| Author | Message | ||
     Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 3779 Registered: 05-2005 |
I heard Low and Heroes for the first time ever yesterday. What fantastic records! Many songs on each I had never heard before. Be My Wife owes a lot to Jimi Hendrix's take on All Along The Watchtower I think. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 2573 Registered: 03-2005 |
How bizarre! How fun for you to discover those Bowie records, Padraig, so far away from the era when Bowie had all that pop sell-out baggage. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1067 Registered: 10-2008 |
i still cant source an rca copy of lodger on cd :-( i would have thought this would have been easier to find than either low and heroes, but i got them relatively easily and quickly considering the prices they go for on ebay. padraig, bowie was incredibly prolific at this point. between 1977 and 78 he released low,heroes and lodger, and was heavily involved with iggy's the idiot and lust for life. if you havent heard the iggy albums i recommend them wholeheartedly. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2135 Registered: 10-2004 |
I finally nabbed a copy of RCA Station to Station for not too much scratch. I've been casually on the look-out for Lodger and Heroes, but haven't seen them at all. Padraig - definitely a fun era of Bowie to discover! It's my favorite period of his, after all. | ||
| Allen Belz Member Username: Abpositive Post Number: 2034 Registered: 09-2006 |
Awhile ago I downloaded Lodger from Filestube, and it came through just fine, except...track two wasn't "African Night Flight," it was the Backstreet Boys' "I Want it That Way." So I went back to download just "African Night Flight" from another source...and it was "I Want it That Way" again!  . A little joke/slap from Bowie, maybe? | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1549 Registered: 08-2006 |
Ha! That's excellent, Allen. Reminds me of the time back in the late 80s a roommate of mine bought "Darkness on the Edge of Town" on CD - sealed and new - and when we got it home the disc inside was Julio Iglesias. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 3781 Registered: 05-2005 |
Kevin, I have Lust For Life. Must get The Idiot. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 2499 Registered: 10-2004 |
I've been accumulating RCA pressings of Bowie's CDs at a snail's pace. I recently got a copy of "Heroes" and it sounds amazing. Prior to this all I had was a needle drop of my less than stellar LP, which sounded fine on side two, but side one suffered from a little surface noise. This CD sounds detailed, clear, dynamic, and musical. I think that has also helped this album to grow on me more, as I'm now a lot more into side one than I used to be. Also got an RCA CD of ChangesOneBowie, and it sounds profoundly better than the Ryko equivalent. Again, very musical and warm. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 1951 Registered: 10-2008 |
As I said in another thread I have been playing Bowie's All Saints quite a lot. I was always firmly of the opinion that side 2 of Low was better than side 2 of Heroes - now I'm not so sure. Hearing the Heroes songs in a different context and order has made me realise they are at least as strong as the Low instrumentals. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2131 Registered: 10-2008 |
Bloody hell, never saw this coming. All indications were that he had retired. http://pitchfork.com/news/49069-david-bo wie-announces-new-album-the-next-day-rel eases-single-video-turns-66/ 2nd play tells me at least its not dreadful. The vibe is very reflective, which is maybe just what we want from Bowie just now! | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2133 Registered: 10-2008 |
The reaction so far from the media is very positive, and based on the single, which is fantastic, so it should be. Here's Tony Visconti's take on the album http://www.factmag.com/2013/01/09/if-peo ple-are-looking-for-classic-bowie-theyll -find-it-on-this-album-producer-tony-vis conti-talks-new-bowie-lp/ | ||
| cosmo vitelli Member Username: Cosmo Post Number: 661 Registered: 05-2005 |
wow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF1QQW0LH NQ | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2143 Registered: 10-2008 |
I found the video below on a link to the Momus song, a bit novelty-ish but shows what a beautiful melody the song has. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meOZJTdY1 Yg My friend reckons he can hear the Cocteau Twins in the Bowie version. I can see where he is coming from, but no way is it a steal, its just the tone of the guitar. I browsed the NME in a shop yesterday, Tony Visconti reckons that the closest reference point for the new album is Scary Monsters, and one song has a Ziggy vibe to it. I've always thought Scary Monsters to be vastly overrated, 3 or 4 fantastic songs but the rest are just average, going through the motions Bowie. Although I guess that still makes it pretty good by most other standards. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5263 Registered: 05-2005 |
