Mfw I'm dying so I drop a jazz-rock masterpiece and die 2 days later that's a lot of aura. ★ is the opener for this album and it's honestly top 5 Bowie songs in my opinion, it's such a haunting song where he deals with his imminent death by making allegories to several spiritual beliefs while the second half takes a more conventional instrumentation and has Bowie referring himself as a "Blackstar" avoiding terms of hedonistic circumstances (like a popstar, a pornstar or a gangster), really great track. 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore is one of two tracks in the album that wasn't made for Blackstar and as such it doesn't really fit into the whole narrative of Bowie's death, but I still see it as an interesting song that uses sexual imagery to explore the devastating nature of World War 1. Additionally the instrumental fucking slaps I hope the entire band they got cooking on this track got a raise for it dawg holy shit. Lazarus IS the best song David Bowie ever made and his most haunting one. It's so much more direct than the previous tracks in the album, addressing his life experience and his impending death more up front. This one also had a really superb instrumental especially in the outro where it has this sort of decrescendo symbolizing Bowie's fading life. HOLY SHIT WHAT WERE THEY FEEDING TO THIS BAND. Yeah so the instrumental of Sue (Or in a Season of Crime) is really fucking cool I hope they got another raise for it. That being said with this being the other song in the album that wasn't originally made for Blackstar it doesn't really fit into the narrative either BUT I find that this concept is also really interesting the same way 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore's instrumental was, with this being more about a crumbling marriage where, after the narrator discovers his wife Sue has been unfaithful he just straight up murders her. Really awesome song as the past 3 have been. Girl Loves Me is my least favorite song on Blackstar but with this stacked ass track listing it's still an incredible song. It is also a really cryptic song as most of the song is in Nadsat but I kinda see that as a really great thing because a lot of the song being in such a cryptic language and the line "Where the fuck did Monday go?" kinda serve as a representation of disconnection which might be as a result of Bowie's approaching death. Dollar Days is another insanely high point in the album and the most straightforward song in the album, as Bowie directly reflects on his own life and approaching death, with the chorus and outro using the phrase "I'm dying to" as both a way to symbolize how bad he wants to finish his work before he runs out of time and as a literal expression of his death. Really emotional track and another really high point in this album. I Can't Give Everything Away is also another really emotional track as it is the track where Bowie fully comes to terms with the fact that he's going to die, and he acknowledges with the title that he can't put out any more work and also as a way to reflect his choice to have control over his private life, only leaving his fans with the art that he made as a reflection of who he was. Genuinely what an album, oh my days it's absolutely insane how well made this is you can tell Bowie genuinely cared about making this one a lot and made it an honest farewell to the world.
33
Albums Rated
3.7
Average Rating
2%
Complete
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1990
Favorite Decade
Hip-hop
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Cheerleader
Rater Style ?
6
5-Star Albums
1
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
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By Decade
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Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
White Light / White Heat
The Velvet Underground
|
5 | 2.89 | +2.11 |
|
3 Feet High and Rising
De La Soul
|
5 | 3.44 | +1.56 |
|
Blackstar
David Bowie
|
5 | 3.48 | +1.52 |
|
The Velvet Underground & Nico
The Velvet Underground
|
5 | 3.62 | +1.38 |
|
Pink Moon
Nick Drake
|
5 | 3.65 | +1.35 |
|
good kid, m.A.A.d city
Kendrick Lamar
|
5 | 3.65 | +1.35 |
|
Isn't Anything
My Bloody Valentine
|
4 | 2.75 | +1.25 |
|
One World
John Martyn
|
4 | 2.81 | +1.19 |
|
Leftism
Leftfield
|
4 | 2.88 | +1.12 |
|
Swordfishtrombones
Tom Waits
|
4 | 2.94 | +1.06 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Machine Head
Deep Purple
|
1 | 3.57 | -2.57 |
|
Strangeways, Here We Come
The Smiths
|
2 | 3.44 | -1.44 |
Artists
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| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| The Velvet Underground | 2 | 5 |
5-Star Albums (6)
View Album WallPopular Reviews
Blackstar
by David Bowie