Come Selahway With Me…

It’s been a while since I’ve talked much about something besides writing, but believe me…in this case, there is definitely something to talk about. There’s no way I would wait for another Music Monday to talk about this, because this, boys and girls, is something that has taken fans and critics by complete surprise.

You all might remember that I have a tad of a thing for Bowie’s music. He’s inspired me, helped me become the creative person I am, and been an all around huge influence. Today is not only his 66th birthday, but a day where he’s once again subverted the norm and given us all a fabulous gift.

The new single Where Are We Now? Has been released on i-Tunes, with a chance to pre-order his NEW album The Next Day (in stores in the states March 12).

Let me just say…the song is amazing. It’s beautiful, structurally it’s a wonderful progression from his work ten years ago, and mood-wise…it just fits. There’s hope and melancholy that floods the listener all at once, and it’s just…so perfectly Bowie. The video itself uses some tricks reminiscent of his Earthling-era performance art up against black and white footage of different places in Berlin and the actual lyrics. Haunting and lovely, I found it captivating. It also made me miss my own brief time in Berlin badly.

I also like that this came out of nowhere. Good on him for having things his way and doing what he wants. It just goes to show that sometimes listening to all the hype in the world isn’t everything and you still have to walk your own path and do things when you feel they’re right.

This is exactly where things should be. This has the feel of moving forward while not entirely ignoring the past. At the risk of sounding like every other Bowie fan out there…the fact that this exists is enough. The fact that it’s that good makes me want to cry and cheer. I’ve said for a long time that if Bowie was retired, then he deserved it. If he was happy then I wasn’t going to be one of the people complaining about it. Now that he’s put this up, I realize how much I’ve missed not having that presence in the corners of my life. I love  his back catalogue, but for me I’m always curious to see where he’s going, to see what’s going to lie just a step ahead.

And I couldn’t be more pleased.

To get information on the single and album, go HERE If you follow the link at the bottom it will lead you to the re-vamped bowie.com, which is worth checking out as well. I have to admit I grinned at parts of the bio where it states that Bowie does what he wants when he wants.

To take a look at the video go HERE

The cover for the album is revealed HERE along with a really nice article about the design process for it.

You can find him on twitter at @DavidBowieReal – also the hashtags #wherearetheynow and #thenextday are popular at the moment.

And on facebook you can follow along HERE