I heard the new Bowie song on a car radio while on the way to Dingle, Co Kerry a couple of weeks ago. I thought it sounded fantastic, but haven't heard it since. Looking forward to the album. Did I ever mention the time I saw a secret Bowie gig in Dublin in front of 300 people? Oh joy it was to be alive! | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1713 Registered: 08-2006 |
That'd be something else, Padraig. I saw a small, secret Prince show when he was warming up for the Purple Rain tour, and I realized afterward I'd probably never see a better show - and I was just 18. I can only imagine seeing Bowie in a setting like that. Have you seen the video for the new Bowie tune? It's strange and strangely moving. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2158 Registered: 10-2008 |
I'm just amazed when reading this that nobody has done it before. http://www.factmag.com/2013/02/07/david- bowie-and-iggy-pops-berlin-period-to-be- subject-of-new-hollywood-film/ Casting Bowie might be relatively easy(funnily enough), but who the hell will play Iggy? | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 1125 Registered: 08-2004 |
Maybe Andy Serkis for Iggy? | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2163 Registered: 10-2008 |
Had a bit of a Bowie vinyl fest this afternoon. Hunky Dory, Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs, Station To Station and Heroes. Of these AS and StoS sound very good and not many flaws, but the others are at best just listenable with too many clicks, pops and jumps for my liking. So have been on Discogs and Ebay and ordered Hunky Dory and Heroes. I also bought Low which I haven't had on vinyl for a while(sold years ago), and Ziggy which has been needing replaced for a while now. All are graded Mint or Near Mint, but we'll see when they arrive. Experience has taught me that some peoples versions of Mint and Near Mint are miles away from my definition! | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 3134 Registered: 03-2005 |
Wow, Kevin, you have records with actual jumps? For me, if a record does that it's time to be melted down. I really don't run into that very often at all. However, I have two turntables so that I can make sure the fault lies with the record and not with the tone arm or its adjustments on one of the machines. If you haven't done so you might want to check how level your table is and also the anti-skate setting (assuming it has anti-skate). If you find that all of your records that jump do it on the last track, start looking at your turntable. If there is an automatic function, its trip mechanism might be starting to interfere with proper tracking. On my ancient 1961 Garrard I decided to simply disconnect the linkage for the automatic pickup because once I did that I found that the usual last-song distortion diminished dramatically. Admittedly the ancient Garrard has all the mechanical subtlety of a farm tractor. But it also has the durability of a farm tractor. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2165 Registered: 10-2008 |
Randy, its not my turntable, I'm pretty sure of that. My problem is 2nd hand vinyl!. I sold lots of my original vinyl years ago when I replaced them with CD and fairly recently I started buying buying vinyl again, mostly second hand. Most of it was bought unseen and unheard through sites like ebay, Discogs, GEMM etc and frankly the quality of some of the vinyl is a disgrace, and in no way matches the description in the ad. Sometimes I return it for a refund, but when it comes from outside the UK I just can't be bothered. With the Bowie stuff I have just ordered I have decided to pay a bit extra by plumping for records that are graded Mint or Near Mint, rather that Very Good or Very Good(+) as I have in the past, and am hoping that people who grade their vinyl highly are less likely to be economical with the truth! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5343 Registered: 05-2005 |
I would never be so brave as to buy vinyl online Kevin. Lately I've bought quite a few second hand CDs through Discogs etc and, thankfully, have had no problems. The only time I've ever had a problem with a non-mainstream seller online was when a guy sent me double disc version of The Jam's Snap, despite it supposedly being the three disc version. He got a scathing review from me. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5345 Registered: 05-2005 |
I also got my money back, by the way. I waited till I got the refund before dissing him! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5398 Registered: 05-2005 |
