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photo by Styrous®
On November 23, 2021, the Viewfinder hit a mllion Pageviews!
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Styrous® ~ Saturday, November 27, 2021
Showing posts with label Ken Simonson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ken Simonson. Show all posts
November 26, 2021
January 10, 2019
1,000,001 CDs 14: David Bowie – ★ (Blackstar) by Barnbrook
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photos by Styrous®
This has started out to be a good year for me as far as music goes because of presents I got for Christmas (link below); this CD by David Bowie, – ★ (Blackstar), given to me by my brother, Ken, was one of them.
This article is not about David Bowie, who died two years ago today, nor the music on this album; there is PLENTY of information about both already out there (links below). As with my article about the Hawkwind album (link below), it is about the album itself, which was designed by Jonathan Barnbrook (links below).
Barnbrook also designed the sleeves for Reality and The Next Day, both by Bowie. He has done covers for John Foxx, Tuxedomoon and Cult with No Name.
The Blackstar album is an extraordinary study in black on black; hard to read and almost impossible to photograph as is the booklet, with amazing and beautiful but spooky photos by Jimmy King and Johan Renck, that accompany it. The photos perfectly reflect the bizarre and unnerving lyrics and foreboding of the music.
The videos for the songs, – ★ (Blackstar) and Lazarus are REALLY bizarre, unnerving and even creepy (links below); they reflect the illness Bowie was suffering. They are not easy to watch.
Barnbrook also designed the sleeves for Reality and The Next Day, both by Bowie. He has done covers for John Foxx, Tuxedomoon and Cult with No Name.
The Blackstar album is an extraordinary study in black on black; hard to read and almost impossible to photograph as is the booklet, with amazing and beautiful but spooky photos by Jimmy King and Johan Renck, that accompany it. The photos perfectly reflect the bizarre and unnerving lyrics and foreboding of the music.
The videos for the songs, – ★ (Blackstar) and Lazarus are REALLY bizarre, unnerving and even creepy (links below); they reflect the illness Bowie was suffering. They are not easy to watch.
Blackstar is the only album by David Bowie to top the Billboard 200 in the United States. At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, the album won awards for Best Recording Package. The album was also awarded the British Album of the Year at the 2017 Brit Awards, and Metacritic named it the most critically acclaimed album of the year by music publications.
The Booklet
There have been other albums designed totally in black, Prince (link below), Murray Roman (link below), Metallica (link below) and Spın̈al Tap are a few that come to mind.
Tony Visconti, who co-produced Blackstar with Bowie, described the album as Bowie's swan song and a "parting gift" for his fans before his death on January 10, 2016, two days after the album was released.
Tracklist:
1 - ★ (Blackstar) - 9:57
2 - 'Tis A Pity She Was A Whore - 4:52
3 - Lazarus - 4:22
4 - Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime) - 4:40
5 - Girl Loves Me - 4:51
6 - Dollar Days - 4:44
7 - I Can't Give Everything Away - 5:47
Companies, etc.
