8: May 18th — Bowie in the Long 80s: Let’s Dance to Black Tie / White Noise
Listen to the following:
Blog question: Curiously enough, in this period we find Bowie doing everything that he set out to do in the start of his career, which is to not only be a pop musician and songwriter, but actor as well.
1. After Let's Dance, which he recorded with Nile Rodgers of Chic, Bowie appears to lose some confidence. Many of his songs seem to want to recapture some older version of himself and his music, or even the style of music videos from the Lodger era. What can you spot in the tracks I've given you of callbacks to earlier ideas? Are these newer songs up to the quality of the ones that they seem to point back to? If yes, or no, why?
2. This era includes a lot of tracks that Bowie wrote for movies, including movies he was acting in. His best role from this period is Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence from 1983 (you should watch it, if you get the chance!). He also records a fair amount of covers and re-records a few tracks he had written with Iggy Pop (most notably, "China Girl"). He even records a Beach Boys song and song by Morrissey. What do you make of these covers and rerecordings? Are they successful? Misfires? Signs of flagging creativity? He also collaborates a lot more -- Queen, Giorgio Moroder, Pat Metheny, among others. What tracks do you like of these?
3. Lastly, he returns to working with Nile Rodgers on the LP Black Tie White Noise. This record, recorded after his marriage to the Somali-American supermodel Iman, struck many as a return to form for Bowie. He continues to work with the guitarist he played with in Tin Machine, Reeves Gabrels -- no idea how he got a name like that! -- with whom he collaborates for most of the 90s. Do you think this record is a return to form for him? Or at least to the form of Let's Dance? I only gave you a few tracks from the LP -- a lot of it is quite good -- but do you think he shook some of the bad taste that much of his 80s output left? Why consider these tracks a return to form?
Basically, just write some ideas you have about the tracks on the blog. The key thing might be that he's given up any sort of subversive "persona" that he had in earlier work -- but can we still see something "subversive" here?
Don't forget to leave your name on your blog post. Also, try to get your post in on the morning of class so I can read them (I teach from 12-2 on Tuesdays). Or at least get them in by class time.
Let’s Dance reminds me of his older work. In his albums leading up to this one, Bowie heavily relies on instrumentals to make up the bulk of the songs. However, beginning in Let’s Dance, Bowie ditches these heavy instrumentals and goes back to a focus on lyrics. We also see a return to a more pop style of work. While I really enjoyed Let’s Dance, Tonight was not my favorite and I think a lot of people felt the same way. There were too many covers, which almost indicates a lack of creativity, and after the success of Let’s Dance, many were left feeling disappointed, especially his newer fans. Tonight has more of a reggae and R&B influence. Songs like “Twist and Turn” and “Blue Jean” seem more similar to the Bowie we know. One song that really stuck out to me is “Don’t Look Down.” This song explores the reggae and R&B that this album was trying to achieve. Next, Bowie released Never Let Me Down. Bowie goes back to playing instruments and singing. While this album was not received well by fans, I actually enjoyed it. I would consider this more pop rock with a jazz or R&B influence in some songs. Most of the songs are very different from the others on this album, so there were a lot of songs that stood out to me. Particularly, I really enjoyed “Shining Star” and “Time Will Crawl.” The songs are so different and I would not assume they came from the same album. The last album of this Bowie era was Black Tie White Noise. I actually really like this album. I do not think it fully compares to Let’s Dance, but it does seem that Bowie is reverting back into some of his older work. For example, “The Wedding” is entirely instrumental and “The Wedding Song” has a long opening instrumental before he sings. “Black Tie White Noise” has a lot of funkier sounds and comments on racial issues. Overall, it seems like Bowie is a lot more passionate about this album and puts a lot of his heart into it. I was only able to watch a trailer of Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, but I was able to watch Labyrinth which came out between Tonight and Never Let Me Down. I think the character definitely seems like a Bowie persona an audience could expect from him. I actually really liked the soundtrack. Even though I thought the movie was pretty peculiar, Bowie’s soundtrack seems to be a good indicator of all his different styles of music. This long 80s period for him definitely had a lot of ups and downs, but I think it was an important time for his musical development.
