{"id":622,"date":"2017-11-28T04:33:44","date_gmt":"2017-11-28T04:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/MHS123_Fall2017\/?p=622"},"modified":"2017-11-28T04:35:04","modified_gmt":"2017-11-28T04:35:04","slug":"blogpost-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/MHS123_Fall2017\/uncategorized\/blogpost-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Blogpost #3"},"content":{"rendered":"

BLACKSTAR<\/span><\/p>\n

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David Bowie\u2019s \u201cBlackstar\u201d (video) was released on November 19th, 2015. It is a harrowing and visceral piece of audio-visual art. It is dense, dark and packed with allusion to earlier works, art, religion and the occult. Furthermore it is a swansong. Bowie died of liver cancer on January 10th, two days after the full album release<\/span>1<\/span>. Like all great music video\u2019s it was engaging from the beginning. However , I can\u2019t remember another video which has haunted me throughout the course of a week like this one has. I want see how Bowie created a video this thought provoking and disturbing.<\/span><\/p>\n

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First one must know about David Bowie\u2019s early life and career before they can understand his last and most experimental album. Born David Jones in London, England in 1947, David had showed an early interest in music. He learned to play the saxophone at 13 and was influenced by his older brother’s record collection. In his teen years he did not enjoy much professional success and even spent time in a scottish buddhist monastery <\/span>2<\/span>. It wasn’t until the release of Space Oddity in 1969 did he enjoy commercial success. After that the rest is more or less history. He continued and matured as an artist. He developed an alter ego on stage named <\/span>Ziggy Stardust. He and the rest of his ilk signaled the end of the Woodstock era and most famously he was deeply involved with narcotics <\/span>2<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=D67kmFzSh_o<\/a><\/p>\n

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The music of Blackstar is experimental and utilises the sum total of David Bowies creative ability while not replicating or summarising his past works. It opens with an atmospheric trio of 2 flute and guitar. Then drums enter with a syncopated ECM beat, signaling a departure from Bowie cannon. The melody itself is comprised mostly of one repeated note, followed by a closing gesture on \u201cahh\u201d. One may say that it is reminiscent of medieval chant. To further darken the atmosphere, Bowie dubbed the melody at the octave. This all continues in more or less the same way until 1:45 where we hear something uncommon to most contemporary popular music, a Saxophone. Bowie had recruited Donny McCaslin, a Jazz musician from NYC, and his band to play on his final album. The story goes that Maria Schneider (ESM alum and good friend of Bowie) had recommended McCaslin to Bowie. The usage of saxophone itself isn\u2019t what is interesting, it\u2019s the context in which it is used. In most rock and roll the saxophone solo is a brief interlude and is really not used to the further the song as a whole. On Blackstar McCaslin plays and embellishes the melody and improvises throughout the track. I think that Bowie wanted the living breathing feel of jazz and improvised music to be central to this piece.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Another musical feature which distinguishes this piece from the bulk of popular music is its form. It is comprised of a distinct A section marked by the chanting melody and syncopated drum beat. This is followed by an equally distinct B. The B section is reminiscent of a rock ballad \u00a0and features a lighter mood. It has a simple drum beat and even features a James Brown-esque saxophone line. The interesting part is how the B section slowly melts into the A<\/span>1<\/span>. First the harmonic minor-ish theme from the beginning is reintroduced. Its then repeated and passed around the ensemble until suddenly we are back at the beginning. To he honest the first few times I listened to this video I didn\u2019t even notice the transition. I think that Bowie, intentionally or otherwise, was imitating classical form. First you introduce a theme, then you develop it and then finally you return to the theme<\/span><\/p>\n

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