Blackstar

A very … industrially? … experimental & atonal Bowie album. Pass.

This is terrible. No one would give a shit about this or pretend it’s any good if it wasn’t Bowie and if he hadn’t died two days after release.

en tiiä, ei lähteny kyllä ollenkaan tämä lätty meikäläiselle.

I strangely really enjoyed the first song, but then the rest of the album was not at all enjoyable. This sounds like something someone made whilst high, you know? Very little sense. Also very boring. Don't think this album should be on this list.

Boring and weird

Blergh....

Fuck this guy he sucks

Absolute fucking trash. Fav song: Dollar Days I guess, I refuse to relisten to check what my favorite is

Ik snap niet wat mensen met David Bowie hebben...

Not memorable other than it’s his last album before his untimely death.

did not like it, didn’t know he was still alive tbh. Two stars for the legacy, one star because he didn’t live up to it.

Glad he was still making music then. I like the live drums. But the vocals just don’t work with the music in my opinion. Not for me.

Life is too short to listen to all these Bowie albums.

Holy shit I really hate this. Like I don't know if it's wholly the circumstance ( bad family party, half an existential crisis) but my god I'm not having a good time with this. I'm having a pretty bad time, in fact. Some of the best parts are when Bowie isn't singing.

First 5 songs - could hardly get through listening to them Dollar days and I can't give everything away are the only two that I would be fine to listen to if someone put them on. I wouldn't be happy but unlike the first 5 I would not jump to immediately change the tune.

already listened

First song is pissing me off. It's ass. Don't like any of this. I like some of his older stuff but this just sounds like an annoying old man trying to be David Bowie. It's so whiney. Every song is really annoying and it's embarrassing for an old man to be going round like "ooooohhh I'm David Bowie" That was ass

How is this rated 3.5 globally? Am I deaf? Sorry I am not a fan of deep and slow vibrato. The only good thing for me is his voice. He does have a nice tone but that’s it.

didn't think i would ever give David Bowie a one star... but this album honestly didn't do anything for me. it sounded like something that would be played at a funeral... i guess maybe it could be a two stars... but here's to being hyper critical i guess.

Guys, I.... I don't.... I don't think I like David Bowie.

Who starts an album with a song that is an emoji? Really, I am of firm belief that this album only made the list because it's Bowie. But, the more I listen to his whole albums, the more overrated he becomes. The musicianship has little pockets of interesting. The lyrics tired. Kinda cool to hear him swear, but overall it was one of the harder listens on this list. I didn't mind 'I can't give everything Away', as it was more conventional. But the rest of it was a challenging smack to the senses. I was going to give it 2 stars because it is Bowie. But, I'm better than that. He's better than that. 1 Star and I want 37 minutes of my life back.

Not for me at all!

Awful, too jazzy

Didn’t like this album

Боуи, при всём уважении к твоему творчеству, что это за хуйня блять.

Awful album. Way too artsy for my liking. I doubt this album would have received the critical acclaim that it did had Bowie not passed away shortly after its release.

Feels like blasphemy for me to say... I don't like this at all. His vocals are too weird for me in this song. Instrumentals are decent, but it's kinda too busy at times, even for me. Maybe the lyrics are good but it doesn't even make me want to go read them, and they're hard to understand by itself. Got halfway through the third song (about halfway through the album) & gave up

I guess I’m not a Bowie fan.

Strange tunes from an aging superstar, not great

Greit nok. Blir ikke ekstra stjerner bare fordi det er det siste albumet.

It was butt.

I've only listened to a few Bowie songs, the most famous ones. This is the first album that I've listened from beginning to end. Well, it is not good. It's very avan-garde, jazzy, almost fusion-like, with a lot of inovation and experimentation. But it seems a little bit without directions. No song stood out for me.

Sounded like some satanic bullshit. Sad I somewhat listened.

Typical Bowie - weird, complicated, and hard to follow.

Segundo disco de este tío en dos días consecutivos. Creo que está mierda me intenta desmotivar. El disco es insoportable. Con la estrella de la portada sería suficiente, pero esto me obliga a ponerle como mínimo otra.

Как этот человек вообще стал легендой? Музыка ужасна, вокал ужасен и вообще не в тему музыке.

If it wasn’t Bowie, I wouldn’t have listened to as much as I did. I kept hoping it would get good, or at least better than awful. But it didn’t. Just because he died right after it was released doesn’t make it a masterpiece. Or even good.

Not my thing. Past his prime.

Did not enjoy.

I suppose once you reach a level of virtuosity in any creative pursuit, you begin to push out into creative realms yet unexplored by the masses like me. As a result I found this listening experience impenetrably rubbish. 0/5

This was a little ADHD and overwhelming for me. The song " 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" was just really not for me. The brass and wind instruments were far too much. It's a little bizarre. "Where the fuck did Monday go?" Absolutely wild. A little too weird for my taste. And I thought I liked weird! This also had a vibe of nosferatu.

1/5 honestly hated it

David Bowie has some great songs and albums, this is not one of them. It’s kind of like listening to a fever dream.

This is not for me. Extremely long, extremely weird tracks.

Tepid, overwarmed shite by a legend who should have known better. Only redeemable tracks are "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" and "I Can't Give Everything Away". The rest is forgettable filler.

I hated everything about this. I honestly never want to hear a song off this album again. Bowie's voice, the jumbley jazzy music that tries its hardest to avoid any kind of rhythm. The dreary tone of every single track. It's the direct opposite of everything I want in an album. My highest rated song was 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore which got 2 stars.

I did not like this!

Whatevs

This is the 84th album I’m rating. Another one of those albums everybody says is amazing. I’ve never listened to Bowie so who knows if it’ll be good. Adding to my Playlist - Nothing. Not Adding to my Playlist - Blackstar, ‘Tis a Pity she was a Whore, Lazarus, Sue (Or in a Season of Crime), Girl Loves Me, Dollar Days, and I Can’t Give Everything Away. All in all I liked 0/7 songs. If Bowie never died nobody would give a shit about this album.

not good

Dnf

Not a fan of this. At all

Do not want

Did not like this album.... Was pretty annoying

Not really a bowie fan, but of course his old albums transcend that. I don't know why this is here, it's weird but not in an engaging way just in a pretentious way

Nothing left of good Bowie here.

I did not enjoy it. Lazarus was an OK song. My dad and I had a conversation awhile back and told each other that there’s no such thing as BAD music because someone likes it. Someone must like this but it’s definitely not for me.

Dreadful. Pioneer in releasing sh*te music just to see what d*ckheads would buy it.

It has the coherency of an album made by someone doing demos for a lot of different albums and they can't decide on what to do. I get that it's his last album, but we don't really need to consider this one his greatest work.

Not his best…

creepy and unsettling to be honest and the vocals weren’t it

Terrible

Ruined my day. Made me temporarily fall out of love with music.

I think the cover art says it all. One star.

Bowie sits proudly in my controversial artists list, 4 albums reviewed and a different score for each, this pile of self indulgent shit gets 1 star. I just need a 3 star album to complete the set

So boring

Oh no David. This is really, really bad. Bizarre vocals, feels like a Halloween album. Actually found myself getting angry halfway through this. Love Bowie's other stuff but this is not it. 2.25/10 (1.125/5)

Oofie doofie - I don't really care for Bowie at the best of times, and this is far from his best. Mostly unpleasant, gloomy, self indulgent. But there are occasional high points. Opening a 40 minute album with a 10 minute track is certainly a choice

Weird as f - straight up first song in. First song is also 10 minutes long... should be illegal. Not David's best I guess - or I'm just not a David Bowie fan lol.

Man. I don't know what happened but I just can't click with this album. Maybe I'm just not "cultured" enough but I can't stand it. The beats are pretty good, I just can't stand the vocals. Very different from any of his earlier material, (at least that I've listened to). Has to be a 1/5 from me.

Look, look! The Emperor isn't wearing any clothes! This is by far the worst I have heard of his. Are we all just pretending this is great because he died shortly after? It's a hot mess. Honestly this is so bad.

Shocking And not in a good way I really disliked this. A cacophony at times and really not very pleasant. It seems self serving and actually quite unpleasant. Is it a 2 for sympathy? No, I really, really hope I never have to listen to this pile of shite again

not for me at all

I love how Bowie is my least favorite artist (site says it) and I get 4 of his albums in a 2 month span

Before this album I had never listened to Bowie on purpose. Noticed this is a more recent album and wondered and maybe hoped it would reflect his work. It was crap. Like a concophony of mixed up sounds with some murmers over it. The stand out was the drumming for me which was also out of place. The 3rd track maybe called Lazarus was not bad the last two tracks I'll admit to scanning though. Not recommended and most probably never listen again, shame on me

Omg this was so bad 😭 Literally none of the instrumentation worked well together, his voice annoyed me so much, and some of the lyrics were so random that it annoyed me. I genuinely don't know why people love this album so much its so off-putting. The title track is where I realized that maybe this wasn't going to be as good as I thought it would, what the actual hell is the intro. It doesn't get better either, the "I'm a blackstar" interruption was so grating. I get that this album's whole thing was that he was dying, but at least make it sound good damn. Fav Songs: Lazarus I guess?

Bowie later years typical sound. Not bad, not great.

Bowie had to be trolling us here, right? He thought to himself "right, I've got this Radiohead rip-off of an album that sounds like someone doing a parody of me, and I've got a week to live. If I put this out just before I go toes up then people are going to be tricked into praising it, rather than pointing out it's a bit shit. You can't speak ill of the dead, right!" Also, it's only 41 minutes, but it seems to go on forever, especially 'I Can't Give Everything Away' which ends with around 4 to 5 weeks of him bleating about how he can't give everything away. We get it, Jones, we heard you the first time, and also read the title of the sodding song.

I may get slaughtered for this but listening to this album, then going back and listening to some old Bowie I realized I may not be much of a Bowie fan. I'm a fan of some of the instrumentals but none of these tracks are really landing for me and I'll likely never seek them out again

Not my favorite Bowie sounds.

Did not enjoy it

this was NOTHING like 'magic dance' from the hit film 'labyrinth.' i feel betrayed! the first song gave me spooky vibes which i didn't like. sorry david, not your best work. i considered giving him a bonus star because he DIED like two days after this was released but then i remembered he's literally david bowie and he doesn't need my pity stars when am i gonna get like a beyonce album in here??? also i just don't think songs need to be longer than 4 minutes, 5 minutes MAX what are we DOING! daily dad update: I loved Bowie. Have you ever seen the video where he sings The Little Drummer Boy with Bing Crosby? (no i have not, dad, but i'll go look and you should too!)

idk what kind of music I thought David Bowie sang but this is not it. also a record being 41 minutes with only 7 songs????? do less. TLDR: not a David Bowie fan

Listen, I get that this was the last album before he died. I still didn't like it though.

I get Bowie is a legend, but I am certain I could have died without hearing this album

Tough one this, because on the one hand, it's not very good.

1 star just like his song

before i listen to the album i was like omg i love david bowie in the labyrinth but never actually listened to his music properly im in for a treat! but i was so confused when i listened to this cause it’s so… all over the place? i feel like i’m missing something everyone understood like this is objectively bad… what’s going on? so uh yeah i’m a bit disappointed

Bowie can and did do whatever he wants, but this was upsetting at release and is more so now for different reasons

In the 80s this album might be acceptable. And the 2010s it's absolute trash.

I love Bowie but this late career avant garde stuff aint it

Awful drivel

meh

Wut.

Major pass, please stop giving me David Bowie albums. Didn't enjoy any of the songs.

Never liked his music. Still don't.

This sounds like David Bowie said. I need money. Let’s just go in the studio for a few hours and I’ll sing and play random shit and we’ll put it out. “I’m so high it makes my brain whirl”

Bowie sucks

hemaal niks

Ugh - how many more Bowie albums am I going to have to work through? I get it, a HUGELY significant artist to many, even more so given the timing of the release of this one, but had to stop halfway though because of the vocal histrionics. Just unlistenable. Sorry.

Ramblings of a dying man

Weinerlicher Experimental Rock. Like the album Cover suggests: 1 Star.

This album had a deep story, Bowie releasing it on his birthday and then passing away just two days later, so there was a bit of a swan song/introspective vibe, but with that being said it didn’t resonate with me whatsoever. RIP to the starman.

co to za szajs

This was weird in an annoying way.

1. blackztar - 0 2. uuhore - 0 3. lazaruz - 1 4. ZUE - 0 5. girl lovez me - 0 6. dollar dayz - 0 7. everything auuay - 0

Whew that was tough. Art pop is such an interesting genre and albums are either really likeable or just awful (to yourself) some of my favourite albums are art pop and they are usually rated highly because it is super difficult to produce a good art pop album. This album is no stranger it is top 75 albums on rym. But I did not feel that at all, like Robert Wyatt this was just super difficult for me. I really need someone to explain what is so good about it I mean are they just pity points for him really it isn't even like it reminds people of his old music. I thought his voice was poor, half the songs were just annoying and I felt no flow at all. Clearly critics disagree with me but not an album I will go back to, I'll just stick to the hits. There was one stand out ish song which redeemed it slightly but doesn't save the 1 star. Stand Out Song: Lazarus

Why on earth is this in this list? This has to be Bowie's worst album, and it's not even close. I'm going to be real happy never listening to this again.

Just not my thing

fuck DB

Blackstar is undoubtedly a poignant farewell from a legendary artist, and it's clear that a lot of thought and emotion went into its creation. However, while it's visually captivating and the vinyl edition's artwork isa glorious surprise, I found the overall tone of the album not to my taste. Bowie's voice, while undoubtedly iconic, didn't resonate with me personally, and I struggled to connect with some of the tracks on a visceral level. Despite this, I appreciate the experimental nature of the album and Bowie's willingness to push boundaries even in his final work. NUMBER OF BANGERS - 0 STAND OUT TRACK - None

WTF is this doing here? Provocative choice for this list but it needs another decade of maceration before it can be fairly evaluated. This is Bowie's last album, made when he was terminally ill, though as I understand it he didn't disclose that to the backing band, which happens to be the one that jazz saxophonist and fellow Berklee alum Donny McCaslin was leading at that time when Bowie saw them play at a club and invited them into the studio. Every time I listen to this record it sucks me in deeper, but putting stars on this feels weird. My 1 star is for the editors of this list.

Weird. Lots of swearing. Sounds bad.

Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but this album makes me wish that Spotify had a 2x option like Audible does.

Should be in the 1001 albums not to listen to before you die. Typically I like Bowie.

Snooze

I am not a Bowie fan so this is not appreciated by me.

I really like Bowie, but I think this album is only regarded so highly because it was his parting gift to his fans before his death. The man made some very good music, but this album is not.

So bored

I'm assuming a Brit created this 1001 list. How in the world is this even in the top 10,000 to listen to? I'd have rather listened to Cold Slither on repeat for 24 hours.

Meh meh meh meh meh meh

A little strange for my tastes.

Honestly, I'm not feeling it. Bowie's style, in general, just doesn't appeal to me. Sometimes it can grate on me, similar to Bjork.

He was very expressive

Not my thing at all ... I hated it

Not for me. It was moody and depressing. I struggled through it. I know this was his last album. I haven’t listened to much of David Bowie’s music. Perhaps I will like some of his other albums more.

2/10 Riktigt flummig, lite coola trummor, annars ganska platt och överskattat. Fattar inte grejen med David Bowie riktigt.

not my lane

I love David Bowie but this one is.... weird.

As much as I love him as an artist, I don't vibe with his sound. This one was almost a caricature of David Bowie

Opens up off putting... but calming. Reminds me of vanilla sky soundtrack. Electronic and saxophone.. not a fan. Why is every song 5+ minutes?

David Bowie is great. This is not good.

On the second song and so far this all just translates as noise not music. Not liking it. Hopefully it turns around soon. It got a little better but I don't like it. 1 out of 5.

Wtf, Bowie? Starting the album off with a ten minute song is not a good look. Especially when it’s so… esoteric? Slow? I’m not even sure what it’s supposed to be. The first track can be skipped without missing anything. The same can be said for every track on this album. I’m sorry, but this just isn’t it. I couldn’t find a single redeeming song on this album.

Couldn't get into it. 1/5

Known before: Band Standouts: 1. Blackstar Rating: 2.0

OK I get it, he is a legend. The band was noticeably excellent. But I am just not a Bowie fan. His weird voice only annoys me. Always feel like we are in outer space.

Did not like. I have mixed feelings about Bowie. Some songs there’s nothing like it but some songs sound awful. “I’m a blackstar, I’m not a gangster” - I was done with this album.

melodies of some songs are fine, but vocals were that enjoyable for me. 1.5/5 - S

I’m wondering if fans thinks that this isn’t a good first introduction to Bowie. As much as I could appreciate the artistry and knowing how revered he is, I didn’t enjoy a lot of the album; certain songs I actively didn’t like. The production was really cool and the opening track was well done, but many of the compositions were not appealing to me. It felt like the experiment album an iconic artist puts out later in their career, and I struggled to get into it. 3/10

- I don’t think I can get past his moaning voice lol - he’s so off beat as well - instrumentation isn’t the greatest either - Lazarus is tolerable

Det skulle vara kul om det var kul, men det var det inte. Det är synd att säga det men albumet var supertråkigt. Det skulle funka bra som bakgrundsmusik medan man kör nån stealth mission i nåt spel, men på egen hand har det inget lyssningsvärde. Man hör att Bowie är på dödsbädden.

Känsla: Slöt, monotont, och rent av trist. Kändes som en klagosång nästan. Musiken: Följde inte den dramatiska kurvan eller nåt. Den hade inga höjdpunkter utan bara tragglade på med samma beat o rhtym. Min slutliga dom: 1 stjärna En klagosång med trist musik ger inte ett högt betyg i mina öron.

i didn’t really like it tbh

We may as well rename this the “26 David Bowie and 975 other albums….” project.

I'm sure this has a lot of artistic merit or whatever, but I really did not enjoy the sensation of listening to this. Historically I haven't been a fan of late period Bowie, and this feels like the strongest hit of late period Bowie there is. Decidedly not for me.

En muista mitään ja hyvä niin.

no.

Wanted to at least like it but damn...I hated it

Not for me. I’m a fan of Bowie, but this was just weird and messy.

Pointless indulgent twaddle

Meh

the first 5 minutes of the first song are truly horrible in such a way that it distorts how the rest of the album can be perceived. there are some very solid instrumental sections, but Bowie always had a very moaning-like sound and personally never understood why people liked it, he has a couple great songs but there are none here.

Nao gostei nem um pouco

I like that they printed the rating of the album in the cover.

I gotta be honest I really didn’t like it 1/5

Heartbroken to report that I just don’t like listening to Bowie’s music. I almost didn’t finish this album at several points. Just not my cup of tea, RIP though dude. You seemed cool.

Two Bowie albums in one week…I know I have to listen but I feel like that should just be the review. That was my review last night when the new album dropped. This morning as I attempted to listen to it, I realized I was right. This is by far the worst Bowie album I've heard which is an accurate, non-hyperbolic statement. I skipped every single song due to length, repetiveness and boredom. Just because it is David Bowie does not mean it needs to be on this list.

Dull and seemed to go on forever.

I have listened to this before. I have never been a Bowie fan. This is not a great start for my album a day.

Skipped

His last, and least album - if it had not been for his death this would have sunk without a trace, as it should have. It is a shame that someone capable of producing work such as Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust (to avoid its full title), Aladdin Sane, and Low should have been reduced to producing this. It has absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever.

Not my favorite Bowie album

Did not like. Just because it was his last album doesnt make it his best.

I just don't get why people love Bowie. This was just noise at one point.

Couldn't get into it

J'ai pas tellement apprécié

Hate to say it but this was not good

I almost had to shut this one off. It was really tough to get through. I just don't get the appeal of Bowie. Guess anything really is "art"

Way too weird for me, but I've never been a Bowie fan outside of a few of his hits.

Ersten drei Songs nicht mein Geschmack.

Not a good album in my opinion, I believe personally that it was his attempt to be different and "alternative". I did not find any single song that was really grabbing my attention or I even liked one bit. For me it was a 1/10, just could not find anything to like.

Mag es nicht

Did not enjoy

Too artistic? Not enjoyable.

Doesn't stand out, jazzy, meh

Did not like at all; every song was a slog to get through

-How many more Bowie albums are you gonna make me rate?!?!? -Not his best album -Very weird but I wouldn't expect any different -I liked when his songs are more dancey and rockish -Album art could be better, it's too plain. I like the idea of the different parts of the star but make it look cool -Didn't really like any songs

Did not enjoy.

Not for me. Starts with a weird long song that doesn't do anything for me and gets worse. Just stressful to listen to.

Not a bowie fan. Still not a bowie fan

Pseudo-Prog. Takes normal pop and makes it harmonically weird, but inconsequential. And the lyrics are plain weird, not even artistically so.

I'm sorry Bowie...

Bowie has a grating and unpleasant voice. The songs generally are uninteresting or unpleasant to listen to, often both.

Very abstract rock, did not like it at all

Pretty decent

Track two- tis a pity she was a whore XD