David Bowie R.I.P

Late 30s is old age?

He wasn't even that old!

On that never to be forgotten day of September 1st, 1984, when "Tonight" was released, he'd been a recording artist for 20 years.

I'm sure this has been documented or explored elsewhere, but does anyone know what exactly happened to Bowie in the early '80s? Was it just the siren call of MTV pushing him to change his approach? Sobriety? I've never understood how this unstoppable train went off the rails so abruptly.

― Professor Bworlph (Old Lunch), Thursday, January 14, 2016

He'd experienced a similar pre-MTV success in America in 1975 but sabotaged it in 1977. Age had something to do with it. And dough. He'd been the world's biggest cult artist for years; he needed money. Plus, by all accounts the Let's Dance success genuinely flummoxed him.

Listening to the Berlin era instrumentals make me wish that a much better version of Heavy Metal had been made and that Bowie had done the score.

Five Years is really very good. Carlos Alomar, Ava Cherry, Nic Roeg, Fripp, Nile, Wakeman - they're all in there, they're all good value.
Wow, sounds great.

Bowie's half of the labyrinth OST might be his mid 80s high point. It's so much fucking fun. And half of Thomas Dolby's band on "chilly down"!

It's very good tho you also have to listen to British music journalists Charles Shaar Murray and John Harris as well as Camille Lapglia which is a chore.

CSM is forced to read his own negative NME review of Low on camera though. That's quite funny.

Late 30s is old age?

rock n roll, mate

wow, I had no idea Bowie went back to snorting coke in the mid-80s, though it would certainly explain a lot. That Spin article was mentioned way upthread, does anyone have a link or a scan?

fwiw i kinda liked "Pretty Pink Rose"

after the brilliant live aid performance i have often wondered what a proper album length collaboration with thomas dolby would have ended up like.
think they could have definitely made an interesting album together.

i tried to watch some of this the other day. didn't get far. fun to skip around through though. just so much 80's....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9fQTQ6z324

so much guitar wank.

Nina, calling out for David like the rest of us:

https://www.facebook.com/a2theRon/videos/10209026686089968/

and then you're all oh right charlie sexton...

Glass Spider so shitty I need to post this. Mere three years later!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtU4-dil84g

Nice of him to bring Frampton in, though. Always dug his playing.

Writers have estimated that by the conclusion of the tour between two[45] and six[6] million people had attended, with another source suggesting that three million fans saw the tour worldwide.[2]

Four of the tour's shows were among the Top 20 grossing concert shows of the year 1987 in the US, and at the end of 1987 it was estimated that the entire tour grossed more than $50 million.[45] In 1991, it was estimated that each show of the tour grossed US$1 million,[46] for roughly $86 million over the course of the tour (or approximately $179 million today, adjusted for inflation).[21]

And after all that, Never Let Me Down never rose higher than #34 (in the US).

from my promo days i have a dvd/2cd set of the glass spider tour.
i have yet to watch or listen to it all the way through.

Forgot all about this. I'd like to think he saw it and had a laugh:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FODvjYoVEi8

"Glass Spider so shitty I need to post this. Mere three years later!"

three years in bowie world is like three decades for normal people.

listened to Heathen today, some really great songs on there. 'Afraid'!

Still working through the discography. A thing I'm realizing is that, for me, the blinding brilliance of some of his work has occluded songs that are still brilliant if not quite as blinding. I just heard 'Move On' as if it were the first time I've ever heard it. Such a lovely song that I've tended to overlook while still reeling from 'African Night Flight'.

Sound + Vision suffered from having Belew handle all the guitar (although Bowie played more rhythm than he ever had or would again) and lots of keyboard presets but Bowie's in good voice and the songs are consistently well performed.

Thus far, from Hunky Dory through Lodger, there have been maybe 3 or 4 songs I could take or leave. Most albums that I like have roughly the same number of meh tracks.

oh my god, "Move On" is incredible, it's in my top 10

belew is a dominator. i don't need a lot of him in my life. sorry belew fans!

(like i love that talking heads 1980 live stuff except for him...and there is a lot of him...)

Heard "Pretty Pink Rose" the other day...very Robert Palmer-esque, couldn't help imagining rows of supermodels gyrating behind Belew'n'Bowie as they performed it.

THAT was the first Bowie-involved single I ever owned!

and if I'm not mistaken MTV did play it for a while in early summer '90, perhaps as Sound + Vision tie-in.

Yep, saw it that summer on MTV. Thought it was an OK song, but I only ever heard it the one time.

Now you can hear it again!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDWPyVCT0X4

In other news, Britt Daniel has covered "Never Let Me Down": https://soundcloud.com/spoontheband/never-let-me-down

belew is a dominator. i don't need a lot of him in my life. sorry belew fans!

― scott seward, Thursday, January 14, 2016 2:13 PM (18 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

there's an old showbiz axiom:

"no Belew, career is through/
Belew onstage, you've got it made"

Now you can hear it again!

Wow...it's a lot worse than I remember. Belew should never sing.

I actually love some of his playing -- with Talking Heads, on the Bowie 1978 live stuff, on Lodger -- but then he'll do some shit that's like, "Don't forget, I used to play with Zappa!" (and Zappa only ever encouraged musicians' worst tendencies)

you mean you don't like "Oh Daddy"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY7kXn-VssM

Ned, I just read your trilogy of posts. Thank you. It made me cry.

you mean you don't like "Oh Daddy"?

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wow there's something I haven't seen since it was originally released

xp

I own Mr Music Head and Young Lions, which, like Lenny Kravitz and Peter Murphy records from the same period, served as excellent intros to their influences.

Ned, I just read your trilogy of posts. Thank you. It made me cry.

You're most welcome.

Very good new interview with Carlos Alomar here

http://m.pitchfork.com/thepitch/998-what-its-like-to-play-guitar-with-david-bowie/

As much as I love (LOVE) many of the songs that are justly feted as his best, 'It's No Game' is the Bowie song that just completely SLAYS me every single time I hear it. Jesus christ, this thing!

I thought this was an interesting contrast to OP's take on Bowie as a 'non-musician', from someone whose musicianship is uncontestable: https://www.facebook.com/PatMetheny/photos/a.179159189925.126351.25511069925/10153453633734926/?type=3&theater

(My kneejerk response, as someone who is more on-the-fence about Bowie, was to agree with OP's take, although I began to question it afterwards.)

("On the fence" = love some things)

Two guys from Canada with fancy schmancy classical training pooh-poohing someone's musicianship non-shockah

Actually, I was posting a defence of his musicianship.