FUCKING HELL NEW DAVID BOWIE ALBUM COMING OUT!!!

[The Roofdog]

Most famously, of course, "Heroes" didn't even break the top twenty.

But then Lodger came out which drove the general public into a frenzy and took the next single 'Ashes to Ashes' to #1...

I jest of course, but 'Sound and Vision' got to 3 and 'Boys Keep Swinging' somewhat incredibly made the top 10. Bowie's chart history makes no sense, basically.

[ziggy starbucks]

blimey this came as a shock. I just assumed that he 'd never return. Over the years I've tried to find some interview or comment from Bowie to explain why he'd retired but there has been virtual silence from him for years.

I like the new single. It seems to follow on naturally from his Heathen/Reality albums. As he seems to be returning for his own pleasure (i.e no tour, no interviews) its a bit of a shame he hasn't made something more extreme and weird, like the much under-appreciated Outside album

[vrailaine]

One more reason to be grateful for this new record is that it means his last creative endeavour won't be that 'Extras' cameo.

The song reminds me a lot of 'Bring Me The Disco King' from 'Reality'.

The Prestige was after that, no?

[biggytitbo]

By the sound of the very nice new song,  Bowie's been listening to 'whom the bells tolls' by the bee gees.

[Doomy Dwyer]

I think it's lovely.

The video has a bit of a Johnny Cash 'Hurt' vibe about it. Although I don't recall The Man in Black dressing up as a Siamese teddy bear.

Wistful, elegiac, yearning - all that good stuff whilst also basically just a list of places in Germany and harsh weather conditions.

Something for everyone.

[Natnar]

haha, yes! Also I really, really hope the iTunes preview image ends up being the official cover:

Looks like it is the cover http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/bowies-new-album-art-1131635

[Phil_A]

A friend of mine who is old enough to have seen Bowie live in the seventies insists that there's been a lot of revisionism here, and that he was only a really big deal to the general public in the early eighties.  He qualified this by saying that his following for most of the seventies was a large cult one (like Morrissey's) rather than one befitting a "superstar".  He may have had several break-out top three hits during the period, but the average person on the street couldn't have given a stuff when his next album was coming out, and the likes of Floyd and Zeppelin were far more important in that respect.  No idea if that's true or not, but the statistics do bear it out.

Most famously, of course, "Heroes" didn't even break the top twenty.

Well, it's certainly true that he didn't become a real stadium-filling megastar until the mid-eighties at least, his commercial(although possibly not creative) peak. What does seem surprising is how short-lived that peak was - by the time of "Never Let Me Down" in 1987, his chart placings had already started to slip - No. 6 in the UK and only 34 in the US. But then, like others have said, his chart career has never exactly been consistent.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Looks like it is the cover http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/bowies-new-album-art-1131635

I really like it.  It's his best cover since time immemorial.

[biggytitbo]

Looks like it is the cover http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/bowies-new-album-art-1131635

Pretentious? Moi?

[Head Gardener]

[The Region Legion]

Better cover than Reality, but it's still shit if that's the official sleeve. The one from his website is better (his face boxed out rather than the Heroes artwork). Absolutely no effort made. If there's some kind of deliberate "all my previous characters are dead, and I'm done" meaning to it then I can accept it on that level, even if it does seem a bit melodramatic. Then again, maybe he knows he's going to die this year and wants to make a dramatic exit. The press release said something about how he didn't want to make more music until he has something to say, and now "he definitely has something to say", which would fit. I'm reading that deeply into it because otherwise someone just got paid a small fortune for putting unfiltered Ariel font and a white box over classic album covers.

Song is OK, better single than the abysmal Never Get Old, but the lyrics are a bit suspect. "I got a train, you never thought i could do that". What? Video is pretty odd too. Who's the girl meant to be?

[Head Gardener]

hmmm, I smell a collect the set type thing!?

[Beep Cleep Chimney]

I downloaded Where Are We Now earlier and have just been listening to it on my decent stereo downstairs.  Sounds absolutely beautiful.  Lush, even.

I'm still not convinced by that album artwork, though.  Might as well have made the font Comic Sans.

[Brundle-Fly]

Fastest cover yet? Good old Momus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF1QQW0LHNQ

[vrailaine]

Finally listened, I think someone said already but it reminds me of Robert Wyatt a bit, in fact, it just makes me want to listen to Sea Song.

