52. "Cracked Actor" (from Aladdin Sane) - 239 points/10 votes/0 first-place votes
http://youtu.be/zkEvAvIGK-w
― Carlos Pollomar (WmC), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 18:44 (twelve years ago) link
I tried to remind y'all about the glory of Win, but did you listen to me? Of course not. So here it is, languishing at 53.
― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 18:44 (twelve years ago) link
I hadn't heard "Win" at all before listening to stuff for this poll -- Young Americans was one of the 70s records I didn't know aside from the singles -- but it made my ballot. This song makes me so freakin' horny! (/tmi)
― Carlos Pollomar (WmC), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 18:46 (twelve years ago) link
'Cracked Actor', for me, is one of those songs that is a decent and listenable slice of rock music, but ultimately doesn't blow me away.
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 18:48 (twelve years ago) link
Kornrulez, I listened! I had forgotten about it but said a big fuck yeah and put it on my ballot after being reminded. Would have placed lower otherwise.
― grandavis, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 18:50 (twelve years ago) link
Cracked Actor was my no.2. I love my Bowie poppy-and-paranoid, clearly.
― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 18:51 (twelve years ago) link
Excellent, grandavis, excellent. If only more had heard the call....
― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 18:52 (twelve years ago) link
I love the title too, I find it extremely satisfying to say.
― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 18:52 (twelve years ago) link
I think a lot of ballots that did not have Win on it were trying not to loose, and failing #winrelatedhumor
― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 18:54 (twelve years ago) link
"Win" is one of the reasons I counted down from 60 instead of 50, tbh.
― Carlos Pollomar (WmC), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 18:56 (twelve years ago) link
Counting down from 60 was a great idea, and I think the number of ballots definitely warranted it!
― grandavis, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 18:59 (twelve years ago) link
now speed it upmore songsmore more more more
― Laura Lucy Lynn (La Lechera), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:00 (twelve years ago) link
more more more
― Laura Lucy Lynn (La Lechera), Tuesday, March 6, 2012 7:00 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
How d'ya like it? How d'ya like it?
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:02 (twelve years ago) link
no, the tempo is just right if a little fast--stretch it out!
― Iago Galdston, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:03 (twelve years ago) link
51. "Joe the Lion" (from "Heroes") - 251 points/9 votes/1 first-place vote
http://youtu.be/VcXb2FXcWg4
― Carlos Pollomar (WmC), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:03 (twelve years ago) link
Love Joe the Lion! Not on my ballot though....
― Iago Galdston, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:06 (twelve years ago) link
Like 'Blackout', this is another "Heroes" track that is just filled with great moments, especially the 'It's Monday...' section which is an excellent little change. Fantastic guitar work throughout, too.
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:07 (twelve years ago) link
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwvhfu0Oqh1qggdq1.jpg
― Iago Galdston, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:09 (twelve years ago) link
Joe The Lion, Made Of Iron (In Zion)
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:11 (twelve years ago) link
50. "A New Career in a New Town" (from Low) - 251 points/12 votes/0 first-place votes
http://youtu.be/JhZqsYkl1zI
― Carlos Pollomar (WmC), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:19 (twelve years ago) link
For those of you who don't know, that's the artist Chris Burden, who inspired the song. Here he is nailed to a Volkswagen...he also had himself shot in the arm, etc...great artist.
― Iago Galdston, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:19 (twelve years ago) link
did not know joe the lion was about chris burden! thx for the tip iago.
― Spectrist, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:25 (twelve years ago) link
In making my ballot I made the snap decision to skip all instrumentals. Did anyone else decide to do that? As much as I like almost all of them (though "A New Career in a New Town" would not have made my list, like most of the others over it) it seemed to take space away from the meat of Bowie's career, if that makes sense? My original list that had 45 songs or whatever had 4 or 5 instrumentals, and it just made things so much easier to consider them as a separate entity.
― grandavis, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:26 (twelve years ago) link
I'll never forget hearing 'A New Career In A New Town' for the first time, and getting that great 'tingle' that the best music gives. I feel that giving this piece of music lyrics would only taint it, since it's just so perfectly realised and everything that you need to know is there in the music. It seems to capture this joyful feeling of moving on, but simultaneously there's something about that harmonica that sounds like a goodbye tinged with regret. Quite apt really, all things considered. It's a beautiful tune. Another one of those I wish I'd had room for on the ballot.
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:28 (twelve years ago) link
The harmonica is really great in that tune
― grandavis, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:31 (twelve years ago) link
49. "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)" (from Scary Monsters) - 258 points/11 votes/0 first-place votes
http://youtu.be/NHywdqH3F6Y
― Carlos Pollomar (WmC), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:33 (twelve years ago) link
Oh hello there, my #15!
