David Bowie. I was extremely sad to hear of his death back in 2016. However, for our penultimate week of Artist Focus, such a varied and no longer producing musician seems incredibly fitting, and so here we go. Let us begin.
Life On Mars? starts with a line that really hooks you in…
It’s a God-awful small affair
And for the rest of the song, you’re filled with just pity and confusion, mostly because the lyrics go all over the place from there and paint a very depressing picture for the girl with the mousy hair, having to sit at the movies alone and watch whilst he life has collapsed around her.
Or at least, that’s what I take from it.
This is a song where the music really detracts from the focus of the song – Bowie’s outstanding voice – and bar the piano accompaniment, I find that the music really just gets in the way.
So, I like the song, I like the vocals, and I like the piano – not so much the strings, drums, not even the flourish just before the end. For me, it just doesn’t do it.
7/10
That Guy
