What makes "Blackstar" extraordinary is that Bowie turned dying into art. He knew he was on the verge of death and he did the one thing he knew he could rely on: He wrote songs. About life and death, his own and in general. It's a fitting end to a unique career.

I'd love to see talk about The Velvet Underground's discography.

Rock n Roll Suicide is such an underrated Bowie song. It's a great ending to the Ziggy Stardust album but also holds out a message of hope. Personally, it has helped me through so much.

when bowie died i was 16 and only knew the hits. his death caused me to dive into his catalogue and it was one of the best decisions I made for me as a young musician.

Why does 2000s Bowie look like the villain from National Treasure

Do a Soulja Boy Deep Discog Dive next year.

Fun fact about the guy who punched his eye, his name was George Underwood- and they where best friends at the time, and continued to be afterwards! George underwood (being a painter) helped Bowie work on numerous of his album covers

God, the release of Blackstar was a weird time. It was coming out and there were really positive reviews pre-release about how it was this jazzy and dark album that feels simultaneously like a throwback to his early years and forward thinking. I actually hadn't listened to any of Bowie's work, but I was getting hyped so I downloaded all his albums and blitzed through them so that I could listen to Blackstar when it dropped (skipping from Let's Dance to Black Tie White Noise, based on the reputation of his middle albums). I fell in love with his music, and then immediately fell in love with Blackstar. It really did feel like an exciting new direction for a singer with a LONG discography. And then he died, and the conversation around the album instantly shifted from "what's next in Bowie's post-haitus post-Blackstar career" to "so, death was a prominent theme in that work, huh?" It's now considered his final artistic statement, and the album is certainly good enough and appropriate enough to warrant that, but I do miss those short two days in between the album dropping and his death, when the Blackstar wasn't a full stop, but the beginning of a new sentence.

I remember the day he passed. I’d just finished Blackstar the day before, it was just a normal afternoon when I heard what happened, and I legit cried. It was about half a year before I ever listened to Blackstar again, and my god it just hit so much differently. It seemed to me that Bowie was well aware that his time was near, and he wanted to leave what was the equivalent of his own eulogy for the rest of us. It’s tragic, but a beautiful sendoff to one of my favorite artists

i think blackstar might be one of the greatest musical achievements ever quite honestly. to do a record of such quality while suffering and having it be one of the best of your career, better than probably anything you did in the last 25 years at least, is insane to me. and then to have a lot of the album reflecting on your life, as if you know your time’s ending, and then having it release and passing away shortly after - this is all just fascinating to me. i feel slightly inappropriate in saying that the album and its timing was a miracle, but i think it is. it’s really horrible that he died, but i think the fact that he did an exited with such a monumental and reflective statement is transcendent. i don’t think any other artist ever will do what David did by releasing blackstar. it’s as if he made the stars align for that moment, and made the universe take him on his own terms. because of all of this, i think blackstar is one of the most fascinating albums to ever be released. there’s something about it that feels transcendent, like one of the most ultimate statements of art to me. i am not sure why it intrigues me this much, but it really does.

Everybody, including Bowie, is too hard on the Young Americans album. It’s a fantastic soul album, regardless of race.

Let's Dance is awesome! He did not sell out. He simply went into a new musical direction that just so happened to be popular at the time. Nothing wrong about this.

Fun facts about Bowie: I live in the countryside of Tuscany and I'm Always Surprise about the three weird links between my homeland and David Bowie. 1) In the 60's, Italy had the trend to take British and american songs and make an italian cover of that Song by an italian singer (for example i suggest the Italian cover of Stones' Paint it black by Caterina Caselli). We have an Italian cover of space oddity sung in Italian by David Bowie with his strong British accent. It named "ragazzo solo, ragazza sola" and It isn't about space but It was about a teen love story. 2) He Lost a contest for young musicians in 1969 in Monsummano terme, which Is a city Very near to where I live. 3) He starred in an italian Western movie in the late 90's with Leonardo Pieraccioni, the Italian Adam Sandler. And this movie was also made very near where i live, in the Mountains of Tuscany. Sorry for the wot but i wanna share this trivia with someone

He returns with a 46 minute Deep Discog Dive, holy hell, heaven is real

I have been a constant Bowie fan since 1969 . I am now turning 69 years of age this year. He has never let me down except for his 2 albums after Let’s Dance. He was constantly changing, and after his 10 year break to come back with the brilliant Next album and to finish his astonishing Black Star album 2days before he died. What a parting gift! The greatest rock and live performance star EVER!

i'm not gonna lie, if bowie were still alive, Blackstar would still be among my favourites of his discography.

