Execrable music journalism
blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/neilmccormick/100003825/david-bowies-space-oddity-40-years-on/#

I think David Bowie is fucking rubbish, bar about three songs. But having read this utterly gay, fawning, sub-6th form fanzine drivel I dislike Neil McCormick even more.

"Major Tom opts to remain adrift rather than return to a planet where he (like so many of his generation) felt politically impotent"

Major fucking bollocks, more like.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:46, 98 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

I fucking love Bowie,
you sir, are wrong on the internet.
(PsychoChomp, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:47, Reply)

I like Bowie
but that article mentions U2 so I feel I can justifiably raise my hatred of them again.

I really fucking hate U2
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:51, Reply)

What a towering pile of cludgewash
"prodigiously talented," my arse. He was a pretentious wanker who put on a silly voice because he couldn't sing properly.

Sorry Chompy, I can't stand Bowie either.

Edit: Though Vipros has raised a good point. Who will be first against the wall when I stage my coup - Bono or Bowie?
(LongJohnBaldry, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:52, Reply)

Nope, you're wrong.
He's got a good voice, he sings in unusual styles sometimes, but he can still sing. And his songwriting is also superb.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:53, Reply)

also, he is a very good producer

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:53, Reply)

And he's a great saxophonist too.

(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:56, Reply)

His 'good production'
on Raw Power by the Stooges is fucking terrible.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:56, Reply)

The stooges are massively overrated

(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:58, Reply)

Iggy Pop's solo stuff is fucking awful without a doubt
THIS IS BECAUSE HE HUNG AROUND WITH DAVID BOWIE

who radiated shitness so strongly he managed to ruin the bloke who wrote 'Down on the Street'.

Reasons to hate Bowie no.2, that is...
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:01, Reply)

Without Bowie covering China Girl
Iggy would have been penniless and dead. Bowies cover of China Girl is much better than Iggys original.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:02, Reply)

From a musical perspective
Iggy Pop would have been better off dying in about 1973
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:04, Reply)

and from a TV advertising perspective

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:06, Reply)

from
any perspective
(bamboozled Can hear you getting fatter, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:24, Reply)

Sorry,
I disagree with every point you've made there. Particularly with regard to the songwriting.
(LongJohnBaldry, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:54, Reply)

Well, when was the last time you shifted millions of albums?
Especially back in the 70s and 80s when an album wasn't hyped by the telly, it was bought because people liked it and because it was good.

He's not perfect, personally I don't really like the Low, Heroes, Lodger trilogy, but Ziggy Stardust, Diamond Dogs, Scary Monsters and Let's Dance and first rate albums.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:56, Reply)

Well, I've never tried
I don't deny he's been very successful - I think it's much like the Beatles, the Clash and T.Rex: all have been hugely popular, but I really fail to see why their material is so popular.
(LongJohnBaldry, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:57, Reply)

The Beatles were groundbreaking in the stuff they did.
Now days some of it may sound twee, but at the time it was really breathtaking. Personally I like the Beatles, they wrote good tunes with memorable hooks and they were very well produced. Hence people bought them.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:00, Reply)

But what ground did they actually break?
They weren't the first Merseybeat band.
They weren't the first psychedelic band.
They certainly weren't the first blues band.
Granted, they probably helped to make these styles more popular with more mainstream audiences, but does that really make them groundbreaking?
(LongJohnBaldry, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:04, Reply)

I'd say it does

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:05, Reply)

Suit yourself.

(LongJohnBaldry, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:06, Reply)

I'm not a huge fan of the beatles either
I really rate a few of their songs, Come Together for instance, but I would have to say that popularising a style of music to an insanely massive audience is pretty ground breaking
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:07, Reply)

Maybe I'm just splitting hairs
But I would have said the very first Merseybeat bands, the very first psychedelic bands, etc., were the people who broke that ground in that they invented that style. Kudos to a band that can pick up those styles and point out their existence to a wider audience, but I don't think the Beatles deserve as much credit as they seem to get for that. (I think I'm probably just irked, though, by the people who are convinced that the Beatles invented those styles.)
(LongJohnBaldry, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:11, Reply)

I see where you are coming from
and I don't think they deserve quite as much credit as they get.

I'm not totally disagreeing with you here.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:19, Reply)

The Beatles
Were, and are, overrated. So there.
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:08, Reply)

Agreed.
Their music is bland and they are twee.

