So lonely
― A Pile of Ants (Boring, Maryland), Tuesday, 4 January 2022 18:28 (two years ago) link
Blackstar feels a bit monochrome despite (because of?) the heavy emotionality of the subject
The title track, "'Tis a Pity," and "Girl Loves Me," to pick three, sound nothing like each other, though.
What do you mean by emotionality?
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 4 January 2022 18:28 (two years ago) link
i love outside and earthling but for entirely different reasons. outside is employing a lot of misdirection; earthling is very direct
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 4 January 2022 18:34 (two years ago) link
I loved the recent Pitchfork review of the Brilliant Adventures boxset b/c he wrote it as someone who was there at the time. It flabbergasted me to buy Bowie albums from 1993 to 1999 and not one of them was similar -- it was the '70s again.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 4 January 2022 18:38 (two years ago) link
I mean monochrome in feeling, not stylistically; after the title track, the emotions are muted, possibly because he knew this was a last testament and wanted to downplay any potential melodrama in the material. I'm glad it's well-loved, though, but I would not suggest it to anyone as a great place to start with Bowie.
― Halfway there but for you, Tuesday, 4 January 2022 19:20 (two years ago) link
to be fair, there's stuff from the '90s I like. I can't get through the albums in their entirety, but the singles are enjoyable - like "Little Wonder," and the single remixes like the Pet Shop Boys remix of "Hallo Spaceboy" and Trent Reznor's "I'm Afraid of Americans" are both excellent. "I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday" may be my favorite cover of a Morrissey song. I liked "The Heart's Filthy Lesson" when it showed up in David Fincher's Se7en. The decade's last album actually has nice songs too, especially "Thursday's Child" - I just didn't like how he recorded them, the record feels kind of light and bland in that respect.
― birdistheword, Tuesday, 4 January 2022 19:40 (two years ago) link
hours is his worst album since Tonight.
1. Outside has "Strangers When We Meet" (one of his grand ballads), "We Prick You," "Thru' These Architects Eyes," "I'm Deranged" -- bangers not dependent on his fussy concepts. His best of the decade.
Shit, Black Tie White Noise boasts some of the most ear-catching Nile Rodgers productions ever: "Jump They Say," "You've Been Around, the Scott Walker cover (which I prefer to the original).
And The Buddha of Suburbia! What a delicious little thing!
I tried making sense of things here.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 4 January 2022 19:44 (two years ago) link
Love the best pets of Black Tie White Noise
― A Pile of Ants (Boring, Maryland), Tuesday, 4 January 2022 19:58 (two years ago) link
Parts
woof
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 4 January 2022 20:00 (two years ago) link
the emotions are muted Always sounded very intense, very exciting to me--he's jumping into the fire, and the void---the creative pushback, the overall musical effect is the expression and transmutation, not muting.
― dow, Tuesday, 4 January 2022 20:07 (two years ago) link
or jumping into the musical fire, knowing the void will come to him, whatever he's doing.
― dow, Tuesday, 4 January 2022 20:08 (two years ago) link
To me, he was mainly one of the great singles artists of his era---I like most of the albums I've heard, which is not nearly all---but I know I'd consider this one of his very best ever, regardless of release date.
― dow, Tuesday, 4 January 2022 20:15 (two years ago) link
(I think of "his era," radio star-wise, as late 60s-early-ish 80s.)
― dow, Tuesday, 4 January 2022 20:17 (two years ago) link
listening to the brilliant adventure box set and i am LOVING black tie, white noise, didn't really make much of an impact at the time beyond i remember liking "jump (they say)" but i really dig the whole thing, cool sounds
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 6 January 2022 21:33 (two years ago) link
Nothing sounded like it in 1993: the Amy Grant album of my dreams. Then there's cuts like "You've Been Around" where Rodgers-Bowie destabilize the elements. Nothing unfurls as it should: the bass is mixed too high, Reeves Gabrels reduced to a surly growl, and the vocals are like a clown shouting from Everest. I love it.
If it's heretical to say I prefer Bowie's "Nite Flights" to Scott Walker's, burn me.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 6 January 2022 21:40 (two years ago) link
yeah it's such a unique sound, the arrangements always seem to zig when you expect them to zag
there's an unsettled quality to the whole thing, i guess if i had to find a point of reference in his catalog i might compare the overall feeling to Lodger?
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 6 January 2022 22:10 (two years ago) link
Which is funny cause it’s his “I’m married to a supermodel and I’m happy” album
― A Pile of Ants (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 6 January 2022 23:23 (two years ago) link
A classmate of mine interviewed/hung out with Iman like ten years ago and said she was like her best friend for the duration of that entire evening. So when Rob Sheffield argued that Iman gave him something to write about after years in the wilderness, I immediately thought of my friend's interview - like I can totally see how someone like that can suddenly turn your life into this huge ray of sunshine.
― birdistheword, Friday, 7 January 2022 03:59 (two years ago) link
I'm not sure if I heard this before...I've heard from musicians that Bowie was really generous about singing guide tracks while they cut their parts, but not that most of the Blackstar tracks were truly live in the studio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZE2QZwtuec
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 16 March 2022 18:20 (two years ago) link
Even more impressive, Bowie's home demos are not too dissimilar.
Check out what he came up with on his own:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0FmXpbcRT0
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 16 March 2022 18:42 (two years ago) link
What a lovely read this thread is from start to finish. Must be one of the finest on this esteemed message board.
Also from upthread and not about Blackstar but …
Xpost I listened to this is not America today and I love that fucking song
― banned on ixlor (Jon not Jon), Monday, 11 January 2016 23:58 (six years ago) l
I listened to this the other day and I agree
― the article don, Wednesday, 16 March 2022 22:14 (two years ago) link
xp alfred it's not clear to me he performed the demo himself, did you read that somewhere or is it apparent from recording notes?
― corrs unplugged, Thursday, 17 March 2022 08:56 (two years ago) link
Yep. The band and Chris O'Leary confirmed it.
What we hear are sax, keys, and drum machine, all of which he could play.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 17 March 2022 09:29 (two years ago) link
It's a demo Bowie recorded by himself, Pushing Ahead of the Dame has lots of interesting information on it: https://bowiesongs.wordpress.com/2017/02/16/tis-a-pity-she-was-a-whore/
Although Bowie was in the studio in summer 2014 to record full demos with Tony Visconti, Zachary Alford and Jack Spann, the B-side of “Sue,” issued that November, was Bowie alone: the same home demo he’d sent McCaslin, full of keyboard presets and crackling with cheap distortion.”The B-side was a demo. It was just kickass,” Visconti said. “His production skills have gone up 5,000%.”
x-post :)
― willem, Thursday, 17 March 2022 09:30 (two years ago) link
I really think Tis a Pity She Was a Whore could be the very best thing he ever did.
― Eyeball Kicks, Friday, 18 March 2022 00:45 (two years ago) link
Anyone read this yet? Looks interesting: https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/blackstar-theory-9781501365379/
― Zelda Zonk, Friday, 18 March 2022 01:10 (two years ago) link
xp that's so cool thanks!!
― corrs unplugged, Monday, 21 March 2022 13:10 (two years ago) link
Man, she punched me like a dudeHold your mad hands, I cried'Tis a pity she was a whore'Tis my fate, I supposeFor that was patrolThat was patrol'Tis a pity she was a whore
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 10 January 2023 15:07 (one year ago) link