Bowie - Blackstar (2016) & RIP David Bowie :(

[ABNorman]

I used to dismiss him until the in-house radio station at work played at least one of his songs every morning. Always a good way to start the day. I'll have to give this a listen.

[chewm]

This is shocking.
RIP

[tragabigzanda]

[epilogue]

Never saw him live. One of the great misses of my life. But I've still got the music. That will never change.

Listened to Blackstar for the first time this morning. What a gorgeous record. It sounds like a St. Vincent record, so it should surprise no one that I was blown away. I think it's the best thing the man had done in decades.

God, I miss him...

[Strat]

Some of his hits are kind of annoying if you dig his music but man that guitar in rebel rebel is transcendent

That is one of my favorite guitar parts. Then the drum beat. Fantastic.

Sad

[epilogue]

Girl Loves Me from Blackstar

I need to hear Annie Clark cover that song.

[jwfocker]

Some of his hits are kind of annoying if you dig his music but man that guitar in rebel rebel is transcendent

That is one of my favorite guitar parts. Then the drum beat. Fantastic.

Sad

Yep. That drum beat supplements it so well. genius.

[E.H. Ruddock]

The first movie my wife and I ever watched together was Labyrinth.

[epilogue]

The first movie my wife and I ever watched together was Labyrinth.

[darth_vedder]

Interesting that some people said they only liked the hits, but to me most of his hits are annoying (I hate Changes so much) yet the lesser known stuff is really connecting with me.

Interesting. I only know his hits

I like both, and "Changes" is a fantastic song. If y'all haven't heard "Width Of A Circle" I'd recommend that one.

[i got bugs]

FUCKKKKKKKKK this really sucks....

Oddity is one of my fav all time songs, possibly (edit 2nd besides dark side of the moon as a whole) favorite to listen to when I go on valley/woods rides in the jeep.. so many awesome tunes..

I wanna make a mix of unknown awesome bowie tunes.. any recommendations??

[EJ]

Man, this is sad.

Ashes To Ashes is still my favorite Bowie tune. Actually, one of my all time favorite songs.

[doug rr]

this one stings

[McParadigm]

Sad, in the way that it is sad when an old musician who continues to add to their legacy passes. The way it will be sad when Paul McCartney, Tom Waits, or Keith Richards goes.

That is to say, this is not much of an artistic tragedy...it's far too late, and he was far too prolific early on, for it to be that. And, frankly, not many potential new recordings are lost by his not surviving another 10 or 20 years. We all of us here have lost very nearly nothing in this, because of the nature of our connection to him. The benefit of being on this side of the musician/fan game is that you can only gain, never lose.

But I am sad for his family. 68 feels criminally young, when it's someone you love.

[Kaius]

Well said

[epilogue]

FUCKKKKKKKKK this really sucks....

Oddity is one of my fav all time songs, possibly (edit 2nd besides dark side of the moon as a whole) favorite to listen to when I go on valley/woods rides in the jeep.. so many awesome tunes..

I wanna make a mix of unknown awesome bowie tunes.. any recommendations??

It's No Game (Part 1)
Ashes to Ashes
Kooks
Andy Warhol
Queen Bitch
Cactus (Pixies cover)
Girl Loves Me
Lazarus
Slow Burn
The Width of a Circle
Blackstar
Velvet Goldmine (a hit but still )

[epilogue]

Sad, in the way that it is sad when an old musician who continues to add to their legacy passes. The way it will be sad when Paul McCartney, Tom Waits, or Keith Richards goes.

That is to say, this is not much of an artistic tragedy...it's far too late, and he was far too prolific early on, for it to be that. And, frankly, not many potential new recordings are lost by his not surviving another 10 or 20 years. We all of us here have lost very nearly nothing in this, because of the nature of our connection to him. The benefit of being on this side of the musician/fan game is that you can only gain, never lose.

But I am sad for his family. 68 feels criminally young, when it's someone you love.

Very well put.

And listening to Blackstar for the first time today really hammers this point home. I can't believe he had another one like this in him. And I'm just humbled and honored that we got something so wonderful to remember him by. Just in time.

[Strat]

the 4 second mark in Ziggy Stardust always hits me with how gloriously out of tune it is. That is rock n roll.

[bada]

It's odd. I'm a really big fan of his music from the 70s and 80s but I've never had a connection to him as a person. It's like I know the music but not the man. There always felt like a huge distance between artist and audience. Purposely I think. I feel bad for not being as affected as I should considering how much I've enjoyed his music.

[surfndestroy]

This sucks. I doubt we'll ever see an artist shift from one genre to another and blend them quite so well as David Bowie. He managed major hits in just about every genre he touched. He surrounded himself with great musicians and then got the absolute best from them while never losing his own style.

The string of albums he put out from 50-69 (Outside to Blackstar) are as adventurous and challenging as any artist within rock at any age. Add to this his Ziggy era, the thin white duke era, and the Station to Station and Berlin trilogy and wow. Take a close listen to China Girl and appreciate how Bowie blended one of Stevie Ray Vaughan's finest solos in a dance song.

The making of Blackstar with jazz musicians makes more sense now. It's another great album. Fuck, fuck, fuck is how I feel about this.