Month: December 2015

 

“I’m so high it makes my brain whirl”

 

David Bowie’s new single Lazarus, released digitally tomorrow, receives its UK premiere on BBC Radio 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq show (live now), shortly.

As mentioned in the press release, the single’s US premiere via NPR Music is also happening today.

Finally, the theatrical interpretation of Lazarus will make the leap from stage to screen, when Michael C. Hall and the musicians from the musical perform the song on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Other guests on the show include Michael Moore and Samantha Power.

 

Here’s the Lazarus band line up, pictured from left to right in our montage:

 

Fima Ephron – Bass

Lucas Dodd – Tenor & Bari Saxophones

Henry Hey – MD/Arranger/Keyboard

JJ Appleton – Guitar 2 & Keyboard

Chris McQueen – Guitar 1

Karl Lyden – Tenor and Bass Trombones

Brian Delaney – Drums

 

 

#LazarusSingle  #LazarusBowie  #Imablackstar  #Blackstar  

 

“I’ve got drama, can’t be stolen”

 

Mere minutes ahead of the UK premiere of David Bowie’s new single Lazarus on BBC Radio 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq show, here are the full lyrics for your listening enjoyment.

Lazarus is released digitally tomorrow.

 

(Picture by Jimmy King)

 

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Lazarus (David Bowie)

 

 

Look up here, I’m in heaven

 

I’ve got scars that can’t be seen

 

I’ve got drama, can’t be stolen

 

Everybody knows me now

 

 

 

Look up here, man, I’m in danger

 

I’ve got nothing left to lose

 

I’m so high it makes my brain whirl

 

Dropped my cell phone down below

 

 

 

Ain’t that just like me

 

 

 

By the time I got to New York

 

I was living like a king

 

Then I used up all my money

 

I was looking for your ass

 

 

 

This way or no way

 

You know, I’ll be free

 

Just like that bluebird

 

Now ain’t that just like me

 

 

 

Oh I’ll be free

 

Just like that bluebird

 

Oh I’ll be free

 

Ain’t that just like me

 

 

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#LazarusSingle  #LazarusBowie  #Imablackstar  #Blackstar  

 

“Look up here, man, I’m in danger”

 

The video for David Bowie’s new single Lazarus will be premiered on January 7th, the day before David’s birthday and the release of the ★ album.

If you didn’t manage to catch either the BBC Radio 6 Music or the NPR Music premiere of the Lazarus audio, you can listen here now.

 

#‎LazarusSingle ‪ #‎LazarusBowie  ‪#‎Imablackstar  ‪#‎Blackstar

 

“Everybody knows me now”

 

If you didn’t catch the NPR Music All Songs Considered broadcast earlier today, you can now listen to the podcast online.

Aside from the US premiere of Lazarus, Tony Visconti and Donny McCaslin were also in conversation with Bob Boilen regarding working on the ★ album.

It’s a fascinating insight into Bowie’s recent working methods, albeit far too brief.

Here’s a quotation each from both Tony and Donny.

 

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Tony Visconti: “He had one key jazz player in his band for well over a decade, maybe two decades and that was Mike Garson, who is a very accomplished jazz pianist. And so, he always had a hint of jazz in sort of the earlier things. And David has a remarkable knowledge of jazz chords. I don’t think he quite knows what they’re called. I mean, I don’t even know what they’re called, but they have things like 13th in them and flatted 9ths and all that. And you don’t hear that in an average rock song. But they were well hidden in the recordings of the past. Or eluded to.”

 

Donny McCaslin: “It progressed pretty steadily from a song or two, to a few songs, to kind of a whole recording project. I was, of course, absolutely interested in doing it. I mean, I love him so much. Love his work and so I got back to him, told him I was into it and just one thing led to another. He sent me, I can’t remember how many tunes, maybe six or seven before the first time we got together to record, and every song was really strong and the demos were really strong. And in fact, when we ended up recording, we pretty much were true to the demo forms he had sent. So it was tremendous.”

 

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Listen to the full interview here now.

 

FOOTNOTE: We should point out that though the picture of Donny in our montage is relatively recent, the image of Tony and David is of them larking around in the studio from the days before Donny was wearing long trousers.

 

#‎LazarusSingle ‪ #‎LazarusBowie  ‪#‎Imablackstar  ‪#‎Blackstar

 

“Baby Universe”

 

Create your own #imablackstar Bowie picture and become part of the ★ universe at www.imablackstar.com

Swipe/scroll (or click on little dots) for more examples

 

#imablackstar  #BowieUniverse

 

 

“I’m the great I am”

 

The January 2016 edition of French magazine Rock&Folk, has a five star review of David Bowie’s ★ album by Jérôme Soligny.

