Lastly, my frustration about "Low" placing first isn't b/c of some Geir-esque thing or because I don't Totally Love "Low" To Pieces, 'cause I do. It is just frustrating-- as a die-hard-- that so many people's #1 Bowie album is the one that contains the least amount of Bowie, being 60% instrumental, i.e. missing the man's voice and lyrics.
I loathe biographical criticism. Also, I can't confuse "Subterraneans" and "Speed of Life" for anyone else's instrumentals; they're big, histrionic, and vulgar, like prime Bowie.
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 11 March 2012 11:55 (twelve years ago) link
Backstory is a large part of the appreciation of "Low", you can't deny it
shaking my motherfucking head til i get whiplash
― Kony Montana: "Say hello to my invisible friend" (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 11 March 2012 11:57 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah but I kinda agree with him in the sense that Low has always felt a little bit like a Bowie sketchbook rather than some perfectly formed masterpiece. That's not a qualitative statement on its material -- I love pretty much everything on it. But even if track for track Low is his best record, it still feels a little odd to call it his best album.
― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 11 March 2012 13:32 (twelve years ago) link
yeah, won't talk shit about Low but I was really hoping this poll would be a Station to Station triumph
― gospodin simmel, Sunday, 11 March 2012 13:47 (twelve years ago) link
Its placing also feels like a function of the times -- not only is the Berlin era the most influential right now, Low's diversity makes it a somewhat easier album to celebrate than one of his straight up genre exercises.
― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 11 March 2012 14:07 (twelve years ago) link
in what sense is Low NOT a genre exercise?
(serious question)
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 11 March 2012 14:14 (twelve years ago) link
that so many people's #1 Bowie album is the one that contains the least amount of Bowie, being 60% instrumental, i.e. missing the man's voice and lyrics.
I disagree with the boldface part. What it lacks in his voice and lyrics, it gives back generously in a look into DB the thinker and conceptualizer, imo. As a comics nerd, I've seen many cases where a page's pencils and preliminary sketches were more interesting than the finished page.
― Carlos Pollomar (WmC), Sunday, 11 March 2012 14:45 (twelve years ago) link
wait -- you're suggesting that full-bodied instrumentals like Low's are the equivalent of sketches?
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 11 March 2012 14:49 (twelve years ago) link
A couple of them -- "Weeping Wall" and "Some Are," mainly -- have always seemed like they could have been conceived as X and presented as Y. I don't know -- it's certainly no impediment to enjoyment -- Low was my #1 album by a huge margin.
― Carlos Pollomar (WmC), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:03 (twelve years ago) link
I loathe biographical criticism.
NO I'M NOT talking about like "oooh this gated snare represents his mom", I'm talking about 'talking points'. I could ask you ten questions about the making of this record right now and you'd get them all right.
― an elk hunt (Ówen P.), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:06 (twelve years ago) link
Low is just placed on such a pedestal of intellectual/avant-garde/genius these days. For some reason it reminds me of people that say Smile was the greatest piece of music ever written and would have changed the world.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:09 (twelve years ago) link
There's probably 2x the amount of bio written about the making of 'Low' than any other Bowie album. It's simply the intellectual's album and that's that.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:11 (twelve years ago) link
but what if you've never read any bio and you still love Low are you an intellectual y/n?
― Kony Montana: "Say hello to my invisible friend" (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:12 (twelve years ago) link
what if you've loved Low since your mid-teens were you a teenage intellectual?
― Kony Montana: "Say hello to my invisible friend" (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:13 (twelve years ago) link
i did have glasses tbf
It just means you brilliant taste over all the simpletons that like Hunky Dory.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:18 (twelve years ago) link
Dumb joke, i realize i'm about to get shat on for.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:19 (twelve years ago) link
Hunky Dory used to be my fave i think but this shdn't be a "either/or" proposition, whatever you wanna think about the meaning of liking Low it's pretty obvious that its outness has been diminished by time and influence. like i guess i first heard it in the early to mid 80s and already in the context of what pop music sounded like there was nothing really odd to me at that age. tho i guess i had no handle on what "ambient" was back then.
