SOME OF THE BETTER BOWIE TRIBUTES

If you've been anywhere near the interwebs since Monday, fan or not, you've likely faced an onslaught of Bowie tributes of every size and stripe. Before we begrudgingly move on, here's a wrap-up of some of the ones I enjoyed the most.

Michael Paulson at the New York Times examines the how the stage show and song 'Lazarus' now resonate in the days following Bowie's death: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/14/theater/after-david-bowie-death-lazarus-holds-new-meaning-for-fans.html?_r=0

One of the first thoughts I had upon realizing Bowie recorded this album as his "parting gift" was the last Johnny Cash/Rick Rubin collaboration that mined similar territory. Geoff Edgers at Washington Post looks at that album and several others that were made while facing mortality: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/david-bowie-and-the-sad-inspiring-history-of-making-art-while-dying/2016/01/13/72f85030-b94b-11e5-829c-26ffb874a18d_story.html

A glowing tribute from legend Nile Rodgers:

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6842885/nile-rodgers-david-bowie-remembrance

Scott Beggs @ Indiewire stole the thoughts right from my brain on this one. The Prestige is fantastic. Find it immediately if you're a fan who hasn't seen it: http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-magical-david-bowie-performance-nobody-appreciates-nearly-enough-20160111

The rare public vulnerability of Iggy Pop:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/14/arts/music/david-bowie-iggy-pop.html

Perhaps the most unexpectedly moving tribute from Tim Lefebvre (Tedeschi Trucks Band), the bassist that worked with him during his final sessions:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/blackstar-bassist-on-bowie-the-greatest-musician-ive-ever-heard-20160111   

From The New Yorker

LONG LIVE DAVID BOWIE

Photo Credit: Carl Court, Getty Images Europe

When I posted my review of Blackstar on Friday, I couldn't scarcely imagine that my next entry here would be a memoriam of its creator. The accolades "legend" and "icon" are tossed around so carelessly these days that they come up short in describing someone who actually deserves them. Listening back to Blackstar, knowing what we know now (and with producer Tony Visconti's confirmation that is was Bowie's "parting gift" to us), the album takes on an elephantine new layer of meaning. No easy feat, that.

Upon hearing the sad and unexpected news this morning, I texted a buddy that

Photo: Sean Gallup, Getty Images

I knew would also be thinking about him. "I'm rarely affected by celebrity deaths," I explained, "but this one feels different." He responded immediately: "Agreed. I don't usually give it a second thought, but with him I feel like I lost an old friend." 

We weren't alone in this sentiment. The Internet is now justifiably awash in beautiful tributes of every imaginable kind, the abundance of which I'm not sure we've ever seen. Tonight we can all go to sleep knowing for sure that there is indeed a Starman, waiting in the sky.

Here's my barely-scratches-the-suface Bowie playlist: spoti.fi/1RiWxJl 

REVIEW: DAVID BOWIE 'BLACKSTAR' (ISO)

In an absolutely singular and stellar career, Bowie has really only misstepped when he tried to "give the people what they want." His 80's output is largely his weakest and most forgettable, created under the duress of labels eager to hear the chimes of cash registers. When left alone to be himself, however, masterworks are created. Such is the case with Blackstar. Coupled with 2013's The Next Day, it's an emphatic confirmation of a Bowie renaissance after a decade of no audio output and threats of retirement.

When word began to surface that Bowie was in the studio with some ace jazz musicians, some rightfully feared a tenured music hero taking the easy way out as he rode off into the sunset (Think McCartney's Kisses On The Bottom). But anyone who knows Bowie should have known better: this is dark, textured, and ridiculously complex music that will take repeated listens to fully (if ever) decode. And traditional though the jazz instruments may be, their employment here is progressive and wholly unexpected. The esoteric turns the band takes on the title standout title track, and my personal favorite "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore", not only emit dark comeliness, but keeps the listener engaged, searching for the next fork in the melodic road. On paper, the formula didn't look promising, but ultimately nothing in the record bins sounds like Blackstar, and how many 69 year-old legends can make any similar claim?