strong>David Bowie is the best, most important musician to appear after The Beatles disbanded.
I will not be swayed from this position, so there’s little use trying (though I invite you to).
Sure, Michael Jackson was brilliant for about five years and was universally loved for more than a decade - but, uh, he’s Wacko Jacko. And, yes, Elton John and Billy Joel released hit singles and albums for decades - but neither have had a truly lasting influence on pop music beyond extending Paul McCartney’s melodicism. Nirvana and Pearl Jam’s sound has a strangle-hold on rock radio, but their modern-day counterparts lack almost any thoughtfulness or inspiration that made those band’s few vital albums hold up over time. REM sputtered after Bill Berry left, and though U2 have had sustained success, I’m not sure how far outside the arena the breadth of their canon will travel (see previous blogs). And as much as I love Radiohead, I can’t deny that the quality of the band’s output has fallen sharply since Kid A.
Bowie is often loathed by musicians for favoring style over substance, and for relying on gimmickry to sell his songs. If nothing else, no one could deny that Bowie is a brilliant businessman. He knows how to market himself, his image and his music better than any other in history.
He was the first artist to shift his image, chameleon-like, with each album. He was the space man. He was the folkie. He was Ziggy, the alien rocker and Aladin Sane (read: A lad insane); both glam-rockers with a taste for apocalypse and bisexuality. He was (my favorite) the coke-addled Thin White Duke, a soul singer without a soul. He was the German avant-garde artiste on three wildly different “Berlin-era” albums in the late ’70s, and in the ’80s he was suddenly a recovering superstar.
With “Ashes to Ashes” in 1980, he preceded MTV by a year recognizing early the importance music video would have in marketing. He was the first artist allowed to spend $1 million on a video - full of dated special effects and Armageddon clowns. In the mid-90s, Bowie Bonds made him the first artist to put themselves out for trade on the market and made him the richest musician alive. In 1996, he was the first artist to use the internet to release music to a widestream audience with “Telling Lies” from Earthling. In 1999, he launched his own internet browser software and subscription, Bowie.net.
He brought the glamour of the underground scenes to prominence. He stole what worked from them, and molded his pop sensibility to their craft. Other artists worked the styles and images he used and sometimes did it better (T.Rex., Kraftwerk, The New York Dolls, The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed), but none were as versatile, slick or successful. He made Iggy Pop a star, provided Brian Eno a popular output and influence, gave a fledgling Luther Vandross a foot in the door in 1975. He lent a mainstream credibility to Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails when they toured together in 1996. He brought electronica and jungle to the mainstream in 1997.
Then there are the songs and albums. For four decades, Bowie has remained a strong singles artist, rarely failing to put at least one classic song on an album: “Space Oddity,” “Life on Mars?” “Changes,” “Ziggy Stardust,” “Suffragette City,” “Moonage Daydream,” “Cracked Actor,” “Drive-In Saturday,” “Watch That Man,” “Rebel Rebel,” “Young Americans,” “Fame,” “Golden Years,” “TVC-15,” “Sound and Vision,” “Be My Wife,” “Heroes,” “D.J.” “Look Back in Anger,” “Boys Keep Swinging,” “Ashes to Ashes,” “Fashion,” “Let’s Dance,” “China Girl,” “Modern Love,” “Blue Jean,” “Cat People (Putting out Fires),” “Loving the Alien” (production excluded), “Underground,” “This is not America,” “Jump (They Say)” “The Buddha of Suburbia,” “Strangers When We Meet,” “The Heart’s Filthy Lesson,” “Hallo Spaceboy,” “I’m Afraid of Americans,” “Slow Burn,” “Sunday,” “Reality,” and (PHEW!) “Never Get Old.”
And the albums. I always return to Aladin Sane, Station to Station, Lodger and Scary Monsters. They are all nearly flawless and are like a time capsule of their respective periods. Outside, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Low and Hunky Dory aren’t far behind.
So, whether he’s a soulless media whore and far too self-conscious, or one of the most brilliant, prolific artists to live, Bowie’s influence on modern music is incalcuable. Madonna aped his persona changes and marketing ploys, the entire New Wave movement in the early ’80s copped his glam, make-up wearing image, and countless artists have tried to recreate the detached cool of his late-’70s output. Few have done so successfully.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 20th, 2007 at 7:44 pm and is filed under Raves. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Since Bowie released two albums prior to the disbanding of the Beatles, I don’t see how he fits your defined reference of “most important musician to appear after The Beatles disbanded.”
You’re right. But, I suppose when I say “appear” I mean “enter the mainstream consciousness.” I think he’s been working professionally in some form since 1964 or so, but it wasn’t until the early 70s that he came into his own.
Have I now sufficiently bent my words and meaning to fit my intent?
Who would you make a case for, post-Beatles?
What about some Dylan yo? Or maybe some Jimi? Or even the Spice Girls? I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want; it’s an answer.
P.S. Manissa has shown me your blog.
-Nick
Post-Beatles? I can name a few.
Let me qualify my “post-Beatles” reasoning. While “Let It Be” was the Fab Four’s last album in 1970, the last recorded songs actually appeared on “Abbey Road,” released in 1969. Therefore, I consider anything beyond that “post-Beatles” since “Let It Be” is basically a bunch of earlier Beatles’ recordings tossed together to honor a contract.
Anyhoo, allow me to submit the names of two bands that have had a profound impact on rock ‘n’ roll, as much or even more than David Bowie: Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.
Both bands released their first albums in 1969 … and both are considered to be major influences of any hard-rock or metal band you see today. Whether you like that genre or not, I really don’t think you can’t deny Sabbath and Zep’s influence on today’s music.
Nick - No Dylan: His most important stuff is the pre/early/mid-period Beatles era. Jimi Hendrix was also during the Beatles’ reign (and he’s also way, way overrated).
Charlie - I’ll submit and say Zep. Sure. Yeah. They’re great. No argument. But Black Sabbath utterly, completely suck. They’ve never been good, and Ozzy Osbourne is nothing but a bleedin’ idiot. I just haven’t ever found anything redeeming in that band’s music. Ever. And influence - well, gee, maybe they’re the reason we’re in this boneheaded rut we’re in. At least Zep had the decency to be intelligent, musically inventive and melodic while inventing rock hedonism and rocking out.
That may be true about Sabbath, but, they were among the first to popularize the power chord and the open E.
well written article michael
i would refer anyone interested who doesnt already know about this link to check it out
http://user.cyberlink.ch/~koenig/bowie.htm
Bowie is God, fair enough he’s made a few dud albums but has always had a single in them to save them.
Remember the Beatles were not perfect ‘Yellow Submarine’ is far worse than any of Bowie’s numbers, anyways his ‘Bad’ albums tend to influence underground acts in fact, he’s made more money than most do in a lifetime through
covers of his songs.