― Kony Montana: "Say hello to my invisible friend" (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:22 (twelve years ago) link
i guess i do think that Hunky Dory is the "straighter" record - nb just remembered i played "Bewlay Bros" on the jukebox in the pub last night but that only makes it a more honest choice if you really singer-songwriter types and hate whatever kind of thing Low is
― Kony Montana: "Say hello to my invisible friend" (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:24 (twelve years ago) link
really love singer-songwriter types i meant
― Kony Montana: "Say hello to my invisible friend" (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:25 (twelve years ago) link
Who hates Low?
There've been outright "I hate Aladdin Sane" "I hate Young Americans" and it's like, "uh huh, some people do".
I love "Outside" but it's a fringe thing; obv you can't appreciate "Outside" without being acquainting with every character, which songs they sing and whether they own a goat-scrotum purse or a lamb-penis necklace
― an elk hunt (Ówen P.), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:27 (twelve years ago) link
Nobody hates Low. Of all the Bowie album reviews I've read, pretty much all of them about Low have just fawned over how brilliant it is. Maybe I don't read enough album reviews?
Compared this to say, any of his other albums. They all have tracks that get on people's nerves, weak points, etc. Low just sort of seems untouchable.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:30 (twelve years ago) link
Personally I love "Low", I even covered a few of those songs in bands over the years. But it does seem a bit idealized by the current generation.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:31 (twelve years ago) link
is it a surprise if some 30-odd year old albums speak more to the current generation than others?
― Kony Montana: "Say hello to my invisible friend" (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:33 (twelve years ago) link
altho again that discounts a lot of the people who've loved it between 1977 and now
maybe Hunky Dory was big with the antifolk kids or whatever, assuming they really existed
― Kony Montana: "Say hello to my invisible friend" (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:34 (twelve years ago) link
"Be My Wife" gets on my nerves tbh. There are a couple other songs on that album that I like when I hear, but don't really stick with me, unlike "Aladdin Sane" which is one memorable awesome song after another.
― sarahell, Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:55 (twelve years ago) link
You and me both Sarahell--for some reason I can't stand Be My Wife and TVC15, they make my skin crawl!
― Iago Galdston, Sunday, 11 March 2012 15:59 (twelve years ago) link
THanks to EZ here for pursuading me to listen to Stage again
― an elk hunt (Ówen P.), Sunday, 11 March 2012 16:14 (twelve years ago) link
(persuade)
Oh, the antifolk kids once existed, but now they've morphed into the crusties.
Sort of sounds like a Bowie lyric.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 11 March 2012 16:26 (twelve years ago) link
Low is just placed on such a pedestal of intellectual/avant-garde/genius these days.
This was the case 20+ years ago when I got into Bowie. As an impressionable 18-year-old I was keen to follow the party line but over time I lost interest in it. I don't think there's anything weak or annoying about it, I just find it kinda meh and am surprised at how highly people rate it.
― fit and working again, Sunday, 11 March 2012 16:32 (twelve years ago) link
I vaguely remember a quote from Robert Smith saying how he lost interest in Bowie when Low came out. At the time I thought he was nuts.
― fit and working again, Sunday, 11 March 2012 16:34 (twelve years ago) link
You're welcome Ówen! Hope you have the reissue; the correct ordering and extra songs push it over the top.
― EZ Snappin, Sunday, 11 March 2012 16:46 (twelve years ago) link
I have the Ryko, is that the one you mean? Also, kudos on voting for Outside songs although we voted for the opposite ones
― an elk hunt (Ówen P.), Sunday, 11 March 2012 16:47 (twelve years ago) link
I was gonna vote "Voyeur of utter destruction (as beauty)" cause I love that song but felt embarrassed by the title.
― an elk hunt (Ówen P.), Sunday, 11 March 2012 16:51 (twelve years ago) link
This is where I say it's a CRIME that (damn good) filler like "A New Career In a New Town" places but Outside gets shut out. On my ballot that was too late, I had "Thru' These Architect's Eyes" in my top ten. Tons of cuts on it were worthy, tho -- "I'm Deranged," "The Motel," "A Small Plot of Land" to name a few. People focus way too much on the (negligible) NIN influences and concept (actually quite wry) and not nearly enough on the quality of songwriting (Bowie's best since the mid-70s), production (nervy and maximalist) and singing (arguably Bowie's best). Easily in my top 5 Bowie records and, at times, my very favorite.
― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 11 March 2012 17:29 (twelve years ago) link
Outside has tons of good cuts, so it was nice to see 3/4 of the record represented (if poorly).
The EMI reissue of Stage in 2005 added "Stay" and "Be My Wife", removed the between song fades and corrected the running order to reflect the concerts. Bowie makes me rebuy albums far too often.
― EZ Snappin, Sunday, 11 March 2012 17:30 (twelve years ago) link
"A New Career in a New Town" isn't filler ffs
― Kony Montana: "Say hello to my invisible friend" (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 11 March 2012 17:31 (twelve years ago) link
the number of reissues and repackagings are crazy
― sarahell, Sunday, 11 March 2012 17:32 (twelve years ago) link
The 1990 Low reissue got a savage review in one of the UK monthlies... (ha, it might actually have been Jon Savage) 3/10 or something. "Responsible for Gary Numan and all that crap" was the gist. I recall Steve Sutherland giving Scott Walker's Boychild comp on Fontana a kicking around the same time. Wrong wrong wrongy wrong.
― Michael Jones, Sunday, 11 March 2012 17:36 (twelve years ago) link
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/6973345197_a0d07775d0_b.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7196/6827233380_64554bb110_b.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7069/6973343833_684fd08dfd_b.jpg
― gazelleonstage, Sunday, 11 March 2012 19:06 (twelve years ago) link
You may be right -- but as much as I like it, it's not one of Bowie's 60 best songs either. That says more about his catalog than it does ANCiaNT, tho.
― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 11 March 2012 19:07 (twelve years ago) link
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/6973345197_a0d07775d0_b.jpgBowie b&w by Tommytinkroom, on Flickr
― gazelleonstage, Sunday, 11 March 2012 19:12 (twelve years ago) link
Ok just sussed out how to upload some pics,this should have been my first post.http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/6973345197_a0d07775d0_b.jpgBowie b&w by Tommytinkroom, on Flickrhttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/6973345197_a0d07775d0_b.jpgBowie b&w by Tommytinkroom, on Flickrhttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7069/6973343833_684fd08dfd_b.jpgBowie topaz denoise by Tommytinkroom, on Flickr
― gazelleonstage, Sunday, 11 March 2012 19:17 (twelve years ago) link
buffandmaxsmom?
― You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God (crüt), Sunday, 11 March 2012 19:19 (twelve years ago) link
Sorry forgot this one.http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7196/6827233380_64554bb110_b.jpgBowie Gold by Tommytinkroom, on Flickr
― gazelleonstage, Sunday, 11 March 2012 19:19 (twelve years ago) link
Bowie's libretto might represent a new low (see what I did there) for unreadable musician prose. I love Outside though. "Thru These Architects' Eyes" and "Strangers When We Meet" made my top twenty. The latter is his best love song.
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 11 March 2012 20:08 (twelve years ago) link
Also this doesn't get enough play, AFAIC:
Eno may or may not have written "Warszawa".
The oft told story about Eno writing the music while Bowie was away has never rung true to me.* ** *** The music not only sounds completely different than anything Eno was writing at the time -- it's completely different than anything he's written since. Also, so much of it is on Chamberlain, which was hardly his instrument of choice.
*I'm not thinking of "Art Decade" am I? ** No I'm not. Per Eno in a 1978 interview with Glenn O’Brien:
Then there were two days when David had to go to Paris because he was being sued by someone, so rather than wasting the studio time I decided to start a piece on my own, with the understanding that if he didn’t like it I’d use it myself or something. I just couldn’t face wasting the studio time. So I started working on that piece and in fact all the instrumentation was finished when David got back, and he put the vocals on top. That was “Warszawa.” It was a very clear division of labor.
― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 11 March 2012 20:20 (twelve years ago) link
Bowie's libretto might represent a new low (see what I did there) for unreadable musician prose.
See, this is what kills me. The guy spends 25 years burying characters he writes about in Burroughs cut-up techniques, stories that have no resolution and references that are intentionally oblique -- and when he adds intentionally tongue-in-cheek monologues to the brew, suddenly it's a bridge too far far, far far far, far far far away.
― Naive Teen Idol, Sunday, 11 March 2012 20:43 (twelve years ago) link