ReplyDeleteSofia Sabra
I feel like “They say Jump” in Black Tie/White Noise had a similar feel to “Golden Years” from Station to Station. I initially thought that the two songs shared a similar groovy, somewhat funky beat and that the two were only linked in that sense. However, there seems to be a thematic link between the two as well as both seem to address people down in the dumps. ‘Golden years’ seems to be addressed towards someone spiralling who is no longer motivated and does not seem to enjoy their life despite being in their prime, while ‘They say Jump’ speaks abotu how society cruelly treats suicidal people. The use of a fun, funky beat to contrast grim, dark lyrics about declining mental health is therefore reused from Golden Years to They Say Jump, which could arguably be an example of Bowie going back to his old ideas. However, given that both of these songs were addressed to real people in Bowie’s life, it would be unjust to decide which song is better. In this specific example, I don’t think Bowie was trying to recreate or callback to his old content just to regain his confidence, but rather he went back to a style he was comfortable with to get out his thoughts in a way that worked in the past.
ReplyDelete- Natasha
This week’s song selections going through Bowie’s 80s catalogue were pretty interesting to hear (and see), especially in contrast with previous weeks’ material, as they seemed to have less of a concrete theme, and included a lot of fragments from earlier records. They also focused less on experimentation and innovation within and between genres, instead going for a poppier feel (for the most part). After _Let’s Dance_, we can see a lot of these earlier influences in songs like “Absolute Beginners,” which incorporates a lot of jazzy elements present in many of Bowie’s earlier records, as well as a somewhat musical-y feel, which calls back to very early Bowie, like the song “When I Live My Dream.” In a way, this musical theater adjacent sound makes sense, as the song was written for the film of the same name which Bowie starred in, but it is quite a departure from the more experimental and abstract music that dominated much of the Berlin era. “Glass Spiders” was also a pretty interesting song, mainly due to its use of spoken-word monologue at the beginning, which is reminiscent of the _Diamond Dogs_ opening track, “Future Legends,” as well as some earlier stuff from _The Man Who Sold the World_ and _Ziggy Stardust_. It also incorporated some orchestral and experimental elements which reminded me of _Low_, and its sound in general was interesting, especially in regards to how it became more upbeat as it progressed. Quality wise, I think it’s somewhat difficult to compare this era’s songs to earlier ones, as they seem to have less of a unifying theme, which is mirrored by Bowie’s lack of particular personae. What may be missing from them is something new or different, as opposed to a recycling or patching-together of old ideas, which may be why some of the songs do not sound as substantive, though there are still many enjoyable elements in them.
ReplyDelete- Lillian Gabrelian
I love Lets Dance. I completely understand where Bowie's "shallowness" in this music form comes about. Frankly, had I heard this song anonymously it'd take me a while to pin down Bowie. However, as opposed to seeing the work as shallow, I'd say Bowie has an excellent piece of musical craftsmanship, really strongly identifying with the various forms of music developing during this period time. The more deeper we move into the late 20th century and into the 21st, the less homogenous music becomes and the styles emerge quickly. I also perceive Bowie's collaborations with the other artists mentioned above to perhaps fall similarly to this. Bowie is studying, collaborating, and might be forgiven if his musical approach involves some learning and absorbing first and we must acknowledge how the other artists have benefited from working with Bowie and streamlining some of his style too. Most notably Iggy Pop. China Girl sounds more similar to Bowie than Lets Dance does, but Lets Dance takes me to a place worthy of imagining myself in this decade at a popular scene. I did struggle to see the music of this era, including Black Tie White Noise, as Bowie reaching for his older and previous selves. For me his music just becomes less and less genre-less and more variable track-to-track within each album. It's all more spread out. In his own work, Bowie seems to continue to continue stomping around a puddle of new noises, but offers the techniques of his old sound to his contemporaries. - Isabel Nakoud
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed listening to all of Bowie’s collabs/rerecordings. I think the breadth of artists he worked with during this time period really diversified his oeuvre. At the same time, it makes it difficult to carve out a specific theme/period that these performances could be connected to with regards to Bowie’s trajectory as an artist. I feel like he felt a lot more comfortable with himself seeing as he covered classic yet unlikely tracks like God Only Knows. I also think his cover of Cosmic Dancer and collab with Queen on Under Pressure felt very organic and in line with his signature sound. Songs like Modern Love and his collaboration with CHIC were reminiscent of the American/African American Influence we saw in albums like Aladdin Sane and Young Americans. The diversity of the tracks from this period truly encapsulate Bowie’s impressive ability to adapt to a plethora of sounds and musical identities.
