Good News for Glam: Bowie's Back!
Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 12:01AM
If we're talking about the kings of old-school, dyed-in-the-wool Glam, you really can't get any bigger than David Bowie. From the early days of Ziggy Stardust, Bowie has always been synonymous with glam, inspiring multiple generations of fans to explore ever-deeper corners of artistic self-expression.
Bowie's been silent on the music front over the past decade, which led many to believe that he had quietly slipped into retirement. Given that he's 66 now, it was doubtful that he'd ever come back with new material, but in a year where both Rod Stewart and Fleetwood Mac are putting out comeback albums, classic rock fans are learning to expect the unexpected.
And sure enough, in one of the biggest surprises likely to happen to music this year, David Bowie does in fact have a new single out! It's called "Where Are We Now?" and although the first impression is that it's kind of depressing, upon repeat listens the melancholy takes on layers of beautiful meaning, in true Bowie style.
There's more to this surprise than just a new single, though. An entire full-length album entitled The Next Day is due to hit retail outlets in March, and even though it was only announced earlier this month, it's a collection of songs that's been two years in the making. Tony Visconti had been working with Bowie in secret as he wrote and recorded the songs, and they used only musicians they knew and trusted so that there would be no chance of the news leaking to the internet. In these days of TMZ and social media, that's no small feat, and it was indeed a very big surprise when Bowie announced the news.
As for the tone of the album, despite the slow, introverted nature of the new single, Visconti insists that it's the only song like that, and the rest of the album is primarily straight-up rock. According to Visconti, there are elements of classic Bowie on the album, as well as more modern and innovative aspects that are likely to appeal to younger fans.
The Next Day will officially be released on March 8, so Bowie fans have less than two months to wait for what is likely to be one of the strongest releases of 2013.
When she's not busy seeking out new music and artists, BJ spreads her love for music across the web as a blogger for Best Show Tickets.
Reader Comments (11)
Wow! Now this ads a whole other dimension to what it means on this site to "Bring Back Glam!"
It only took him 10 years to do it, proof that it's never too late!
Reality check: Toddwiggy -- The Darkness would not exist had it not been for Bowie!
I'll take "Spiders From Mars" any day over this.
The reason that town was immortalized as "Detroit Rock City" by KISS is because it's spawned so many American legends such as Alice Cooper, MC5, Ted Nugent, Iggy Pop and The White Stripes, to name but a few, plus all the legions of diehard fans who, for decades, have been known to Rock Harder than most. Just ask the bands who have played there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhBL54lx60U
p.s. Maybe they came from Ann Arbor but wasn't it Detroit that was their proving ground? Forgot another one -- Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels.