meme photo: lie down - try not to cry - cry a lot this album project has easily led to the most David Bowie I've listened to since his death, because that was the first celebrity/public figure death that really deeply upset me and I didn't like to be reminded about it. I had to take a couple of breaks during Blackstar and it reminded me of all the conversations I had with friends where we went from just talking about the album and videos to talking about how it was a secret farewell message. Life is hard! Death is hard! It feels trite to say that so much of this album is haunting, but it is - the vocals and the machinelike-but-human drumming especially. I do think the title and closing tracks are stronger than the rest, except for maybe Lazarus.