The David Bowie is God Thread

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WestwayKid
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Re: The David Bowie is God Thread

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What's Bowie's worst album?

I'm going with Hours. Awful cover. Music is boring and it apparently started out as the soundtrack to a video game. It's very adult contemporary sounding. Heathen, which was the follow up to this snooze fest, was considerably better.

I think his 90's output is underrated. Outside is in my top-10 and Black Tie White Noise has held up pretty well. Earthling wasn't great, but it also wasn't boring. The problem with Hours is that it's so darned boring.
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Re: The David Bowie is God Thread

Post by Wolter »

WestwayKid wrote:
29 Jul 2020, 2:11pm
What's Bowie's worst album?

I'm going with Hours. Awful cover. Music is boring and it apparently started out as the soundtrack to a video game. It's very adult contemporary sounding. Heathen, which was the follow up to this snooze fest, was considerably better.

I think his 90's output is underrated. Outside is in my top-10 and Black Tie White Noise has held up pretty well. Earthling wasn't great, but it also wasn't boring. The problem with Hours is that it's so darned boring.
It’s Tonight. And it’s not even close. Dull and bad outside of two good songs. Hours is very bad too, though.

Also, Earthling is absolutely great once we move past the stupid idea that it’s a jungle album.
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Re: The David Bowie is God Thread

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Wolter wrote:
29 Jul 2020, 2:17pm
WestwayKid wrote:
29 Jul 2020, 2:11pm
What's Bowie's worst album?

I'm going with Hours. Awful cover. Music is boring and it apparently started out as the soundtrack to a video game. It's very adult contemporary sounding. Heathen, which was the follow up to this snooze fest, was considerably better.

I think his 90's output is underrated. Outside is in my top-10 and Black Tie White Noise has held up pretty well. Earthling wasn't great, but it also wasn't boring. The problem with Hours is that it's so darned boring.
It’s Tonight. And it’s not even close. Dull and bad outside of two good songs. Hours is very bad too, though.

Also, Earthling is absolutely great once we move past the stupid idea that it’s a jungle album.
Oh yeah it's "Tonight" bar none. But I do like the two singles from it but after that meh!
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Re: The David Bowie is God Thread

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Tonight is the sound of Bowie trying to stay connected with his new Let's Dance fans, but either not knowing how to or not caring. That said, I can listen to Tonight, but I can't listen to Hours. I think if he had dropped a few of the covers such as I Keep Forgettin' and Tonight for sure and maybe God Only Knows and replaced them with some of the Iggy Pop co-writes he apparently didn't feel like finishing that it could be a far better album. Loving the Alien is fantastic. I also like Tumble and Twirl and Don't Look Down and Blue Jean is very catchy. I see Tonight as a flawed product, but Hours to me is just wretched.
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Re: The David Bowie is God Thread

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Tonight is definitely the worst, but in almost Cut the Crap-ish ways where the struggle for relevancy meshes up with a bizarre ineptitude that make it more interesting to listen to than, say, Hours. To extend the metaphor a bit, Hours is more like Megatop Phoenix, technically not the worst Clash-related product but pondering and tedious.
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Re: The David Bowie is God Thread

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I can't add much to this since it's all true, but I'm surprised nobody has mentioned NLMD, which also is pretty down there. More than Hours, I think.
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Re: The David Bowie is God Thread

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Flex wrote:
29 Jul 2020, 3:04pm
Tonight is definitely the worst, but in almost Cut the Crap-ish ways where the struggle for relevancy meshes up with a bizarre ineptitude that make it more interesting to listen to than, say, Hours. To extend the metaphor a bit, Hours is more like Megatop Phoenix, technically not the worst Clash-related product but pondering and tedious.
Yes, exactly. I find it a more interesting to listen to.
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Re: The David Bowie is God Thread

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Kory wrote:
29 Jul 2020, 3:21pm
I can't add much to this since it's all true, but I'm surprised nobody has mentioned NLMD, which also is pretty down there. More than Hours, I think.
The "new" version of NLMD from the Loving the Alien box is interesting. I think it's an improvement.
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Re: The David Bowie is God Thread

