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defrogYou all know by now that The Dame is back, much to the surprise of everyone who thought he was either dead, or retired from music, or both.
The new song/video, “Where Are We Now?” got a lot of buzz, not least because no one saw it coming.
And now the full album, The Next Day – Bowie’s first studio album in ten years – is out. And I have a copy.
Let's start with the cover art, which is fascinatingly self-referential.
For people unfamiliar with Bowie’s Berlin period, it’s basically the cover of “Heroes” with a white label slapped over it with the new album title. Laziness? Genius? A masterstroke PR stunt to generate column inches? I’m personally going to go with “genius” here.
As for the album … I have to say, it’s rather good.
There are all kinds of ways to qualify that. It’s good if yr expectations weren’t all that high to start with. It’s good for a guy in his mid-60s. It’s good provided you liked his other recent "comeback" albums, Heathen and Reality. It’s good if you never realistically expected him to top his classic albums. It's good if you are over a certain age. (A lot of the younger kids seem baffled why anyone would like this, if YouTube comments are anything to go by. Which they aren't, really.)
But those aren't really necessary for me. It really is a good album. Yes, the quality varies here and there, but when it sparks, it starts fires. There are no innovations or surprises – some reviewers have been comparing it to Lodger as a reference point – but that’s another way of saying it sounds the way you’d expect a decent Bowie album to sound.
And even the songs that don’t seem to work as well at first have the potential to grow better with each listen. I confess, I wasn’t all that impressed with “Where Are We Now?” when it first came out. But it’s grown on me since first listen, and in the context of the album it’s actually one of the high points for me now.
If I have to add a caveat, it’s this: I liked Heathen and Reality when they both came out, but I don’t listen to them that much nowadays. Maybe the same will be true of The Next Day by this time next year. But that’s hard to believe right now – there are some really strong, captivating songs here.
In any case, I am SO digging this. It’s good to have David Bowie back, for however long he’s going to hang around this time.
Meanwhile, enjoy this new video. It’s got Tilda Swindon in it. And it’s NSFW.
Golden years,
This is dF
The new song/video, “Where Are We Now?” got a lot of buzz, not least because no one saw it coming.
And now the full album, The Next Day – Bowie’s first studio album in ten years – is out. And I have a copy.
Let's start with the cover art, which is fascinatingly self-referential.
For people unfamiliar with Bowie’s Berlin period, it’s basically the cover of “Heroes” with a white label slapped over it with the new album title. Laziness? Genius? A masterstroke PR stunt to generate column inches? I’m personally going to go with “genius” here.
As for the album … I have to say, it’s rather good.
There are all kinds of ways to qualify that. It’s good if yr expectations weren’t all that high to start with. It’s good for a guy in his mid-60s. It’s good provided you liked his other recent "comeback" albums, Heathen and Reality. It’s good if you never realistically expected him to top his classic albums. It's good if you are over a certain age. (A lot of the younger kids seem baffled why anyone would like this, if YouTube comments are anything to go by. Which they aren't, really.)
But those aren't really necessary for me. It really is a good album. Yes, the quality varies here and there, but when it sparks, it starts fires. There are no innovations or surprises – some reviewers have been comparing it to Lodger as a reference point – but that’s another way of saying it sounds the way you’d expect a decent Bowie album to sound.
And even the songs that don’t seem to work as well at first have the potential to grow better with each listen. I confess, I wasn’t all that impressed with “Where Are We Now?” when it first came out. But it’s grown on me since first listen, and in the context of the album it’s actually one of the high points for me now.
If I have to add a caveat, it’s this: I liked Heathen and Reality when they both came out, but I don’t listen to them that much nowadays. Maybe the same will be true of The Next Day by this time next year. But that’s hard to believe right now – there are some really strong, captivating songs here.
In any case, I am SO digging this. It’s good to have David Bowie back, for however long he’s going to hang around this time.
Meanwhile, enjoy this new video. It’s got Tilda Swindon in it. And it’s NSFW.
Golden years,
This is dF
