Wow, what a great song! I have disrespected this album in the past except for Blue Jean, but I am rediscovering it in pieces thanks to the magic of iPod. I must say this song is so beautiful, very underrated and an overlooked single. Does he actually sample Aretha's Spanish Harlem? How cool is that back in '84?
Sorry, Bowie, for the nasty things I have said about this album in the past:boxed: I like "Don't Look Down" quite a bit too.

this isn't a great album, but there are several gems to be had from it and when i'm in the right mood, i can really enjoy listening to it all the way through. it's a far cry better than 'never let me down' and most of the tin machine stuff, and i think his vocals throughout are fantastic, even if the music overall can be a bit less than overwhelming.

it was somewhat better than
"never let me down"

eh. it's alright. i do like the 3 main singles though. the rest of it is hit or miss and is usually miss unless i'm in the right mood.

good song. i love Tina.

Album? well everyone is supposed to hate it, so I guess I'll say the cool, "in" thing and say that it sucks.

but in reality - - - i like it.

blue jean? tonight? neighborhood threat? loving the alien? dancing with the big boys? bonus tracks of absolute beginners and this is not america? hells yes.

it's bowie. even his dregs are better than 88.5% of all the other shit out there.

NorthernLad said:

before i say anything let me say this!
i could give a shit what the org likes or dosen't
this place is high school part 2.
and as for music critics in my opinion they are failed musicans who are bitter over the fact they coudn't be "famous"
but in reality this album is crap.
it is in the same realm as earthling.
[Edited 11/20/06 17:27pm]

weepingwall said:

i love earthling

7 years in tibet? i'm afraid of americans? little wonder? oh yes. yes yes yes.

Anx said:

earthling is crap.
because its basically bowie "trying" and failing to be hip with the "spooky" kids, NIN Fans, and jungle fans.


[Edited 11/20/06 19:13pm]

weepingwall said:

see, i think that lends it an aire of unintentional camp which only bowie could really get away with. i love that the album is full of frantic, crazy drum'n'bass music that has to slow down when bowie sings. maybe i just love that album because i think he looked hot with the orange hair and the frock coats.

weepingwall said:

I think he handled drum 'n' bass and techno marvelously. He had a clear handle on the genres and injected them with a strong pop and rock sensibility.

Dance music in general is fairly trendy and a lot of it has a short shelf life. But by marrying the styles he was after with strongly written songs, I find myself going back to "Earthling" a lot more than say Goldie, The Prodigy or Roni Size.

And back on topic, I don't often bust out "Tonight". But when I do, I'm always surprised at how much I actually like most of the songs. It's not bad.

GangstaFam said:

at the end of the day its crap.
no matter how you compare to other crap.

weepingwall said:

I like Bowie. I like drum 'n' bass. I don't think it's crap.

And incidentally, only about 3 songs are technically drum 'n' bass.

The rest of it isn't too far removed from Outside. Do you think that's crap too?

weepingwall said:

OZ HAS SPOKEN!

weepingwall said:

and went on

to say:

so, yeah.

KidOmega said:

well duh.
its quite obvious..next.

GangstaFam said:

outside is alright.
a bit boring thought.
the story line is somewhat good.
"the heart's filthy lesson" is a funny song thought because it's trying to sound so spooky...

i'm totally jumping in right in the middle of this so forgive me if i'm repeating anything where i could have just offered a "co-sign."

i loved outside, especially the title track, hallo spaceboy, and strangers when we meet. as for earthling...eh, not so much. i have to hold a little love for it, though, because it did bring us i'm afraid of americans which is just one of my favorites (especially live).

hours was fairly awful, though. as or "tonight," i like it. i don't love it or anything but it does have loving the alien, blue jean, and the title track. they make it worth the effort, i think.

fms said:

Tonight, the album, is a steaming pile of shit, except for Loving The Alien, Blue Jean and Don't Look Down - at a push.

