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Post by maarts on May 23, 2004 6:41:20 GMT -5
Good evening...just had to bow out for a few days due to flu....
Bow- that's good to hear about the about-face of your soon-to-be-daughter. It's probably the last thing you need preparing for a wedding. Funny how the child's mind works when being in the spotlight is being denied, isn't it? I guess you can be sensitive to her needs up to a certain point but outside of the 'what about me?'-rhetoric, there must be a path through the middle...seems that you've reached that destiny foer the time being!
Niamh- welcome- that new Pan Sonic is one enervating listen, I tell ya. One disc of almost Nine Inch Nailsian sonic overload, one disc to put the more ambient minded specatator to rest, a third more abstract and a a single...I tell ya, those boys weren't bored being in the studio. Personally I prefer the heavier stuff most but that's because my head's pounding due to that flu and the rhythms of that seem to be exactly the same!
I heard only one other Pan Sonic-disc before that and that one seemed to be far less hectic, a bit more abstract in the rhythm patterns and more condensed in the sound of the keyboards in the background...sadly I cannot think of the title of that album.
Another of my weekend's favourite listens was the new Beta Band-album, which is spinning its rounds now here. I think these guys are hitting their straps now. The multi-layered vocals give it almost a sixties-style popvibe, on top of this almost typical indie-guitargroovalistic music...the songs are more interesting than on Hot Shots and though I miss sometimes the hypnotics of the Three EP's, there's a lot of great stuff to be heard- Assessment is currently my wintergroove-song of the month (yeah, you antipodeans have summer now so this is the closest I can get) and will be in my mind for a long time when I peddle my bike hether an thether throughout Newie....Outside is almost like Primal Scream on Red Bull rather than drugs, Simple is just wonderful in all it's stringed glory and Pure For is brilliant dubbed melodica-electronica...yeah, love this beaucoup.
...and I'll finish the night off with Tangerine Dream- The Bootleg Series volume 2...yeah, still a softie for seventies uncool electronic music, but the Ricochet/Stratosfear/Logos/Hyperborea-years were very melodic and brilliant and I finally have a clear sounding copy of their legendary Fassbinder Memorial Concert! (this probably won't mean a damn thing to you but believe me, I'm happy!)
Question though- are their any Paul Heaton/Beautiful South-fans out there? I heard PH had a solo-album out and wondered if it was worthy of checking out.
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Post by bowiglou on May 23, 2004 21:25:05 GMT -5
yeah Maarts..this weekend has literally been a 180 turnaround......so I'll savor it for now, but I think your observation was incredibly spot-on
I want everyone to go back and re-read Thorny's appriasal of Bowie, and kindred spirits (Peter Murphy, Iggy, T rex, Eno, etc.).............just gives my goosepimples (or is that goosebumps?)............I know many could say they got into Bowie as his sense of alienation via the persona of Ziggy Stardust is a perfect characterological conduit for the disenfranchised adolescent....but I think it was more than that...you had a confluence of his mercurial stage presence, total engagement in artifice and pretension, and to put it simplistically one hell of a band in the Spiders, with Mick Ronson the perfect complement......
But then in Fall of 1974 I received for my B-day the new Bowie Live and this Sinatra-cadaver-from-hell had me scratching my head as I was just getting accustomed to Ziggy, Alladin, and haloween jack......from then on, you literally never knew what to expect.......
And quite frankly, the last trio of albums: Hours, Heathen, and Reality have continued, though not to such an extreme extent, Bowie's foray into the unpredictable................it's glib to cast Bowie off as just a "media manipulator" a "chamelon" and one who rips off other's works and assimilates it as his own........even if all those ascriptions/accusations are true, that still doesn't make him less of an original!!....I really don't know if we'll ever see an artist of the likes of Bowie again.....at least in my lifetime......
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Post by maarts on May 24, 2004 2:17:28 GMT -5
I got into Bowie via Eno...in the early eighties I developed a strong affinity with the ambient-series he churned out on Editions EG and Obscure and his tape-experiments of the early seventies sounded so completely different as anything I heard in those days. I needed to find out more about him and landed straight into Bowie's Berlin-trilogy as a result. From that moment on I started to get into Bowie myself...not so much using things like Aladdin Sane or Ziggy as character references but as a man with a thousand masks- whether it be sad, serious, playful or joyous, you could find a song in his catalogue to match. And even though later Bowie never impacted on me so much (listening to an underrated album like Diamond Dogs or The Man Who Sold The World is heaps better than Outside or Black Tie White Noise), he is still there challenging...like Todd Rundgren embracing the new ages with vigour and elegance.
Not bad for a man who was shortlisted once as one of the rock 'n roll heroes not to get past the eighties at one stage.
Bow- I have trouble envisaging you as a 'Sinatra cadaver from hell'! Whatever that means. Cadavers were like Iggy and Keef, thin as wafers and a lifestyle to boot....