Would love to see an episode on Fleetwood Mac

You're honestly one of my favorites channels of all time, ily

Blackstar fucking blew my mind. I had a very surreal first listen, flying from Argentina to Panama in the middle of the night. The first time I took a plane outside my country, going to a convention in the States. Everyone was sleeping and I was floating in the middle of the Pacific listening Blackstar.

Me, trying to get into Bowie for the first time: So HOW many records has this guy made??? He had no chill whatsoever!

Not sure if this will ever happen, but a Weird Al discog dive would honestly be incredibly fun to watch

We need a Talking Heads DDD ill love you forever !!

I love how David Bowie saw the good in all music and took inspiration from everything. That sort of open mindedness is essential for a musician.

Bowie didn't "pick up an electric guitar' on The Man Who Sold The World, the album was in it's largest part Mick Ronson. Mick was the one that brought the heavy metal sound to that album.

my favorite moment was when he said "meme school"

I think his 90' - 00's is very underrated. I LOVE outside, earthling, heaven and reality

Bowie’s music from the Labyrinth is SO UNDERRATED ! Within You and As the World Falls Down are some of his hidden gems.

While I agree that his first album was a little hit and miss (leaning towards the miss), I feel it's unfair to dismiss the Space Oddity record as more of the same outside of the title track and CC. Such an enchanting listen: Unwashed and somewhat slightly dazed is a great forshadowing of Bowie's longer, less straight-forward songs; Letter to Hermione is intimate and gorgeous; and Janine is some good pop songwriting. Where his Debut felt a lot like a young David Jones writing songs, Space Oddity feels to me like the first David Bowie album.

I took a whole 3 credit History of Music class on David Bowie’s career in college. I got more out of this 49 minute video than the 14 weeks of that class. Well done, I really enjoyed it.

Bowie's acting career is absolutely fascinating in tandem with his musical career. The Man Who Fell to Earth and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence are two that I think are particularly interesting

I think what the narrator wanted to say about the Let’s Dance album is “Yes, it sounds INCREDIBLY 80s. But Let’s Dance has aged extremely well because of the fact that when you combine the talents at the level of David Bowie, Nile Rodgers, Tony Thompson, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, great results are bound to happen.”

the man who sold the world is great. Its his first great album in my opinion

My favorite Bowie song has to be "Word On A Wing", Bowie's performance is haunting but incredible and outstanding, one of the best songs ever made imo

30:59 This is a rare instance where maybe they shouldn't Mic The Snare

I think a cool thing about both hunky dory and ziggy stardust is how they both use orchestral strings, I do t know why he didn’t continue this after those few songs

Black Star really does sound like an album with all the experience and weight of a 50 year career in mixing experimental music and pop. No one else could make that album and it took his whole life to get there.

YESSSSS EARTHLING IS A GOOD ALBUM I'VE BEEN SAYING THAT THIS WHOLE TIME

I love that The Laughing Gnome is the first song on the playlist!!! That’s a deep meme cut right there

The Labyrinth Soundtrack is very underated.

I was kind of hoping that immediately after you said “well-aged” in reference to Let’s Dance, the Asian-eyes thing he did in the China Girl video would play

Maybe you could do a Lou Reed deep discog dive? Dude's career had it's low points, comeback albums, underrated records, all while making lots of changes, and cementing his legacy as one of the most influential artists of all time

you're my youtuber of the year, keep making some of the best stuff on the website :)

Of all these great albums, I have to say that Blackstar is my favorite. The impactful artwork, the jazz influences, the rawness and vulnerability of his voice, the German electronic touches. Not an album that I listen a lot, because it's very sad, but it's a masterpiece.

There’s just something so special about David Bowie. Whether it’s the music, or the way he sings. I’ve liked him since I know him.

Bowie also helped produce Lou Reed's Transformer album (classic), mixed the original version of Raw Power by The Stooges as well as co writing and producing Iggy Pop's albums 'The Idiot' and 'Lust For Life' (he also played a bunch of instruments on it and played keyboard on it's tour which can be heard on the Iggy Pop live album TV Eye) which are two of Iggy's best solo albums.

I always tell people new to discovering David Bowie to start with "Bowie Legacy." Then, whatever your favorite tracks are from that greatest hits compilation, explore the rest of the album they're from. Everyone's got a favorite phase of Bowie, there were so many!

As for the second album, I always felt "Unwashed" was a sign of things to come with a faint and distant Ziggy flare. But "Cygnet Committee" is very Ziggy-esque and yes, a great Bwie song.

