yeah i don't know about it either. it kinda drags on a bit. it gets a bit better near the middle but then it drags back down again.
maybe i have to give it a few more tries.

KingSausage said:

Well, don't you think your expectations were just a little too high? Maybe listening to it again without
"feel[ing] my genitals shrivelling up into my body cavity because of the excitement." will make it better!

I'm listening to it right now. So far it doesn't touch "Heathen", which I found awesome. I don't know yet.

It is having its third spin right now, and as a mere Bowie-illiterate,
I cannot hold the songs against his backcatalogue.

So far I like the energetic production, the loads of guitar-dubs and the
overall sound. The compositions are quite in style with the few Bowie-
works I already encountered (some seventies-album and the Let's
dance-album).

A few things that came to mind when listening to the album is the similarity
between the intro of 'New killer star' and Coldplay's 'Don't panic' (play them
back to back). As well, the synthesizer hook in 'Pablo Picasso' has the
rhythmic feel of its counterpart in Prince's 'Computer blue'. And when I
first heard 'Try some, buy some', I wondered if he could get away with
borrowing that heavy from the Beatles - until I read it was a Harrison-penned
song... ouch!



I plan on seeing the show in Cologne, as I think at least halve the album
makes for great live-versions...

I gave Reality another spin this morning...and liked it a little bit better. Not much, but a little.

"New Killer Star" is a great song. I thought it sucked at first, but then I found my lame ass singing it in the shower. Bowie wins.

"Pablo Picasso" is cool. Perhaps my favorite on this album, and the only one with enough Bowie weirdness for me, even though it is a cover.

"Never Get Old" makes me feel like I have ants crawling up my rectum and chewing on my intestines. Far too much 80's pop feel here.

"The Loneliest Guy" is certainly no "The Motel" or even "Sunday." But it's damn good.

"Looking For Water" bored me at first, but it really sunk in on second listen. Reminds me of "Repitition."

"She'll Drive the Big Car" not only has a shitty title straight out a lame 80's flick one would watch hungover on Saturday afternoon cable, but is rather ineffectual. I don't see what motivated Bowie to write & record this. It seems uninspired.

"Days" is alright. Nothing special. The album is beginning to sag.

I feel like "Fall Dog Bombs the Moon" SHOULD be good, but just isn't quite there. It reminds me of watching an episode of The Simpsons from the past few years. The ingredients are there, but it's still coming out bland. Hmm...

"Try Some Buy Some" is a very boring choice for a cover song. Hey, it's not quite "God Only Knows" from Tonight, but it sure as fuck isn't "Pablo Picasso."

"Reality" sounds like it should replace "Stateside" or "Sorry" on Tin Machine II. Blech! Bowie's "woo hoo" and "yeoh" noises are kind of sad here. Such nonsense is fine for a 'hard rock' album from 1991, but not in 2003. I'll pass on this one.

"Bring Me the Disco King" is the shit. I LOVE this song!


About my expectations being "too high" -- not really. The reason I have high expectations is because Heathen was a very good album, and it only came out last year. My expectations are formed by Bowie's output; they don't exist in a vacuum.

I'm surprised more people haven't been talking about this album on here yet.

TRON said:

Me too.

Calling all Bowie fans! Where are you?

TRON said:

They're at home...washing their tights!!!

I listened to it for the first time last night and nothing leaped out at me (but then with Bowie it almost never does). I'll give it another listen tonight.

Has anyone heard the import bonus tracks and b-sides "Your Turn To Drive", "Love Missile F1-11" or "Waterloo Sunset" yet? What are they like?

TRON said:

U kiddin me?

Has he really covered Love Missile F1-11? PH-UCK!

bananacologne said:

Yeah. It's supposed to be on the single for "New Killer Star". I want it!

I just listened to "Your Turn To Drive" and it's wonderful! Check out www.bowieaudio.com.

TRON said:

I can't get "New Killer Star" out of my fucking head!!!

I wish the whole CD was that good...

KingSausage said:

It's a bit misleading isn't it? There was a link to download this song on teenagewildlife sometime last month. I was totally rocking out to it and expecting the rest of the album to be that way. The only ones that come close to that sound are "Reality", "Pablo Picasso" and maybe "Looking For Water". Nowhere near as 'thrusty' as I was anticipating.