Robert Forster gives the Bowie album a very good review in the new edition of The Monthly magazine. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5399 Registered: 05-2005 |
By the way, here is the set list and a review from The Irish Times of the secret Bowie gig in Dublin in 1997 which I mentioned above. Drum & bass set 1 I'm Deranged 2 Pallas Athena 3 V-2 Schneider 4 Fame 5 O Supermen (Laurie Anderson cover) 6 The Last Thing You Should Do 7 Telling Lies 8 Stay Rock Set 9 Battle for Britain (The Letter) 10 Hallo Spaceboy 11 Fashion 12 Under Pressure 13 Little Wonder 14 The Motel 15 "Heroes" 16 Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) 17 Outside 18 Looking for Satellites 19 The Man Who Sold the World 20 Strangers When We Meet 21 I'm Afraid of Americans 22 Quicksand 23 Seven Years in Tibet 24 The Jean Genie 25 White Light/White Heat (Velvet Underground cover) 26 Queen Bitch 27 Waiting for the Man (Velvet Underground cover) 28 All the Young Dudes 29 Dead Man Walking 30 Fame Bowie play surprise gig for 300 fans By Kevin Courtney / The Irish Times 19th May 1997 DAVID BOWIE played a surprise three-hour show for a small, privileged gathering of 300 fans in Dublin on Saturday night, mixing old hits such as Jean Genie and Fame with newer, dance-influenced songs including Little Wonder and Dead Man Walking. Tickets for the gig, which was held in the Factory rehearsal studios in Barrow Street, Ringsend, were sold to club-goers at the Kitchen nightclub the previous night, and the location was kept secret until early on Saturday evening. Bowie, who celebrated his 50th birthday earlier this year, has been in Dublin for the past month with his wife, Iman, and his band, rehearsing for UK and European dates. Saturday’s concert was a chance to see his festival set in an intimate context before it reaches the big stage. Bowie began with a 45-minute drum ‘n’ bass set, then returned for a full two-hour show which culminated in renditions of Queen Bitch, Quicksand and All The Young Dudes. The private concert was organised by the Quadraphonic drum ‘n’ bass collective, whose club nights in The Kitchen and Andrew’s Lane Theatre have been visited regularly by Bowie. Among the guests at the party were Joe Elliot and Rick Savage of Def Leppard, and members of Garth Brooks’s band. Bowie and his entourage leave Dublin today, but the singer hinted that he might be back to perform in Dublin next August. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2188 Registered: 10-2008 |
Well the reviews of the new album are coming in, and they seem extremely positive. http://anydecentmusic.com/review/5270/Da vid-Bowie-The-Next-Day.aspx The new single was also posted on line today, have listened three times and its pretty underwhelming http://thequietus.com/articles/11496-dav id-bowie-the-stars-are-out-tonight-video Well known Bowie obsessed scribe Chris Roberts has also posted his review, thankfully he reckons that the new single is the weakest track on the album, which he thinks is fantastic. But he is a total Bowie fanboy. http://thequietus.com/articles/11500-dav id-bowie-the-next-day-review | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2194 Registered: 10-2008 |
Listened to the new album twice on the Itunes stream. First impressions are that its certainly not "stadium rock" as hinted at by Visconti, there are "tunes" aplenty, the first half is much better than the middle suite of songs, although tracks 13 and 14 are pretty good. Bowie was always tagged with the term "musical magpie", on this album I think he has "magpie-ed" his own back catelogue, especially Scary Monsters and Lodger. In two weeks time, and after dozens of listens things will be a whole lot clearer. Current verdict - promising, and the album is way,way above any expectations I would have had for a new Bowie album. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2195 Registered: 10-2008 |
ps , dunno if its the hype, or the sheer surprise of the album coming out of nowhere a few weeks back, but I am really quite excited about this album. I doubt I have heard Heathens, Reality or any of the previous 3 or 4 albums all the way through, they just didn't interest me at all. Probably mental scarring from the Earthling album! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5460 Registered: 05-2005 |
I think The Stars Are Out Tonight is a terrific song Kevin. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2198 Registered: 10-2008 |
Remember our old friend Alfred Soto? He's still shaking them up is old Alfred- far and way the most withering review of the new album so far. http://www.spin.com/reviews/david-bowie- the-next-day-columbia-iso | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 3166 Registered: 03-2005 |
