If Music Could Talk

Dr. Medulla wrote:

Wolter wrote:

wmhp wrote:

MadModWorld wrote: http://www.davidbowieisverydisappointedinyou.com/

He looks like that woman from Kate and Ally who was in third rock

Jane Curtain, man! She was in the original SNL cast!

Nothing but an ignorant slut.

Well of course.

To the TREK THREAD for my Jane Curtain observation.

I've been listening to the bonus disc on the anniversary edition, with early versions of several songs, including MD. Great stuff.
[youtube][/youtube]

tepista wrote:I've been listening to the bonus disc on the anniversary edition, with early versions of several songs, including MD. Great stuff.
[youtube][/youtube]

I still think "Holy, Holy," "Sweet Head," and "Velvet Goldmine" (as well as pretty much every completed version of a song from that era) are as good as anything on Ziggy. Bowie from 1972-73 was firing on all cylinders.

Wolter wrote:
I still think "Holy, Holy," "Sweet Head," and "Velvet Goldmine" (as well as pretty much every completed version of a song from that era) are as good as anything on Ziggy. Bowie from 1972-73 was firing on all cylinders.

His throwaways were as good as anything anybody ever did!

tepista wrote:

Wolter wrote:
I still think "Holy, Holy," "Sweet Head," and "Velvet Goldmine" (as well as pretty much every completed version of a song from that era) are as good as anything on Ziggy. Bowie from 1972-73 was firing on all cylinders.

His throwaways were as good as anything anybody ever did!

Exactly.

I screwed up by buying a comp (I was pressured). I will dig in eventually.

He does at least have a great eye for talent.

matedog wrote:I screwed up by buying a comp (I was pressured). I will dig in eventually.

He does at least have a great eye for talent.

Bowie from 1969-1980 is just good music, with very few missteps. Even my least favorite album of the era, Young Americans, is fun.

I would start with Ziggy (it's how I did). The 30th anniversary version has a bonus disc with demos, b-sides, outtakes, and a remix of a single of the era. The album is pretty much perfect, and the bonus material is pretty damn crucial as well.

Wolter wrote:

matedog wrote:I screwed up by buying a comp (I was pressured). I will dig in eventually.

He does at least have a great eye for talent.

Bowie from 1969-1980 is just good music, with very few missteps. Even my least favorite album of the era, Young Americans, is fun.

I would start with Ziggy (it's how I did). The 30th anniversary version has a bonus disc with demos, b-sides, outtakes, and a remix of a single of the era. The album is pretty much perfect, and the bonus material is pretty damn crucial as well.

That would have been helpful a year ago. Instead I got all this waffling about "this album is good for this, this album is good for that."

I need direction!

Wolter wrote:

matedog wrote:I screwed up by buying a comp (I was pressured). I will dig in eventually.

He does at least have a great eye for talent.

Bowie from 1969-1980 is just good music, with very few missteps. Even my least favorite album of the era, Young Americans, is fun.

I would start with Ziggy (it's how I did). The 30th anniversary version has a bonus disc with demos, b-sides, outtakes, and a remix of a single of the era. The album is pretty much perfect, and the bonus material is pretty damn crucial as well.

Young Americans is plastic R&B nonsense, but it did lead to Station to Station and the late 70s stuff, which merged the danceable rhythms with art rock. It also helped establish him in the US as a major star, so in that sense it was the proverbial transitional work. At least he worked with people who really knew the sound he was trying to ape.

matedog wrote:Instead I got all this well-informed, considered advice about "this album is good for this, this album is good for that."

I need simple direction for my apelike idiot mind!

Explicated.

eumaas wrote:

matedog wrote:
I need to avoid gingers for my apelike mating habits!

Explicated.

Indeed.

IkarisOne wrote: Young Americans is plastic R&B nonsense, but it did lead to Station to Station and the late 70s stuff, which merged the danceable rhythms with art rock. It also helped establish him in the US as a major star, so in that sense it was the proverbial transitional work. At least he worked with people who really knew the sound he was trying to ape.

Agreed. He knew the sound he wanted, and the people who actually knew how to make it. Not my cup of tea, and I would daresay 95% of Bowie fans would agree it's a misstep. But it was the right kind of misstep, because it took him down another very fertile path. Also, as you said, it broke him in the U.S., which meant he could take the risk of falling on his face in Berlin later. And, of course, it informed Station to Station, where he took what he learned and made it his own style.

Damn, even when Bowie fucked up in the 70s it worked.

Wolter wrote:

IkarisOne wrote: Young Americans is plastic R&B nonsense, but it did lead to Station to Station and the late 70s stuff, which merged the danceable rhythms with art rock. It also helped establish him in the US as a major star, so in that sense it was the proverbial transitional work. At least he worked with people who really knew the sound he was trying to ape.

Agreed. He knew the sound he wanted, and the people who actually knew how to make it. Not my cup of tea, and I would daresay 95% of Bowie fans would agree it's a misstep. But it was the right kind of misstep, because it took him down another very fertile path. Also, as you said, it broke him in the U.S., which meant he could take the risk of falling on his face in Berlin later. And, of course, it informed Station to Station, where he took what he learned and made it his own style.

Damn, even when Bowie fucked up in the 70s it worked.

Or when he fucked in the 70s- he moved to Berlin because he fell in love with a tranny cabaret star named Romy Haag. So if that had never happened, Joy Division and Post Punk and the New Romantic movement would have never existed (Hoy pines). As soon as they broke up, the whole Eno Trilogy thing ran aground with Lodger. But Bowie stole all the moves for the Boys Keep Swinging video from Haag and probably met Klaus Nomi through her.

IkarisOne wrote:

Wolter wrote:

IkarisOne wrote: Young Americans is plastic R&B nonsense, but it did lead to Station to Station and the late 70s stuff, which merged the danceable rhythms with art rock. It also helped establish him in the US as a major star, so in that sense it was the proverbial transitional work. At least he worked with people who really knew the sound he was trying to ape.

Agreed. He knew the sound he wanted, and the people who actually knew how to make it. Not my cup of tea, and I would daresay 95% of Bowie fans would agree it's a misstep. But it was the right kind of misstep, because it took him down another very fertile path. Also, as you said, it broke him in the U.S., which meant he could take the risk of falling on his face in Berlin later. And, of course, it informed Station to Station, where he took what he learned and made it his own style.

Damn, even when Bowie fucked up in the 70s it worked.

Or when he fucked in the 70s- he moved to Berlin because he fell in love with a tranny cabaret star named Romy Haag. So if that had never happened, Joy Division and Post Punk and the New Romantic movement would have never existed (Hoy pines). As soon as they broke up, the whole Eno Trilogy thing ran aground with Lodger. But Bowie stole all the moves for the Boys Keep Swinging video from Haag and probably met Klaus Nomi through her.

Hermes, anyone?

We all know this thread isn't complete without this...