I've never considered myself a David Bowie fan per se, but I've always gravitated towards his music one way of another: I used to tape his videos on VHS because I thought they were beautiful and inspiring, I've downloaded my favorite songs of him on mIRC, even saw a show once (I had free tickets). Before purchasing Blackstar, I owned only two of his albums though: Outside and Earthling, both released in the 1990s. I guess I've always thought he was an interesting artist, but I didn't connect with his music consistantly. David Bowie went out like a true rock star this month though, releasing a new album two days before his passing. Of course, it was everything but a coincidence, so I had to give it a spin to Bowie's artistic goodbye.
It's difficult to listen to Blackstar without looking for hints of David Bowie's demise, because it is full of them. Bowie keeps referring to "the day of execution" in the title song and alluding to his transformation into a black star. Lazarus begins with "look up here, I'm in heaven", followed next paragraph by "look up here,man. I'm in danger." In Dollar Days, he keeps playing with the phases "I'm trying to" and "I'm DYING to", which you should read "I'm dying TOO" here. Bowie likes to twist and turn language. So, the allusions to David Bowie's own death are all over this record. Blackstar is very much a self-appointed artistic funeral.
Producer of Blackstar Tony Visconti said it was an art rock/avant-garde jazz record that was inspired by Kendrick Lamar's album To Pimp a Butterfly, the music of Boards of Canada and Death Grips, which is amazing to me. It is one of the great messages hidden in Blackstar's musical composition: your body might age, but what you do is ageless if you decide that it is. David Bowie was more than twice my age, yet wrote a record that is more connected with today's music that I'll ever be. Blackstar's lyrics might be about death, but the music is timeless and immortal. It has already transcended its creator's death.
The execution blindfold Bowie is wearing in the Blackstar and Lazarus videos is another haunting hint that he was aware of his fate.
But how does it sound?
Right?
Blackstar is a record you need to either play very loud or with headphones on, because it is all about layers and echoes. Lots of subtle details are going to get lost if you don't let them swarm you at the loudest possible volume. One thing that caught my attention was Bowie's peculiar use of brass instruments. It's something he used a lot early in his career (I'm talking Diamond Dogs days here), yet it is used very sparsely in Blackstar, like echoes of buried memories. Lots of old Bowie sounds surface in this album and collide with his more contemporary electronic soundscapes. It is a very rich mix, but it makes for a cerebral album. It is not the most danceable David Bowie album to say the least, but it is representative of who he was as artist.
Faithful to my overall David Bowie experience, not every song in Blackstar worked for me. I thought the title song really was the showstopper of the album both in its complexity and its sheer ambition (it is Bowie's attempt to go back to space). There were other very pleasant songs including 'tis a Pity She Was a Whore, Lazarus and Dollar Days, but other songs like Girls Loves Me and I Can't Give Everything Away struck out with me after a minute or so. Their simplicity really clashes with what I thought the album was about. They might've been at home somewhere else, but they are a strange fit on Blackstar.
It is definitely worth a spin. Maybe not one of Bowie's greatest albums, but it is a great concept album and a beautiful way to say goodbye. There is a rumor that he has pre-recorded other albums and that Blackstar was the first of many. Somehow I doubt that, but wouldn't it be great?