ReplyDelete-Oksana
I can't help but feel a kind of disconnect with this era of Bowie. While he undeniably has some of his best hits ("China Girl" "Modern Love" "Blue Jean"), songs that I love, I don't necessarily think he's trying to recreate his older sound. This is Bowie post megastardom, in a decade like the 80s where there's a breakthrough of new sounds and genres that didn't exist a decade prior. New Wave Bowie does his best to contribute to the modernity of the time, all while being a key innovator of the origins of the sound itself. In the 80's the kids that grew up listening to Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust Aladdin Sane eras are now adult musical artists themselves, and undoubtedly have Bowie encoded in their musical DNA. As stated, Bowie has reached the pinnacle of his success. He's done pretty much everything he set out to accomplish with his career, so maybe the 80's are for him to have fun and experiment? The pressure to prove himself no longer exists, so he can pretty much do whatever he wants, which translates back to his collaborations. I have always loved Bowie's collaborations and his willingness to experiment with other artists, no matter how different their sound is from his own. He's the Patron Saint of Cool and Weird, so anything he does is admirable in its own right. He doesn't serve the same purpose he did in the 70s, now far more commercial. Maybe he lost touch a little bit with the times, as almost every artist falls prey to, or maybe he just doesn't care. All in all, 80's Bowie is respectable, but something about this era just isn't as mystifying and powerful as his earlier work.
DeleteSabrina Stoddard
Listening to Let’s Dance I recognized possibly more songs than any other album we have listened to. I feel like songs like "Modern Love” and “China Girl” have such a fun and upbeat tone that it is no wonder this album was a commercial success. The pop tine reminds me of his previous work like in Young Americans. I feel like when so many successful musicians become involved in party scenes and drugs its a continuous downward spiral until ultimately their death. I really think that Bowie managed to escape his darkest and least successful days with Let’s Dance and Black Tie White Lies. It is fascinating to hear him talk about how these albums really touched on what he really wanted to do with his career.
ReplyDelete-Sydney Beale
After Let's Dance, a lot of Bowie's songs become more subdued and more into the 80s style of music that I am used to listening to. I noticed after watching many of the music videos, that they are very Avant Garde and each one has a unique story or theme with a lot of characters. Similar to the music videos in Lodger, Bowie flashes from him singing back to other people. This same pattern/rhythm is seen in most of his music videos during the 80s/early 90s. He also uses a lot of new sounds and experimentation with different lyrics and beats like we saw in his early work. Some of the music videos that stood out to me were China Girl, Loving The Alien, and Blue Jean. I thought these music videos were very unique and unlike any others that I have watched for that time period. They told stories and had characters I became invested in. I think Bowie tried to callback on a more outrageous version of himself or one that defied common notions of what pop and rock and roll should sound like. I am not sure if he exactly accomplished this since I found some of the songs to be of a lower quality than his previous works. I actually enjoyed some of the covers with my favorite cover being I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday. His version of the song reminded me a lot of the Jazz sounds he cultivated in Young Americans. I think to certain audiences they are successes and to other misfires. I would say it depends on whose version of the song you enjoy more. The collaboration with Queen is pretty iconic and I think it was probably one of Bowie's best collaborations during the 80s/90s. Turning to Black Tie/White Noise, I would say my favorite song from this album is Jump They Say. Even though this song received some backlash, I think it was pretty distinct from the mishmash of the 80s and employed a fast-paced techno sound with saxophone sounds that was like his Lodger album. This album was definitely more cohesive and Bowie-esque than his 80s work.