Look, let's face it people - MY FAV BAND IS BETTER THAN YOURS, NYAH.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:19, Reply)

Yes!
And my wife's better than yours, etc.
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:21, Reply)

Well that is true

(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:22, Reply)

Bunch of bandwaggoners
with an ear for a good pop song. The end.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:10, Reply)

It's easy to say
they had an "ear for a good pop song" but you really are forgetting just what a unique partnership lennon and Mcartney had, they wrote so many good catchy songs they were practically an industry unto themselves. It's incredibly difficult to write good songs, you can't just dismiss it that easily.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:14, Reply)

Yes you can
And Paul Mcartney's output of the last 20+ plus years has been nothing short of abominably turgid shite. In fact, I've produced shites that made a better sound on their way out.

Their songs were catchy but that doesn't make them good. Most advertising jingles are catchy; that doesn't make them a contender for an Ivor Novello award. Take That are catchy. But they're still shite.

I don't think the Beatles are shite, btw. just massively overrated.
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:20, Reply)

"Washing machines live longer with Calgon!"
(That's just to back up your point, DG.)
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:22, Reply)

Phil Collins
has shifted millions of albums - this does not make him good.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:04, Reply)

This.
Although i do quite like a lot of Bowie stuff. not to the point where I'd want to write a hugely sycophantic newspaper article about a 40 year old song though.
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:09, Reply)

I love the Low album.
I played it to death when I was a depressed 18 year old. It will always remind me of that special time in my life when I thought there was nothing worth living for : )
( girlinthehole, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:58, Reply)

music for miserable teenagers
You've summed it up. Like Radiohead and The Smiths ie shite
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:02, Reply)

Oh dear
I'll give you Radiohead, but the Smiths really are very good.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:03, Reply)

I have to disagree

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:05, Reply)

the first 30 seconds
of How Soon is Now are excellent - but then that god-awful tosser starts moaning on and it's all over for me. He really is a monumental twat. I had the misfortune of seeing him on Jonathon Ross's (another cunt) show and even in his 50s he was trying to be a 'difficult' interviewee, being contrary and generally annoying like a stroppy 15 year old. Cock.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:07, Reply)

Yes, he's a cock
but that doesn't stop The Smiths being good musically. I think Dave Mustaine is one of the all time most unbelievably massive twats ever to have been born. But Megadeth still produced one of the all time great thrash metal albums in "Rust In Peace".
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:08, Reply)

equally
metallica is made up of cocks, but they are awesome
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:09, Reply)

I'm torn now
I like Bowie, but I equally hate the Smiths and numerous other artists mentioned on this thread
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:09, Reply)

You are so, so, so wrong about Bowie
Bowie is fucking superb.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:52, Reply)

he wrote "all the young dudes"
how can anyone not like him?
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:53, Reply)

I hate that dirge so much

(LongJohnBaldry, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:54, Reply)

You are me.
You are wholly correct in everything you have said in this thread and i congratulate you.

David Joey, I say.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:58, Reply)

Ok, I am not quite you
Who is David Joey?
(LongJohnBaldry, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:00, Reply)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Deacon

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:01, Reply)

Oh dear
I'm sorry, but when you have to descend to changing one of the words of the thing you're criticising to something silly then you've lost the argument.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:02, Reply)

I love Bowie.
And I am the law.
( girlinthehole, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:54, Reply)

Hmmmm
I may have changed my opinion now.

Only kidding.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 13:56, Reply)

Labyrinth.
this, as well as the film Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, mean that (aside from everything else he's ever done ever except 'Earthling') Bowie is made of win.
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:04, Reply)

I would rate "Tonight" and "Never Let Me Down" well below Earthling
other than that you are correct.

And you remind me of the babe.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:07, Reply)

what babe?

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:08, Reply)

The babe with the power!

( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:09, Reply)

your mum

(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:09, Reply)

she is a babe

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:10, Reply)

^Excellent internetting, here!
A+
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:10, Reply)

I set it up
and knocked it out of the court.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:12, Reply)

Like, whoa.

( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:13, Reply)

That's what your mrs said when she saw my cock
'cause it was so big she was scared it was going to split her in half.

edit: and she's from like, southern california.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:15, Reply)

Like, you've been totally watching True Blood. Whoa. Vampires, eh? Sexy. Like.
Anna Paquin: Confusing.

EDIT: She actually is, and she said your willy was like a pretzel flip.
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:17, Reply)

Yeah she did
what's a pretzel flip?
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:20, Reply)

A chocolate covered pretzel snack.

( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:23, Reply)

want

( Lisette von Falcon, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:24, Reply)

Say, would you like a chocolate covered pretzel?
*offers bag*
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:26, Reply)

don't take it!
his hand has been down his arsecrack!
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:28, Reply)

Sure
I'll just remove my hand from my arsecrack first.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:28, Reply)

naa, they are shit
people only think they're good because they are covered in chocolate
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:26, Reply)

It certainly improved my encounter with ym
The corner shop had run out of Wispa by the time I'd got a decent coating on, though.
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:32, Reply)

Not a fan.

( Lisette von Falcon, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:07, Reply)

Major Tom was a fatuous bucket of clunge
"So here am I floating in my tin can...."
Wouldn't know talent from a Ford Cortina.
( Tourette's ( . )( . ) has a monkey hair in her fried egg, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:08, Reply)

*shocked*
and I had you down as a lady of taste, class and sophistication!
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:09, Reply)

Don't listen to her.
She fucking loves Bowie; just not that song.
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:11, Reply)

But... But...
Hhhhhheeeeeeeeeere am I sitting in my tin can.... FAAAAAAAAAR above the something... Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can dooooo-ooo-ooo

DUN-DUN-DUN-DA-DUN-DUN *claps*
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:13, Reply)

take your protein pills and put your HELMET on
All the lyrical talent of a crusty jizz stain.
( Tourette's ( . )( . ) has a monkey hair in her fried egg, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:20, Reply)

Sorry Tightly,
I'm none of the above....
Some of Bowie's earlier stuff was ok; like BGB said above, I remember sitting in my teenage bedroom, listening to Bowie in the dark. But Space Oddity in particular makes me spit if I here it on the radio.
( Tourette's ( . )( . ) has a monkey hair in her fried egg, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:18, Reply)

*crosses you off the list*
It's very hard to get back on the list, I hope you know that.
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:19, Reply)

*stands by DiTs shoulder*
Yeah Tourettes, you're totally off the list now, watcha gonna do about that then!?
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:22, Reply)

*pokes tongue out*

( Tourette's ( . )( . ) has a monkey hair in her fried egg, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:23, Reply)

She's not a fan of the Beatles either, you know...

( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:22, Reply)

I'm with her on that.

( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:23, Reply)

Oh, The Beatles were so fucking twee
Bunch of nobbers.
( Tourette's ( . )( . ) has a monkey hair in her fried egg, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:24, Reply)

I will never, ever forgive the Beatles
for allowing that cunt McCartney out of fucking Liverpool. It's embarrassing, watching him trying to be 'hip' and 'groovy' and aaaaargh.

My dad, in a surprising moment of lucidity, once told me that John Lennon was shot by a music lover. And he likes the Beatles.
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:28, Reply)

See if I care!
*flounces*

/Is cut to the bone.
( Tourette's ( . )( . ) has a monkey hair in her fried egg, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:22, Reply)

Hehe
'bone'
( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:23, Reply)

*sniggers behind hand*

( Tourette's ( . )( . ) has a monkey hair in her fried egg, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:25, Reply)

RACIST!

( Devil_In_Tights the *real* DiT!, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:28, Reply)

Afraid Of Americans
was a good song, and some of his techno stuff was pretty good as well.

The rest is a bit average.
( SpikeyPickle wishes he was mabazaritchie, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:09, Reply)

was afraid of americans originally with NIN?
or is that just the awesome version I've got?
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:27, Reply)

got to agree with you there
he is a fucking idiot, he shamelessley ripped off the burgeoning Krautrock scene, pretended he wasn't a fag and that's about it really. A cunt i used to know paid nearly £200 to see the wonky eyed spunk breathed charlatan, great value for money there....

the best thing he ever done was get a lolly thrown into his already fucked up eye.


(Cancer Joy was short lived, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:23, Reply)

Hee hee :)
That was sweet.
( Tourette's ( . )( . ) has a monkey hair in her fried egg, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:27, Reply)

can I just say
I think this thread has been great.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:32, Reply)

You are more wrong than I would have thought possible
This has clearly been a shit thread as demonstrated by the total lack of kittens.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:33, Reply)

I like kittens

( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:35, Reply)

I HATE KITTENS

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:36, Reply)

here ye go
Molly, with Tommy's foot


(Cancer Joy was short lived, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:55, Reply)

no you can't

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 14:37, Reply)

Monty why are you always so WRONG
Bowie is amazing. Granted not so amazing to write a monster article about one of his more overrated songs but amazing nonetheless.

And I am shocked and appalled to find further disdain for the Clash, the Smiths and Radiohead bandied about this thread..
( whenanimalsattackhumans clad in global hypercolour, Thu 8 Oct 2009, 16:56, Reply)