harmonic 3 against 4 phasing on the outro of "Ashes To Ashes", and literally every song on "Outside" which is still my favourite record of his by a light year

I'm sure there's an ILM poll around here somewhere, but his high work rate is also kind of staggering - not just that he went through a lot of ideas between 1969 and 1981, but also that he released 13 albums in that time.

plus, just where he would go vocally within one song was so cool. the 70's was a great time for idiosyncratic/unique/progressive/fearless vocals in general though.

what the hell would the 80's have sounded like without him? maybe more like the stray cats. he kinda invented that decade.

Well, Ferry was around. Ferry was as influential as Bowie without being a generalist.

really? Ferry as influential as Bowie?

On British artists? Incalculable. Bowie and Ferry created the '80s. In America he's a nothing though.

I've started into the wilds of post-Scary Monsters Bowie, which I've mostly glossed over before now. 'Ricochet' is a pretty hot track that I've never paid attention to before. Not crazy about the production on Let's Dance thus far, which isn't bad but doesn't suit my idea of Bowie. And the Stevie Ray sticks out like a sore thumb.

xpost

I haven't got to his 90s stuff yet in my discography crawl. I'm making notes as I go, but thus far TMWSTW and Lodger are my faves, and I would also say they're records where he seems furthest from being a "pop star", tho obv the other Berlin records carry that on as well.

But vocally, and just as an artistic force, even when I'm not into all the songs, he just seems unstoppable. It amazes me he was doing what he did at such a young age -- yeah, he was *clearly* into being inspired by others, and taking existing sounds to use as templates for his own music. But I have always thought, and continue to think, that not only do most other great artists do this, but they *need* the template to discover and amplify their own voices. If I had to single out one thing that signifies a great artist, it would be that simultaneous assimilation of their environment and influences (musical, political, cultural etc), and the (miraculous imo) birthing of something that seems utterly new.

I like Vaughn's hot licks against Rodgers' rhythm playing. See "Criminal World."

xxxp I'm amazed to hear that, though I've never really paid much attention to Ferry, he's been 'embarrassingly suave uncle' for as long as I've remembered. What was his influence?

when I heard the a cappella tracks for Under Pressure, I gained massive respect for Bowie as a vocalist. He had such a *powerful*, expressive voice.

I agree with this and think he had fantastic *chops* - great pitch, just enormously expressive, and a lot of power.

"Well, Ferry was around. Ferry was as influential as Bowie without being a generalist."

withouth bowie where would ferry have been!?

bowie begat ferry. roxy + bowie = 2/3 of the 80's.