Daily Bowie - Sons of the Silent Age

One of the things i love about David Bowie's career, more so than most artists of his longevity, is how different each era of music sounds from one another, and how devoted the fan base can be to their particular favorite.  And that favorite can totally change over time.  I used to be way, way into Ziggy-era Bowie, and electro-industrial Bowie before that, but of late, Berlin Bowie is my frequent go to era.  The combination of "Low," "Heroes," and "Lodger" is damn near flawless, and was the forebear of so much to come.  "Heroes," the 1977 released centerpiece of the trilogy, has become a kind of cultural touchstone, its title track ranking up there with the very best that the man ever recorded.  The whole thing is remarkable though, with my favorite being the sweeping and exotic "Sons of the Silent Age."  Listen below.

Daily Bowie - I'm Deranged

Yesterday, a friend of mine declared his love for the 1999 album "Hours," arguably one of Bowie's lesser efforts, but a record he had fond memories of from his high school years, and thus a record he had a more personal or profound relationship with.  For me, that was 1995's "Outside," Bowie's first real foray into the industrial sounds made popular by Nine Inch Nails and the like.  Before that record came out, i had kind of written Bowie off as a former superstar turned adult contemporary artist, the outcome of so many classic rock stars before him.

As a kid in the 80's, i was always aware of Bowie, but had never really given him much thought.  He was the Goblin King in "Labyrinth," or a radio and TV staple with the singles from "Let's Dance."  He was there, but mostly just on my periphery.  His music didn't feel like it was for me yet, as the fifth graders weren't really jamming Tin Machine, you know?  But at some point, i remember hearing "Space Oddity" on our local classic rock station, KBAT, and i began to find a new appreciation for the man.  I realized why he was a superstar...even if i wasn't into his newer stuff.  It wasn't until high school and the release of "Outside," that i really began my ascent into Bowie adulation and fandom.

Bowie tapped into a genre i was really into at the time, added his own theatrical accoutrements, and created something completely brand new...and really fucking weird.  With flashes of electronic music, jazz, and industrial rock, and featuring an assist from Brian Eno, "Outside" is a concept album about a noirish dystopian 1999 following the fictional Nathan Adler, an art crime investigator.  It's a dense and strange record, but it is MY high school Bowie album...and i'm pretty attached to it.

Listen to "I'm Deranged" below.

Lust For Youth - Stardom

Lust For Youth have a new album coming out in March on Sacred Bones, so at least there's some good news today.  Listen to the dreamy, ethereal "Stardom" below and be on the lookout for "Compassion" when it comes out.

Daily Bowie - Big Brother/Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family

Today's Daily Bowie comes from the 1974 album "Diamond Dogs," a project created from the remains of Bowie's proposed and rejected "1984" musical (the Orwell estate said "no").  On a lot of days, it's my favorite Bowie record, and years ago, the band i used to play with toyed with the idea of learning and performing the whole thing live.  That never happened, but i guess we all have our regrets don't we.  Listen to the duo of tracks that close the album out below, "Big Brother" and "Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family."

RIP Alan Rickman

RIP Alan Rickman.  The actor had many memorable and wonderful roles (Professor Snape) over the course of his career, but in some ways, he'll always be Hans Gruber to me.

Daily Bowie - The Loneliest Guy

Kind of a downer song for today's Daily Bowie selection, but there's a calming beauty within it.  Listen to "The Loneliest Guy" from 2003's "Reality" LP below.

Secret Boyfriend

Here's some haunting ambient machine music from the latest album from Secret Boyfriend.  "Memorize Them Well" is the sound of meditating deep within a factory somewhere, eyes closed, room darkened, your mind taking you into spiritual nether-caverns that really don't exist.  Listen below and get the "Memory Care Unit" LP from Blackest Ever Black.

Daily Bowie - A New Career in a New Town

A day later, and i'm still reeling and struggling with the news of David Bowie's passing.  It's going to hurt for awhile.  So, i think i'll be posting some tracks and stuff here everyday for the next week.  From 1977's "Low," here is "A New Career in a New Town," your Daily Bowie...

RIP David Bowie

In a word...i'm devastated.  It was terribly difficult just to type out the words "RIP David Bowie."  There are only a handful of artists who i could actually say shaped my life in some fashion or another, drawing an endless amount of inspiration from, and Bowie was one of them, as he appeared to be for scores of others around the globe.  He was a chameleon.  He was Ziggy Stardust.  He was Aladdin Sane, a Diamond Dog, the Man Who Fell to Earth, the Thin White Duke, a constantly evolving singer/songwriter/performer/actor/icon who always seemed to be one step ahead of everybody else.  Even in the end.  His latest LP felt essential after first listen, and now "Blackstar" may just be more poignant than i ever could have realized.  I'll be listening to it endlessly for a little while, along with "Hunky Dory," and "Low," and "Heroes," and...well let's just be honest, i've got 25 studio albums, some live recordings, singles, collaborations, and so much more to wade through over the coming days.  This is going to be a hard death to get over, but i count myself lucky, not just that i was able to see Bowie perform live over a decade ago, but that i was alive and on this Earth while he was creating music.  I got to witness the second half of his evolution.  I got to hear the music.

For now, everyone needs to grab their favorite David Bowie incarnation, their favorite Bowie record, and just slip away with it for a little while.  I'm going to leave you with "Fantastic Voyage," a track from the year of my birth, the 1979 album "Lodger."

RIP David Bowie

RIP Angus Scrimm

RIP Angus Scrimm.  The "Phantasm" actor passed away yesterday at the age of 89.