David Bowie General Thread

Anyone wanna talk about Bowie?
Anyone??
Please?

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=6DSP6TDJ_Rw
youtube.com/watch?v=-42QFmgzVo4
youtube.com/watch?v=Hbk0vIsP2DM
youtube.com/watch?v=RY6zRmCzYj4
youtube.com/watch?v=dgYqWGkVRm8
youtube.com/watch?v=9HsKuYmcWsA
youtube.com/watch?v=IFOtIiRzFtQ
youtube.com/watch?v=9G4jnaznUoQ
twitter.com/SFWRedditVideos

Sure

Station to Station is his best album and song

I love that album too, personally I'd choose Golden Years as my favorite off that album.

As for my favorite album I'd go with Diamond Dogs.

(Then again for me personally he's only ever released one bad album)

Golden Years is fantastic too. An almost perfect song.

What would that one bad album be? I would say he has 7 or 8 bad albums including Tin Machine, and he's still my favourite artist of all time.

I'm finished with Hunky Dory, starting Aladdin Sane, and it's all right, I really like Aladdin Sane and Time. What album should I go next?

..Alright ya got me there. If we're including Tin Machine he has 3 bad albums

As for MY bad album pick well....it's the obvious choice.

Well Ziggy Stardust seems like a good choice to listen to next if you're listening to his Glam Rock era.

What are other his "eras" like? I mean I've seen some space techno stuff, some disco stuff from him... what about 90's, 00's and 10's Bowie?

Station to Station, Low, Ziggy and Heroes are essentials in my opinion, and then TMWSTW, Young Americans. Outside, Lodger, Heathen, Blackstar, etc are all great albums worth listening to beyond that

So you don't find his debut to be bad? For me it's his worst

what's with that?
Tin Machine (the album) is as good as hard rock gets
unless you really are against hard rock I don't see anything bad about it

imo Hunky Dory is the quintessential record
also my favorite followed by Station to Station and Ziggy. Haven't heard anything after Low tho... is any of it worth the time

oh and
I didn't quite like the A-Side of Low except for Sound and Vision
pleb me

>So you don't find his debut to be bad? For me it's his worst
not him but why is this opinion so often mentioned? is it a meme/am I missing something?

Well it's certainly a lot weaker compared to his others but I wouldn't call it BAD per say, there's a few highlights (Silly Boy Blue, Uncle Arthur, In the Heat of the Morning if you include the deluxe edition)

Because it's truly a generic and uninspired record. It's good to listen to and then see the absolutely monstrous jump in quality but it really has no real redeeming qualities.

It's just goofy and a bit cringeworthy. Especially when you consider Sgt Peppers and Piper at the Gates of Dawn were released in the same year. I once read a review that said you have to be British to understand the over the top quintessential Brit sillyness of it all, but even as a southern Brit who grew up in a village it's too much for me.

Space Oddity is a vast imrpovement, and even one of his most underrated records (Letter To Hermione, Cygnet Committee)

Oh buddy there's a lot to cover so you're gonna have to follow me here (Forgive me if I miss anything)

1967-1969: His beginning years. He did a lot of Psychadelic and mod rock during this time. He released 2 self titled albums (one later being renamed space oddity, and being a LOOOT better in quality)

1970 - He Released a hard rock/metal album called "The Man Who Sold the World", pretty good album, a lot more hard edged than the stuff he would release in the following years

1971-1973: His glam rock era, debatably his most beloved by fans. All of the albums in this era got critical acclaim (Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane) . Also Pinups was there which....is something I guess

(cont.)

I completely agree, especially the production/instrumentation, some of the best that's ever been on his albums.

1974-1976 His funk/Soul era. This is where he did a lot more urban and funk music....along with a fuck ton of cocaine. Tons of great albums were released during this time too. Diamond Dogs being my personal favorite

1977-1979: The Berlin Trilogy, and experimental era consisting of the albums Low, "Heroes" and Lodger, the first two albums being more experimental and ambiant albums while Lodger was more mainstream/world music. He worked with Brian Eno for all 3 albums.

well I see you both have a point of view because I see it has rhythm, rhymes, a young Bowie voice sound, and makes me giggle with the stories told in the lyrics

It's almost like you hate it for trying to be fun instead of serious
hmmm

or maybe Bowie had a weird sense of humour, which I, for whatever reason, enjoy

after?

