Epilogue
I don't do April Fool's Day. Mostly that's because i live in a permanent state of post-ironic confusion. Every conversation with me is like
Me: [states piece of information that will be important for person in the near future]
Person: are you shitting me?
Me: no.
I just spent the last 5 days listening to David Bowie's entire studio discography (minus Pin Ups), and boy are my arms tired.
My first time around, i liked early Bowie a lot. Then, as with all things, i went off in my own direction, and paid no attention to him for 20+ years. Then he made Blackstar (which i bought as a present for my wife, 'cause she likes Bowie) and died two days after it was released. It's a fantastic album, and i've known i needed to tackle this enormous project for quite a while.
What i found out was that 1) Bowie really was awesome, 2) there are only 3 albums i don't like, and 3) i'm actually a lot like Bowie (in my own perception of myself).
Bowie made movies. Some of them were actual movies, but some of them only manifested themselves as a recording project, a tour, and a moving on to the next project. He imagined what kind of character he could play, learned to live in that character for a couple years with an ensemble cast of current and future superstars, then started over again. Some of those characters were really nasty. All of those characters were commentary on the world he lived in and where it might lead us in the next few years.
In one way or another, everything he did boils down to a deep look at conflict. More specifically, the kind of social and political conflict that created the second world war. The conflict between order and chaos. The conflict between what you want, and what you have to do to obtain it.
Books and books and books could be written about this stuff. You could go deep into the analytical and philosophical rabbit hole. You can approach his work in any way you want, and get something out of it (good or bad), but i think the core theme is "history repeats itself." Or, to quote the man himself, "Same old thing in brand new drag."
This was an exhausting project. I both do and do not recommend trying it yourself. If you were busy living your life (like you should be) and missed a few of my posts in the deluge, or if you just want to read them all again in one coherent stream at your own pace, they start here:
https://albumsforeternity.blogspot.com/2020/03/david-bowies-discography-1-david-bowie.html?m=1
Next
Me: [states piece of information that will be important for person in the near future]
Person: are you shitting me?
Me: no.
I just spent the last 5 days listening to David Bowie's entire studio discography (minus Pin Ups), and boy are my arms tired.
My first time around, i liked early Bowie a lot. Then, as with all things, i went off in my own direction, and paid no attention to him for 20+ years. Then he made Blackstar (which i bought as a present for my wife, 'cause she likes Bowie) and died two days after it was released. It's a fantastic album, and i've known i needed to tackle this enormous project for quite a while.
What i found out was that 1) Bowie really was awesome, 2) there are only 3 albums i don't like, and 3) i'm actually a lot like Bowie (in my own perception of myself).
Bowie made movies. Some of them were actual movies, but some of them only manifested themselves as a recording project, a tour, and a moving on to the next project. He imagined what kind of character he could play, learned to live in that character for a couple years with an ensemble cast of current and future superstars, then started over again. Some of those characters were really nasty. All of those characters were commentary on the world he lived in and where it might lead us in the next few years.
In one way or another, everything he did boils down to a deep look at conflict. More specifically, the kind of social and political conflict that created the second world war. The conflict between order and chaos. The conflict between what you want, and what you have to do to obtain it.
Books and books and books could be written about this stuff. You could go deep into the analytical and philosophical rabbit hole. You can approach his work in any way you want, and get something out of it (good or bad), but i think the core theme is "history repeats itself." Or, to quote the man himself, "Same old thing in brand new drag."
This was an exhausting project. I both do and do not recommend trying it yourself. If you were busy living your life (like you should be) and missed a few of my posts in the deluge, or if you just want to read them all again in one coherent stream at your own pace, they start here:
https://albumsforeternity.blogspot.com/2020/03/david-bowies-discography-1-david-bowie.html?m=1
Next
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