ReplyDelete-Amanda Cohen
Something that stood out to me specifically that connects to Bowie’s older music, while still being relevant to the song it’s in, is the mention of swastikas in “China Girl.” At first listen I thought it was a reference to Bowie’s Station to Station era when he was accused of endorsing fascism and Nazism, but then I thought about it more within the context of the song as a jab at the Western appropriation of Eastern cultures and remembered that the swastika was originally a religious symbol in India, and realized it connected to that critique of appropriation because of how the Nazis used the symbol and completely altered and permanently scarred its meaning. I think the conveyance of a social message in “China Girl,” as well as tracks like “Black Tie White Noise,” is another thing that sort of reverts to “old Bowie.”
ReplyDeleteIn general, this era reminded me a little of when Bowie tried to conform to what other artists were doing at the beginning of his career, like the tracks we listened to in the very first class meeting. I mean, I like these tracks a lot more than I liked his early career stuff, but I think it’s the same idea of doing something that isn’t at all counterculture, which is unlike a lot of his other popular work. I just think he’s phoning it in a little, especially compared to the more innovative songs from the Berlin Era, and he’s trying very hard to be a “traditional” celebrity which is unusual. I mean, he’s singing Christmas songs with Bing Crosby. It doesn’t get much more traditional than that. He also has a really weird choice of songs he covers. It was kind of jarring for me to hear him sing “God Only Knows,” and for him to not even do anything original with it, and to make it slower. I think a lot of the appeal of the original was the distinctive Beach Boys style and instrumentation of it, and Bowie made it a boring lounge song. The only real appeal of it is Bowie’s voice. I don’t know, I don’t really know anything technical about music, but that track specifically just struck me as not just a strange choice, but also kind of lazy and reductive from the original.
Sofia Potter
My initial impression of Let’s Dance was that it was enjoyable and groovy, but it lacked the lyrical substance and world-building instrumentation that we tend to associate with Bowie. The tracks “Let’s Dance”, “China Girl”, and “Shake It” really highlight why this album was so commercially successful, especially in America, as they’re just easy to dance to.
ReplyDeletePersonally, Black Tie/White Noise had some high points and low points. Several of the tracks didn’t feature any lyrics, and were purely instrumental, which we saw a lot of in Low and “Heroes”, but I was less drawn to these instrumental tracks in comparison to his other albums as they didn’t seem to create a new atmosphere for the listener like the apocalyptic vibe of “Warszawa”, for example. On the other hand, I really enjoyed tracks like “Jump They Say”, which seemed like an amalgamation of the music styles used in Young Americans and the Berlin Trilogy, as well as “Pallas Athena”, which felt like the soundtrack to a sci-fi thriller. Learning that Bowie was writing a lot of movie soundtracks during this era is apparent in the musicality of both albums.
While Bowie does get criticized for his 80s albums, I think part of his criticism comes from the idea that he finally became a mainstream artist from a pop album, while his original fans knew him for his glam rock or krautrock albums. I also loved the amount of collaborations from this era; in previous albums, we saw Bowie collaborate with different musicians and producers or help write for other artists, but this is one of the first times we see Bowie on a track with another famous artist. “Under Pressure” is one of my favorites, and seeing Bowie perform “Cosmic Dancer” with Morrissey felt like such a nostalgic tribute to Marc Bolan and the glam rock era.
Tanvi Gaitonde
Let’s dance overall was a very impressive album. This album was definitely more pop based then some of his previous albums, and I can see the 80s influence pretty well. This album is very different from both “Low” and “Heroes,” since it doesn’t have much instrumental or heavy music, but most songs are based more heavily around the lyrics. With his lyrical stress and poppy sound, I do see the connection to earlier albums, but the lack of an alternative persona was definitely different. I think it’s really impressive that even though he was acting a lot during this era, he still was able to make a very well rounded and popular album.
ReplyDeleteWith the variety of artists he works with and the covers he did it makes me think that he is definitely being more experimental. I think the cover songs by Morrissey and the Beach Boys can definitely be seen as “flagging creativity”, but the intent seems to be not from a loss of ideas, but more from an experimental change. Since Bowie has already been a huge pop star for a while, he wants to mix things up a little bit— he also doesn’t have much to lose in terms of fame. I think his cover of “God Only Knows”-- originally by the Beach Boys --could have been more creative, or “Bowafied”, since that’s what he’s known for, but i struck me as kind of bland and boring, and very close to the original. Same goes for his cover of Morrissey's song on “Black Tie White Noise”, but I personally think Bowie added more of his own elements.
