Current Events > revisiting David Bowie. His self-titled album holds up stupidly well

(+) Yeah! (+)

I did a deep dive into David Bowie when I was a teenager. Some of the silly folk tunes on his debut album are kinda cute, but with his self-titled second album he really solidified himself as a force to be reckoned with. And not just because of Space Oddity - I love that song, but I've heard it so much I barely feel anything when I hear it.

Revisiting Unwashed and Slightly Dazed, Cygnet Committee and Letter to Hermione has been a real trip. Since I first heard this music, I've latched onto a lot of folky-sounding bands - the Mountain Goats, Counting Crows, the Weakerthans and the Weepies. The songs on this album remind me a bunch of those bands, but the instrumentals remind me a bit of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard? Like it's jammy and rocky and groovy.

Bowie goes pop in the wake of Space Oddity. He doesn't fully abandon this folky sort of vibe completely, songs like Savior Machine are really wild and tell a story and it's cool, but I feel like this album has a feel all of its own. It's folky and proggy and jammy, and it's unique in Bowie's discography.

I never really appreciated the album before. Like I said, I've heard Space Oddity so much that I don't feel anything when I listen to it. But the rest of it, the stuff I neglected for years? It's legitimately really fucking good.

Dunno what album it is but moonage daydream slaps

Man who Sold the World has been pretty good too! Not as much of a surprise with Savior Machine and Black Country Rock, but the title track has grown on me thanks to Midge Ure's version from MGSV. It's got a lot of rock stylings on it.

Looking at the next album, it looks like it's got more pop balladry on it. Changes and Life on Mars are all-time GOAT songs, but it's a departure from these first two albums I feel like - at least those two songs are.

Song for Bob Dylan is really good. I'm also liking a lot of the songs on Hunky Dory in between the hits a lot more than I did as a teenager. More of a rock vibe than I gave it credit for.

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