The song Soul love from the Ziggy Stardust album is so good. I don't know why. So is Lady Grinning Soul from the Aladdin Sane album.

I know it's not for everyone, but I do find myself frequently coming back to Man of Words/Space Oddity/ David Bowie it feels very down to Earth

I'd love for Lady Gaga to be added to the pole. She has a very diverse discography, that isn't as gigantuous as bowies, with some of the best pop albums of all time, some failures and some interesting case studies. would love to see you talk about her, thank you mic!

finally someone recognizes Alladin sane's greatness. It's my second favorite album oat.

Stumbled on this and I am so happy I did. Love David Bowie, sang Starman to my son as a lullaby when he was a little baby, have Bowie lyrics tattooed on my arm, and my wife even bought be a wonderful Heroes themed piece of art for my birthday. The man was an icon and this deep dive captured that very well.

OH HELL YEAH. I did a listen through of Bowie's discography last year and it made me into such a fan. His evolution over the years was incredible, though he definitely found a cursed monkey paw at the beginning of the 80s (huge commercial success, but at the cost of his worst albums). EDIT: hot take to counter your hot take: Aladdin Sane is actually Bowie's most overrated album

Welcome back Dad ❤️

The track Win on Young Americans, despite being an imitation of soul, is a beautiful song.

I remember seeing the Lazarus video the day before he died and I was like "damn.... I wanna learn more about his music!"

Bowie's is arguably my favourite career-spanning discography in all of music. I never get tired of listening to ut, talking about it, hearing about it. Its one of my favourite topics of discussion period.

I got into Bowie around November of 2019. My friend said that a character I created reminded her of him, and told me to check out Life On Mars. I fell in love with the song, and related to it on a personal level because although I used social media as an escape from the real world, the real world always caught up to me when I used it. Little did I know what would follow in the coming months... Bowie’s music, characters, and Inspiration has helped me get through this long, tumultuous, and exhausting year. He’s boosted my self confidence, calmed me down when I feel angry, sad, or frustrated, and even made me realize _I’m Not Alone_ . I even devoted an entire Instagram account to making fanart based on his music and personas, especially Ziggy. All I have to say is... Thank you so much, David Bowie!!!

I didn’t really get into Bowie until after he died. My sound of choice is modern pop, but my favorite artist is Gaga. Since she named Bowie as an influence, I consumed all his biggest hits and loved them, but so does everyone else who has a passing knowledge of his work. Thank you for this DDD Mic. It was heartfelt, insightful, respectful, and fun to watch 💕

Blackstar is such a beautifully haunting record. The intro is just stunning, and it definitely motivated me to check out the rest of his work.

Apart from what you said about "Scary Monsters and Super Creep", I really liked this one. Especially for giving "Earthling" some much needed love.

The Return Of The King

My favorite Bowie songs and albums were the ones most heavily criticized. Curious. But he made his point objetcively. I think "Station to Station" is one of Bowie's best songs ever, and I absolutely love the album "Man of words, man of music" as a whole. And not considering "Hours" an absolute masterpiece, calling it "boring", actually shocked me, but I guess different people have different preferences. 🙂

"By the time he got back to New York, Bowie was living like a king" Is that a reference to Lazarus?

Great to have you back my man! Now, ok, hear me out: Neil Cicireiga / Lemon Demon DDD???

Fantastic! As a self-professed Bowie scholar, this is going to be very interesting for me and I will watch the whole thing. But for your next project, real men do Frank Zappa discog deep dives, haha. And then Miles Davis, lol.

That run of Dollar Days - I Can't Give Everything Away is blasting, those few seconds in the beginning are warming as heck, actually heard the whole album a year and a half ago (promised myself I wouldn't hear it until I found a physical version) and I couldn't stop crying from listening the begining of Dollar Days with the sound of those papers and his whisper, to me, it felt like a very intimate moment and like he was about to drop a very very heavy bomb

Bowie was my first deep discog dive. Love his albums.

Do a DDD on Clipping. Or Charli XCX. Also some form of ranked choice voting would be nice in future votes.

So, my favorite youtuber comes back after a month of absence with a 46 minutes long video about one of my favorite artists ever? Well, 2020 might not bad that bad after all!

We need a DEEP DISCOG DIVE on Queen 👑

40:27 fun fact, in this spongebob special, every character sung (all the songs are terrible), aside from Bowie himself..

Prince would have an amazing Deep Discog Dive, easily the most expansive solo discography ive ever seen. Good luck avoiding the copyright on that one though.

