Best of 2016 #6: David Bowie - Blackstar (Columbia)

It's cliche to put this kind of an album on a year end list. The last album from a legendary artist, as a last hurrah for his stellar career. One last celebration of his long career. Like the Grammys did with Ray Charles, giving him the best album Grammy for a mediocre album, because he'd been snubbed so often in the past.

But this is not that kind of entry, nor is Blackstar that kind of album.

In a lot of ways, David Bowie's swan song reminds me of Warren Zevon's last album, The Wind. Warren Zevon knew he was dying of cancer, and made no attempt to hide it. Instead, he celebrated it. With his last three albums, he mused endlessly about death, his own mortality and joked about the experience. 2000's Life'll Kill Ya was a celebration of his life, albeit in a morbid sort of way. 2002's My Ride's Here had the cover art of Warren sitting in the back of a hearse. 2003's The Wind ended his long career with the brutally sad "Keep Me in Your Heart for a While."

Bowie's last album was similar. Bowie knew he was dying, but kept it secret from all but his closest friends. Blackstar came out just a week before he died. The initial reaction to the album was positive, seeing it as a dark, spacy album of Bowie's typical output. Once his death became reality, the depth of the album opened up.

Blackstar seems to echo all of David Bowie's career, from his psychedelic pop and mod 60s, the angular prog-pop of the 70s, the disaffected new wave of the 80s, into his dabbling into electronics of the 90s. Blackstar brought all of his personas together with a forward looking album, melding his influences with electro-jazz and hipster indy pop. His previous album, 2013's The Next Day, was also a backwards and forwards looking album, using the artwork from Heroes on the cover, with the music a space-age mix of 70s prog/electronics and pop with modern pop influences.

The lyrics mirror Bowie's struggle and acceptance of the coming end of his life, and reflect upon his legacy as a musician and as a person. He faces his fate with dignity, with humility and with grace. This album is a masterpiece, a fitting testament to Bowie's career and his weight as a musician and cultural figure.

As a piece of art, the album still continues to give. Early after his death, fans were finding secrets hidden in the album's artwork, and those easter eggs are still being discovered today. Just how much did David Bowie hide in this album? How much is hidden in the music itself?

RIP David Bowie

Bigger and better writers will be waxing poetic about the legacy of David Bowie. Instead, I offer the weirder end of his music for your listening pleasure!




 




 

Symphony Sale for November

Every six months or so, the Kamloops Symphony holds a used book and music sale. The November sale just finished up. I always go, though I never find anything spectacular, I usually find a couple of interesting things. This year, I found the "Cat People" score by Giorgio Moroder and a beat up copy of "Thunder in the East" by obscure Japanese hair-metallers Loudness. It also gives me a chance to indulge my other collecting hobby: maps and altases. I picked up a road atlas of the UK and Ireland, and a road gazetteer of Australia put out in 1969 by an Australian oil company, Ampol.