Excellent news: David Bowie has just released the first single from his new album, “Where Are We Now?”:
The single is currently available at iTunes and the album itself will appear by March of this year. This is Mr. Bowie’s first new work in (gasp!) ten long years. For a while there, it appeared he might be retiring but I’m glad we’re getting at least one more taste of his (to my ears) very unique and compelling work.
UPDATE: All right, I’ve given the above song a few listens and I have to say I’m very impressed. The song is haunting, introspective piece that grows on you with each listen. Certainly fills me with optimism and curiosity regarding the entire album. The album, titled “The Next Day”, has 17 (!) tracks on the iTunes “Deluxe” edition.
The first part of the above headline happens to be one of the more obvious take downs one can expect an unimpressed critic might use for the review of the new Peter Jackson directed The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first of his three part (!) cinematic adaptation of the J. R. R. Tolkien “prologue” to his famous Lord of the Rings trilogy series of a few years past. Certainly its the headline used by Dana Stevens of Slate Magazine for the review of this film (check it out here), but its hardly an original insult, seeing as how this was the title of a parody book published way back in 1969.
I haven’t seen the first part of this new trilogy, but given some of the early writings regarding the movie, I suspect I’ll pass. Not that I dislike the whole Lord of the Rings thing, be it novel or cartoon or movie. On the contrary I was very impressed with the first two Lord of the Rings movie adaptations. They were incredibly ambitious in scope and scale and presented some great cinematic fun. The only complaints I heard were from Lord of the Rings purists who felt the movies at times did not follow the spirit of the books as well as they should have. Regardless, I really liked those first two Lord of the Rings films.
Unfortunately, the last of that original film trilogy, The Return of the King, really, really tried my patience. Indeed, even many of those who liked and/or loved this trilogy were bothered by the way this concluding film had something like twenty climaxes/conclusions before finally…FINALLY!…reaching its actual end. It was at that moment, when I realized I loved The Fellowship of the Rings and The Two Towers but didn’t like The Return of the King, that I feared director Peter Jackson may have become a little too enamored of his work. So enamored that he might have developed a hard time “stepping back” and shifting what should remain in the final cut of his film and what didn’t need to be there. Or, to put it another way, he lost the ability to edit down his movies.
Mr. Jackson followed the original Rings trilogy with a remake of King Kong, and my fears were further confirmed: King Kong clocked in at an eye-popping 3 hours and 7 minutes in length versus the original, which ran a little over an hour and a half. When I heard he was taking over the direction of The Hobbit, I was curious but worried. Would this film be more like the first two Ring films rather than the third?
When I heard it would be two films, then three, I feared Mr. Jackson was once again going to deliver a bloated, too long production.
Given the words of some critics, this may well be the case. And we’re only into the first of threeHobbit films!
But before it feels like this blog entry is nothing more than a slam piece directed against Mr. Jackson, let it be noted that he would be far from the first -and certainly far from the last- creative person who may have fallen under this spell. Criterion, the gold standard in home video releases, just put out Michael Cimino’s notorious studio-killer Heaven’s Gate, a film that many feel is the very definition of creative hubris. Despite the fact that it was a mega-flop when it was released, the movie does have its admirers, but there is no doubt that this two and a half hour film tried many people’s patience. In the realm of books, I’ve also seen writers -too numerous to name- who have disappointed with either undernourished or overly bloated works. And in music, I’m sure just about anyone can name a few albums featuring normally very creative individuals who created a bloated train wreck of a work, at least in your opinion.
If there’s any sort of conclusion to made regarding this topic it is this: Creative folks are as fallible as the next person. They’re as capable of making mistakes as everyone else and they’re certainly as capable of getting too fond of their work, to their own detriment, as anyone else.
Somewhere along the line when I first started writing I too realized that there was a danger of falling into this trap. One of my earliest novels took an inordinately long time to create, then it sat in the disk drive for a few years. When I came back to it, I realized the first third of the book was waaaay too long and I chopped it down to a minimal size. Originally I was incapable of seeing the bloat, but the passage of time allowed me to move away from the work, to become less tied into it and to see it from a fresh perspective.
