7: May 11th — Lodger and Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
Listen to both albums.
Watch:
- “Boys Keep Swinging”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KcOs70dZAw
- “Look Back in Anger”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eszZfu_1JM0
- “DJ”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRRmU_pOXnk
- “Ashes to Ashes”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyMm4rJemtI
- “Fashion”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-z6u5hFgPk
- David Bowie Criticizes MTV for Not Playing Videos by Black Artists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZGiVzIr8Qg
Blog question: TK
I really enjoyed listening to the assigned albums for this week. Although I only knew a few of the songs, namely “Boys Keep Swinging,” “Ashes to Ashes,” and “Fashion,” I enjoyed hearing more of David Bowie’s wide-ranging catalog. Even though these albums, Lodgers and Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps), were released in 1979 and 1980, I could definitely hear some distinctive sounds that are associated with the 1980s backing up a number of the tracks. I really enjoyed these albums, probably largely because I love 1980s music and I could really hear a lot of similarities with these albums to other songs that I have heard by other artists that released music in and around the 1980s. I do understand, however, why some Bowie fans may have been critical of the albums that he released around this time due to his use of popular sounds of the time. Even though he did this, which may have led some individuals to state that he had “sold out,” at least in these two albums, he retained his unique Bowie sound, even with the inclusion of these 1980s sounds as well. I look forward to hearing more of his music next week!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
This week, I really found interest in Bowie's songs from "Ashes to Ashes" to "African Night Flight." The persona of the ThinWhite Duke seems to be fading away, and the music videos/films seem to show Bowie in this truly fun and exciting, albeit chaotic, environment. His music at this time seems to be both pessimistic yet extravagant, electronic yet exploratory, and different to what we've seen before. The thing is about Bowie is his constant re-invention and this seemingly cyclical nature of his music always changing. In Lodger specifically, songs like "D.J." seem to hint at Brian Eno's work with the Talking Heads while also being quite "fun." "African Night Flight" is almost unusual sounding and personally, I wouldn't have really guessed that Bowie was behind it at first. Lodger seems to be going around the world in different tones, far beyond the Berlin Bowie seemed to have been confined/inspired by. It is almost as if a mini-passport of sorts.
ReplyDeleteI found that both of these albums felt quite experimental and unconventional. “Fantastic Voyage” was a perfect song to open the “Lodger” with since there are definitely a lot of world music influences throughout, which are especially heard in “African Night Flight” and “Yassassin.” The album again feels a little “hodge-podgey” like many of his other albums with just how many different experimental aspects Bowie included in it. Not to discredit or imply that Bowie’s other albums are simple, but I found the songs on these two albums to be especially complex. For example, in “Boys Keep Swinging” from “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps),” there’s just so much going on with multiple layers of sound all at once. I want to say that it feels crowded, but I mean it in a positive way because I love how the intense drum, the vocals, the persistent guitar, etc. all add to this energetic song; they all really work well together! There is no moment in the song that feels simple or basic. I don’t really know musical terms, but the way the electric guitar sounds more harsh adds to the rougher tone Bowie is going for. I actually think that some songs, especially from “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps),” almost border on metal.
ReplyDeleteAs a side-note, I really found it interesting that “Ashes to Ashes” was poking fun at “Space Oddity” with the allusions to Major Tom being a junkie (I think that the song also funnily sounds MORE otherworldly than“Space Oddity”). I felt that this song is criticizing “Space Oddity” by providing a much more cynical interpretation of the events within it. It’s almost like Bowie is looking back at his past self and making fun of him, which does make a bit of sense since Bowie went through so many evolutions in his career. By this point, he was most definitely a very different Bowie than the Bowie during the “Space Oddity” era.
-Mila Daniel
With the albums Lodger and Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), we see many musical and thematic elements carried on from previous albums, with some differences. Lodger, for instance, moves away from the more ambient music of Low and “Heroes,” but still contains their more experimental and art rock elements. On top of that, there are some newer influences, like world music and new wave. What is interesting about the structure of this album is that it is divided into two halves, the first of which encompasses the theme of travel, and the second which provides more of societal critique. In the song “Yassassin,” for instance, the influence of Middle Eastern melodies can be heard in the instrumentation, and some of the vocals, as it discusses the difficulties and discrimination faced by Turkish immigrants in Germany.
ReplyDeleteIn Scary Monsters, the themes of social commentary and the awareness of societal issues present in Lodger are compounded upon, while adding in themes of alienation and youth. Even just looking at some of the song names, “Teenage Wildlife,” “Scream Like a Baby,” and “Because You’re Young,” the theme of youth is apparent, often with critical undertones, which may be taken as Bowie’s response to the changing music scene, as the New Romantics take hold. In “Fashion,” for instance, lyrics like “there’s a brand new dance but I don’t know it’s name,” suggests how he is growing somewhat out of touch with what the youth are doing, but that’s not a big deal to him since it is “loud and tasteless and [he’s] heard it before.” As a new decade is beginning, and new acts are emerging, Bowie has to figure out where he fits into everything.