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The ShortListen: David Bowie (no. 231)

His farewell track to us all

The ShortListen: David Bowie (no. 231)
11 January 2016

Who? David Bowie

What’s the story? He retained the element of surprise all the way to the very end. No one saw Ziggy Stardust coming, no one expected him to make a drum and bass record in the nineties, no one expected his 2003 return with The Next Day and no one expected him to pass away just three days after unleashing an avant garde album on his birthday. The fact that he had been ill for so long, but not made any announcement about it clearly suggests that he wanted fans to hear Blackstar without taking his mortality into account, but listening again after the event gives the tracks even more meaning than before. The whole of Blackstar is a fitting end to his canon, with the final, majestic track on the record containing the cryptic message: "Seeing more and feeling less/Saying no but meaning yes/This is all I ever meant/That's the message that I sent...I can't give everything away". Ever the mysterious pop star until the end: we'll see you on the other side. 

For fans of: Pink Floyd, Massive Attack

In three words: A fitting end

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