1980: His return to more mainstream music, released "Scary Monsters", a new wave album which had the big singles "Fashion" and "Ashes to Ashes".

1983-1987: His 'commecial era', releasing the 3 more poppy albums Let's Dance, Tonight, and Never Let Me Down, while the first got major critical success the latter 2 were panned by most Bowie fans for being too poppy (Although I personally like Tonight) and he decided to do an artistic revivalry

1988-1991: Tin Machine. Shitty Blues Band. Avoid at all costs. Awful.

>It's almost like you hate it for trying to be fun instead of serious
It just lacks any sense of "fun" too me and comes off as extremely amateurish. I get that it's his first record so that's to be expected, but it doesn't possess any of the qualities I love about Bowie's music aside from the fact that it has Bowie's name on it. As the other user said, Space Oddity is *vastly* superior

See Continued:

1992-1998: His 'electronic era', and era I VERY much enjoyed, after his marriage to Iman it inspired the album "Black Tie White Noise", a kind of jazzy-electro album (in my top 5), and he continued the electronic theme with Buddah of Suburbia (A soundtrack album), 1. Outside (A concept Industrial album done with Brian Eno), and Earthing (A drum and Bass album that I also loved).

1999-2004: While he still experimented slightly with the instrumentation this was more of a softened era (Especially 'hours...', which wasn't bad but definitely a softer album in comparison to his earlier ones). He released the albums Heathen and Reality in the 2000s, pretty great albums, though he went into a temporary retirement due to a heart attack in 04.

thank you man for summing Bowie up so nicely. Please continue.

And then there's 2013-2016, his final years, which consisted of "The Next Day" and "Blackstar", one being a softer album reminiscing on life, and the other being a rough jazz album reminiscing on the end of it. Both of which were great albums

In summary: He's pretty damn awesome. Just avoid 1987-1991 and you should be good.

Did I miss anything??

After I covered just about everything (if anyone thinks I missed anything please let me know). Do you have any questions about any of his specific albums?

What's your top 5? You seems like very experienced bowie man.

Okay so his weak albums as of so far:

David Bowie (1967)
Pinups (1973) t.b.h. my second most disliked for being so forgettable
Never Let Me Down (1987)
Both Tin Machine albums (1989 and 1991)

Everything else I think is great. One of the most consistent artists ever.

>David bowie
>weak album

Blackstarfag detected.

Keep in mind my Top 5 is probably gonna be different from a LOT of other Bowie fans.

1. Diamond Dogs [Funk] (1974)
2. Earthing [D&B] (1997)
3. Aladdin Sane [Glam Rock] (1973)
4. Heathen [Art Rock] (2002)
5. Black Tie White Noise [Jazz/Electronic] (1993)

Dude I'm just going by what's been said in the thread so far. I never said it was BAD, just weaker compared to all his other amazing stuff.

(Cont.)
The only ones I think are outright B A D are Never Let Me Down, Tin Machine, and Tin Machine II.

i think his debut album has some good melodies actually

youtube.com/watch?v=6DSP6TDJ_Rw

Yeah Silly Boy Blue and In the Heat of the Morning have some of the best melodies in his career. Just some others don't hold up as well, not a BAD album, just weaker.

i do agree that it's pretty shitty
just surprisingly catchy
youtube.com/watch?v=-42QFmgzVo4

Prepare yourself for Bowie's worst song.

youtube.com/watch?v=Hbk0vIsP2DM

Sorry forgot to tag you to the top 5

this is worse imo
youtube.com/watch?v=RY6zRmCzYj4

Oh god I always forget about this one.
It sounds like a damn sitcom opening.

