Music David Bowie has died

One of those guys who has been around forever. Almost gives you the feeling that he'd never die. Despite not listening to his music in years I felt strangely terrible yesterday. When the news broke, memories of how they used to enthral me just came rushing back.

 
Fecking work has blocked all Youtube videos so I can't see what's been posted. Not sure what my top 5 would be, but probably Space Oddity, Life on Mars, Ziggy Stardust, Heroes, Ashes to Ashes, The man who sold the world, Cygnet Committee (really love that one, very Bowie song), and Lazarus is fastly becoming one of my favourites. And yeah that's not even close to 5 but feck you.
 
Off the top of my head:

1. Five Years
2. Heroes
3. Lazarus
4. Starman
5. Cat People
 
Moriarty said:
Brel covers never really work for me. Pin Ups is my least favourite and I didn't like his collaboration with Queen, though the one with Bing Crosby was fun. Bowie himself was considered a harbinger of death back then. He appeared on the Marc Bolan show and not long after Bolan died in a car crash in Richmond. Bowie then went on the Bing Crosby show and did 'Little Drummer Boy' with the old crooner. Not long after, Crosby dropped dead on the golf course.
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So I take it that you are not a fan of Scott Walker, and his various takes on Brel, either? Bowie led a series of generations through various tunnels and alleys, some of which ended up at European art music they might not have otherwise discovered. He challenged his audience to listen to more avant garde noises while keeping his foot inside the door of pop commerciality. So you can forgive him rubbish like the Bing Crosby collaboration. As regards the 'harbinger of death thing', think its a load of cobblers. But I agree with you re Queen, although 'Under Pressure' is decent when done with Annie Lennox or Gail Ann Dorsey.
 
The variety in everyone's top 5s says a lot about the quality of his work. Haven't seen a single one I don't like.
 
Tincanalley said:
Occurs to me now that maybe the first inkling, or the first writing Bowie did about the illness is on The Next Day. The song 'Where Are We Now', with lines like: 'as long as there's sun, as long as there's rain... As long as there's me, as long as there's you', still has hope, but trepidation. 'Love is Lost' has a different tone: 'Your country's new, your friends are new ... But your fear is as old as the world ... Wave goodbye to the life without pain ... Say hello to the greater men, Tell them your secrets, they're like the grave...'
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I did wonder if 'The Next Day' was written when he discovered his illness. It doesn't fit with the 'diagnosed 18 months ago' thing but I guess he may have an idea about it.
 

Tried to find five favourites. I can't do it. I can find fifty though, starting here :)
 
Starman
Sound and Vision
Modern Love
Queen Bitch
Drive-In Saturday

Sound and Vision would be in my top 10 songs by anyone

Love this version of Queen Bitch...

 
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The Bewlay Brothers
1984
Holy Holy
Cygnet Committee
Joe The Lion

Subs bench:
Aladin Sane
Maid of Bond Street
Moonage Daydream
It's No Game (pt 1)
Sweet Thing/ Candidate / Sweet Thing reprise.
 
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Young Americans
Sorrow
Heroes
A New Career in a New Town
Ashes to Ashes

And a wildcard from a less golden period - Absolute Beginners
 
Tincanalley said:
So I take it that you are not a fan of Scott Walker, and his various takes on Brel, either? Bowie led a series of generations through various tunnels and alleys, some of which ended up at European art music they might not have otherwise discovered. He challenged his audience to listen to more avant garde noises while keeping his foot inside the door of pop commerciality. So you can forgive him rubbish like the Bing Crosby collaboration. As regards the 'harbinger of death thing', think its a load of cobblers. But I agree with you re Queen, although 'Under Pressure' is decent when done with Annie Lennox or Gail Ann Dorsey.
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Not really. I prefer listening to the originals. Bowie's version of 'Amsterdam' was pretty good though. Very raw and emotional. Alex Harvey's 'Next' is in a similar vein. As I said, my least favourite album is Pin Ups which was all covers. Technically very good but lacking that something which made his own work so outstanding. The same can be said for many other artists too. It's just my personal opinion and others are bound to differ.
 
