David Bowie's 'Blackstar' album review

by Olivia D.

Throughout the time of teaching, teachers--even those at AHS, and maybe especially the English teachers--have tried to get one point across to students: leave this Earth with a meaning. David Bowie’s final album, Blackstar, is the perfect example of this idea. Bowie was an English singer, songwriter, actor and musician, who lived through the midst of the 1940’s all the way to 2016. The most important thing this album expresses is the idea of leaving the world with meaning, dignity, and having nothing else to lose. The entire album, start to finish, is a beautiful, morbid piece of art that expresses a dying man's words to the world he is leaving.

One of the most important things about this album is the subject that is being discussed throughout the songs. Throughout the entirety of the album, the listener can tell that Bowie is trying to get his life story, grief, and legacy told to the listener. The past albums from Bowie have been widespread throughout the 70’s all the way to the 2000’s, and have had a psychological theme. The themes of the albums stayed true to both Bowie's craft in the industry, and the common things of the time period. The subject of this album, however, is about giving the world Bowie's final thoughts. Every single song in the album has had the meaning of spreading Bowie's life, and reflecting what his mind looks like. The listener can easily tell what the subject of the album is trying to convey, and that is one of the most important and prominent parts of the album.

In addition, the videos of the songs for the album convey Bowie’s thoughts and feelings visually. The videos in the album are simple, yet organized. A viewer can easily comprehend the complex and emotional songs while watching the beautifully choreographed videos. The videos showing Bowie in his final moments can add another layer to the listener's emotions. The emotions that can be grabbed through the videos can be so complex to the viewer, due to the different themes throughout the different videos. With the listener/ viewer actually being able to see David Bowie in his final moments, it can help convey the level of importance of this album in specific.

When interviewed, an anonymous freshman made the statement, “ The videos are really sad. I can feel Bowie's feelings, just from the video.”

When interviewing Mrs. Altman (a chemistry teacher in AHS), she made the statement that the album has complex music that can be difficult to listen to, yet the themes conveyed can bring a tear to someone's eye. In addition, Altman also made the comment that the album was far different than Bowie's last albums.

One of the last, and most important things about this album, is that it was Bowie's last album. To be exact, Bowie passed away two days after the album was released. It can be assumed that Bowie was aware that he would not be alive much longer, due to his battle with liver cancer. Throughout the complex lyrics, videos, and themes in the album, the listener can feel different emotions. Knowing that this album was and forever will be Bowie's last released album.

Other critics online have given the album an average of 4.7/5 stars. The album had large hype in 2016, due to Bowie's passing, and critics online have only given positive reviews. Overall, one could say that the album was popular, and is enjoyable to listen to.

Personally, I would rate the album 8.5/10. I heavily recommend this album to people who are interested in different music genres. The main reason I didn’t give the album a 10/10, is because of the intense music and themes. This album strays away from Bowie's past albums, in both positive and negative ways. The most enjoyable part of the album for me would be the intense music, but I can understand why one would not like that about the songs. In addition, the listener can also have a negative experience with the album, due to the morbid background.