Head To Head
Log In
Register
Unsung Forum »
Bowie, genius or not...
Log In to post a reply

Pages: 14 – [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Next ]
Topic View: Flat | Threaded
tjj
tjj
3606 posts

Re: Bowie, genius or not...
Jul 27, 2010, 18:32
zphage wrote:
Overrated? Genius?

Greater or lesser than the sum of his phases: Newley phase, Dylan phase, glam phase, Soul phase, Berlin phase, mainstream 80's, etc.,

Only as good as his collaborators: Eno, Visconti, Slick, Ronson, Alomar, Soupy Sales' kids, etc.,

Just an opportunist constantly jumping trends or a leader setting trends?

a pop star in rock star clothing?

Discuss.


All of the above which is what made him a genius.
zphage
zphage
3378 posts

Edited Jul 27, 2010, 19:02
Bowie, genius or not...
Jul 27, 2010, 18:45
Overrated? Genius?

Greater or lesser than the sum of his phases: Newley phase, Dylan phase, glam phase, Soul phase, Berlin phase, mainstream 80's, etc.,

Only as good as his collaborators: Eno, Visconti, Slick, Ronson, Alomar, Soupy Sales' kids, etc.,

Just an opportunist constantly jumping trends or a leader setting trends?

a pop star in rock star clothing?

Discuss.
bolox
bolox
311 posts

Re: Bowie, genius or not...
Jul 27, 2010, 19:01
Not
keith a
9565 posts

Re: Bowie, genius or not...
Jul 27, 2010, 19:01
What is there to discuss?
Lord Lucan
Lord Lucan
2702 posts

Re: Bowie, genius or not...
Jul 27, 2010, 19:08
Not a genius. But a brilliant magpie pop star. Which is no mean feat anyway, when you consider how few (despite his obvious influence) have managed to match him for quality.
IanB
IanB
6761 posts

Edited Jul 27, 2010, 19:29
Re: Bowie, genius or not...
Jul 27, 2010, 19:10
From 1970 to 1980 there is barely a weak track let alone a weak album. In terms of a decade plus of record making (12 studio albums in 11 years) that puts him in a class all on his own - above Dylan, Stones, Lennon, LZ, Aretha, Miles, Joni. 12 great albums in a row without ever repeating a trick. Doesn't really matter what he did or didn't do after that. It's a unique achievement in rock n roll. Most people manage a 3 - 5 year burst of greatness if they are lucky. Is that a qualification for genius status? I'd say so.
zphage
zphage
3378 posts

Re: Bowie, genius or not...
Jul 27, 2010, 19:14
Lord Lucan wrote:
Not a genius. But a brilliant magpie pop star. Which is no mean feat anyway, when you consider how few (despite his obvious influence) have managed to match him for quality.


Madonna, Lady Gaga, and maybe Prince seem to be ones with a feel for stylistic changes. I am sure very aware of Bowie.

Todd Rundgren concurrent with Bowie also had a feel for the stylistic change, but dropped it by the end of the 70's.
Dog 3000
Dog 3000
4611 posts

Re: Bowie, genius or not...
Jul 27, 2010, 19:26
Style icon: genius.

Musician: merely clever.
Lord Lucan
Lord Lucan
2702 posts

Edited Jul 27, 2010, 19:51
Re: Bowie, genius or not...
Jul 27, 2010, 19:49
But that Madonna and that Gaga don't have any talent for pulling avant-garde influences into the mainstream. Mainly because I suspect they're not actually that interested in music in the first place and are more interested in fame. They just produce anodyne musically unadventurous pop pap in comparison. Bjork's a better comparison, I think.
zphage
zphage
3378 posts

Re: Bowie, genius or not...
Jul 27, 2010, 20:17
Lord Lucan wrote:
But that Madonna and that Gaga don't have any talent for pulling avant-garde influences into the mainstream. Mainly because I suspect they're not actually that interested in music in the first place and are more interested in fame. They just produce anodyne musically unadventurous pop pap in comparison. Bjork's a better comparison, I think.


Good point, about bringing in the avant garde, but Bowie only really did that on Low, Heroes, Lodger, and Scary. Prior to that he was a tad derivative: pop, folk, soul, dance, hard rock, etc.

Bjork has been able to be adventureous from the get go, partly being exotic and female. Non convetional song forms, not guitar centric, and because of technology she has been able to approach sound purely for textures and rhythms: tonal/atonal/rhythmic/arrhythmic
Pages: 14 – [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Next ] Add a reply to this topic

Unsung Forum Index