no other Bowie albums made the 100
― fit and working again, Monday, 12 March 2012 03:13 (twelve years ago) link
Did Bowie release Low in time for it to be included on the Voyager missions?
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Monday, 12 March 2012 03:13 (twelve years ago) link
good point, hugo.
― an elk hunt (Ówen P.), Monday, 12 March 2012 03:23 (twelve years ago) link
So glad "The Man Who Sold the World" placed high. What an effing amazing song. Cobain had great taste.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Monday, 12 March 2012 03:37 (twelve years ago) link
xpostI think those NME all time top 100 charts tell the story. I guess in 1985, "normal" Bowie was still a new phenomenon and his role as a postpunk forerunner still meant something. But by the 1988 chart, the highest Bowie entry is Ziggy at 33 (I guess post Never Let Me Down his stock had sunk low) and Low only clocks in at 71. The 1993 list finds Bowie still relatively unpopular (highest entry is Hunky Dory at 38, Low is at 67). Then by 2003, Bowie's stock has risen somewhat, and his highest placing album is Low at 26.
― hugo_w, Monday, 12 March 2012 04:07 (twelve years ago) link
others apparently differ, but i think that the rise and fall (and rise) of bowie's rep must have been more a UK than a US thing, or else concerned critics far more than music fans in general. by the mid-late 80s, his rep as a classic rocker with strong appeal to punks, wavers, goths, indie rockers, & artmusic types was firmly established, and this wasn't much affected by success or failure of his work post let's dance.
― Fozzy Osbourne (contenderizer), Monday, 12 March 2012 04:26 (twelve years ago) link
Someone sheepishly mentioned upthread that they first heard Bowie in a Wes Anderson movie. In fairness to "Queen Bitch", its placement in "The Life Aquatic" is far more of a marquee billing than at the end of "Hunky Dory".
― an elk hunt (Ówen P.), Monday, 12 March 2012 05:34 (twelve years ago) link
Was it though? The late nineties/early noughties marked the beginning of the Low ascendancy I'd have thought. Bowie was performing it live in its entirety, Radiohead had taken a Low-like turn towards electronica, Pitchfork placed Low no. 1 in its list of top 100 albums in the 70s...
― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 12 March 2012 11:32 (twelve years ago) link
The Bowie entry (by Rob Sheffield) calls STS his best ("the one where Major Tom learned how to dance").
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 12 March 2012 11:50 (twelve years ago) link
His Bowie entry might be the best thing Sheffield did in that book.
― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 12 March 2012 13:22 (twelve years ago) link
Alfred otm; the only album that made the list at the back of the record guide was ChangesOneBowie, but Station to Station was the only "regular album" that got a 10 was Station. iirc Low got a 9...
― top 100 comedy facepalms of all time (loves laboured breathing), Monday, 12 March 2012 14:54 (twelve years ago) link
Someone sheepishly mentioned upthread that they first heard Bowie in a Wes Anderson movie.
I think that was me...but what I actually said (sheepishly, yes) was that it was Life Acquatic that got me to love "Queen Bitch." I'd owned Hunky Dory for a few years at that point--came to the album very late--but for whatever reason didn't take much notice of the song the one or two times I played it.
― clemenza, Monday, 12 March 2012 20:25 (twelve years ago) link
"Queen Bitch" was #2 on my ballot and it was the same for me. Thank you Wess Andersson
― an elk hunt (Ówen P.), Monday, 12 March 2012 21:01 (twelve years ago) link
I've been listening to a lot of Paul Simon the last few days for the new poll, but keep going back to Bowie on Spotify like I'm sneaking out back to have a smoke.
― Carlos Pollomar (WmC), Monday, 12 March 2012 21:17 (twelve years ago) link
First time I ever heard "The Man Who Sold the World" was Nirvana's cover. Btw, if you want to g00gle the chords, the top two results say it's by Nirvana. Makes me nostalgic for the Napster days. ("Foxy Lady" by the Beatles, etc)
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Monday, 12 March 2012 21:21 (twelve years ago) link
I first heard Low during the summer of 1989 when I was a summer boarder in the city and one of the fellows living in the house had a copy. I only knew his radio hits at the time, and a few videos from Lodger that MuchMusic would occasionally play. I didn't know anything about the album and Side 1 blew my mind. It still sounds incredibly fresh and exciting today. Side 2 took a lot longer to get into - in fact, it's only recently that I have more than a slight tolerance for mostly instrumental music (thanks Harmonia). Anyway, people can have a genuine preference for this album without trying to be trendy.