-Xzandalyn Kallstrom
I really enjoyed many of the songs from these albums and many of the videos from the playlist because Bowie looked so comfortable and happy with his music, and there was just a generally really good energy prevalent throughout this decade. The instrumentals are also exceptional here, and it was a big reason why listening was so enjoyable. I do think this felt very much like an updated Bowie. Songs such as “Modern Love” feel very 1980s so it can be very difficult to compare it to his older style. However, simultaneously, I do think that by this time, although Bowie has always been able to change on a dime, he had some staples in his music like the style of piano, guitars, and other little patterns and elements that are all amplified here. I say that these tracks feel very “comfortable” because the music feels very matured and developed, being just so perfectly suited to Bowie’s voice and themes. Here, he is in his element, and it was years of experience that had allowed him to test and experiment what really worked that allowed for this to be the case. The tracks here do seem to have a similar tone to them, and although there’s fewer instances in which Bowie takes his vocals to extremes like before, the compromise is that the music feels very warm (and almost soulful), whereas past songs felt a bit colder, like during his Thin White Duke era. There’s this softness in the music very reflective of the 80’s style of pop, but there’s still rock and funk elements, I believe “Never let me Down” to be an excellent example of encapsulating all of these aspects. I found Bowie’s time in Tin Machine to be quite interesting too, because aside from his collaborations, I’ve never pictured Bowie in a singer group act like that. I do like seeing different facets of Bowies in the covers and collaborations as well because they provide a really interesting break from some of the other things Bowie was doing at the time. Regarding this, “China Girl” is actually one of my absolute favorites from this era!
ReplyDelete-Mila Daniel
As stated in the prompt, this era of Bowie’s career features a prevalent number of covers, a fact greatly visualized by this week’s curated, attached playlist. While I had not listened to any of the listed covers beforehand, I am the most familiar with the original Beach Boys’ version of “God Only Knows.” I am not very well versed in Morrissey or Scott Walker’s work, so I likely would not have even known Bowie’s recordings were covers if I had first listened to them under different circumstances. The affection I hold for the Beach Boys’ recording, though, did make me somewhat skeptical about listening to Bowie’s alternative take. Luckily, I ended up loving it. An emotional song that, I believe, benefits from Bowie’s more tame, rock-influenced instrumentals and dramatic, low voice, his cover brings something new to the record. You can hear the pain and intensity in the way he delivers the lyrics, which I feel also reflects the interest and success Bowie had in acting roles in this period. Additionally, I really enjoyed both interpretations of “I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday.” Both being new to me, I was quite surprised by how much Morrissey’s recording sounded like a Bowie song, utilizing many strange, futuristic sounds. Alternatively, Bowie’s version is less experimental, starting immediately with the vocals and effectively challenging my expectations. While less successful than “God Only Knows,” I still found this cover to be impressive and representative of where Bowie was as a creative, reaching the heights of international stardom. Therefore, to answer the blog question about the covers being a signification of Bowie’s “flagging creativity,” I would disagree. Bowie has done many covers in the past, notably “Across the Universe” and “Wild is the Wind.” So, by continuing to produce covers, he is clarifying to the world that he has varied influences and is not a stagnant, definable artist. Overall, this is a fascinating era marked by some of Bowie’s most famous work in Let’s Dance, an album that includes one of my favorite songs of his “Modern Love,” which further ingrained Bowie as a cultural icon.
ReplyDelete- Devin Bosley
This playlist really conveyed the journey Bowie took throughout the 80s. His ventures into acting and more mainstream musical collaborations show how he truly reached his "peak" (in a commercial sense) during this time. I totally agree with Tanvi's opinion regarding Let's Dance. While listening to the playlist I had only just discovered that Let's Dance was his most commercially successful album which makes total sense. Bowie isn't pushing any musical or social boundaries with tracks like "Let's Dance", "Modern Love", or "Without You" but he seems to be having fun. This era seems a lot more pleasant and carefree for him which must've been a relief only a few short years after the dark Thin White Duke era.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Bowie might've been trying to call back to his earlier works on Let's Dance, I don't think any of the tracks can top the masterpieces he was putting out earlier in his career. Like I said, they are fun, danceable songs but they don't challenge the listener like songs off of Ziggy or Low. However, I did think the music videos from this era were really interesting. There seems to be a lot of thought behind the concepts and story of each video; perhaps this is Bowie wanting to show off his prowess after entering the acting scene. For instance, the "Blue Jean" music video reminded me a lot of the "Boys Keep Swinging" video with Bowie in a sort of drag. Off of Black Tie/White Noise, "Jump They Say" also had a really interesting video with futuristic set-pieces, elaborate costuming, and a storyline throughout.