Hopefully, I learned my lesson and my subsequent works have been crisp and to the point…something I feel any good novel should be. But let there be no doubt: The most difficult thing in the world to do with your creative works is to examine them with a cold and clinical eye and not be afraid of taking a chain saw to your “babies” and cutting down whatever should be cut down and expanding where it may be needed.
For some reason entry #3, Taylor Mitchell, I find one of the more bizarre, though in part it might be because I hail from the area where she was killed…by coyotes.
Very sad and equally weird ending to a star in the making.
A few years back, the James Bond franchise hit a wall. The current actor playing the James Bond role had obviously played himself out, it appeared, to both audiences and the producers of the films. Realizing they needed to make a change, the producers of the films decided to go in another direction and bring us a more “serious” Bond. They wanted to make the stakes higher and minimize the “camp”.
Alas, box office history wasn’t made there nor, especially, in the second and last (and, IMHO, pretty terrible) Timothy Dalton Bond film, 1989’s Licence to Kill. Though its hard to judge and I may well be “mind-reading” here, I nonetheless had the feeling Timothy Dalton knew this second Bond film was a dud. His performance throughout was pretty dull and he looks to be having a terrible time before the cameras. It hardly came as a surprise, therefore, that he didn’t return for thirds.
Strangely enough, history essentially repeated itself afterwards. The next Bond, Pierce Brosnan, certainly looked great in the role of James Bond. However, I found his films to be…mediocre. Though I saw all of them, I’d be hard pressed to give you details of any of his films…other than the first, Goldeneye, which I consider the best of the lot.
So when Pierce Brosnan was let go, the producers of the Bond films once again decided to “go serious” and brought in Daniel Craig. Unlike the Timothy Dalton experiment, their fortunes were rewarded this time around even as history repeated itself in other ways. Like Timothy Dalton, the first Daniel Craig Bond film, 2006’s Casino Royale, was pretty damn great. The follow-up, 2008’s Quantum of Solace…wasn’t. In fact, I think I enjoyed Licence to Kill a little more than Quantum…though at least Daniel Craig remained more interested in his role here versus Timothy Dalton.
Which is my very long winded way of saying that I’m curious to see the new James Bond film, Skyfall.
But am I the only one who thinks Adele’s theme song for the movie is…pretty terrible? Don’t get me wrong: Her singing voice remains a pure joy to hear and, on the surface, getting her to sing the theme song to a Bond film seemed a total no-brainer.
The problem, in my humble opinion -and, no, I’ve haven’t sold quite as many of my own albums as Adele has! ;-)- is that they put “Skyfall” and words that rhyme with it a little too much into the song. It’s just a little too much, IMHO.
What are my favorite Bond theme songs? Three immediately spring to mind:
Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey. Perhaps what Adele was striving for?
Then there’s the rockin’ Paul McCartney “Live and Let Die”:
Finally, loved Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does It Better”. Really liked the way she subtly threw in the movie title, “The Spy Who Loved Me” within the context of the song. Pretty much the opposite of the way Adele has Skyfall a little too pronounced in the song’s lyrics.
As a lifelong fan of music, it is humorous to have your very own offspring mock your musical tastes as old fashioned. Once in a while, though, I startle them by sniffing out something they (grudgingly) wind up liking before they or their friends discover it.
First Aid Kit’s Emmylou is one such song, a terrific tune that resonates despite the fact that I’ve never, ever been much of a fan of country music. Still, the most remarkable about this song (indeed, the album itself) by this sister act is that they hail from that bedrock of country music…Sweden!
It’s been a while since I’ve pointed out the wonderful (and often howlingly funny) wesite Cracked.com. This list, of 5 Rock Stars You Won’t Believe Are Secretly Musical Geniuses, was fascinating:
Of the ones described, #3, Prince, really blew my mind. Yes, I know his music pretty well (though I’m not as familiar with some of his more recent output). Yes, I know he is very prolific and has written mountains of music. I also knew he played various instruments, including the guitar.
However, I didn’t realize until seeing the video below just what a terrific guitar player he is.
The interesting thing is that he’s basically invisible for the first half of this song. Then, when the solo begins, you just can’t keep your eyes -and ears!- off his performance. Truly great stuff!