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Moriarty said:
Not really. I prefer listening to the originals. Bowie's version of 'Amsterdam' was pretty good though. Very raw and emotional. Alex Harvey's 'Next' is in a similat vein. As I said, my least favourite album is Pin Ups which was all covers. Technically very good but lacking that something which made his own work so outstanding. The same can be said for many other artists too. It's just my personal opinion and others are bound to differ.
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Scott Walker's is definitely better though.
 
Rooney in Paris said:
I could probably change all of my "top 8" tomorrow and find 8 other songs of his that I absolutely adore. It's an impossible exercise!
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Definitely. Could just list the first or last 5 songs from any of his 70s albums.
 
Ducklegs said:
I wasn't the biggest fan of his music, some of, well a lot of his stuff, is absolutely terrible.

But the ones that are good, are brilliant, and the guy himself, just defined what a pop music superstar should be.
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Mate all good art is like that, either you love it or you loath it.. Good artists want you to feel something...

I took yesterday off from Bowie as I felt a little fragile and as the day went on I got really soft and sad, couldnt see or hear anything Bowie as it just got to hard for me. Today I was more focused on Bowie and what he meant to me. And remembered after giving Blackstar a thorough listen on friday I told my girlfriend I would be surprised if Bowie would last the year as I felt so strong his farwell was close, that album just felt like a requiem or a grand finale, farewell..

Can't really express how I feel but it feels like something so close me and my identity is gone and I feel so sad, but the same time so grateful for everything he gave me.. The only regret I have was to turn down a ticket for the Reality tour in Berlin... But to my defence I had seen both Köln and Hannover and was there with a friend who I couldnt get a ticket for.. He played 43 songs that night and almost everything a die hard Bowie fan could ever ask for. He will not be replaced by anyone or anything music truely has died for me.
 
arthurka said:
Mate all good art is like that, either you love it or you loath it.. Good artists want you to feel something...

I took yesterday off from Bowie as I felt a little fragile and as the day went on I got really soft and sad, couldnt see or hear anything Bowie as it just got to hard for me. Today I was more focused on Bowie and what he meant to me. And remembered after giving Blackstar a thorough listen on friday I told my girlfriend I would be surprised if Bowie would last the year as I felt so strong his farwell was close, that album just felt like a requiem or a grand finale, farewell..

Can't really express how I feel but it feels like something so close me and my identity is gone and I feel so sad, but the same time so grateful for everything he gave me.. The only regret I have was to turn down a ticket for the Reality tour in Berlin... But to my defence I had seen both Köln and Hannover and was there with a friend who I couldnt get a ticket for.. He played 43 songs that night and almost everything a die hard Bowie fan could ever ask for. He will not be replaced by anyone or anything music truely has died for me.
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I feel sad too, but your identity has not gone, just part of what shaped it is no longer there. It's for you, and all of us, now to carry it on. Be strong, and brave. You will be fine. Good wishes.
 
Man Utd Mrs said:
I've got that album with the other haircut..the mono version. I was repackaged in 1969/70
90565.jpg


Bloody ace album.
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Sweet! They're some songs in that repackaging that I haven't listened to.
 
Eckers99 said:
Definitely. Could just list the first or last 5 songs from any of his 70s albums.
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Been thinking about this. I'd probably pick the following ten from his early works

1. Width of a Circle (David Live)
2. Cygnet Committee (Space Oddity)
3. Memory of a Free Festival (Space Oddity)
4. Panic in Detroit (Aladdin Sane)
5. Letter to Hermione (Space Oddity)
6. We Are the Dead (Diamond Dogs)
7. The Man Who Sold the World (")
8. The Bewlay Brothers (Hunky Dory)
9. Time (Aladdin Sane)
10. Quicksand (Hunky Dory)

Those are the ten I played last night as we polished off a bottle of wine in his memory.
 