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Post by bowiglou on May 24, 2004 11:18:39 GMT -5
no no Maarts..I was referring to the picture of Bowie on the front of Bowie "Live" circa 1974...he being the sinatra-cadaver-from-hell!!.....wafer thin he was..pallid as hell.....and that new suit-slicked hair schtick!!..quite a departure from the coiffued Diamond Dogs!!
hey Maarts..I heard a sterling review of Todd Rundgreens newest..have you heard it , and if so, what is your opinion?
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Post by Thorngrub on May 24, 2004 11:49:33 GMT -5
[glow=purple,2,300]I know many could say they got into Bowie as his sense of alienation via the persona of Ziggy Stardust is a perfect characterological conduit for the disenfranchised adolescent....but I think it was more than that...you had a confluence of his mercurial stage presence, total engagement in artifice and pretension, and to put it simplistically one hell of a band in the Spiders, with Mick Ronson the perfect complement......
[/glow] ~bowiglou
Very well put there 'glouster.
*fondly recalling*: My first real exposure to him was when my gf of the time came over for our 1st date and we introduced me to the ZIGGY STARDUST movie. After that I think my first record was HEROES (whose title track resonated w/my idealistic 18-yr old self and to this day will raise the goosebumps all over my arms). I became an avid bowie-collector, acquiring nearly everything of his prodigous output.
Fave Bowie Albums @1 Time Or Another:
The Man Who Sold The World
Scary Monsters
Diamond Dogs
Space Oddity
HEROES
LOW
The Rise & Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars
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Post by PC on May 24, 2004 12:35:01 GMT -5
I thought Diamond Dogs was supposed to be one of his weaker albums??
I've also been listening to a lot of Bowie as of late. I only have 3 of his albums (Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, and Scary Monsters) but they're all great. I definitely want to get his other '70s albums, and I'll probably buy Station to Station next.
~PunkChick
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Post by bowiglou on May 24, 2004 13:10:02 GMT -5
punkchick, you can't go wrong with Station to Station..and if you thought Diamond Dogs is one of the weaker ones that is purely due to Herr Ken Holzman's solo diatribe against that one!!...so nice to see it on Thorny's list...but it does get criticized for it's very muddy production and what some thought were some relatively weak songs..however punkchick, Big Brother (my personal fave), Sweet Thing/Candidate, Rebel Rebel, 1984, When You Rock and Roll With Me, Diamond Dogs, etc. are all well deserved classics............however, I still place Aladin sane well above Diamond Dogs....
Thorny, just curious, have you given much of a listen to Lodger?.....that is a criminally under-rated album, and I think was the perfect ingress/egress from Heroes to Scary Monsters.....and have you given much of a listen to Heathen or Reality?..they really are worth the effort......
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Post by bowiglou on May 24, 2004 13:13:11 GMT -5
also thorny interesting you have the generally ignored Space Oddity on your list...of course, excepting the title song, not many are aware of songs just as Cygnet Committe, Letter to Hermoine, Janine, Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud, etc...........true, they are all relatively subdued songs, especially when contrasted to the metal-like Man who Sold the World, but I loved his songwriting on this one.......
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Post by Thorngrub on May 24, 2004 13:27:46 GMT -5
[glow=pink,2,300]I thought Diamond Dogs was supposed to be one of his weaker albums?? [/glow] PUnkchick I have no idea how this rumour got spread about. *reads bowiglou's reply* Aha! So some scoundrel reviewer w/more influence than he deserves scragged on it eh? Bastard. It's Bowie's answer to Orwell's 1984 -- it's the debut of Halloween Jack -- it's simply fantastic throughout. Fuck that reviewer.  [glow=red,1,300]Thorny, just curious, have you given much of a listen to Lodger?.....that is a criminally under-rated album, and I think was the perfect ingress/egress from Heroes to Scary Monsters.....and have you given much of a listen to Heathen or Reality?..they really are worth the effort...... [/glow] Absolutely love Lodger. It features one of my favorite vocal-performances from our Thin White Duke: Fantastic Voyage. But yes, the whole album is beautiful, featuring some very interesting Turkish & such melodies in there ("Red sails", etc) I did get Heathen, and liked it @1st -- but I must say I feel it pales in comparison to OUTSIDE (my favorite of the "latter-day bowie" albums). And I liked HOURS better, too. As for REALITY -- I was going to ask you about that one. I've held off getting it, well . . . since Heathen's disappointment. Eventually I'll come around, though (I'm sure). Too much music!!!  [glow=brown,2,300]also thorny interesting you have the generally ignored Space Oddity on your list...of course, excepting the title song, not many are aware of songs just as Cygnet Committe, Letter to Hermoine, Janine, Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud, etc...........true, they are all relatively subdued songs, especially when contrasted to the metal-like Man who Sold the World, but I loved his songwriting on this one....... [/glow] Yes! I absolutely adore his first album . . . ("Man Of Words, Man Of Music"). Cygnet Committee is simply one of the most epic songs I've ever heard. Letter to Hermione makes me want to cry. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud is just so majestic...so poetic....it leaves me w/goosebumps thinking about it. And the song "God Knows I'm Good", about the bag-lady getting caught stealing food at the register....it's just heartbreaking. That album will forever hold a special place in my heart of hearts. Station To Station is excellent, Punkchick. Just wait'll you hear the ol' crooner on "Wild Is The Wind" = *more goosepimples* " I am a DJ, I am what I play" robert fripp plays quite the wah-wah pedal on guitar there |