Get a load of this though.
youtube.com/watch?v=dgYqWGkVRm8

What's the more pleb friendly album besides Ziggy? i'm thinking about Diamond Dogs and of course TMWSTW but i don't know.
I wanna introduce Bowie to my gf, halp.

Go with one of the glam rock era albums. Hunky Dory, Ziggy, or Aladdin Sane. That's a good place to start to introduce anyone to Bowie. Or if you're interested in compilations there's 2 REALLY good ones.

yeah that's pretty atrocious

is it bad that i actually like glass spider?

Nah, I ain't judging, man.
Besides, who am I to judge, I liked the entire Tonight album....A lot.

(People are gonna have my head for saying that)

ive yet to hear it
but a really love the album cover

I REALLY loved it but most bowie fans hated it for it's pop-y sound. I LOVED the instrumentation

Here's a personal favorite of mine
youtube.com/watch?v=9HsKuYmcWsA

RIP thread.

For me personally, his weak albums are;
S/T
Pin Ups
Tonight (fucking love that album art though. Opening track is great too)
Never Let Me Down

and then I consider Black Tie, Earthing and Hours to be "average"

Okay I feel stupid for asking this but what the heck is ST suppose to be? Space Oddity? Sorry i'm just bad with acronyms.

And yeah I can understand the Hours being average thing, but I personally think Black Tie and Earthling are underrated.

world altering classic
1. Heroes 10.0
2. Young Americans 10.0
3. Low 10.0
4. Scary Monsters 10.0
5. Station to Station 10.0

minor masterpiece
6. Lodger 9.5
7. Let's Dance 9.3

great but flawed
8. Black Tie White Noise 8.5
9. Diamond Dogs 8.4
10. Aladdin Sane 8.3
11. The Man Who Sold the World 8.3
12. Space Oddity 8.1
13. Blackstar 8.0

good but inconsistent
14. Heathen 7.9
15. Ziggy Stardust 7.8
16. Earthling 7.5
17. Hunky Dory 7.5
18. Outside 7.2

pretty decent but less inspired
19. Tonight 7.0
20. Reality 6.9
21. The Next Day 6.8
22. The Buddha of Suburbia 6.7
23. Hours 6.4

mediocre and verging on bad at points
24. Don't Let Me Down 5.0

Not heard:
First self titled
Tin Machine records

Live albums
Bowie at the Beeb 6.1
David Live 10.0
Stage 9.5

I think the combo of David Live and Stage (which don't repeat any songs) would be a good introduction. Apparently some people hate David Live- I'm chalking it up to a race thing. Young Americans was also apparently hated and controversial for appropriating black music (note- hated for this among many *whites* and appreciated more by African Americans).

And oh yeah, Labyrinth has pretty good songs but I don't have/haven't heard the full soundtrack.

Really good breakdown of the albums, though I'd dare say you're being a little generous giving Never Let Me Down a 5. But yeah the others I can see why you rated them that way.

Is there anyone else who thinks that Diamond Dogs sounds really cold/stiff? Rebel Rebel is fine but there's not a lot else from DD that does it for me.

(cont): I'd probably rate them too but I'm almost certain I'd give too many of them 10's and 9's (based on personal taste alone).

>He is still dead
;_; can anyone even compare? or is this an eternal void on the music industry?

S/T is Self-Titled.

I agree with some of these and others irritate me. Ziggy only at a 7.8? Hunky Dory a 7.5? Let's Dance rated higher than lots of his best work? WAT

I'm leaning more towards "Eternal Void". ;_;
What's your favorite Bowie album?

i agree that his debut album is nothing special

but putting it up against sgt pepper is kinda retarded tbqh Lennon and McCartney were arguably at their creative peaks at the time where as bowie was just starting out

Oh I gotcha now my bad man. Sorry for not understanding.

ziggy and hunky are way too low and young americans is a bit too high

No worries, man. I think Black Tie and Earthling have some great songs on them too but I feel like both records are all over the place in terms of quality, so I have a hard time considering them good. If they were EPs of only the best tracks, I would love them but as they are, they just have too much filler. Black Tie is definitely when Bowie started getting back on track though after his misguided late 80's material.