The Olympics ended yesterday with a very, very big show that lovingly displayed the things that make Britain Britain. There were fashion models, theater, and psychedelic floats. There was much music, even a performance of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” by Eric Idle. This song, which appeared at the very end of The Life of Brian, my favorite Monty Python film, was aired complete, though the single profanity uttered in the song was heavily (and loudly) bleeped for American viewing.
Given all the Britannia on display, I was curious if David Bowie might make an appearance at the event. After all, his song “Heroes” was played in a very prominent spot at the very beginning of the Olympics while the British athletes made their very first appearance/entrance into the stadium.
While the closing ceremonies were going on, and the show focused on the British fashion industry, they of course played Mr. Bowie’s song “Fashion” and, I suspect, that might well be where the show’s makers might well have loved to have him appear and sing…
But he didn’t.
Mr. Bowie wasn’t the only musician whose songs were played during the Olympics and didn’t show. Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here,” for example, was sung live, but neither Roger Waters or David Gilmour showed up to perform the song. I believe Nick Mason, the band’s drummer, was the only Pink Floyd member present.
Yet Mr. Bowie’s absence felt to me like something more. There have been articles written here and there hinting if not outright saying that Mr. Bowie has effectively, though quietly, retired, and not seeing him at the Olympics seemed to further that notion. After all, this is a man who tended to release a new album almost every year and was constantly touring or making appearances in movies or TV shows. His last album, 2003’s Reality, is rapidly approaching a decade since release. While he toured in support of the album, he was diagnosed with an acute arterial blockage and had emergency angioplasty in 2004. From that point on, his appearances have been sparse. His last stage appearance was in 2006, his last recorded song was a collaboration with Scarlett Johansson in 2008.
So when his songs were presented in such prominent places during the opening and closing of the Olympics, I couldn’t help but think the event organizers were hoping to lure him out to do a live performance. And given how long it had been since he did such a thing, one might have thought that Mr. Bowie would enjoy the opportunity to do just that.
The fact that he didn’t, as I said before, suggests to me that perhaps the whispers were right. No, I’m not privy to Mr. Bowie’s personal life. For all I know, he might be furiously working on a new album or acting in some film or doing something that deprives him of the time to head over to the Olympics and perform.
On the other hand, and given the fact that we’ve seen so little of Mr. Bowie since 2008, I can’t help but wonder if, indeed, those whispers of his retirement are indeed accurate.
If they are, I take that news as bittersweet. After several decades of hard work, the release of many classic albums, and what must have been a very frightening health emergency, it would not surprise me if Mr. Bowie has decided he’s done enough. I will continue to hope for new songs/albums from Mr. Bowie, but if Reality represents his last major work, I will cherish it along with his other albums, which never seem to grow old.
First up is author Rick Moody talking about the song “Let It Be” by the Beatles. Next up is singer Rhett Miller on David Bowie’s Hunky Dory.
Both are worth listening to (though I suspect more people have heard “Let It Be” than the entirety of David Bowie’s Hunky Dory…with the possible exception of the song “Changes”).
Which leads me to thinking: What album would I recommend above all others to someone? Now that’s a hard thing to choose.
You would think that, given how big a fan of David Bowie I am that, like Mr. Miller, I’d of course choose one of his albums. Yet as I type these words right now, I don’t know if I would. Yes, I absolutely love David Bowie. And yes, many of his albums are certainly “up there” on my list of all time greats. But would I choose one of those albums above the works of other musical artists I also adore?
Boy, that’s hard to do. As much as I love Mr. Bowie, I also love several of the albums of The Beatles (Abbey Road, The White Album, Sgt. Pepper, etc.). And I really think both the Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall by Pink Floyd are incredible, awe-inspiring works. Then there’s the first and last albums released by the Jim Morrison version of The Doors (for those confused by that statement, the surviving members of the Doors released not one but two albums following Mr. Morrison’s death, Other Voices and Full Circle, before giving up). And what about Jimi Hendrix…and The Clash…and Led Zeppelin…and The Smashing Pumpkins…and….and….
Jeeze, what a hard choice!
So here I sit, still stewing. Still thinking hard. If I had to choose just one -and only one- album above all others, which would it be…
Ah, hell…I’m going predictable here. The album I would choose?
