# What do you think about David Bowie



## PresenTense (May 7, 2016)

Favorite song? Favorite album? What do you think about him?


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

One of my top 10 artists, and has been since I first listened to him in 1973. Favourite song is _Life on Mars?_, ahead of _Space Oddity_, and _Ashes to ashes_. Favourite album would be _Hunky Dory_, ahead of _Heroes _and _Ziggy_.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I've only marginally followed him. He was a chameleon, reinventing himself, so it's like trying to talk about several artists. While not actively disliking them, I didn't much care for the quasi-glam rock phase of the 70s nor the more popular phase of some of the 80s hits like "Let's Dance." But I do love the surreal cerebral late 70s album _Low,_ with scarcely any hits in sight.

While I haven't heard the entire album I think Blackstar and especially the full length eerie yet uplifting video for the 10 minute title track is amazing.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

As with most of these pop 'chameleons' and 'innovators', the visuals are interesting but the music is so very conventional and non-innovative. But to give Bowie due credit, he did pen some catchy tunes early in his career.


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

I only like one or two songs from his early career, Space Odyssey being one of them. The rest is very meh.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Two threads on Bowie already this year.

http://www.talkclassical.com/42143-so-did-anyone-actually.html?highlight=david+bowie

http://www.talkclassical.com/41580-david-bowie-dies.html?highlight=david+bowie


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I'm not an album guy; I like individual songs, and find good songs on each Bowie album--some more, some less. If someone pressed a gun to my head, I'd mumble something about _Diamond Dogs_; I love Big Brother and 1984, but there's fine material on every album.


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

There is a lot of music by Bowie I love, most of his music actually except for the disco phase with Chinese Girl and Let's Dance.


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

You had to be there. Music was dominated by bearded men with unwashed long hair wearing Levis.


Then along came theatre and colour and androgyny and it was named D-A-V-I-D B-O-W-I-E! Make up, light and spectacle. He knew it was all an act and it was the seriousness of his peers that was misguided. 


He should be cherished and celebrated for returning performing music to the Theatre and serving up a mix of influences, fresh. But I no longer listen to his music. Just not that interesting really.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

Belowpar said:


> But I no longer listen to his music. Just not that interesting really.


That's just my point: the music should be the one thing that remains interesting, otherwise what's the big deal?


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

I'm afraid I never really noticed him & have never listened to a single track...


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I heard of him what was played on the radio. Some clever songs, particularly Space Oddity, but I never was interested enough to buy an album.


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## Lyricus (Dec 11, 2015)

I still love Bowie. I don't think I really enjoyed an album of his since Let's Dance, and before that I wasn't enthusiastic about his late 70s output, but I really enjoyed his early 70s work especially through Diamond Dogs. Ziggy Stardust regularly ranked among the top rock albums for me, along with the Bowie-produced Lou Reed masterpiece Transformer. Even Pinups, his covers album, is still great fun.

Here's a quick list of the albums I own and a great song from it:

Space Oddity (1969): Space Oddity
The Man Who Sold the World (1970): The Man Who Sold the World
Hunky Dory (1971): Changes
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972): Rock N Roll Suicide
Aladdin Sane (1973): Jean Genie
Pinups (1973): Anyway Anyhow Anywhere
Diamond Dogs (1974): Rebel Rebel
Young Americans (1975): Fame
Low (1977): Breaking Glass
"Heroes" (1977): Heroes


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Lyricus said:


> Here's a quick list of the albums I own and a great song from it:
> 
> Space Oddity (1969): Space Oddity
> The Man Who Sold the World (1970): The Man Who Sold the World
> ...


You're missing Station To Station. That's one of the best records he ever made. The title track is sheer brilliance!


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

Morimur said:


> That's just my point: the music should be the one thing that remains interesting, otherwise what's the big deal?


I do believe he was interesting and influential.

Imagine how boring videos would be if they had all been like an outtake from The Old Grey Whistle Test, he brought flamboyance back.

Also the work he did inbetween Low and Station to Station was widely absorbed and copied. Just does little for me now.

So we agree and disagree. OK?


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## Lyricus (Dec 11, 2015)

starthrower said:


> You're missing Station To Station. That's one of the best records he ever made. The title track is sheer brilliance!


I don't think I had a reason not to get it, but now I'll definitely look into that. Thanks!

Edited: Also accidentally missed Let's Dance (1983): China Girl.


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

For me personally my appreciation is not about all of the stage personae he took on, I'm not so much interested in that. And maybe he's not the type of innovator that influenced the progress of music that much but there are several ways of liking a musician for his contribution and I like him for musical reasons only. It's simply about the versatility of the music he made, his personal voice in all of what he made (or most of it) and the caleidoscope of feelings that come with his oeuvre. Many of his records have a completely unique and authentic feel in my opinion and are not interchangeable with anything anybody else made. The Man Who Sold the World is one of my favourites but there are many others.


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## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

starthrower said:


> You're missing Station To Station. That's one of the best records he ever made. The title track is sheer brilliance!


