Non Metal Now Listening

[astfgyl]

Listened to Station to Station last night and again this morning. The playing on it is something else. For some odd reason then I got the urge to put on Earthling and straight away there's the train sample in Little Wonder, used in hilarious fashion.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Haven't listened to Station to Station for a long time, will revisit later today.

Last couple of days I've been getting stuck into Ludwig Göransson's scores, starting with Oppenheimer and, since yesterday, Tenet. The latter stands up on its own as a score much better than the film itself    Genuinely a really good listen though.

[Mooncat]

Tying the threads together a little, but since we talked about Stephen King's Tommyknockers being written in a blizzard of cocaine, and Scorsese's After Hours being made in a blizzard of cocaine, let's complete the book/film/music triumvirate by adding Bowie's blizzard of cocaine album Station to Station.

Absolutely brilliant call.

"Station To Station" is easily my favourite Bowie record. Right from the second I hear the train and piano intro - it's on. I saw the exceptional "David Bowie Is..." show in Chicago back in 2014. The clothes etc. from the album cover are on display. He must have weighed next to nothing. It's amazing that he lived through those couple of years - given the drug intake and the fact that he rarely ate.

Followed by "Low", "The Rise And Fall of Ziggy...", "Heroes", "Lodger", "The Next Day", "Blackstar" and I have a soft spot for "Young Americans".

You can expand your listening/reading/viewing about Bowie in this period too - the Alan Yentob documentary "Cracked Actor" captures Bowie around this period - he is rail thin, hopped up and out of his fucking mind. It's on YouTube.

The live record "David Live" that comes out around then (and the doc captures the tour) is a hot mess but does bear listening to. Look at the state of him on the cover!

Dylan Jones' 2017 oral history "David Bowie - A Life" is also magnificent. The book details his life cradle to grave but it covers that particular time in DB's life with players who where there really well.

My favourites list would be similar to yours except I'd definitely throw in Diamond Dogs as well. The whole album is great but there's something about the last track on it, Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family, that I just can't get enough of. Every time I listen to the album I end up replaying that track 3 or 4 times. It's so hypnotic and catchy! Will get on to YT for Cracked Actor tonight.

Cheers for the book recommendation, ordered it right away. I love an oral history and didn't know that one existed.

[Mooncat]

Listened to Station to Station last night and again this morning. The playing on it is something else. For some odd reason then I got the urge to put on Earthling and straight away there's the train sample in Little Wonder, used in hilarious fashion.

Never listened to Earthling, must give it a go.

[Carnage]

It's aged, and not well. A few tracks hold up.

I'll have to give this one (Station To Station) a listen. Generally I can take or leave Bowie, the only one I truly love is Low, that's untouchable. But the likes of Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs, Heroes and Lodger - I've tried them all on multiple occasions and can't stand any of them, bar the odd song. I bought and liked Earthling at the time but dug it out recently and it hasn't held up well.

[astfgyl]

I have a soft spot for Earthling but it's true about the sound to be fair. Yknow what else is great is 1. Outside. I nearly forgot about that as well

[Mooncat]

I keep coming across 1.Outside as the hidden gem of Bowie's catalogue. The one fans love that the critics missed entirely. Need to give it a go too.

[Carnage]

My current favourite is reading a music autobiography and listening to each album as the book moves through them.

Just getting into doing that with Peter Hook's Joy Division book at the moment, just getting to the release of the A Factory Sample EP now, though I've been skipping ahead.

Listened to Closer on the walk in and out of town today. Christ, there's a bleakness to that album that you just won't get anywhere else. The Eternal is soul destroying on its own, and that's the second last track. Just getting to it is to bear a weight.

[open face surgery]

Enjoyed the book but Hooky comes across as a egomaniac. I did go in with that opinion though.

[Mooncat]

My current favourite is reading a music autobiography and listening to each album as the book moves through them.

Just getting into doing that with Peter Hook's Joy Division book at the moment, just getting to the release of the A Factory Sample EP now, though I've been skipping ahead.

Listened to Closer on the walk in and out of town today. Christ, there's a bleakness to that album that you just won't get anywhere else. The Eternal is soul destroying on its own, and that's the second last track. Just getting to it is to bear a weight.

Here are the young men, the weight on their shoulders
Here are the young men, well where have they been?
We knocked on the doors of Hell's darker chamber
Pushed to the limit, we dragged ourselves in

It's a bleak one alright! He must have been living in unbelievable misery and unhappiness. There can't be too many better two-album runs in all of music though.

Been toying with the idea of reading his book for ages. He always comes across like a good raconteur, but also a complete twat. Would be worth it just to go through all the Joy Division and New Order stuff though...

[Carnage]

Enjoyed the book but Hooky comes across as a egomaniac.

He always comes across like a good raconteur, but also a complete twat.

Both bang on IMO. There's enough self deprecation to keep him from being obnoxious, but he certainly has a high opinion of himself. It's a great read to be fair, I'm just picking it up and reading the odd few pages on and off, I have a couple of other books on the go. I read his book on the Hacienda a few years back, equally entertaining. Neither New Order nor Tony Wilson should ever have been trusted with money, is the main lesson to be learned from it.

[StoutAndAle]

I have the first Hooky book to read - friend of mine is a massive Joy Division/New Order fan. He is not blinded to that fact that both Hook and Sumner are gobshites (Stephen Morris seems sound though) and said that Hook's is by far the most entertaining.

I have heard that Hook dictated the book to tape and someone else punched it up. Some reviews say that the audiobook is better.

The Jon Savage oral history of Joy Division - "This Searing Light..." is well worth a read (if you can get it at a reasonable price or on Kindle).

Some of you may want to check out Coil - particularly their first 3 proper releases;

"Scatology" (1984)
"Horse Rotorvator" (1986)
"Love's Secret Domain" (1991)

The life/death of frontman John Balance is fairly grim and dark too.

[Carnage]

I have heard that Hook dictated the book to tape and someone else punched it up. Some reviews say that the audiobook is better.

It reads like that alright, like a bloke telling stories to his mates over a pint.

I have Stephen Morris' book on my want list, I'll get to it eventually. I wasn't aware of that Savage one, I'll look it up. Paul Morley's one is supposed to be good too, though I think it's a collection of articles and essays as opposed to a straight biography.

Deborah Curtis' biography of Ian/Joy Division is a great read, and yet another one I loaned to someone and never saw again.

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Some of you may want to check out Coil - particularly their first 3 proper releases;

"Scatology" (1984)
"Horse Rotorvator" (1986)
"Love's Secret Domain" (1991)

The life/death of frontman John Balance is fairly grim and dark too.

Seconded, quality albums, only really started getting into them a couple of years ago myself. Peter Christopherson was also quite the dark character and it was great to see him talked about in that recent Hipgnosis doc too.

[The Wretch]

Incredible band in their early days. Terry Kath in particular is one of the all time great guitarists IMO.