No, the album isn’t perfect (To this day I really, really don’t like his remake of The Rolling Stone’s “Let Spend the Night Together”, found on this album. Likewise, I think the song “Time” is a little too long and morose for its own good). But the good far, FAR outweighs the bad.
The album, which many have noted was “Ziggy Stardust goes to the U.S.”, starts with the terrific “Watch That Man”, a great rocker. Immediately afterwards, we get the equally terrific “Aladdin Sane”, a song that ends with a terrific, fractured piano solo that hints at the madness in the song’s pun title. Following that we get “Drive-In Saturday”, a post-apocalyptic 1950’s sounding rocker (!) that is just incredible.
And then, after all that goodness, comes “Panic In Detroit.” That song, quite frankly, is a complete knockout. I absolutely LOVE that song, and consider it one of David Bowie’s all time best.
After that song comes another rocker, the sarcastic “Cracked Actor,” which is a decent enough song but not one of my favorites (its theme hints at a song Mr. Bowie would release soon after, “Fame”). This is followed by the already mentioned “Time”. After that comes the radio friendly “Prettiest Star” and the fast-forward-able cover of “Let’s Spend The Night Together”.
The album concludes with two absolute gems. “The Jean Genie”, perhaps the most famous song of the album, is followed by the hauntingly macabre cabaret-like “Lady Grinning Soul”.
So, yes, despite not liking two of the songs on this album (and thinking a third is only “ok”), I would still go with Aladdin Sane as an album I would recommend highly to everyone. It may not be “perfect” (so few things are, alas!), but its got so much great material nonetheless that it is a can’t miss.
By now, the news of singer Madonna’s latest album, MDNA, is known to those who follow album sales. Briefly, the album debuted on Billboard at #1, suggesting she was still a force in the music business.
Then came week 2 of the sales, and a drop in sales so precipitous it was record-breaking…in a very dubious way:
Truth is, I feel for many “older” musical artists. They are caught in a vicious cycle alluded to in the article: Older fans of the artist(s) tend to want to hear their “best” or “classic” material and usually have little interest in the artist(s) “new” works. On the other hand, young music followers may not really care about the older artist(s) and their works, new or “classic”. If there’s one thing I’ve realized over time is that each subsequent generation embraces “their” music. To many of them (though certainly not all), what came before is usually not as interesting as whatever “new” music is currently in fashion. Thus, any “new” music from older artists may wind up being doubly unappealing.
I’ve noted, perhaps too often, my fondness for the music of David Bowie. Yet I suspect, sadly, that as well known as he may be, I’m one of the few David Bowie fans that have followed -and greatly enjoyed- many of his post-Let’s Dance releases. That album, which was released a lifetime ago in 1983, was a HUGE success. In fact, and if memory serves, that album and Michael Jackson’s mega-hit Thriller were 1-2 on Billboard for weeks, with Mr. Bowie’s album at one point supplanting it for the top stop for a week or two.
However, following that album’s release, Mr. Bowie entered a, let’s be honest here, rough patch. His following two albums, Tonight and especially Never Let Me Down, didn’t feel like grade A efforts on Mr. Bowie’s part, despite some good songs to be found in each album. He would recover, in my mind, and subsequently release many great works, but I suspect he fell into the same problem that other older artists fell into and his age started to work against him. Many of his fans, some even quite famous, openly opined that his best works were those that preceded Let’s Dance. While I found several of his post-1983 albums pretty damn great (particularly his 1995 album 1. Outside), Mr. Bowie has not, to date, come close to replicating the success he had in the 1970’s and early 1980’s.
Similarly, I was pleasantly surprised by the last years release of Panic of Girls, the latest Blondie album. I felt the album was on par with some of Blondie’s best works and have little doubt that if it had been released during the band’s “classic” years, it might have gone one to be considered a truly great work. As it is, the album seems to have slipped away.
And thus we return to the plight of Madonna’s MDNA, an album that “sold” quite well during its first week , though given the second week sales figures and the gimmicky nature those first week sales were made this success appears to be more mirage than reality. I was never a huge fan of Madonna, even during her golden years, but the story behind Madonna, and all “older” musicians, is an intriguing one.
