The Man Who Polled the World, aka DAVID BOWIE POLL RESULTS

It is just frustrating-- as a die-hard-- that so many people's #1 Bowie album is the one that contains the least amount of Bowie, being 60% instrumental, i.e. missing the man's voice and lyrics.

yeah, i understand that. the part of low that has vocals, though, is absolutely amazing, nonstop. if it was extended to both sides - the vocals, that is - it would somehow be even more esteemed than it already is, i think.

Backstory is a large part of the appreciation of "Low", you can't deny it.

At the time I bought Low, around 1989 IIRC, I liked it because it reminded me of the Rocky Horror Picture Show in tone but was gratifyingly asexual. Ziggy Stardust was too much when you were viewing Bowie as a competitor for the affections of girls, but Low was just the ticket.

Lastly, my frustration about "Low" placing first isn't b/c of some Geir-esque thing or because I don't Totally Love "Low" To Pieces, 'cause I do. It is just frustrating-- as a die-hard-- that so many people's #1 Bowie album is the one that contains the least amount of Bowie, being 60% instrumental, i.e. missing the man's voice and lyrics.

I loathe biographical criticism. Also, I can't confuse "Subterraneans" and "Speed of Life" for anyone else's instrumentals; they're big, histrionic, and vulgar, like prime Bowie.

Backstory is a large part of the appreciation of "Low", you can't deny it

shaking my motherfucking head til i get whiplash

I loathe biographical criticism. Also, I can't confuse "Subterraneans" and "Speed of Life" for anyone else's instrumentals; they're big, histrionic, and vulgar, like prime Bowie.

Yeah but I kinda agree with him in the sense that Low has always felt a little bit like a Bowie sketchbook rather than some perfectly formed masterpiece. That's not a qualitative statement on its material -- I love pretty much everything on it. But even if track for track Low is his best record, it still feels a little odd to call it his best album.

yeah, won't talk shit about Low but I was really hoping this poll would be a Station to Station triumph

Its placing also feels like a function of the times -- not only is the Berlin era the most influential right now, Low's diversity makes it a somewhat easier album to celebrate than one of his straight up genre exercises.

in what sense is Low NOT a genre exercise?

(serious question)

that so many people's #1 Bowie album is the one that contains the least amount of Bowie, being 60% instrumental, i.e. missing the man's voice and lyrics.

I disagree with the boldface part. What it lacks in his voice and lyrics, it gives back generously in a look into DB the thinker and conceptualizer, imo. As a comics nerd, I've seen many cases where a page's pencils and preliminary sketches were more interesting than the finished page.

wait -- you're suggesting that full-bodied instrumentals like Low's are the equivalent of sketches?

A couple of them -- "Weeping Wall" and "Some Are," mainly -- have always seemed like they could have been conceived as X and presented as Y. I don't know -- it's certainly no impediment to enjoyment -- Low was my #1 album by a huge margin.

I loathe biographical criticism.

NO I'M NOT talking about like "oooh this gated snare represents his mom", I'm talking about 'talking points'. I could ask you ten questions about the making of this record right now and you'd get them all right.

Low is just placed on such a pedestal of intellectual/avant-garde/genius these days. For some reason it reminds me of people that say Smile was the greatest piece of music ever written and would have changed the world.

There's probably 2x the amount of bio written about the making of 'Low' than any other Bowie album. It's simply the intellectual's album and that's that.

but what if you've never read any bio and you still love Low are you an intellectual y/n?

what if you've loved Low since your mid-teens were you a teenage intellectual?

i did have glasses tbf

It just means you brilliant taste over all the simpletons that like Hunky Dory.

Dumb joke, i realize i'm about to get shat on for.

Hunky Dory used to be my fave i think but this shdn't be a "either/or" proposition, whatever you wanna think about the meaning of liking Low it's pretty obvious that its outness has been diminished by time and influence. like i guess i first heard it in the early to mid 80s and already in the context of what pop music sounded like there was nothing really odd to me at that age. tho i guess i had no handle on what "ambient" was back then.

i guess i do think that Hunky Dory is the "straighter" record - nb just remembered i played "Bewlay Bros" on the jukebox in the pub last night but that only makes it a more honest choice if you really singer-songwriter types and hate whatever kind of thing Low is

really love singer-songwriter types i meant

Who hates Low?

There've been outright "I hate Aladdin Sane" "I hate Young Americans" and it's like, "uh huh, some people do".

