I sort of like ending the week with some good music, which is why I wrote about Kamasi Washington last week. As I had mentioned in my post about David Bowie on Tuesday, I had planned on writing about his latest (and now last) album, and so I decided that I'd still do that. By now, if you're anything like Andrew, you're probably sick of hearing me talk about Bowie. In fact, on Wednesday night, he told me that I was in my third day of mourning, and I was allotted only four more. I guess today would be the fifth, so I'll take it while I can.
After listening to Blackstar multiple times last Friday on its release day, I was most drawn to the song Dollar Days. I think it was the track that was most recognizably Bowie. While he had always experimented with music and I've certainly heard songs of his that were much more out there than this album, something about Dollar Days felt comfortably Bowie.
Now that I understand the context of the album as a farewell from his death bed, I like Dollar Days even more. While the lyrics are incredibly sad, the music feels light and airy, which makes me feel at peace despite the circumstance. Dollar Days is the second to last song on the album and is followed by another lighter finale. This leaves listeners with two happier memories after listening to the heavier, darker tracks. And somewhere in the middle of Dollar Days is a chilling saxophone solo that is so reminiscent and characteristic of many of his preceding works. It is perfectly fitting. If we're to remember him through this album, I'd choose this track before the others.
What have you been listening to these days? Have you been on a Bowie binge like me? I promise next week I'll be back to much lighter, happier, non-Bowie blog posts. ;) Happy Friday!