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:35 (twelve years ago) link
did not know joe the lion was about chris burden! thx for the tip iago.― Spectrist, Tuesday, March 6, 2012 2:25 PM (13 minutes ago)
You're welcome, Spectrist!
― Iago Galdston, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:39 (twelve years ago) link
Bowie is often an abstruse lyricist so the instrumentals were his best chances of finding musical correlatives for his concepts, you know? What song speaks to Bowie's interests in motorik and C&W than "A New Career..."?
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:43 (twelve years ago) link
Listening to 'Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)' right now. The track, not the album. Every time that outro comes on, it makes me sad that it seems unlikely that he'll ever play live again. That outro was designed to be a prime live moment, I feel.
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:45 (twelve years ago) link
the title track allowed for one of the Gabrels era's best live performances.
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:46 (twelve years ago) link
My snap decision now seems to be just that, an opportunity to make picking 20 songs a little easier. I think I would trade a couple of my eventual choices out for an instrumental or two now, but there you have it. Good point btw Alfred, and those songs work really well on the albums, they are much more than interludes or diversions, they belong in the narrative of the records.
― grandavis, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:49 (twelve years ago) link
I had 3 instrumentals on my ballot. I ended up making the snap decision to exclude nearly all the hits instead.
― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:49 (twelve years ago) link
there is a killer live version of SM&SC on the Serious Moonlight bootleg
― fully formed adult banaka unit (sleeve), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:49 (twelve years ago) link
man I'd never listened to Live in Santa Monica 72, this thing SMOKES
― the wild eyed boy from soundcloud (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:50 (twelve years ago) link
48. "Diamond Dogs" (from Diamond Dogs) - 268 points/13 votes/0 first-place votes
http://youtu.be/36lWAcY9IXE
― Carlos Pollomar (WmC), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:53 (twelve years ago) link
totally, wild eyed boy--i put width of a circle from that show on my list, but i guess it will get folded into the studio version which is fine by me.
― Iago Galdston, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:54 (twelve years ago) link
I've been trying to coin "Call them the Diamond Hogs!" as the unofficial slogan for the Arkansas Razorback baseball team, but no go.
― pplains, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:56 (twelve years ago) link
Bowie is often an abstruse lyricist so the instrumentals were his best chances of finding musical correlatives for his concepts, you know?
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, March 6, 2012 7:43 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I agree with this completely. The moments that tend to affect me in some way on Bowie releases are very rarely the lyrics in and of themselves. Rather, they tend to be musical elements for the most part. When it comes to his vocals, most of the time I get more of a buzz out of the way he sings things rather than what he's actually singing, if that makes sense.
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:57 (twelve years ago) link
THIS AIN'T ROCK'N'ROLL! THIS IS GENOCIDE!
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:58 (twelve years ago) link
I love that -- too bad the idea isn't sticking.
― Carlos Pollomar (WmC), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:59 (twelve years ago) link
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Tuesday, March 6, 2012 1:58 PM (11 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
best line in rock n' roll history
― the wild eyed boy from soundcloud (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 19:59 (twelve years ago) link
"Scary Monsters" is a song he simply never could've done before his collabs w Eno. The insane Fripp lead, the filter on the bgd vox during the chorus, the careening tempo -- I've always been a very big fan.
― Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 20:02 (twelve years ago) link
Can't believe 'Win' charted so lowly...my no 1...one of my heartbeat songs...
― The Pastiche Liberation Front (sonnyboy), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 20:03 (twelve years ago) link
So I think most of my ballot will be in the top 20 but I will pretend I wasn't a part of this poll if letter to hermione doesn't feat.
― Moka, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 20:04 (twelve years ago) link
It's interesting, because I'm listening to this song ('Diamond Dogs') straight after listening to 'Scary Monsters', and I've noticed both songs have same kind of dalek effect on the vocals.
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 20:05 (twelve years ago) link
47. "What in the World" (from Low) - 275 points/12 votes/1 first-place vote
http://youtu.be/7SAIVyGTNRM
― Carlos Pollomar (WmC), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 20:10 (twelve years ago) link
Pacman is trying to eat this song.chavedappelle 2 days ago
― pplains, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 20:13 (twelve years ago) link
What In the World is a little kooky. I always thought the Eno synth part was mixed so high that it threatened to overwhelm the rest of the song.
Or this.
― Naive Teen Idol, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 20:15 (twelve years ago) link
Hah, totally
― grandavis, Tuesday, 6 March 2012 20:16 (twelve years ago) link