The collaborations Bowie participated in throughout the 80s were also super fun. It really speaks to Bowie's skill that he can record songs with vastly different artists - from Queen to Tina Turner to Pat Metheny to Morrissey - and create great songs with all of them. In my opinion, "Under Pressure" is one of the most iconic songs of the 80s. Freddie Mercury's and David Bowie's vocals together just can't be beat. I had never seen the live performances with Tina Turner and Morrissey before but they were both very passionate and it was great to see Bowie smiling so widely doing what he does best.
Overall, Bowie's 80s work certainly isn't his best but it's nothing to scoff at. Although I personally prefer his more avant-garde work from the 70s, it is great to see him finally receive some recognition from a wider audience for the blood, sweat, and tears he had put into his art for all those years.
- Addison Harms
While I think that something is lost in this era of what made Bowie great in his earliest albums, I definitely find it more interesting than some of the later works we have heard as of late. There is something about these songs that carry on what I see Bowie trying to do in his earliest years. I've talked pretty extensively about the idea of getting the sweet spot between complicatedness and catchiness and while these songs aren't necessarily the most complicated songs ever, they are vastly more interesting than most of the songs on Young Americans. I think what subverted my expectations most drastically in 80s Bowie was that he took the time to learn different styles of music and incorporate them into his sound, rather than just making songs in different styles; Every song sounds like it is by Bowie, rather than a rip-off or cover of another band's style. While I do not like his cover of 'God Only Knows,' it is so strikingly different than the Beach Boys' version that it deserves a ton of credit nonetheless. Additionally, I think that I purely enjoy these songs as much as those from the earlier Bowie years for their face value 'good'ness. They are solid, catchy pop songs that have huge replay value and are just simply, enjoyable to listen to, even if they are not very complex or underground, as the earlier Bowie material was.
ReplyDelete- Charlie Whitcomb
DeleteBoth albums, Let’s Dance and Black Tie White Noise were quite interesting and unique. Although Let’s Dance was very connected to the 1980s in terms of sounds, I did not have a problem with that aspect of it at all. I love lots of music from the 1980s, and thus, hearing these songs was very enjoyable to me. Out of all of the albums that I have heard by Bowie, this one has the most songs that I was already familiar with. I really love “Modern Love” and “China Girl.” They feature such cool sounds, especially “China Girl,” and I also had already heard and enjoyed listening to “Let’s Dance” and “Cat People (Putting Out the Fire).” To me, this album was vastly different from Black Tie White Noise, which came out a decade later, in 1993. This album was definitely less explicitly tied to the music of the time, which is maybe why people consider it a return to form for Bowie. Although it may be a return to form in a sense of being more avant-garde than Let’s Dance, I do not think it is a return to form really due to the sounds that are used. The unusualness of the album is what makes it a more typical Bowie record. His inclusion of instrumental tracks on a mainstream album is very interesting to me. Those tracks definitely seemed to have some more 1980s influences in my mind, and they were fun to listen to. The tracks with vocals were more avant-garde and included new sounds for Bowie. Both albums were interesting to listen to, but I am partial to Let’s Dance, due to its 1980s influences and my love of some of the tracks featured on that album.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Something I ended up seeing was the sort of a shift in Bowie from the less "weird" of before an into more of a pop style. I still highly enjoyed it, as these were the songs my parent's had played for me (when they grew up listening to "Under Pressure" or "Cat People" being released). In regards to the tracks from these albums, I don't really see any sort of callback towards the past. It is much more focused on the words, rather than the songs that seemed to be more of an ostentatious or flashy song. The pop-charts seemed to be the perfect place for songs like "Modern Love" that were able to be so popular, perhaps a reason why this album was one of his best selling. It was a sound more people were more "comfortable" with, rather than something that the more main stream listener may not have gotten out of his various personas of past. Something like "Let's Dance," with lyrics like, "Let's dance/Put on your red shoes and dance the blues/Let's dance/To the song they're playin' on the radio/Let's sway" could truly just be the epitome of dancing on the clubs of the 80s as lights seem to cascade around. Yet, this may not be the dancing tone for songs like Lodger's "We're learning to live with somebody's depression/And I don't want to live with somebody's depression/We'll get by, I suppose." Certainly, less of the more heavy ideas in a sense.