Jérôme has yet again kindly provided a portion of it in English for us. Over to you Jérôme…

 

 

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Three years after The Next Day and its surprise launch, David Bowie makes an even bigger statement in releasing, on his 69th birthday, a record like nobody was expecting from him.

 

An album, of such bravery and stature, at the twilight of an exceptional career, it’s something totally unheard of in rock history.

 

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In the Rock&Folk writer’s poll, three journalists voted ★ song of the year. Naturally, Jérôme was among them.

Elsewhere in the mag, Eric Dahan has written a piece for a double-page spread which discusses both the ★ album and the Lazarus stage production.

Finally there’s a review of the 1966 album in the reissue vinyl section.

 

#Blackstar  #imablackstar  #BlackstarAlbum  #Rock&FolkBowie

 

“Look up here I’m in heaven”

 

David Bowie’s new single Lazarus is to be released digitally this Friday.

Listen to a 15 second teaser of the track here on YouTube.

Scroll/swipe/or click on the dots for another exclusive Jimmy King shot of David.

Keep reading for the press release.

 

#LazarusSingle  #LazarusBowie  #Imablackstar  #Blackstar 

 

 

 

DAVID BOWIE NEW SINGLE ‘LAZARUS’

 

SINGLE RELEASED DIGITALLY DECEMBER 18th

TAKEN FROM ★ THE NEW ALBUM AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW

★ ALBUM OUT JANUARY 8th 2016 ON ISO/COLUMBIA/RCA RECORDS

‘LAZARUS’ CAST TO PERFORM SINGLE DECEMBER 17th ON THE LATE SHOW  WITH STEPHEN COLBERT

 

David Bowie’s new single ‘Lazarus’ taken from the album ★ (pronounced Blackstar) will be released digitally on December 18th.

‘Lazarus’ is the only track on ★ also featured in the stage production ‘Lazarus’ written by Bowie and Enda Walsh and directed by Ivo Van Hove, which opened December 7th in New York to great critical acclaim: The New York Times raved “Ice-cold bolts of ecstasy shoot like novas through the glamorous muddle and murk of Lazarus, the great-sounding, great-looking and mind-numbing new musical built around songs by David Bowie,” while Rolling Stone hailed Lazarus as a “Surrealistic Tour de Force… milk-swimming, lingerie-sniffing, gin-chugging theater at its finest.”

 

And on December 17th, following the single’s U.S. premiere via NPR Music, the theatrical interpretation of ‘Lazarus’ will make the leap from stage to screen, when Michael C. Hall and the musicians from the musical perform the song on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

 

Meanwhile the first single from ★ continues to draw universal raves from the likes of NPR (“one of the most adventurous living artists still pushing himself”), Billboard (“strange, fabulous and fascinating”), and most recently The Los Angeles Times (“a gorgeous work and more evidence that Bowie’s late-career reinvention continues”).

 

★ is released January 8, 2016 on ISO/Columbia Records.

 

 

Pre-order links:

CD: http://smarturl.it/blackstar_amazon

Vinyl LP: http://smarturl.it/blackstar_vinyl

Digital album: http://smarturl.it/blackstar_itunes

Special clear vinyl configurations including exclusive lithograph artwork here: http://smarturl.it/blackstar_dbstore

 

“I’ve got scars that can’t be seen”

 

David Bowie’s new single Lazarus, released digitally this Friday, will receive its UK premiere on BBC Radio 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq show on Thursday the 17th.

As mentioned in the press release (see previous item) the single’s US premiere via NPR Music will also happen on December 17th.

 

#LazarusSingle  #LazarusBowie  #Imablackstar  #Blackstar  

 

“You want more and you want it fast”

 

TIME magazine has published its Top 10 Everything of 2015. And it seems everybody involved with the creation and staging of Lazarus is due some congratulations.

In the ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT category, Lazarus is a “Late Addition” in the Top 10 Plays & Musicals.

Here’s what Richard Zoglin said about the production:

 

“David Bowie wrote the terrific rock score (a mix of old and new songs) for this new off-Broadway musical, in which Michael C. Hall plays the stranded space alien — now a melancholy, gin-swilling hermit— that Bowie portrayed in the 1976 film The Man Who Fell to Earth. Busy director Ivo Van Hove’s staging, which features video screens, balloons, a tone of glam alienation, and a parade of characters whose significance (and even existence) is not entirely clear, is as mesmerizing as it is confounding.”

 

#Lazarus  #LazarusNYTW  #TJNewton  #TMWFTE

 

“He’s down on the street”

 

Have you seen any of the ★ street stencils that have been popping up across America?

If you have, post your pictures here and we’ll do a collage of the best of them.

Meanwhile, you can move a step closer to the suggestion made by the stencil by pre-ordering ★ on iTunes where you can get the title track instantly.

 

#BlackstarStencil  #Imablackstar  #Blackstar