Moriarty said:
Been thinking about this. I'd probably pick the following ten from his early works

1. Width of a Circle (David Live)
2. Cygnet Committee (Space Oddity)
3. Memory of a Free Festival (Space Oddity)
4. Panic in Detroit (Aladdin Sane)
5. Letter to Hermione (Space Oddity)
6. We Are the Dead (Diamond Dogs)
7. The Man Who Sold the World (")
8. The Bewlay Brothers (Hunky Dory)
9. Time (Aladdin Sane)
10. Quicksand (Hunky Dory)

Those are the ten I played last night as we polished off a bottle of wine in his memory.
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An excellent playlist.

On a personal note, I always held the notion that the 'real' Bowie stopped at Scary Monsters (indeed the album itself was all about closure on his characters period - see the back cover artwork) and always remember the feeling of being utterly deflated when Lets Dance came out, despite it's shimmery, glossy production.

This wasn't my Bowie anymore and seeing him live on the Serious Moonlight Tour only confirmed it. Unashamedly, I'd spend many hours with like-minded friends trying to work out who and what were 'The Bewlay Brothers', how it related to my teenage angst and how could I ever be as cool as Halloween Jack with his 10" stump. Was The Man Who Sold The World/Aladdin Sane another homage to his brother (the engine of all his fears and narratives) and that famous facial lightning strike a hidden metaphor for his bothers schizophrenia and abandonment. Oddly, a theme he'd play out in Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence. But then again wasn't The Man Who Fell to Earth the Ziggy story all over?

Yes, there have been some excellent moments throughout his more recent material but nothing - nothing - touches his sixties/seventies thematic masterpieces.

For them alone, I am truly grateful.
 
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I tend top agree but even his Serious Moonlight period manages to sum up the era better than most other artists.
 
Songs:

1. Life On Mars
2. Lady Grinning Soul
3. Word On A Wing
4. Heroes
5. Always Crashing In The Same Car
6. Lady Stardust

Albums:

1. Hunky Dory
2. Station To Station
3. Ziggy Stardust
4. Low
5. Heroes
6. The Man Who Sold The World
 
IMO the greatest solo artist of all time.
RIP goblin king :(
 
Damn. First Lemmy and now Bowie. Both of them seemed immortal somehow. Never was a true fan of his work, I have to say, but some of it was certainly good. Rest in peace, Dave, sad to see you go.
 
Just genius....

We can't dance, we don't talk much, we just ball and play
But then we move like tigers on Vaseline
Well the bitter comes out better on a stolen guitar
You're the blessed, we're the spiders from Mars
 
Tincanalley said:
I feel sad too, but your identity has not gone, just part of what shaped it is no longer there. It's for you, and all of us, now to carry it on. Be strong, and brave. You will be fine. Good wishes.
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Thanks mate, really needed that.
I will try to give you my fav 10 songs when I feel in the right shape mentally. But again thank you.
 
Slightly random but here are Bowie's 100 favourite books for anyone interested:

1. Interviews With Francis Bacon by David Sylvester
2. Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse
3. Room At The Top by John Braine
4. On Having No Head by Douglass Harding
5. Kafka Was The Rage by Anatole Broyard
6. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
7. City Of Night by John Rechy
8. The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
9. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
10. Iliad by Homer
11. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
12. Tadanori Yokoo by Tadanori Yokoo
13. Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin
14. Inside The Whale And Other Essays by George Orwell
15. Mr. Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood
16. Halls Dictionary Of Subjects And Symbols In Art by James A. Hall
17. David Bomberg by Richard Cork
18. Blast by Wyndham Lewis
19. Passing by Nella Larsen
20. Beyond The Brillo Box by Arthur C. Danto
21. The Origin Of Consciousness In The Breakdown Of The Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes
22. In Bluebeard’s Castle by George Steiner
23. Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd
24. The Divided Self by R. D. Laing
25. The Stranger by Albert Camus
26. Infants Of The Spring by Wallace Thurman
27. The Quest For Christa T by Christa Wolf
28. The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin
29. Nights At The Circus by Angela Carter
30. The Master And Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
31. The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
32. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
33. Herzog by Saul Bellow
34. Puckoon by Spike Milligan
35. Black Boy by Richard Wright
36. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
37. The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea by Yukio Mishima
38. Darkness At Noon by Arthur Koestler
39. The Waste Land by T.S. Elliot
40. McTeague by Frank Norris
41. Money by Martin Amis
42. The Outsider by Colin Wilson
43. Strange People by Frank Edwards
44. English Journey by J.B. Priestley
45. A Confederacy Of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
46. The Day Of The Locust by Nathanael West
47. 1984 by George Orwell
48. The Life And Times Of Little Richard by Charles White
49. Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: The Golden Age of Rock by Nik Cohn
50. Mystery Train by Greil Marcus
51. The Beano by DC Comics
52. Raw Comics Anthology edited by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly
53. White Noise by Don DeLillo
54. Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm And Blues And The Southern Dream Of Freedom by Peter Guralnick
55. Silence: Lectures And Writing by John Cage
56. Writers At Work: The Paris Review Interviews edited by Malcolm Cowley
57. The Sound Of The City: The Rise Of Rock And Roll by Charlie Gillete
58. Octobriana And The Russian Underground by Peter Sadecky
59. The Street by Ann Petry
60. Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
61. Last Exit To Brooklyn by Hubert Selby, Jr.
62. A People’s History Of The United States by Howard Zinn
63. The Age Of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby
64. Metropolitan Life by Fran Lebowitz
65. The Coast Of Utopia by Tom Stoppard
66. The Bridge by Hart Crane
67. All The Emperor’s Horses by David Kidd
68. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
69. Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess
70. The 42nd Parallel by John Dos Passos
71. Tales Of Beatnik Glory by Ed Saunders
72. The Bird Artist by Howard Norman
73. Nowhere To Run The Story Of Soul Music by Gerri Hirshey
74. Before The Deluge by Otto Friedrich
75. Sexual Personae: Art And Decadence From Nefertiti To Emily Dickinson by Camille Paglia
76. The American Way Of Death by Jessica Mitford
77. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
78. Lady Chatterly’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
79. Teenage by Jon Savage
80. Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh
81. The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard
82. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
83. Viz Comics founded by Chris Donald
84. Private Eye Magazine edited by Ian Hislop
85. Selected Poems by Frank O’Hara
86. The Trial Of Henry Kissinger by Christopher Hitchens
87. Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes
88. Maldodor by Comte de Lautréamont
89. On The Road by Jack Kerouac
90. Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonders by Lawrence Weschler
91. Zanoni by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
92. Transcendental Magic, Its Doctine and Ritual by Eliphas Lévi
93. The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
94. The Leopard by Giusseppe Di Lampedusa
95. Inferno by Dante Alighieri
96. A Grave For A Dolphin by Alberto Denti di Pirajno
97. The Insult by Rupert Thomson
98. In Between The Sheets by Ian McEwan
99. A People’s Tragedy by Orlando Figes
100. Journey Into The Whirlwind by Eugenia Ginzburg
 
sullydnl said:
Slightly random but here are Bowie's 100 favourite books for anyone interested:

1. Interviews With Francis Bacon by David Sylvester
2. Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse
3. Room At The Top by John Braine
4. On Having No Head by Douglass Harding
5. Kafka Was The Rage by Anatole Broyard
6. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
7. City Of Night by John Rechy
8. The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
9. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
10. Iliad by Homer
11. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
12. Tadanori Yokoo by Tadanori Yokoo
13. Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin
14. Inside The Whale And Other Essays by George Orwell
15. Mr. Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood
16. Halls Dictionary Of Subjects And Symbols In Art by James A. Hall
17. David Bomberg by Richard Cork
18. Blast by Wyndham Lewis
19. Passing by Nella Larsen
20. Beyond The Brillo Box by Arthur C. Danto
21. The Origin Of Consciousness In The Breakdown Of The Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes
22. In Bluebeard’s Castle by George Steiner
23. Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd
24. The Divided Self by R. D. Laing
25. The Stranger by Albert Camus
26. Infants Of The Spring by Wallace Thurman
27. The Quest For Christa T by Christa Wolf
28. The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin
29. Nights At The Circus by Angela Carter
30. The Master And Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
31. The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
32. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
33. Herzog by Saul Bellow
34. Puckoon by Spike Milligan
35. Black Boy by Richard Wright
36. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
37. The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea by Yukio Mishima
38. Darkness At Noon by Arthur Koestler
39. The Waste Land by T.S. Elliot
40. McTeague by Frank Norris
41. Money by Martin Amis
42. The Outsider by Colin Wilson
43. Strange People by Frank Edwards
44. English Journey by J.B. Priestley
45. A Confederacy Of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
46. The Day Of The Locust by Nathanael West
47. 1984 by George Orwell
48. The Life And Times Of Little Richard by Charles White
49. Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: The Golden Age of Rock by Nik Cohn
50. Mystery Train by Greil Marcus
51. The Beano by DC Comics
52. Raw Comics Anthology edited by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly
53. White Noise by Don DeLillo
54. Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm And Blues And The Southern Dream Of Freedom by Peter Guralnick
55. Silence: Lectures And Writing by John Cage
56. Writers At Work: The Paris Review Interviews edited by Malcolm Cowley
57. The Sound Of The City: The Rise Of Rock And Roll by Charlie Gillete
58. Octobriana And The Russian Underground by Peter Sadecky
59. The Street by Ann Petry
60. Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
61. Last Exit To Brooklyn by Hubert Selby, Jr.
62. A People’s History Of The United States by Howard Zinn
63. The Age Of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby
64. Metropolitan Life by Fran Lebowitz
65. The Coast Of Utopia by Tom Stoppard
66. The Bridge by Hart Crane
67. All The Emperor’s Horses by David Kidd
68. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
69. Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess
70. The 42nd Parallel by John Dos Passos
71. Tales Of Beatnik Glory by Ed Saunders
72. The Bird Artist by Howard Norman
73. Nowhere To Run The Story Of Soul Music by Gerri Hirshey
74. Before The Deluge by Otto Friedrich
75. Sexual Personae: Art And Decadence From Nefertiti To Emily Dickinson by Camille Paglia
76. The American Way Of Death by Jessica Mitford
77. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
78. Lady Chatterly’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
79. Teenage by Jon Savage
80. Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh
81. The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard
82. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
83. Viz Comics founded by Chris Donald
84. Private Eye Magazine edited by Ian Hislop
85. Selected Poems by Frank O’Hara
86. The Trial Of Henry Kissinger by Christopher Hitchens
87. Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes
88. Maldodor by Comte de Lautréamont
89. On The Road by Jack Kerouac
90. Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonders by Lawrence Weschler
91. Zanoni by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
92. Transcendental Magic, Its Doctine and Ritual by Eliphas Lévi
93. The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
94. The Leopard by Giusseppe Di Lampedusa
95. Inferno by Dante Alighieri
96. A Grave For A Dolphin by Alberto Denti di Pirajno
97. The Insult by Rupert Thomson
98. In Between The Sheets by Ian McEwan
99. A People’s Tragedy by Orlando Figes
100. Journey Into The Whirlwind by Eugenia Ginzburg
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Viz!
 
Also, the somewhat legendary Alan Yentob doc "Cracked Actors", made during the Diamond Dogs tour (I think). Cocaine & Milk era Bowie....

 
I wasn't into music at all until I discovered David Bowie. I remember being so fascinated by everything about Sound & Vision when I first heard it at the age of 15 that I almost completely forgot that I'd just been dumped. The riff of Ziggy Stardust is the whole reason I wanted to learn guitar. I'm sure a lot of slightly older Nirvana fans on here felt the same way I do now x100 when Cobain died, but I was 3 years old then so it feels really, really surreal that he's gone.

The absolute greatest as far as I'm concerned. RIP.
 
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