Hi again everyone!
I was just watching a video about a David Bowie song while thinking of ideas for my blog, and I realised I've yet to do an album review for anything of his. I've decided to do Scary Monsters, since it's one I've been listening to fairly recently, and there aren't too many songs on it (unlike, say, Abbey Road )
It's No Game (Part 1)
I quite like this song- it does a great job of introducing the album, in my opinion. I really like how David Bowie is intentionally singing really out of key, even screaming some of the lyrics- it gives the song an almost dystopian, chaotic feel to it. I'm not sure what the speaking is in the beginning, and throughout the song- I believe it's Japanese, but when I tried translating it, none of it seemed at all coherent (I'm not sure if that was just Google Translate or if it's actually just nonsense). It's a great song though, honestly. It really sets the mood well, and despite the off-key sound, it's fairly catchy. In fact, it might actually be my favourite song, though it's a pretty close call.
Up The Hill Backwards
I'll often find the bassline from this song stuck in my head, even when I haven't heard it in weeks. It's not a bad song- not my favourite on the album, but still quite good. Honestly, I don't have too much to say about this one... There isn't all that much that stands out to me about it. It probably helps that I have no idea what the lyrics are about. As I said though, it's got a good bassline, and it's pretty catchy. I don't have any complaints about it really, so I suppose there's that.
Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
This is another song I really like. It's not quite off-key like the first one, but it's definitely in a rather odd key signature. It has a really dark feeling to it (though, to be honest, the whole album does really). There's a bit of an effect with the singing though- I don't know how exactly to describe it, but it sounds kinda like singing into a fan, which I find a bit unpleasant to listen to... It's not so much that I don't like the sound, but it's a bit hard on my ears. It's unfortunate really, since it's such a great song otherwise.
Ashes to Ashes
This is the first song on the album I heard, and honestly, it's always seemed a little out of place to me. I'm not saying that in a bad way, though, just that this song is a bit slow and not quite as aggressive as the others. Honestly, I really like it. It's got a somewhat dreamlike feel to it, especially paired with the music video. It's really interesting lyrically as well- it refers back to Major Tom, but rather than him being a heroic astronaut, it portrays him as a junkie. I've been wondering for some time about some potential drug references in this one- the internet seems to confirm them- but honestly, there's a lot of stuff in here that I can't understand whatsoever.
Fashion
This song is also a little out of place on the album- again, though, I do like the song. As far as I can tell, it's some sort of social commentary, talking about how strange trends can be, with colloquialisms or dance moves, or whatever else, but supposedly there are some metaphors buried in it discussing fascism (according to the internet at least). It's a really catchy song though, and to someone who doesn't listen to the lyrics, it would probably make a great song to dance to.
Teenage Wildlife
I'm not sure why, but I've never been a fan of this song. Something about it is a bit off-putting to me- I don't know how to describe it, really. There's just some quality about it that really doesn't appeal to me. The fact that it's the longest song on the album (nearly 7 minutes) really doesn't help. I don't really know the lyrics to the song, since I don't listen to it if I can help it, but supposedly there are some really good lines in this one (mostly insults, by the look of it).
Scream Like a Baby
Something about this song always reminds me of Alice Cooper's Dada. I'm not sure why it's specifically this one- the rest of the album has a similar dark feeling to it, as I said- but especially the chorus would fit right in with that album. Apparently my interpretation of the song was actually pretty close- again, it's talking about fascism, but from the point of view of an oppressed person (or rather, said person's friend). It's a good song- not exactly a pleasant one, but it's one I find stuck in my head quite often.
Kingdom Come
Again, this song doesn't really appeal to me all that much; it's not to the same extent as Teenage Wildlife though. I don't really mind this song, but I don't enjoy it as much as I do the others. I've got no clue what the song is about, honestly- at the time I listened most regularly to this album, I was also taking a geology course, so the line "I won't be breaking no rocks" has always been pretty closely associated with that for me.
Because You're Young
This isn't a bad song, but again, it doesn't particularly stand out to me all that much. I do often get the one line "These pieces are broken" stuck in my head, which is a bit strange- usually I'll get something a bit longer than that, but for whatever reason, that line seems to be the catchiest bit of the song to me. I do like the song, though- particularly the verses, though the rest isn't too bad either.
It's No Game (Part 2)
This is basically It's No Game (Part 1), but with all the distortion removed, all the singing in key, and all of the screaming dialed back to regular singing. I think the two songs together do a great job of making the album a bit more cohesive, and give it more of a story- as I see it, nothing really changed after the events of the album except the mood. Honestly, I'm not sure which version I like more- the second is more technically correct, and musically better, but the first is done very stylistically, and pulled off very well, so it's quite hard to pick between them.
The album as a whole is very interesting- it's extremely dark, and full of references to fascism and drug abuse, but has a very unique and interesting style to it. Honestly, it's not an album I'd expect myself to like- it's a bit too funky in parts, and a bit too distorted in others, but it's very well executed and full of emotion.
Anyways, that's gonna be it for today- hopefully you enjoyed this post!