Well, Mr. Soto is an entertaining writer. Nice use of "flaneur" though maybe not with "aesthetic" as a modifier. I loved his comment about the stereotypical band's third album. I confess that Robert Forster's review warned me that I would not enjoy Bowie's new one, however great Robert's enthusiasm. And Kevin, your comparison with "Lodger" and "Scary Monsters" just reinforced that. There are certain Bowie albums that I think are brilliant. Neither of those is on that list. If you disappear for ten years and then come back you have to do something strikingly different from what you had been doing when you left; something like Marianne Faithfull's "Broken English" when she resurfaced, admittedly much younger and not after an absence of ten years, although it might as well have been. If you are older, you have to make a record that reflects your veteran's intuitive understanding of how to do it but also adapts some of the better ideas that have come along since you last recorded. Nothing I've read about "The Next Day" indicates I will find any of that. But I have to confess that I was unexpectedly disappointed by Leonard Cohen's "Old Ideas", a record everyone else seems to admire. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2199 Registered: 10-2008 |
Thanks to Itunes I must have heard the album approx 20 times now, which is enough times to make an informed, early assessment I reckon, although it will probably take another 10 or 20 plays before I can truly say what I think of it. After these 20 plays I reckon it has 7 songs which range from good to excellent. My problem is that most of these 7 songs come in the first half of the record. The rest of the songs are not duff, just the kind of stuff he probably knocks out in the studio to fill up the album.I also think 14 songs is too many, I would have stuck at 11, maybe 12 at a push. Production wise its too slick for my tastes, but thats a minor gripe. I would also have liked to have seen a few more songs in the vein of Where are We Now. I also wonder if the album might have benefitted from a different set of musicians rather than those that were tried and trusted and dare I say it the safe option, and this is perhaps reflected in the performances. However Bowie probably felt that after 10 years he wanted to feel comfortable with the people he was working with, people he could trust. I've already said this album sounds like Bowie stealing from his own past, maybe he should have stolen more from the 70's and less from the 90's. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2204 Registered: 10-2008 |
Saturation Bowie at the Beeb. http://thequietus.com/articles/11590-dav id-bowie-bbc-6-music And thats before we even get to May when there will be 5 documentaries on BBC4 | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2205 Registered: 10-2008 |
Actually, that last bit is wrong. It's not 5 documentaries, its a documentary which focuses on five years that were important for Bowie - 1971, 1975, 1977, 1980 and 1983 Here's more on 6musics Bowie-fest http://www.davidbowie.com/news/6-music-s alutes-david-bowie-easter-50701 | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 804 Registered: 10-2006 |
I've just been translating an article about the big Bowie exhibition that's going to be on at London's Victoria and Albert Museum from 23rd March until 11th August... it really is a DB-drenched year. | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2220 Registered: 10-2008 |
Right, I've lived with this album for over a fortnight now (the Itunes stream, and the CD since Monday), and I have come to the conclusion that its actually quite wonderful. Still think it could maybe lose one or two songs, but even those songs have great hooks. In fact every song on this album just sticks in your head after several plays and refuse to leave. The two songs that I would lose are Dancing Out In Space (which has a kind of Modern Love type tempo/beat), and You Will Set The World On Fire. My problem is more with the arrangements rather than the songs themselves, but with each listen I am finding it less and less of a problem and certainly have no urge to skip the songs. I just honestly think this album would be a 12 song masterpiece without these songs. Actually scrap that, I would make it 13 songs by adding the instrumental song "Plan" that comes with the Expanded CD, and I would have placed it either as track 1, bang in the middle, or right at the end. Its a brilliant piece of music, if you don't have the expanded CD you might have heard it as the into of The Stars Are Out Tonight single. I never dreamed I would have a David Bowie album in 2013 that I would play to death. Bowie has been clever here, he's went back to his box of tricks and produced an album that revisits the many vocal phrases and mannerisms that he has deployed over the years, and married this to music similar to that which he created on several albums during the 70's (plus 1980's Scary Monsters), but it has a modern production which delivers an album thats got more energy, thrills and excitement than artists half his age. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5503 Registered: 05-2005 |
