The Smiley Smile Message Board

New album and an exhibition at London's V&A.  Nice article here:

http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/david-bowie-four-faces.html

I'm wondering if you guys have heard Bowie's new single, The Stars (are out tonight)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH7dMBcg-gE

and what your thoughts are?  One of the biggest complaints about TWGMTR was the lack of really "rocking" songs.  While some people would say the Beach Boys never really rocked that hard, I would beg to differ.  They just rocked in their own BB way.  But while I personally loved TWGMTR, it could have indeed rocked harder.

So what do you guys think, is Bowie at 66 years of age rocking sufficiently hard?  Should be Beach Boys at 70 be rocking harder? 

Don't think we should compare, but I love the new single.  Bowie rocked - occasionally - but 'rocking' doesn't equate with good.  This, however, is good.

Have  you seen this?

http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/david-bowie-by-those-who-know-him.html

Thanks. Never knew that about him and Dana Gillespie. I dig her 'stuff'.

Another great piece on Bowie: http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/david-bowie-and-william-burroughs.html

This album is really good. I am still stunned that we have a new David Bowie album to talk about in 2013 as the whole world had assumed that he was retired, but he's triumphantly returned with his best album since the 70s. Most importantly it feels like Bowie and his mates are having fun in the studio revisiting some old sounds but still messing around trying out a few new things too. The bouncy Valentine's Day and the impassioned You Feel So Lonesome You Could Cry (a wink to Elvis' Heartbreak Hotel?) sound like they could have been recorded at the same time as Ziggy Stardust. Dirty Boys and Love Is Lost are quite unlike anything I can remember from the Bowie Discography. First single Where Are We Now is one of the loveliest records Bowie's ever made and closer Heat recalls his decadent artistic peek with it's dark arrangement and cryptic lyrics. This is also the most rocking record Bowie's made since the Tin Machine days with plenty of nasty jagged guitar and most of the songs stripped of melody down to the barest bone. I think of this album as the mirror image of Hours which was also very diverse but featured plenty of slower tracks with just a few rockers. This one flips the equation with the rock tracks taking over most of the album. Maybe the most daring thing about The Next Day is the cover (which I think is cool) but the familiar sound of David Bowie doing David Bowie turns out to be a genuine pleasure.

I'm also amazed and delighted that we have a new Bowie album at all...and it doesn't disappoint either...it's easily my album of the year so far.