Screw it. I'm gonna take a crack at rating his albums
This is entirely based on personal taste.
I'm sure someone's gonna hate me when they see it.

10/10 Albums: Space Oddity, Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs, Young Americans, Station to Station, Low, Lodger, Scary Monsters, Black Tie, Earthling, Heathen,

9/10 albums: Heroes, Tonight,

8/10 albums: Let's Dance, Reality

7/ 10 albums: David Bowie, Buddah of Suburbia, Outside, Hours, The Next Day

5/10 album: Pinups

2/10 or less: Never Let Me Down, Tin Machine, Tin Machine 2.

Oh yeah I got what you mean man after 86 everything just freaking plummeted for Bowie.

You forgot Blackstar!

Just realized that. My mistake. I'm leaning more towards 10 for Blackstar.

So what do ya think of the rankings?

I'm currently listening to him
I listened Low, Rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust, Alladin Sane, The man who sold the world and Hunky Dory.
Planning to watch the Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars Motion Picture this weekend

All fantastic choices, man. Haven't watched that film yet, I DID watch the Reality concert video though. I thought it was great.

Some of them are a little too high for me, but overall I'd say a very solid ranking of his discography.

I figured I gave some too high ones. I just REALLY love Bowie. Which ones are too high for you? (I'm guessing Tonight and Black Tie)

>Black Tie in the 10 spot
>Outside in the 7 spot
>Tonight & Reality over The Next Day

I am slowly being convinced I am the only human being that really likes Tonight.

Also cmon man, Black Tie is awesome.

I'll rank all of them, since we generally seem to have the same taste, just with varying scores

10/10:
Ziggy Stardust
Low
Station to Station
Heroes

9/10:
The Man Who Sold the World
Hunky Dory
Scary Monsters
Blackstar
Aladdin Sane

8/10:
Space Oddity
Diamond Dogs
Young Americans
Heathen
Reality
Lodger
The Next Day

7/10:
Outside

6/10:
Let's Dance

5/10:
Earthling
Black Tie
Hours

4/10:
Pin Ups
Tonight
David Bowie

2/10:
Never Let Me Down

It looks like you didn't listen to Tin Machine so I'd say you're VERY lucky.

So what parts did you like and dislike about Earthling and Black Tie? I think you said earlier you liked about half of those albums so I'm just curious to which parts were the highlights.

I've heard the Tin Machine albums probably once apiece and it was several years ago, so I just kind of erased them from my memory. I'd have to hear them again to rank them but I was extremely unimpressed (to the point that I've only heard them once).

Black Tie has the opener and closer, Looking for Lester. I Know it's Gonna Happen Someday and my favorite track on the record - Pallas Athena
Earthling I have a harder time pinning down highlights.

I think it's generally agreed by Bowie fans Tin Machine was a big mistake.

You like Looking for Lester. Fantastic taste confirmed. That was my favorite on the album.

What about Nite Flights and Jump They Say? Did you like them?

And as for Earthling my favorites are the singles, Little Wonder, Dead Man Walking, and I'm Afraid of Americans. Thoughts on those?

I should've added Jump They Say to the highlights. The second half of that song was great. From one guy to another, he was also damn good looking in that video. Nite Flights was solid too for that matter.

Little Wonder, the drums annoy the hell out of me but that chorus is really great and I wish I liked the rest of the song as much as the chorus and the outro. "SO FAR AWAY, SO SO FAR AWAY". I'm Afraid of Americans is absolutely a highlight and I completely forgot about it. Best song on the album, easily. It's a wonderful mixture of Bowie and Nine Inch Nails.

Part of the problem I have with Black Tie and Earthling are the fact that they feel so dated. Most of Bowie's stuff is so timeless but those two albums absolutely feel like a product of their time.

The Next Day kicks ass

Well dated doesn't have to be a BAD thing, I mean yeah I agree they have very 90s sound but let's face it the 90s had some good ass sounds in it. Sometimes products of the time can be pretty good products. Ya get what I mean?