[Brundle-Fly]

Fastest cover yet? Good old Momus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF1QQW0LHNQ

If anyone's interested in how Momus managed it.

http://mrstsk.tumblr.com/post/40077382336

[another Mr. Lizard]

A friend of mine who is old enough to have seen Bowie live in the seventies insists that there's been a lot of revisionism here, and that he was only a really big deal to the general public in the early eighties.  He qualified this by saying that his following for most of the seventies was a large cult one (like Morrissey's) rather than one befitting a "superstar".  He may have had several break-out top three hits during the period, but the average person on the street couldn't have given a stuff when his next album was coming out, and the likes of Floyd and Zeppelin were far more important in that respect.  No idea if that's true or not, but the statistics do bear it out.

I've been a keen Bowie fan since the early 70s and can confirm much of this, or at least can say that this was how I viewed his career during those, erm, golden years. I recall being truly shocked when 'TVC 15' failed to make it into the top thirty, for instance, but then during the Berlin period (now seen in retrospect by most as his finest era) the failure of that single and 'Be My Wife' seemed to make more sense, he really did have the aura of a more underground artist and I think many were baffled by the 'Low' and 'Heroes' instrumentals (for me, 'Moss Garden' is the best track he ever recorded). 'Ashes To Ashes' changed it all - picking up a huge wave of response from the punks, post-punks and fledgling new romantics, generating a warmth and love not dissimilar to the general reaction yesterday morning.

Chatting to a mate at work today, we were pondering whether anyone in music had pulled off such a coup as Bowie's latest announcement in the past. Closest we could come was to cite Prince's infamous 'free with the Daily Mail' album, and perhaps Kate Bush's entire career (notably of course the release of 'Aerial'), but even those seem to pale in comparison with this out-of-nowhere development.

According to Visconti, the new track is somewhat out of step with the rest of the upcoming album - we're promised 'rock', apparently.

[The Roofdog]

According to Visconti, the new track is somewhat out of step with the rest of the upcoming album - we're promised 'rock', apparently.

Hmmm. After the single I was hoping the new record would be more like Heathen and less like Reality (the album that got all the good reviews Heathen should've got). Sounds like that might not be the case.

[Vodka Margarine]

Well, I really like the new single and the video is pleasingly bonkers. Plus he doesn't look or sound half bad for a 66 year old man who had more than his fair share of 'decadence' back in the day.

I don't think I'll be purchasing the new album, mind. I'm much more of a classic Bowie person. Plus I thought Reality was a shocking album apart from New Killer Star.

[Dusty Gozongas]

...And here's a music video (It's one of the greatest things I've ever seen): http://www.davidbowie.com/vision?videopremiere=true

As a lifelong dis-liker of most of Bowie's output it's a bit of a headfuck to be blown away by that. I don't even like introspective dirges as a rule either. It's perfect.

[The Roofdog]

NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE CHARTS

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20959202

It is not possible to distinguish" people who purchase the song on its own from those who pre-order the album and get it for free

[Dusty Gozongas]

I Spy With My Little Eye the industry playing their own olde tricks there.

*cough* Otherwise I'm ENRAGED by the home-tapers and pirates..!

FNORD

[Beep Cleep Chimney]

NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE CHARTS

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20959202

What a loada bollocks.

Is that Britney/will.i.am abomination really at number one in the charts at the moment, then?
I mean, fucking hell.

[Dusty Gozongas]

So if that actually is the cover then... watch the back catalogue score a few hits.

Nicely done Dave. Hat doffed.

[Dusty Gozongas]

bzzzt

[Serge]

but even those seem to pale in comparison with this out-of-nowhere development.

In these days of internet leaks, it's amazing that he's managed to record an entire album and film a video without something appearing online beforehand. It'll be interesting to see who the band on the album is[nb]Earl Slick is apparently on it[/nb] - he obviously had a lot of people around him he could trust to keep a secret.

What does seem very encouraging is how, from a glance at the tracklist, his first album in a decade doesn't appear to have any shite cover versions on it!

As long as 'Boss Of Me' isn't a cover version of the They Might Be Giants track...

[SteveDave]

As long as 'Boss Of Me' isn't a cover version of the They Might Be Giants track...

I can hear him singing that though. In a torch song way.

[SteveDave]

Oh hang on...

http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/100624/David-Bowie-Comeback-Track-Could-Top-Singles-Charts-After-Rule-Change

[KLG-7B]

As long as 'Boss Of Me' isn't a cover version of the They Might Be Giants track...

That barely even worked as a TMBG track. It doesn't sound very them. Which is cool.

[23 Daves]

Oh hang on...

http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/100624/David-Bowie-Comeback-Track-Could-Top-Singles-Charts-After-Rule-Change

I would be surprised if it makes number one, though.  Once all the Bowie fans have finished their fanatical downloading spree, I doubt casual members of the public will be interested enough to keep the sales up.  But we'll see.