David Bowie is one of the greatest musical artists in the history of the world. This is a fact. So to commemorate him and his new live album chronicling his last tour (maybe (but hopefully not) ever), I am counting down my favorite Bowie songs and albums, as I have done with The Beatles and Kraftwerk: two of the only other musical artists that are on Bowie's level.
From the late '60s through the early '80s, David Bowie not only put out a lot of music, but he put out a lot of amazing music. Whether it was with glam-rock, new wave, or cocaine-influenced electronic/krautrock/experimental pop, he was changing popular music with every subsequent release. His early glam records made him a star and introduced the world to his bizarrely singularly genius. Then he got weird, moved to Berlin, started doing drugs, became a fascist, etc. The music he made during this period (the mid to late '70s) is his best and most innovative--and that he released so many albums ("Heroes" and Low came out the same year!) just makes his sonic achievements all the more impressive. By the '80s he had switched his focus to pioneering new wave, which he did excellently. (He may have lost some of his muse as the '80s wore on, but I'll forgive him.) (Oh, and let's not forget the work he did with Iggy during the mid-70s!)
The bottom line is that David Bowie is both one of the most successful pop stars of the 20th century, and one of the most creative artistic minds--a rare (and essentially unparalleled) combination.
So here's a look at my 45 favorite Bowie songs and 10 favorite albums. (I'd do all his albums, but I really only have heard 10 sufficiently.)
Songs
1. "Heroes"
2. Sound And Vision
3. Station To Station
4. The Man Who Sold The World
5. Warszawa
6. Space Oddity
7. Queen Bitch
8. D.J.
9. Ashes To Ashes
10. Panic In Detroit
11. Be My Wife
12. Life On Mars?
13. Moonage Daydream
14. Golden Years
15. African Night Flight
16. What In The World
17. Suffragette City
18. Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
19. Beauty And The Beast
20. Under Pressure (with Queen)
21. Five Years
22. Absolute Beginners
23. Breaking Glass
24. Let's Dance
25. Fantastic Voyage
26. Teenage Wildlife
27. A New Career In A New Town
28. Fame
29. Scream Like A Baby
30. Oh! You Pretty Things
31. Ziggy Stardust
32. Joe The Lion
33. Rebel Rebel
34. Speed Of Life
35. Watch That Man
36. Lady Stardust
37. Changes
38. Modern Love
39. Art Decade
40. TVC 15
41. Repetition
42. The Secret life Of Arabia
43. Subterraneans
44. Up The Hill Backwards
45. Let's Spend The Night Together
Albums
1. Low
2. "Heroes"
3. Lodger
4. Station To Station
5. Hunky Dory
6. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
7. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
8. Aladdin Sane
9. The Man Who Sold The World
10. Let's Dance
That's what I think. That David Bowie: he's quite a guy.
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