Post by Marky Dread »

WestwayKid wrote:
29 Jul 2020, 3:49pm
Kory wrote:
29 Jul 2020, 3:21pm
I can't add much to this since it's all true, but I'm surprised nobody has mentioned NLMD, which also is pretty down there. More than Hours, I think.
The "new" version of NLMD from the Loving the Alien box is interesting. I think it's an improvement.
I agree it's now an enjoyable pop album worth a listen. Bowie standard maybe not but sounds much better in it's remixed form.
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Re: The David Bowie is God Thread

Post by Wolter »

Kory wrote:
29 Jul 2020, 3:21pm
I can't add much to this since it's all true, but I'm surprised nobody has mentioned NLMD, which also is pretty down there. More than Hours, I think.
I kind of like NLMD in a weird clumsy way. It’s not good, but I can find joy. The new re-recording if it is...interesting?

Hours is definitely worse than NLMD because other than a few tracks that are ok in an adult contemporary sense, it’s a total retreat from the interesting things he had done under the radar for much of the 90s.
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Re: The David Bowie is God Thread

Post by gkbill »

Flex wrote:
29 Jul 2020, 3:04pm
Tonight is definitely the worst, but in almost Cut the Crap-ish ways where the struggle for relevancy meshes up with a bizarre ineptitude that make it more interesting to listen to than, say, Hours. To extend the metaphor a bit, Hours is more like Megatop Phoenix, technically not the worst Clash-related product but pondering and tedious.
Hello,

Cut the Crap doesn't have a Blue Jean.

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Re: The David Bowie is God Thread

Post by Wolter »

gkbill wrote:
29 Jul 2020, 7:25pm
Flex wrote:
29 Jul 2020, 3:04pm
Tonight is definitely the worst, but in almost Cut the Crap-ish ways where the struggle for relevancy meshes up with a bizarre ineptitude that make it more interesting to listen to than, say, Hours. To extend the metaphor a bit, Hours is more like Megatop Phoenix, technically not the worst Clash-related product but pondering and tedious.
Hello,

Cut the Crap doesn't have a Blue Jean.
Or even a Loving the Alien.

Though I would say that at least CTC is infuriating. Aside from those tracks, Tonight slides out of my mind in a sea of tired covers and cod reggae.
”INDER LOCK THE THE KISS THREAD IVE REALISED IM A PRZE IDOOT” - Thomas Jefferson

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Re: The David Bowie is God Thread

Post by WestwayKid »

Wolter wrote:
29 Jul 2020, 8:35pm
gkbill wrote:
29 Jul 2020, 7:25pm
Flex wrote:
29 Jul 2020, 3:04pm
Tonight is definitely the worst, but in almost Cut the Crap-ish ways where the struggle for relevancy meshes up with a bizarre ineptitude that make it more interesting to listen to than, say, Hours. To extend the metaphor a bit, Hours is more like Megatop Phoenix, technically not the worst Clash-related product but pondering and tedious.
Hello,

Cut the Crap doesn't have a Blue Jean.
Or even a Loving the Alien.

Though I would say that at least CTC is infuriating. Aside from those tracks, Tonight slides out of my mind in a sea of tired covers and cod reggae.
He apparently had more songs co-written with Iggy that he didn't finish for whatever reason. I have to imagine it would have been a better album if some of those songs had been included versus the covers that were.
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Re: The David Bowie is God Thread

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My current Bowie obsession was triggered by finding a copy of the 1984 RCA Diamond Dogs CD at a used record shop last weekend. I have heard that the early RCA versions are supposed to be the best sounding Bowie on digital, but I have to say it doesn't sound great. I'm by no means an audiophile, but even I can tell bad mastering when I hear it. The version on the Who Can I Be Now? set blows this away. Craziest thing is that the RCA Diamond Dogs goes for relatively big bucks online (I didn't pay all that much for it, however).

It's interesting how some back catalogs can get so convoluted.
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Re: The David Bowie is God Thread

Post by Heston »

At least 5 songs on CTC are better than Blue Jean.
There's a tiny, tiny hopeful part of me that says you guys are running a Kaufmanesque long con on the board

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