TRON said:

My three favorite songs on the CD...no coincidence???

KingSausage said:

So you don't think "Reality" and "Looking For Water" suck anymore?

I FUCKING LOVE THIS ALBUM!


I was pretty hyped about it a few weeks ago, after going to Poughkeepsie. In the last week, though, I had reeled in my expectations, because a lot of people were saying it wasn't very good. I took this with a grain of salt, because these are the same people (Bowie's internet fans) that think Outside and Earthling are his last, best thing and prefer them to Heathen


anyhow, I bought it today, and I loved it on the very first listen.


even the covers are great! there are a few songs i could do without. The Loneliest Guy and Looking For Water are complete duds. and i prefer the soundtrack version of Disco King much more, but this one is good too. people said they were struck at how the 2 versions of the song give the same impression by sounding completely different. i don't think they do at all. one (album) has a sound of weariness. the other (soundtrack) gives off a more creepy vibe.


anyway, LOVE the album. from the first listen through the sixth.


but that doesn't mean it'll stick with me. i really disliked Heathen the first several times i listened to it, until it just somehow clicked for me and i loved it. that i love this one right off the bat... not sure what i'll think in 6 months.

the album, to me, sounds like the songs of Lodger and Scary Monsters, played in the style of Never Let Me Down (but not in a bad way), as performed by Tin Machine.

a bit convoluted, i know, but that's how it strikes me. which is good.



oh, and the title track.... that's Baby Universal + Hallo Spaceboy, for sure.
[This message was edited Tue Sep 16 19:10:17 PDT 2003 by AaronMaximus]

oh yeah, when we saw him in Poughkeepsie, the only new track i didn't care for much was She'll Drive The Big Car. i was actually yawning, then, and had to stifle it, because i was so close to Bowie i was afraid he'd see



i like it MUCH MUCH better on the album.

AaronMaximus said:

Funny, I think these are 2 of the stronger ones.


Defintiely.


Well, I thought it stunk on first listen, so maybe it'll slowly reveal itself as something great with time. The live performances of the songs certainly add. I'm staying open-minded for now and like it more each time.

well i've been listening to the album all day... bought it this morning on my way to work.

I like it - it's more urgent and energetic than Heathen, more immediate sounding.. Heathen is a great record, but took me more time to get into. A few of the tracks haven't really hit me yet on Reality, but it takes repeated listens... but i can say that I don't dislike anything on it. My fave is probably Try Some Buy Some, i love the atmosphere of it. New Killer Star, Reality and Never Get Old are great rock tracks... and Pablo Picasso is killer. I love the sax buried in the mix. The Loneliest Guy sounds like something from Outside.

I'm not disappointed... but not exactly blown away yet. But my initial reaction is more positive than with Heathen, and that has become one of my favorite Bowie albums.

i just bought new speakers and waited to listen to the cd until i hooked them up this evening...

AMAZING!

this cd is so good! i immediately took to it. i liked heathen a lot but i think this cd is loads better than that one. almost every song could be from a different era of bowie. its like a best of album full of songs that were never released. yeah, yeah, yeah, i'll get bashed for that one but whatever...the album f'n rocks!

reality, bring me the disco king, never get old...they are instant classic songs. not to mention the brilliant covers of pablo picasso and buy some, try some. a great cd.

now, if i could only find it on vinyl...

Anxiety, IceNine, Gooey? Where are my Bowie peeps at?

Here.

What did Noepie say?

Uhm, Noepie said ZILCH.

Anyways, haven't heard the ALBUM yet, but the performance where he played all songs from the album was pretty amazing (GAIL-ANN!).
It went fast though, but I can still say that only TWO songs of the set did not appeal to me at first glance.

My fave live was Bring Me The Disco King. Awesome.

gooeythehamster said:

Wish I could've seen that. The 6 I saw in NY were all winners.

Disco King seems to be the universal favorite.

TRON said:

It reminds me of PULSE, by Di Franco.

gooeythehamster said:

Have you heard the soundtrack version yet?

It's even spookier.