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Post by bowiglou on May 24, 2004 13:48:38 GMT -5
thorny........REality is fantastic, and I was most pleased on the LA trek of the tour, he performed Fantastic Voyage!!...I never thought it did that one live..interesting you like "outside' I never quite caught into that one.... Now, given my newly founded skill of appending images, here's an early cover of Space Oddity..  |
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Post by Kensterberg on May 24, 2004 14:49:51 GMT -5
Diamond Dogs IS one of Bowie's weaker albums. In fact, it has only two really good songs on it, IMHO. Rebel Rebel isn't exactly Bowie's finest moment, but it's a hell of a fun riff and vocal, and the title track is probably Bowie's finest Rolling Stones imitation. Other than those two cuts, the rest of the record is completely disposable. It's one of Bowie's most pretentious works, and unlike other high-minded concepts (i.e. Outside) doesn't deliver the musical goods necessary to salvage it. Diamond Dogs is a train wreck, a bad idea (a musical version of 1984) with worse execution ... so bad it completely got Bowie off the glam express (which is the best thing about it!). Fortunately, he survived Diamond Dogs with his sense of melody and production intact, and turned around to kick off the most prolific and strongest stage of his career with the under-rated (and far superior) Young Americans and Station to Station (surely among the best albums in his long and storied career). 2 stars. I love Bowie to death, but Diamond Dogs is among the last of his LPs that I'd recommend to anyone. I might even suggest his debut, which I also don't think much of, before DD. It just might be better than Never Let Me Down, however ... maybe ...  |
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Post by Thorngrub on May 24, 2004 14:54:34 GMT -5
SweeT, the original cover from Man Of Words, Man Of Music! (nice job 'glou) Yeah I'll get to REALITY eventually. I thought OUTSIDE was just ... fantastic. An insane concept album, and a delicious reunion w/Eno. The music on that album is out of this world. I'm still waiting for the followup to the cycle: CONTAMINATION. I sure hope it's not scrapped. Guess what, it's Bobby D's birthday. HAPPY B-DAY Bob!  Turns 63 Today |
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Post by PC on May 24, 2004 15:30:34 GMT -5
You should be a rock critic or something Ken.
"Rebel Rebel" is actually one of my very favorite Bowie tunes, but I'm not going to buy Diamond Dogs just for that...I'll get his other '70s albums first, then maybe I'll listen to some of the other songs from DD, to see if they do anything for me.
Oh yeah, and Happy Birthday to "His Bobness", as Phil likes to call him.
NP: The Thin White Duke himself - "TVC 15" (I love this song...I really need to get Station to Station)
~PunkChick
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Post by Kensterberg on May 24, 2004 17:18:57 GMT -5
Yeah PunkChick, you really need to get Station to Station. If you can find it, the Ryko issue is even better than the Virgin, as it has two extra (fabulous) live tracks -- run throughs of Stay and Word on a Wing that top the studio versions! It's one of my very favorite Bowie albums, right up there with Scary Monsters and "Heroes" (IMHO these are, respectively, his most enjoyable and most artistically successful records).
I love Rebel Rebel myself, but it's really better heard as a single on a compilition than as part of Diamond Dogs. For that matter, it doesn't even fit the ostensible theme of the record (one of my big complaints about concept albums -- oftentimes the best songs on the record are the ones that break with the concept). Big Brother and 1984 aren't really "bad" songs, but they're a long way from the peaks of Aladin Sane or Ziggy Stardust. DD is simply Bowie's worst crop of songs since his debut, and every one of the intervening records (including the oft-overlooked Man Who Sold the World) is a better album, and worth buying before you get DD. Just IMHO of course ...
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Post by Dr. Drum on May 24, 2004 18:52:38 GMT -5
I thought OUTSIDE was just ... fantastic. An insane concept album, and a delicious reunion w/Eno. The music on that album is out of this world. I'm still waiting for the followup to the cycle: CONTAMINATION. I sure hope it's not scrapped.
Thorny, you're a man after my own heart - I loved Outside. At this stage in his career if Bowie wants to take it easy - which is what he's been doing since 'hours...', IMO - he's earned the right. However, I like him best when he's pushing the envelope.
BTW, I don't think Contamination will ever see the light of day. Apparently Bowie lost interest in going through the umpteen hundred hours of tape from the sessions with Eno to craft the follow up. If my ears don't deceive me, however, he has reworked songs from those sessions for both Heathen and Reality.
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