Tonight, the song, was - in Iggy Pop's hands - a ballad sung to a girlfriend/lover who has OD'd (check it out on The Idiot). In Bowie/Banshee Frightwig's hands it became an idea cooked up by someone in the EMI marketing department toilet deliberately calculated to sell millions of records, and turned out suitably anodyne. Press flush. Wash hands before leaving.

'never let me down' is a steaming pile of shit. 'tin machine ii' is explosive diarrhea. 'oy vey baby' is a sewage treatment plant.

'tonight' is merely fart bubbles emerging from bathwater. let's not exaggerate.

Anx said:

Oh god!

sallysassalot said:

I think I'm the only person I know who actually loves 'hours...'.

GangstaFam said:

i wouldn't say i LOVE 'hours...', but i do like it. it's funny - it was released in 1999, same year as prince released RAVE.

i don't like rave, but i love the remix CD.

i'm kinda lukewarm on 'hours...' but i love the bonus remix CD from the reissue that came out a couple of years back...which is essentially the entire album remixed.

the 'stigmata' version of 'pretty things are going to hell' kicks my ass, as does the marius de vries version of 'seven'.

Crappy album or not, 'Loving The Alien' is still one of my absolute favourite Bowie songs ever, and the lyrics are as relevant as ever I'm sad to say:

Watching them come and go
The Templars and the Saracens
They're travelling the holy land
Opening telegrams

Torture comes and torture goes
Knights who'd give you anything
They bear the cross of Coeur de Leon
Salvation for the mirror blind

But if you pray
all your sins are hooked upon the sky
Pray and the heathen lie will disappear
Prayers they hide
the saddest view
(Believing the strangest things,
loving the alien)

And your prayers they break the sky in two
(Believing the strangest things, loving the alien)

You pray til the break of dawn
(Believing the strangest things, loving the alien)

And you'll believe you're loving the alien
(Believing the strangest things, loving the alien)

Thinking of a different time
Palestine a modern problem
Bounty and your wealth in land
Terror in a best laid plan

Watching them come and go
Tomorrows and the yesterdays
Christians and the unbelievers
Hanging by the cross and nail

Loved the version he did on the last tour too - very damned cool.

Anx said:

A I agree that it's not that good, but Tin Machine 2 is not entirely without merit.

I still think Tonight is Bowie's most dishonest album. You can hearing him going off to lunch on every track bar "Loving The Alien" and "Blue Jean".

Anx said:

And the American Psycho soundtrack version of "Something In The Air" is darn good. loved the first two songs on "... Hours", but then started reaching for the fast-forward.

Anyway, Anx, in your honour, I'm actually playing Tonight. And it's still fucking awful. The title track is an abomination - ORCHESTRAL reggae, Tina mixed so way down she's virtually anonymous, Bowie sounding like he's dozing off at the wheel. Neighbourhood Treat sounds like a Flock of Gullshit outtake.

I LOVE the "Blue Jean" video...his make-up and wardrobe is incredible...


http://www.youtube.com/wa...rVShsFB40Q

Shapeshifter said:

if you think i'm going to defend 'tonight' as a great album, you're nuts. if you think i'm going to say it's garbage compared to something like 'tin machine 2' or 'never let me down', you're even nuttier. i think 'tonight' is pleasant enough easy listening 80s pop fluff trash. it's his phil collins album. gross, but easy to gum down.

Anx said:

That is the best version of that song, by far. I think it would've sounded better with the rest of the album.

The "Rock Mix" of Thursday's Child owns me too.

Did I ever get you some of the outtakes from around that time like "Trying To Get To Heaven" or "Planet of Dreams"? Good stuff!

Anx said:

I realize everyone hates Tin Machine II, but what does everyone think of "You Belong In Rock 'n' Roll"? I think it's a first rate Bowie song, especially the Extended Mix. It sounds like it could almost fit on any of his albums from "Buddha of Suburbia" onward.