I'd shortlisted "Hallo Spaceboy," "We Prick You," and a couple of other post-SM tracks, but in the end there was too much good stuff from the 70s for them to have any hope on my ballot.
― Kent Burt, Sunday, 18 March 2012 00:45 (twelve years ago) link
Listening to "Heroes" for the first time in 21 years. It's not that I disliked it when I first heard it, but it got pushed aside once I had my first experiences with John Coltrane and Albert Ayler. Anyway, I wish I'd listened to this during voting, because "Sense of Doubt" would've been in my top 5, easy.
― we can be gyros just for one day (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 21 March 2012 02:30 (twelve years ago) link
Following up on the experiment some dude did with the Stones poll numbers, here's a comparison of the actual album voting with the cumulative point totals for songs by album.
Album results:1. LOW (1977) - 325 points2. STATION TO STATION (1976) - 306 points3. HUNKY DORY (1971) - 198 points4. THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS (1972) - 153 points5. "HEROES" (1977) - 135 points6. LODGER (1979) - 135 points7. ALADDIN SANE (1973) - 112 points8. DIAMOND DOGS (1974) - 87 points9. SCARY MONSTERS (1980) - 60 points10. YOUNG AMERICANS (1975) - 28 points11. OUTSIDE (1995) - 14 points12. THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD - 13/3/014. (tie) DAVID LIVE - 7/1/014. (tie) STAGE - 7/1/016. (tie) LET'S DANCE - 6/2/016. (tie) SPACE ODDITY - 6/2/017. BLACK TIE WHITE NOISE - 3/1/021. (tie) Changesonebowie - 1/1/021. (tie) EARTHLING - 1/1/021. (tie) HEATHEN - 1/1/021. (tie) LABYRINTH (soundtrack) - 1/1/0
...and the albums ranked by how many points their tracks were given:
1. Hunky Dory - 43702. Low - 41373. Station to Station - 37313. Ziggy Stardust - 37315. Scary Monsters - 27126. "Heroes" - 26987. Aladdin Sane - 22808. Lodger - 20109. Young Americans - 169210. Diamond Dogs - 166611. Let's Dance - 106712. The Man Who Sold the World - 95913. Space Oddity - 80114. Outside - 34615. Black Tie White Noise - 13616. Heathen - 13217. Earthling - 120
― improvised explosive advice (WmC), Monday, 9 April 2012 20:41 (twelve years ago) link
this was the best poll
― mookieproof, Friday, 6 July 2012 01:25 (eleven years ago) link
sometimes when 'stay' starts up i think it's 'stranglehold' tho
― mookieproof, Friday, 6 July 2012 01:35 (eleven years ago) link
This poll broke my brain
― is capybara gay? (Ówen P.), Friday, 6 July 2012 01:40 (eleven years ago) link
i don't really have anything to say about its order -- i've just been listening to a lot of bowie ever since and it's grebt
― mookieproof, Friday, 6 July 2012 01:44 (eleven years ago) link
Nah the order was cool, I just got plunged back into a teenage level of obsessive thinking that is only reserved for three or four other things
― is capybara gay? (Ówen P.), Friday, 6 July 2012 01:47 (eleven years ago) link
1) alouettes football2) louis spohr3) ?
― mookieproof, Friday, 6 July 2012 02:58 (eleven years ago) link
this poll was in fact better than many television shows I have watched.