Welcome back dude. An idea for the next DDD would be System of a down since they just released new songs for the first time in 15 years

As a huge Bowie fan I loved the poppiness of Tonight and Let's Dance since they were my window into the world of Bowie. I have since listened to every album and now can never really pick a favorite out of all his albums. The one album I can't bring myself to listen to is Blackstar. I listened to it when it was first released but once he passed I can't bring myself to listen to that masterpiece as I will cry so hard

The "Lady Stardust" demo version - with just Bowie and a piano - is one of my favorite recordings of his. You can find it on the Rykodisc re-release of Ziggy Stardust.

I gotta say, I really love how you're able to make these videos entertaining for people who haven't listened to the artist you're talking about. Like the pinups segment had me really interested to know your thoughts on, despite me never hearing the album or even knowing it existed.

Welcome back! This video is going to be amazing!

Some of the posthumous live releases are sublime. Personal favourites are "Welcome to the Blackout", which IMHO is a better document of an Isolar 2 tour show than Stage and "I'm Only Dancing" which is Diamond Dogs tour period after he went soul. The rawness and clarity of the sound on both is absolutely incredible.

I am writing this now as the song off of Heathen "Slip Away" is about a family member of mine, Uncle Floyd. While his health is not great he still listens to it almost daily as Bowie was a hero for him and to see Bowie write a song about him makes him so happy.

Hey totally agree with Aladdin Sane. The title track with the broken piano solo-thing sends shivers down my spine whenever I listen to it. There is nothing like it in Ziggy Stardust.

As the world falls down always make me cry because it’s so beautiful even though it was written for a movie

I would love to see a Beatles deep discography dive EDIT: And he took my advice

I just want to say, I really enjoyed the editing in this video. Watching some of the older ones after this I find myself wishing for more visuals and songs, but this has it done perfectly.

I actually like Lodger a lot, have listened to him today. It's a piece without a major hit and then, unmemorable. But it's really diverse and with different harmonies and pitched that catch me and want me to listen it in a loop. I understand that people don't care too much, specially compares with most memorables like the 2 previous others, but give it a chance. Easilly, is on my top 5 Bowie albuns.

A solid summary of Bowie's career. I really appreciate Buddha of Suburbia getting some much needed attention. Although I do want to point out that 1.Outside was not Bowie's full vision. His original vision can (kind of) be heard in bootlegs like "The Leon Tapes". Outside is a more commercial version that doesn't quite edit the album down enough to really work as an accessible album. I personally would recommend cutting the album down when you're listening to it the first few times. The segues, No Control, I am With Name, Wishful Beginnings, and We Prick you are very easy to go without. My favorite "under appreciated Bowie thing" would be the Glass Spider tour. NLMD isn't a great album as a whole but when it's broken down and mixed in with other Bowie songs it becomes really enjoyable. I also really enjoyed the return of multiple obscure 70s songs like All the Madmen, Time, Big Brother, and Sons of the Silent age especially considering that none of those songs would ever be played again after that tour. I would mainly recommend earlier recordings from the tour like Berlin or even the official Montreal album since later in the tour the more interesting songs would be dropped in favor of oft-played hits.

KZfaq recommendations have been getting better! I’ve been binging your channel and as a history major your content scratches that itch to learn more

I’ve always suspected that Bowie knew his time was short on Next. The line ‘The moment you know, you know you know ‘ on Where are we now to me says it all!

"...Lumbering groove, flanged, drenched white noise, AND a melodica? AND a vibroslap?? Go to jail, Bowie." Lost it.

He's back. Bowie is the greatest of all time, I can't even explain his importance to me. Great video! :)

I remember on my last day of high school I blasted space oddity on my headphones and walked through my school for the last time. It was completely unreal that something was coming to an end for me. I plan to listen to it on my wedding day to.

What a great journey! Thanks for this retrospective on bowie's discography!

What about Prince? A 10 part DDD series...

Holy shit I'm REALLY into Bowie right now, this came out at the perfect time

thank you so so so much for this video! i'm a new fan of Bowie and this really helped me to understand him more. Also i LOVE your humor.

i remember trying to explore more of bowie's music beyond the ones i was already familiar (and mostly in love) with, but always got overwhelmed. this video's amazing, and definitely helped understand bowie's behemoth of a career better and know which way to go next. thank you!!

Glad to see you back on KZfaq! Love your content.

the comedic editing in this is unreal. fantastic job, dude

I'll love to see a DDD about Genesis. So much to talk about. Great work both for Pink Floyd and David Bowie

This video inspired me to start listening to bowie and now hes my favorite artist. Thank you so much