Blackstar: Ranking The Songs Worst to Best

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TheAmazingSpidey

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Edited By TheAmazingSpidey
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So, glam rock superstar David Bowie's new album, Blackstar, was announced a few months ago and as a big Bowie fan, you can imagine I was pretty excited. In the course of these months, a few singles from the album dropped. Out of the singles that dropped pre-release, I listened to only two of them, which was a smart choice as it didn't spoil the album in it's entirety for me. The album just hit today (Happy Birthday, Bowie) and it was most definitely worth the wait. It is perhaps the oddest album he has produced, with a mixture of abstract art, and classic Bowie music. All 7 tracks from the album are good, some better that others, which is why I wanted to rank all the songs from the album worst to best. If you are a Bowie fan, that's great. Share your own ranking below. Again, all the tracks are good, and that means that just because something ends up at the bottom of the barrel, doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the song. Keep in mind that I have ranked them from least favorite to favorite, not best to worst. Which makes the title a bit misleading. I'll keep it short and fast, here I go:

7. Dollar Days

Dollar Days is a really good song, but it is one of the lesser songs from this album. As usual, the background sounds are music are great, but I couldn't help but say that David Bowie's vocals weren't at their strongest here. He still sounds good, but not as good as the other tracks. There are really good lyrics to be found throughout this song, but they were also brought down by some generic lines and inventive rhymes ("I'm trying to" / I'm dying to). It is a good song, but not quite the caliber I would expect from David Bowie.

6. I Can't Give Everything Away

This is a powerful, melancholic song that did a good job of sending the album off. Although it is a bit too slow and downbeat for my liking, David Bowie still does a great job in this song as he breaths life into beautifully written vocals that elevate well written lyrics. This song is a combination of great rock music, but also of an old man looking back at his life (which to be honest, David Bowie is getting a bit old). It's the subtle touches that make this song so good.

5. Lazarus

This is the saddest song from Blackstar. And because of that, it finds itself as fifth place. Because although I appreciate slow songs, I much prefer upbeat songs. Regardless of it's place as number 5, Lazarus is a great, enjoyable song that is the 2nd I heard from the entire album - earning it a special place in my heart. Bowie's vocals are euphoric and the almost religious based lyrics make it intriguing. It is a contender for the most well written song in the album, with great line preceding great line. This is a song I imagine myself listening to at night time, as it is one of the most experimental Bowie work's, meaning slower and abstract in comparison.

4. 'Tis A Pity She Was A [ ]

Well, it is a shame I can't write out the name of the song because of Comic Vine's No Swearing "rule" but this song still exists. 'Tis A Pity comes at Number 4. It is I believe, a much faster song that the next three, possibly the fastest song in the entire album. It took a while to get used to this song, but it really is an entertaining song, regardless of some... questionable lyrics. The song has great, original rhyming and an overall catchy tune. This is something I can see singing in my head for weeks. The song can admittedly get a bit repetitive, but it is catchy that it mostly makes up for a lack of original content. Which brings us to the longest song in the entire album, and the longest Bowie song...

3. Blackstar

The third best song in David Bowie's album is Blackstar. The one that started it all. I'm tempted to include this as number one because it is the better, innovative track of the three, but number three is also a fitting spot. This song is fantastic all around. This introduced us to the world of Blackstar, and it did it bizarrely. I remember watching the music video for the first time and being a bit frightened with all the shaking people and *gasp* the return of Major Tom!! Besides the music video, the track itself is also great. It instantly made it's way up to one of my favorite Bowie songs. The song actually consists of three sections. The second part of the song is my (and almost every other Bowie fan's) favorite. It has a classical Bowie, good feeling tune to it. The rest of the song is albeit much slower. Bowie is still at a top of his game with his vocals. The Arabic music also brings this song up to 11.

2. Sue (or In a Season of Crime)

This song... wow. This is by a stretch the most classy song from the album. The jazz / rock music make this an easy listening track and the trumpets in the back (it is trumpets right) make this a really easy listening song. It's a really old school song that has a great start and great finish. A lot of instruments and sounds overlap making this a really complex piece of music with a lot to appreciate. This is also a song that really builds up to something throughout. What I mean is - even if you skipped thirty seconds or a minute from the sound, it wouldn't sound the same. You'd see differences throughout the piece. David Bowie's vocals are at their most strongest here. His vocals remind me a bit from the guy who sung for Men at Work. Next.

1. Girl Loves Me

This is by far my favorite song from the album. Blackstar is longer and more different, but I prefer Girl Loves Me. The thing about Girl Loves Me that I love is that there is a lack of effects or electronic altering. It's a song where you can sit back and enjoy Bowie's vocals - which is generally the best part of a Bowie song. I'm also much more a fan of upbeat songs, and this is more upbeat than any other song on the album, which inclines me to place it as number one. It sounds really country and is complete with great lyrics - with Bowie talking about days of the week again (*ehem* Love You Till Tuesday). Every other song in the album I did enjoy, but Girl Loves Me's great vocals, upbeat mood and well written lyrics make it not only my favorite songs in this album, but also one of my favorite of Bowie period.

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That's it for today. Thank you for reading. All in all, I'd say Blackstar was a pretty great album. Dollar Days is a really good song, I Can't Give Everything is a great, beautifully written song that I'd struggle to say I love, but I do admire. Lazarus is one I fell in love with the first time I've heard it. Then the rest of the songs - Tis a Pity, Blackstar, Sue and Girl Loves me are just fantastic. What about you? How would you rank the songs in this album?

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CitizenSentry

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You put number 2 (Sue) as number 3.

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TheAmazingSpidey

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You put number 2 (Sue) as number 3.

Sh*t. My bad. Thanks for the warning.

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batmannflash

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#4  Edited By batmannflash

@theamazingspidey: Nice to meet another Bowie fan. great album

In order (from best to worst)

Lazarus

Blackstar

Dollar Days

'Tis a Pity

Girl Loves Me

Sue

I Can't Give Everything Away

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TheAmazingSpidey

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@theamazingspidey: Nice to meet another Bowie fan. great album

In order (from best to worst)

Lazarus

Blackstar

Dollar Days

'Tis a Pity

Girl Loves Me

Sue

I Can't Give Everything Away

It's also nice to meet another Bowie fan. I really enjoyed the album.

Good ranking. All of the songs are good imo. Are there any that you didn't like?

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batmannflash

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@theamazingspidey: no, I think I liked all the songs to some extent. I Can't Give Everything Away is my least favorite, but I still like it.

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TheAmazingSpidey

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@theamazingspidey: no, I think I liked all the songs to some extent. I Can't Give Everything Away is my least favorite, but I still like it.

That was my second favorite. Wasn't crazy about it either.

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Purple_D_Dragon

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I love them all, but I think I liked better Black Star for its connection to Mayor Tom's story.

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TheAmazingSpidey

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I love them all, but I think I liked better Black Star for its connection to Mayor Tom's story.

I see. It was cool seeing Major Tom resurrected.

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Khael

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I thought this is Blackstar from Javanese XD

They're so funny ^_^

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TheAmazingSpidey

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@khael said:

I thought this is Blackstar from Javanese XD

They're so funny ^_^

It can't be, since I've never heard of Javanese.

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Khael

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#12  Edited By Khael