So...Bowie's back...

After an uncharacteristically huge gap (ten whole years), no doubt partially caused by the odd bit of heart surgery, Dame David Bowie's suddenly come back to earth with a bump...and new single (out today, his 66th birthday...happy birthday Mr B) together with an album (due out in March). Where Are We Now?'s a pretty low key song, with our Dave sounding like a man who knows his days are numbered. There's a touch of Gabriel's Don't Give Up to it, that kind of desperate hope in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and it's the reflections of a dude who has recognises that he's got far more to look back on than he has to look forward to. On first listen I found it insufferably dull and more than a little trite but, three or four listens in, it's becoming a bit of a grower. Stripping out all of the crap and giving us the wisdom of his 66 years he's come to the conclusion that sun, rain, fire, me and you (obviously not just me and you, that would be weird...) are all we need. I'd add food, a nice bottle of Shiraz and a tweed suit to the list but maybe he's saving that for the 12 inch remix. There's no news about any interviews (I'm up for it if he fancies a chat) or live dates and this and the album might well be the extent of the comeback but I for one (and judging by the interweb I'm not alone) am mightily glad that he's back. Call me demanding but I like my artists to keep on going until they conk out. If you've got a talent for something then keep doing it until Mr G. Reaper Esq. comes a knocking. Even then you should keep him waiting a while. Just tell him to go round the block a few times or give him a puzzle to do. There are far too few truly creative souls left out there as it is and Bowie's right up there as one of the very best. Anyway, the new Bowie single. Have a listen.