ReplyDeleteOn another hand, the seemingly "subversive" persona of his past does seem to have been traded for the smiling, suit-wearing Bowie of the 80's, yet what is subversive is how Bowie had started to break out more and be more comfortable in other ways like in acting or in collaborations. His song with Queen, "Under Pressure," stands out as one of the most impactful songs and truly an amazing combination of two musical giants. His acting is not surprising either, because he is clearly gifted at being able to create and bring to life characters. Other than his work in the "Labyrinth," something I had grown up watching, his work in movies such as "The Elephant Man" lends himself into being good, all things considered, at expressing characters. While it may not be Oscar worthy, it is another testament to the way that Bowie is able to bring characters and himself in a multitude of ways whether it is through song or the silver screen. Yet, it is not unreasonable for some of his fans to have considered him as "going to the dark side" in a sense and becoming more of a normative pop singer. Yet, that is what seems to be the utter brilliance and most meaningful thing about Bowie: his ability to change. The chameleon talents of his is what makes him changing into Pop to the avant-garde and beyond is part of his whole identity, so fans shouldn't have considered this as something so outlandish.
"Black Tie White Noise" does seem to be a "return back" of sorts of the outlandish and avant-garde of Bowie's past style. There's a return to the less-pop, more worldly style of song and musical inspiration. It comments on issues such as racial inequality, with songs like in the titualr song of "Black Tie White Noise," he sings, "I'm lookin' through African eyes/Lit by the glare of an L.A. fire/I've got a face, not just my race" is talking about the riots occuring in Los Angeles in the 90's. It harkens back to his album "Ziggy Stardust" that offered commentary on America.
Up until this week, most of the assigned listening has been pretty recognizably Bowie to me. Some of the albums we have covered - namely the Berlin Trilogy, do not have a ton of songs I knew well, however it sounded distinctly outlandish in different ways that I had already associated with Bowie before. I love “Under Pressure”, “Let’s Dance “, and “Modern Love”, but those were the only original songs of his I knew going in. Yet, the rest felt more familiar, and less subversive, than what I have come to expect from Bowie. He really did embrace a lot of the pop sounds of the 80s, with varying degrees of success. I was bored by “Without You” because of how much it seemed to mimic the other corny 80s ballads of the times. Do not get me wrong - the song is beautiful, but it was strange to see Bowie reflecting the era of music, and not the other way around. The background vocals, the synth line, and the guitar part all felt really derivative, and like something else. I love the Cure, but it is not what I want to hear from Bowie. I will say I was entranced by “Blue Jean”, and found the music video particularly captivating. Bowie is known for having characters that subvert humanity, but this video seemed to feature Bowie riffing on himself - dork becomes a subversion of the cool Bowie’s fans had come to love.
ReplyDeleteBowie looks a lot healthier in most of these music videos, and seems to be focused more on having fun than being edgy. It is possible and maybe probable that the majority of the art he created during this period did not hold up to his usual standard of strange excellence, but there are some really great, fun songs mixed into the rest of this era. If I were to have been a Bowie fan in this era, it is possible I would have been disappointed with some of his work. However, my hope is that I just would have been happy he seemed to be doing pretty well.
- Elizabeth Gulli
This week's albums made it seem that Bowie had strayed from his changing of personas from the 70s. The songs in general sound very "stereotypical 80s pop" to me. For example, "Modern Love" and "Let's Dance" seem incomparable to his style in the 60s and 70s, as he seems to try to be more mainstream in his music and other creative projects. As far as re-recording/covers go, I actually preferred his versions to other versions, especially "China Girl."
ReplyDelete