I love "Outside" but it's a fringe thing; obv you can't appreciate "Outside" without being acquainting with every character, which songs they sing and whether they own a goat-scrotum purse or a lamb-penis necklace

Nobody hates Low. Of all the Bowie album reviews I've read, pretty much all of them about Low have just fawned over how brilliant it is. Maybe I don't read enough album reviews?

Compared this to say, any of his other albums. They all have tracks that get on people's nerves, weak points, etc. Low just sort of seems untouchable.

Personally I love "Low", I even covered a few of those songs in bands over the years. But it does seem a bit idealized by the current generation.

is it a surprise if some 30-odd year old albums speak more to the current generation than others?

altho again that discounts a lot of the people who've loved it between 1977 and now

maybe Hunky Dory was big with the antifolk kids or whatever, assuming they really existed

Compared this to say, any of his other albums. They all have tracks that get on people's nerves, weak points, etc. Low just sort of seems untouchable.

"Be My Wife" gets on my nerves tbh. There are a couple other songs on that album that I like when I hear, but don't really stick with me, unlike "Aladdin Sane" which is one memorable awesome song after another.

You and me both Sarahell--for some reason I can't stand Be My Wife and TVC15, they make my skin crawl!

THanks to EZ here for pursuading me to listen to Stage again

(persuade)

Oh, the antifolk kids once existed, but now they've morphed into the crusties.

Sort of sounds like a Bowie lyric.

Low is just placed on such a pedestal of intellectual/avant-garde/genius these days.

This was the case 20+ years ago when I got into Bowie. As an impressionable 18-year-old I was keen to follow the party line but over time I lost interest in it. I don't think there's anything weak or annoying about it, I just find it kinda meh and am surprised at how highly people rate it.

I vaguely remember a quote from Robert Smith saying how he lost interest in Bowie when Low came out. At the time I thought he was nuts.

You're welcome Ówen! Hope you have the reissue; the correct ordering and extra songs push it over the top.

I have the Ryko, is that the one you mean? Also, kudos on voting for Outside songs although we voted for the opposite ones

I was gonna vote "Voyeur of utter destruction (as beauty)" cause I love that song but felt embarrassed by the title.

This is where I say it's a CRIME that (damn good) filler like "A New Career In a New Town" places but Outside gets shut out. On my ballot that was too late, I had "Thru' These Architect's Eyes" in my top ten. Tons of cuts on it were worthy, tho -- "I'm Deranged," "The Motel," "A Small Plot of Land" to name a few. People focus way too much on the (negligible) NIN influences and concept (actually quite wry) and not nearly enough on the quality of songwriting (Bowie's best since the mid-70s), production (nervy and maximalist) and singing (arguably Bowie's best). Easily in my top 5 Bowie records and, at times, my very favorite.

Outside has tons of good cuts, so it was nice to see 3/4 of the record represented (if poorly).

The EMI reissue of Stage in 2005 added "Stay" and "Be My Wife", removed the between song fades and corrected the running order to reflect the concerts. Bowie makes me rebuy albums far too often.

"A New Career in a New Town" isn't filler ffs

the number of reissues and repackagings are crazy

The 1990 Low reissue got a savage review in one of the UK monthlies... (ha, it might actually have been Jon Savage) 3/10 or something. "Responsible for Gary Numan and all that crap" was the gist. I recall Steve Sutherland giving Scott Walker's Boychild comp on Fontana a kicking around the same time. Wrong wrong wrongy wrong.

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"A New Career in a New Town" isn't filler ffs

You may be right -- but as much as I like it, it's not one of Bowie's 60 best songs either. That says more about his catalog than it does ANCiaNT, tho.

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Bowie b&w by Tommytinkroom, on Flickr

Ok just sussed out how to upload some pics,this should have been my first post.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/6973345197_a0d07775d0_b.jpg
Bowie b&w by Tommytinkroom, on Flickr
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Bowie b&w by Tommytinkroom, on Flickr
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Bowie topaz denoise by Tommytinkroom, on Flickr

buffandmaxsmom?

Sorry forgot this one.
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Bowie Gold by Tommytinkroom, on Flickr

I love "Outside" but it's a fringe thing; obv you can't appreciate "Outside" without being acquainting with every character, which songs they sing and whether they own a goat-scrotum purse or a lamb-penis necklace

Bowie's libretto might represent a new low (see what I did there) for unreadable musician prose. I love Outside though. "Thru These Architects' Eyes" and "Strangers When We Meet" made my top twenty. The latter is his best love song.