Licensed To – Columbia Records
Distributed By – Columbia Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – ISO Records
Copyright (c) – ISO Records
Published By – Nipple Music
Published By – MSF Music
Recorded At – The Magic Shop
Recorded At – Human Worldwide Studios
Mixed At – Electric Lady Studios
Mastered At – Sterling Sound
Pressed By – Sony DADC
Credits:
Arranged By [String Arrangement] – David Bowie (tracks: 1)
Backing Vocals – Erin Tonkon (tracks: 2)
Bass – Tim Lefebvre
Design – Barnbrook
Drums, Percussion – Mark Guiliana
Engineer – Erin Tonkon, Kabir Hermon, Kevin Killen, Tony Visconti
Guitar – Ben Monder
Guitar [Fender] – David Bowie (tracks: 3)
Mastered By – Joe LaPorta
Mixed By – Tom Elmhirst
Music By – Bob Bharma* (tracks: 4), Maria Schneider (tracks: 4), Paul Bateman (7) (tracks: 4)
Percussion – James Murphy (tracks: 4, 5)
Photography By – Jimmy King (6), Johan Renck, NASA (10)
Piano, Organ [Wurlitzer], Keyboards – Jason Lindner
Producer, Mixed By – David Bowie, Tony Visconti
Saxophone, Flute, Woodwind – Donny McCaslin
Strings – Tony Visconti (tracks: 1)
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – David Bowie
Words By, Music By – David Bowie
Written-By – David Bowie
Notes:
Album title and track 1 title generally referred to as "Blackstar" but printed as "★"
Issued in a digipack.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Barcode (Text): 8 88751 73862 1
Barcode (Scanned): 888751738621
Mastering SID Code: IFPI L327
Mould SID Code (Variants 1, 2): IFPI 50BS
Mould SID Code (Variant 3): IFPI 50BE
Mould SID Code (Variant 4): IFPI 50BT
Mould SID Code (Variant 5): IFPI 50BP
Matrix / Runout (Variants 1, 5): DIDX-1078317 1
Matrix / Runout (Variant 2): DIDX-1078317 2
Matrix / Runout (Variant 3): DIDX-1078317 1 A08
Matrix / Runout (Variant 4): DIDX-1078317 1 A05
David Bowie – ★ (Blackstar)
Label: Columbia – 88875173862, ISO Records – 88875173862
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 08 Jan 2016
Genre: Rock
Style: Art Rock
Christmas for Styrous
Hawkwind ~ Warrior on the Edge of Time
Prince
Murray Roman ~ A Blind Man's Movie
Tony Visconti
Net links:
Jonathan Barnbrook website
Blackstar Packaging
Billboard ~ ‘Blackstar’ Songs About Death and Doom review
NPR ~ 'Blackstar' Is Adventurous To The End review
NY Times ~ ‘Blackstar,’ Bowie’s Cryptic New Album review
Rolling Stone ~ The arty, unsettling ‘Blackstar’ review
YouTube links:
★ (Blackstar) complete album
Blackstar (video)
Lazarus (video)
Hawkwind ~ Warrior on the Edge of Time
Prince
Murray Roman ~ A Blind Man's Movie
Tony Visconti
Net links:
Jonathan Barnbrook website
Blackstar Packaging
Billboard ~ ‘Blackstar’ Songs About Death and Doom review
NPR ~ 'Blackstar' Is Adventurous To The End review
NY Times ~ ‘Blackstar,’ Bowie’s Cryptic New Album review
Rolling Stone ~ The arty, unsettling ‘Blackstar’ review
YouTube links:
★ (Blackstar) complete album
Blackstar (video)
Lazarus (video)
Styrous® ~ Thursday, January 10, 2019
January 1, 2019
1,000,001 CDs 12: Bowie & Halihal ~ A fine New Year's start!
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David Bowie ~ ★ (Blackstar)
Rachid Halihal ~ Traditionsl Song of Fez, Morocco
What better way to start the new year? Music new for me to listen to! Both were gifts given to me at a Christmas I'll always remember (link below).
I'm just now getting around to listen to the David Bowie (link below) album that my brother Ken gave me as I didn't have time because of all the holiday festivities. But I'm not complaining; anticipation is half the fun of doing anything!
And I didn't find the Halihal album until this morning because I didn't know it was in the box Lex (aka Titanic (link below) gave to me on Christmas (link below); the wacky thing is, I thought her mother Barbara gave it to me. Just found out otherwise! So, today is Christmas for me all over again!
I'm just now getting around to listen to the David Bowie (link below) album that my brother Ken gave me as I didn't have time because of all the holiday festivities. But I'm not complaining; anticipation is half the fun of doing anything!
And I didn't find the Halihal album until this morning because I didn't know it was in the box Lex (aka Titanic (link below) gave to me on Christmas (link below); the wacky thing is, I thought her mother Barbara gave it to me. Just found out otherwise! So, today is Christmas for me all over again!
Viewfinder links:
Yep! A hellava GREAT way to start a New Year!
You have a great one too!
You have a great one too!
Styrous® ~ Tuesday, January 1, 2019
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