I only listened to blackstar after bowie died, and listening to it with that context i cant imagine how anyone could interpret it as anything other than an album about his death. Particularly with tracks like pic related.
/mu/sicians who listened to it before he died, how did you interpret the album?
>>61963062
So I always assumed it was about his death, but I didn't realize he made it knowing he would die immediately after. It's pretty obvious though, looking back on it.
>>61963062
i thought the title track music video was just the next step of the major tom story, but still about bowie's legacy living on (the shots of him holding up the blackstar book). like, major tom being the final boss of the bowie-verse
bowie was heavily into the occult, the album serves as a magic ritual spell regardless of whether or not it has his death all over the record.
bowie like crowley before him founded his own magical society and I think most of the people who have worked with him int eh music business are a part of this strictly "pop music" secret society.
Blackstar isn't remorseful, bowie is remorseful. Blackstar is as close to bowie ever "coming out" as he could safely do, its a sign of allegiance a point of pride.
>>61963062
>listen to blackstar the week it leaked
>"oh shit, bowie must be retiring"
>listen to blackstar the monday after he died
>"oh shit, bowie was saying goodbye to us"
damn....
the title track spawned pretty long threads here on /mu/ and I don't remember Bowie's death as a theme coming up in those
>>61963283
What the fuck are you talking about
It seemed like it had mortality on the brain in the same way that Heathen did, but it certainly didn't spell out the idea that he was ACTIVELY sick and dying. I thought Lazarus just pertained to the stage show, and dollar days "I'm dying too" was just more of him being miffed about being old.
>>61963303
i remember the day the lazarus video came out people here were interpreting it as a depiction of being stalked by mental illness and insanity
>>61963365
black arts
>>61963367
what about in "girl loves me" where he says "real bad, dizzy. snacks making all the OBs mad". Though to be fair, thats the only direct reference to hospital i can think of in the album
>>61963390
yes, read through some pre-death threads and this is as close to anyone making any sort of interpretation about the themes of the album - everyone is just basically posting "this sounds good"
"I agree that they're eerie but I know some people who would find them disturbing. They're very alien and create a strong sense of unease. The unnatural jerking and shaking are pretty freaky, then there are the living scarecrows. Blackstar channels these occult and ritualistic vibes that I can understand some people find unsettling. Lazarus is sort of a visualized portrayal of mental insanity, and BlindfoldBowie being controlled by the girl/muse under his bed strikes a chord at some themes that I see some finding disturbing. I think they're amazing. Not quite as good as the video for "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" but still great."
>>61963520
Those aren't the real lyrics. It's actually in clockwork orange speak. http://genius.com/David-bowie-girl-loves-me-lyrics
Also why would bowie be treated by an obstetrician anyway
>>61963520
Sue contains the lines "the clinic called, the xray's fine"
>>61963594
>It's actually in clockwork orange speak. http://genius.com/David-bowie-girl-loves-me-lyrics
oh okay, i got that later on in the track with "viddy viddy"
I didnt realise OBs were OB/GYNs, I guess I was looking for a different meaning in the lyrics
>>61963062
I figured it was about him coming towards the end of his career, his fame in general and in a broader sense, the end of his life but it never occurred to me that he knew he was gonna die just after it was released. I was more thinking it was about him retiring from music soonish.
>>61963640
i thought that was him talking to his wife about her illness or something, also that character doesnt seem to be bowie (he mentions getting "the job" and moving into a house with his wife)
>>61963128
>>61963367
Same here, I figured it was about him realizing he has little time left because he's old, but no one expected it to happen THIS soon
>>61963779
Even Bowie didn't. He planned to record another album after Blackstar.
The album is certainly about his death, but I don't think it was meant to be a calculated goodbye.
>>61963998
didnt he record a couple tracks for the one after blackstar? wonder if those will ever get released
Real talk?
After hearing Dollar Days/I Can't Give Everything Away on the Friday that Blackstar dropped, I thought to myself "if Bowie never makes another album, this would be a pretty solid finale"
I was onto an idea that Blackstar might have been Bowie being way more straight up occult than ever, or even scarier, exposing secrets of the Illuminati. Of course, the Illuminati thing was just a fun thought experiment. But when I found out he died, my first thought was that he actually did it, and now they killed him for it, just like they did with Stanley Kubrick.
>>61965915
e y e s w i d e s h u t
>>61966073
i n y o u r e y e s
>>61963300
>listen to blackstar the monday after he died
>"WHERE THE FUCK DID MONDAY GO AWAY"
