1001 Albums Summary

It's a scorching August afternoon in 1969. The sociopolitical tension is as thick as the humidity in the two horse upstate New York town you grew up in. You're 17 now, but what's next? College? The draft? Working for you dad at the quarry? You're not a flower child but you're not lining up at the recruitment office either. The summer of love passed you over and what was left for you to take? You spent the majority of the summer digging pools and driving your Dart around, but nothing is taking hold. Your older sister scored some tickets to a festival and is bringing you. You know all the acts but who is actually going to show up?

The bridge between 1990's punk and 2000's butt rock.

I went to a party with my junior year room mate. We got really drunk and wandered back to the apartment. He said, "I need a album that keeps me going for about 25 minutes then will put me to sleep."

I remember listening to this album for the first time in 9th grade. I borrowed the CD from my friend who would dye his hair during Global Studies. I bought a copy and listened to it almost daily. I should have paid more attention the lyrics. You can't go forcing something if it's just not right.

Bowie wrote this album based on his impressions of America. At the same time Hunter S. Thompson was writing Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail. Both accounts dive into the entry into America's decline and malaise. From the hints of "Rhapsody in Blue" on the piano solo in the title track, to futuristic nostalgia of Drive-In Saturday Night, Bowie calls out the country for what it is. Lonely. As he peeks around more he sees dying cities in Detroit, Los Angeles, and New York. But as he calls out the dying country, there is an underlying angst building. Bowie seems to be declaring that if America is dying, then I'm going to get a last lick, much like Thompson wanted a parting shot at a country he didn't recognize anymore. I don't think anyone could do this again because America isn't anything. The malaise has completed.

If someone tried to make this record today it would be John Legend signing Morgan Wallen and Jellyroll songs.

This is a jam band album disguised as a soul album disguised as a Blaxploitation film. The next to last track Do Your Thing is a 19 minute journey that could be a recording of a Phish sound check.

I don’t listen to this genera of music often, but I think what makes an album a classic is if it sounds like what I could hear today.