{"id":17128,"date":"2016-01-13T14:02:52","date_gmt":"2016-01-13T14:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=17128"},"modified":"2018-01-08T11:14:49","modified_gmt":"2018-01-08T11:14:49","slug":"david-bowie-gives-fans-a-parting-gift-in-blackstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2016\/01\/david-bowie-gives-fans-a-parting-gift-in-blackstar\/","title":{"rendered":"David Bowie Gives Fans a Parting Gift In ‘Blackstar’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Blackstar, the latest and final studio album from David Bowie, was released on January 8, on the singer’s 69th birthday.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Nobody (outside his family and a few colleagues – save\u00a0industry rumours of his failing health) was\u00a0prepared for his death a mere two days later –\u00a0but then again, Bowie had\u00a0never been one to do what was expected of him.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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There’s seven songs on the album, similar in style to that of\u00a0his 2013 release, ‘The Next Day’. \u00a0There is a fundamental difference however. Whereas ‘The Next Day’ made us feel that at last, Bowie was back, everything was alright with the world – the King had returned from exile, ‘Blackstar’ conjures up a sense of urgency, of finality. Perhaps that’s\u00a0just a retrospective thing. The benefit of hindsight maybe. But there’s definitely a line being drawn under things in this album – the King is dead – Bowie always intended this to be a parting gift for his fans, and in light of his death, we can now look at the clues he’s left for us.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Much has been made of the video for\u00a0lead single, ‘Lazarus’. An evidently weak, failing Bowie, in bed, at times lifted off the sheets, is eerily bandaged up, with buttons for eyes – or are they screws? One\u00a0look at the image and the first thing that comes to mind are the lyrics, ‘Screwed up eyes and screwed down hairdo’ – is this what really happened to Ziggy Stardust? Did he actually end his days in what appears to be an old style asylum, tormented by his past, the things that have been set free from the closet?\u00a0<\/p>\n

He shows that things must be completed, \u00a0he is urgently writing things down, knowing the end is nigh. The gruesome figure under his bed menaces, threatening. Bowie even while his eyes are bandaged is aware of what is happening, who is in the room with him. Is it death?<\/p>\n

It’s been suggested that ‘Lazarus’ makes it clear that we should have prepared for the end. “Look up here, I’m in heaven.” “Oh I’l be free\/Just like that bluebird”. Even the title, ‘Lazarus’, which of course, is also the name of his co-written (with Enda Walsh) musical, currently playing in New York; but we recollect that other Lazarus, from Bethany, whose resurrection by Jesus was in itself symbolic of Christ’s own return from the grave.<\/p>\n

Bowie hasn’t at this point risen again, but his music will always live on. Once more, we’re given the impression that Bowie is in control of his end. “I’ve got scars that can’t be seen\/I’ve got drama, can’t be stolen\/Everybody knows me now”. His illness, now known to have been liver cancer, was terminal; Bowie knew the end was near, but as with most of his personal life, he kept that private. He hid his scars: his drama was his and his alone. In his death however, we all now know.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/y-JqH1M4Ya8<\/p>\n

What of the rest of the album? The video for the title track, ‘Blackstar’, opens on a long dead astronaut\u00a0– Is it Major Tom? Again the singer has his eyes covered, buttoned and bandaged. Screwed down. Hidden. He’s not giving anything away. Major Tom is not as we know him. He is now a jewel-encrusted skeleton, venerated by a strange woman with a cat tail…naturally…on a distant planet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The middle part of the song reminds us musically in part of ‘Absolute Beginners’: a lot of the album seems to borrow from Bowie’s back catalogue. It’s a nice touch. We are all absolute beginners at everything we set out to do – Bowie included.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Who are the writhing scarecrows? Why are they venerating Major Tom? What’s the deal with the solitary candle? In the end it doesn’t matter. It’s the lyrics we need to look at – again, there’s a foreshadowing of Bowie’s own death: “Something happened on the day he died\/Spirit rose a metre and stepped aside\/Somebody else took his place, and bravely cried”. This brings to mind ‘American Pie’ – always humble about his contribution, is Bowie saying that we need not fear, this is not the day the music died – there will be an heir?<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/kszLwBaC4Sw<\/p>\n

What of the rest of the album? ‘Tis A Pity She Was a Whore’, takes its title from a play of the same name, by 17th century playwright, John Forde. It’s an energetic, vibrant, jazz-fuelled song, shocking with the opening line, “Man, she punched me like a dude”, before going into archaic speech. It’s hard, it’s fast, it’s saxophone and beating drums.<\/p>\n

‘Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)’, released in 2014 (‘Whore’ was the B side to the track), takes us back, once again as with ‘Blackstar’, to ‘A Space Oddity’. We have more soaring sax,\u00a0horns and Bowie’s incredible vocals – known for being a one-take marvel – are perfect, and extraordinary.<\/p>\n

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