TONS of stuff after Low kicked ass. That poor guy is missing out.

You know something, everyone swears up and down thay Low is his best album. I really didn't like it all the much, and it doesn't even compare to Heroes or Hunky Dory.
Also, I am a huge fan of Scary Monsters. It's a great album and it's only a couple after Low

Can I ask why ya didn't like it that much??

I feel you, but I think the sounds on those records hold them back. It's funny too because I like Outside (and would rank it much higher if it was shorter and had less filler. There's some truly stellar stuff on there) and even though it's sandwiched between those two albums, I feel like it absolutely outclasses them.

Completely agree on the filler thing, but in general I preferred the more upbeat sounds on the albums that proceeded and followed it.

Not to say it's bad by any means. Had lots of great songs. Small Plot of Land, Hallo Spaceboy, and ESPECIALLY Strangers When we Meet.

But it did end up having a song that I found being one of the worst I ever heard from Bowie.
youtube.com/watch?v=IFOtIiRzFtQ

>Small Plot of Land, Hallo Spaceboy, and ESPECIALLY Strangers When we Meet
All of my yes for all three of those songs. A Small Plot of Land is my favorite track on that album and I could listen to it on repeat for hours. with the other two tracks thrown in here and there.

>Wishful Beginnings
Prime example of filler and one of his worst for sure. I don't even understand why he included it when it's practically nothing.

I think that song was the entire reason I thought so little of the album for almost a year, it wasn't till a few re listens I started to appreciate the album, but...Damn that song is so bad.

So here's a question, what do you think Bowie's WORST song is? I have a list of a few but...it's a small list since it's Bowie we're talking about.

youtube.com/watch?v=9G4jnaznUoQ

Oh god...that....
I find it funny how they still put it on "BEST of" compilations.

...I wish I could forget this exists.
It always comes back
Why do they put it on "Best of" compilations?

(Sorry about the double message that was unintentional)

Anyway here's my short list of worst Bowie songs:
Laughing Gnome (DB)
Sense of Doubt (Heroes)
Without You (Let's Dance)
Ricochet (Let's Dance)
Dancing in the Street
This is Not America
Everything but Time Will Crawl (NLMD)
Wishful Beginnings (Outside)
I'm Deranged (Outside)
Something in the Air (Hours)
If I'm Dreaming of My Life (Hours)
Days (Reality)

I think that's about it for songs I outright HATE.

>Laughing Gnome (DB)
Oh god lol

>I'm Deranged (Outside)
>Days (Reality)
I actually don't hate these songs. I really like I'm Deranged and Days is.. Well, it doesn't feel at all like a David Bowie song. It feels like he wanted to write a song like Margaritaville or something. For Bowie I could see it qualifying as bad, but as a random song, it doesn't bother me though.

It just feels REALLY out of place on that album. And the melody was debatably one of the worst he's written. I'm surprised it WASN'T a cover.

I can agree with everything you just said, so maybe I do hate it and you've changed my mind? Maybe.

Anyway, I'm gonna hop off and grab a bite to eat and whatnot. It's been a pleasure having such a civil conversation about the Bowie God with you user, such that I felt compelled to say goodbye! Stay classy.

My nigga

>Cheena so sound, so titi up this malchick, say
What did he mean by this?

Was great talking to you too, kind sir. Felt great having this convo. Have a good evening :)

I like it too. The opener's one of his best, a lot of the tracks have a bittersweet and gloomy pop vibe to them (Don't Look Down, Tumble & Twirl), and the album's incredibly energetic and fun at parts. Cover's gorgeous too.

FINALLY! Someone else who likes Tonight!!!!

I typed my code wrong

ayyyy 311

>I'm Deranged
>Days
What the fuck? These are some of his best songs.

What's your favorite Bowie album, senpai? I rated them all earlier.

With that weak ass melody? Senpai I don't think so.

Blackstar and 1.Outside are nearly tied. Station To Station and Hours are amazing for me too.

...I happen to like Club Bowie a lot too. Might be the only human who likes that...