Kevin, it is genuinely delightful to see you so enthused about a record. I'm still waiting for the album to arrive in the post (birthday present being sent from London). | ||
| skulldisco Member Username: Skulldisco Post Number: 2221 Registered: 10-2008 |
Padraig, I used to post enthusiastically about lots of music here (and last time I looked I thought I still did (Nick Cave, Atoms For Peace, Yo La Tengo and MBV - all of which have come out in the last couple of months), but it was like pissing against the wind a lot of the time, a bit like being in the wrong movie. So I kind of gave up because a lot of the stuff that I like was of no interest to anybody else and fell upon deaf ears. I know I shouldn't have given up, the likes of Hugh and Randy consistently post about stuff that most people haven't heard of and just plough on admirably. My problem on here appears to be that criticism of anything appears to be frowned upon, so I guess I've been excluded from the "happy clapper" gang, not that I want to be a member anyway!! Another problem I seem to have is that I don't deify certain music purely because it comes from the Southern Hemisphere. It can't all be great and I would argue that there are no great acts from that part of the world that are active at the present time(barring Nick Cave), most of the great music was made 20-30 years ago. Your statement makes it look like I hate music, which is probably not what you meant, but it's pushed me towards a decision I have been thinking about for a while. So in hopefully rather less dramatic fashion than some who have left here, but to quote at least one of them - "I'm done". At least for a bit. Jeff said he was taking a breather, so I think I'll do the same. He never did come back though did he? | ||
| cosmo vitelli Member Username: Cosmo Post Number: 721 Registered: 05-2005 |
I get the 'I'm leaving' bit but other than that does anyone know what he is on about? | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 3180 Registered: 03-2005 |
Hmmm. Bummer. Well, I definitely remember a time when it seemed that Kevin was enthused about a lot of music that none of the rest of us appeared to be terribly interested in. That's probably still true but he simply hasn't bothered to talk about that. I'm thinking of some of the techno (probably wrong word) and dubstep. I've been well aware that Kevin doesn't rate much of anything coming from Oz and NZ at this time but it's never bothered me because, jeez, we all have different tastes. And I'm well aware that my Oz thing can sometimes approach the level of a fetish. If Kevin takes off, it pulls a lot of the energy out of the board since he's one of the most consistent participants. Often, I don't have anything to say about a particular artist or subject so there's no entry from me. Kevin's pretty good about having something to say. And I do truly believe that he's right about the criticism thing. There have been too many instances of somebody getting really angry when somebody else rubbished a treasured artist. I hope I haven't been guilty of getting angry. (I know I've rubbished artists.) We all have artists who--for us--just go up the wrong way and they will be other people's favorites. For example, there's been a Joni Mitchell celebration lately. As I've said, I'm not a big fan and there are certain aspects of her that grate on my nerves. Every one of us HAS to have somebody who we realize cognitively is meritorious but, oh please can you play that after I leave? There needs to be space to express that and I think that's what Kevin's talking about. Yes, Kevin will say "Joni Mitchell is crap." But that's just Kevin's way (and he truly was pulling for humor with that). Amongst other things I use this board to learn about musical avenues to explore. I remember a former participant who got very angry when people rubbished somebody he liked. He ultimately left for that reason. His own posts were invariably positive ones, enthusing about various different records. I found them not very helpful because if somebody likes everything then I can't compare his tastes to mine or evaluate whether I'll like what he's enthusing about. There's just no information value. For me, one of the ideal participants was the long-missed Spence. He was very enthusiastic and high energy. But for all of that, he'd let you know if he thought somebody wasn't up to snuff. I hope Kevin comes back after a breather. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 5519 Registered: 05-2005 |
I meant no harm Kevin. There was no sarcasm or malice intended. I hope you know that, or, if you don't, that you see this post. I've always enjoyed your posts, regardless of whether I had much interest in the music you were writing about. |