Sounds like slowed down T Rex to me.


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

starthrower said:


> You're missing Station To Station. That's one of the best records he ever made. The title track is sheer brilliance!


100% brilliance it is.


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

I miss the guy, and the world is more empty by his absence. He did leave a worthy body of work.

My favourites:

David Bowie the musician: 
_Let's Dance_, not only because of its content, but because it was the first internationally successful album of his.

David Bowie the actor:
_The Man Who Fell to Earth_, watching it, you really get a sense of who David Bowie was. The film is bizarre, shocking, but interesting. (But not exactly suitable for viewing by children).


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## PresenTense (May 7, 2016)

This song is pretty interesting to me:


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

PresenTense said:


> This song is pretty interesting to me:


I have that cd too and like the song a lot.


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

I love Bowie's music, It's difficult but if I have to choose juzt one album will be Aladin Sane I think, a masterpiece.


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## PresenTense (May 7, 2016)

Heliogabo said:


> I love Bowie's music, It's difficult but if I have to choose juzt one album will be Aladin Sane I think, a masterpiece.


Cool  Lots of people here really like Bowie's music. He was great.


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## EarthBoundRules (Sep 25, 2011)

Hunky Dory's my favourite Bowie album by far. The first seven songs (minus Eight Line Poem) are perfect IMO.


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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)

Song: "Life On Mars"
Album: _Low_


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

I only like Let's Dance for its cool bassline. Couldn't care less about Bowie, he couldn't even sing.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

PresenTense said:


> Cool  Lots of people here really like Bowie's music. He was great.


Don't forget the silent majority .


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Tonight a Davis Bowie night during the Proms in London.
See below from BBC website



> David Bowie
> BBC Proms, 2016
> 
> A celebration and reinterpretation of the music of the late David Bowie with the Berlin-based musicians' collective Stargaze and its artistic director André de Ridder. They are joined by guest singers and collaborators including Marc Almond, Laura Mvula, John Cale, Paul Buchanan, Conor O'Brien, Amanda Palmer and countertenor Phillippe Jaroussky, and with arrangements from Jherek Bischoff, David Lang, Anna Meredith, Greg Saunier, Josephine Stephenson and Michael Van der Aa. This rare collaboration promises to deliver a unique re-imagining of the Bowie catalogue with fresh interpretations of his classic works.


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## Fat Bob (Sep 25, 2015)

DeepR said:


> Couldn't care less about Bowie, he couldn't even sing.


No, neither could Lennon, Daltry, Dylan etc etc. I recall a story told of Leonard Cohen in the early stages of his performing career standing nervously in the wings preparing to go on stage. The promoter came up to him and asked why he was so nervous. 
Cohen: "I can't go out there, I can't sing".
Promoter: "None of you guys can sing, if I want to hear singing I'll go to the Metropolitan Opera, get out there".

Ladies and gentlemen, the point is not their ability to sing but whether they make a contribution to our cultural life. Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen are two of the worst singers ever by certain standards but they have also delivered some of the finest concerts I've ever attended.

So to get back to the original point, the Ziggy Stardust album is a career high and the song "Heroes" should be on everyone's playlist.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

L,


Fat Bob said:


> No, neither could Lennon, Daltry, Dylan etc etc. I recall a story told of Leonard Cohen in the early stages of his performing career standing nervously in the wings preparing to go on stage. The promoter came up to him and asked why he was so nervous.
> Cohen: "I can't go out there, I can't sing".
> Promoter: "None of you guys can sing, if I want to hear singing I'll go to the Metropolitan Opera, get out there".
> 
> Ladies and gentlemen, the point is not their ability to sing but whether they make a contribution to our cultural life.


Well said. Another wretched singer is Billy Corgan.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

It all depends on what we mean by sing. Dylan sure could sing, just not like an opera singer and vice versa. 


Actually, in pop I don't care for a "good voice" but prefer gravelly or otherwise poor voices, such as Dylan and Johnny Winter.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Saying Roger Daltry can't sing is pretty ridiculous. Johnny Winter was a shouter, but when he sings Memory Pain it just kills me!


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

starthrower said:


> Saying Roger Daltry can't sing is pretty ridiculous. Johnny Winter was a shouter, but when he sings Memory Pain it just kills me!


And "Be Careful With A Fool" off his first Columbia album. But Johnny really could sing nicely: Two Steps from the Blues.


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## Fat Bob (Sep 25, 2015)

starthrower said:


> Saying Roger Daltry can't sing is pretty ridiculous.


Maybe I didn't make myself clear - I was replying to the comment that David Bowie couldn't sing and I was trying to make the point that if you say that about him, you need to apply the same standard about virtually every singer in rock/pop music and picked the 3 mentioned at random. I actually enjoy all 3!


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)




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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

I like Bowie's version better, but this instrument sounds nice. I would like to hear it in the setting of Hungarian jazz.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

BBC two showing : The Last Five Years it on Sunday January 7th 
21.00 UK. time


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