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Friday, 6 July 2012 03:02 (eleven years ago) link
Am hoping the Neil Young poll will be equally awesome, although it appears turnout will be significantly less
― yes (loves laboured breathing), Friday, 6 July 2012 05:43 (eleven years ago) link
― Naive Teen Idol, Friday, 6 July 2012 13:14 (eleven years ago) link
This poll and the Led Zeppelin poll were incredibly fun, but this one rearranged my brain towards the artist much more. I loved following the comments because I knew so much less about Bowie coming in than I did by the end. I already knew more than anyone needs to know about Zeppelin.
― grandavis, Friday, 6 July 2012 13:18 (eleven years ago) link
The Beastie Boys poll was also awesome. They're the only two I've ever really got involved in - these big polls are usually too big and involved for me to keep up with.
― Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 6 July 2012 13:22 (eleven years ago) link
ppl totally underrated 'man who sold the world'
― thomp, Friday, 6 July 2012 13:22 (eleven years ago) link
also no votes for the santa monica (i think) record? the live spiders one?
Thomp if you mean they underrated the album TMWSTW then you are so right, but that abum wears "underrated" real well, there's lots to love if you're sympathetic to it
― is capybara gay? (Ówen P.), Friday, 6 July 2012 14:51 (eleven years ago) link
Xp lol mookie, in all honesty if there was a "rank every episode of MASH in order" you'd see a zealousness usually reserved for FF7 otherkin or Radiohead fans
― is capybara gay? (Ówen P.), Friday, 6 July 2012 14:56 (eleven years ago) link
it's my favourite spiders record. well, proto-spiders. don't understand how 'width of a circle' didn't place.
― thomp, Friday, 6 July 2012 15:21 (eleven years ago) link
it's the best bowie tune apart from all the other bowie tunes
― thomp, Friday, 6 July 2012 15:22 (eleven years ago) link
I think you're right
― is capybara gay? (Ówen P.), Friday, 6 July 2012 15:24 (eleven years ago) link
I forgot to vote in this one but yeah, the absence of "Width of a Circle" was pretty surprising.
― cwkiii, Friday, 6 July 2012 15:36 (eleven years ago) link
Showrunning this poll and the LZ poll was (were?) huge fun. I'm glad everyone else seems to have had a good time as well.
― Neil Jung (WmC), Friday, 6 July 2012 15:44 (eleven years ago) link
this poll inspired me to order The Complete David Bowie, which happened to arrive in the mail today!
― Mad God 40/40 (Z S), Friday, 6 July 2012 22:16 (eleven years ago) link
and already, it's making me seek out things. the entry for Ashes to Ashes (which is 6 columns of small text!) mentions that Bowie has cited the 1952 musical number called "Inchworm" as a melodic influence on the song.
― Mad God 40/40 (Z S), Friday, 6 July 2012 22:27 (eleven years ago) link
surprised no one's revived this yet.
― piscesx, Thursday, 14 January 2016 19:58 (eight years ago) link
blackstar would be top 10, lazarus top 15
― glumdalclitch, Thursday, 14 January 2016 20:11 (eight years ago) link
Would be worth repolling in a few years, but not now while people are still rending garments.
― WilliamC, Thursday, 14 January 2016 20:15 (eight years ago) link
Also would be worth repolling because the body of work is complete (give or take five songs).
― WilliamC, Thursday, 14 January 2016 20:16 (eight years ago) link
Yeah, I'd be interested to see what happens if we redid this in a little while. Right now I think Blackstar and Lazaras might even be in with a shout of winning.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Monday, 18 January 2016 10:55 (eight years ago) link
the Jack Doherty interview mentioned many posts above is here. i'd never seen it but yeah it's quite something
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yL4xxGE73E
christ this poll was *five years* ago.
― piscesx, Monday, 2 October 2017 23:16 (six years ago) link
it's a hell of a life when "lady grinning soul" isn't even one of your top 60 songs
― Karl Malone, Saturday, 30 December 2017 03:01 (six years ago) link
she'llllll coooommme
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 30 December 2017 03:07 (six years ago) link
I revise this thing every year. It's hard to dump a song.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 30 June 2018 01:59 (five years ago) link
fans might want to check out this 3-hour career survey / interview with Chris O'Leary from WFMU
http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/84321
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 21 February 2019 23:28 (five years ago) link