On January 8th of this year, David Bowie shocked those who cared by announcing that he had completed work on a new record. Two singles were released with accompanying videos, followed by the record itself. All in the space of two months, all without comment from Bowie. No interviews, no press statements, no television appearances, no live dates in the works.
Last week, Rick Moody became the only writer thus far to get anything out of Bowie on the topic. In response to a request for a “work flow diagram,” Bowie supplied him with a list of 42 provocative words.
Moody took this list and wrote a truly wild piece in response, a piece I read with the sweaty-palmed excitement of the enthusiast. At its conclusion, Moody created a fictional Bowie anthology focusing on material released since 1990.
After a bit of back and forth the day the piece appeared, Moody asked me to provide input for possible amendments to his anthology. I sent him a few songs, then came home from work and started playing through Bowie’s music from the last 23 years.
Now, four days later, I have assembled my own hour-long anthology covering this era. I tried to respond, in terms of both content and sequence, to the curious atmosphere conjured by Bowie’s 42 words….
David Bowie – Effigy (1990-2013)
1.) “The Motel” (Outside, 1995)
2.) “I Would Be Your Slave” (Heathen, 2002)
3.) “Jump They Say” (Black Tie, White Noise, 1993)
4.) “New Killer Star” (Reality, 2003)
5.) “Sunday” (Heathen, 2003)
6.) “Thursday’s Child” (‘hours…’, 1999)
7.) “I Can’t Read” (Tin Machine, 1990)
8.) “5:15 The Angels Have Gone” (Heathen, 2002)
9.) “Brilliant Adventure” (‘hours…’, 1999)
10.) “Slow Burn” (Heathen, 2002)
11.) “Dirty Boys” (The Next Day, 2013)
12.) “Conversation Piece” (Heathen bonus disc, 2002)
13.) “A Small Plot of Land” (Basquiat: Original Soundtrack, 1995)
14.) “Heat” (The Next Day, 2013)
GUIDO-VISIóN said:
Hey Matt! I got here through Rick Moody’s astonishing piece on TND, and I’m glad, because the complilation you propose feels so right I’ve already put together a playlist with it. One question, having never Heard Basquit’s soundtrack before: is that versión of “A small plot of land” different to the one on Outside?
kreftingmoondawn said:
Hi — thanks! Yes, the Basquiat version is different than the Outside version. No percussion, much more ethereal. If you get a chance to check it out, please let me know what you think…
GUIDO-VISIóN said:
Hello again! Well, I got the Basquiat track on iTunes, and I think it’s brilliant… very different from anything on Outside, almost like an Eno track with Bowie vocals. Thanks for pointing this one out!
Now that I have de full playlist, I will listen to your anthology a couple of times and let you know my thoughts. Right off the bat I love the fact that you’ve included relatively obscure favorites of mine, like Brilliant Adventure, and the Heathen versión of Conversation Piece.
Cheers!