Music Milestones, 1972: David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

Often disdainfully regarded as a sort of rock chameleon for delving into a wide range of music genres throughout his career, David Bowie has shown a remarkable ability to adapt to new circumstances that required thorough musical innovation. Starting as a folk singer in the mid 1960s, Bowie repeatedly changed his approach to music and his discography is as varied as to include adept takes on glam rock, soul, electronica, jungle and industrial music, to name a few distinct styles. My favorite period of Bowie’s discography is definitely the 1970s, from Hunky Dory to his Berlin trilogy with Brian Eno. Although Hunky Dory already features a signature of glam rock, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is the culmination of that kind of sound and shoulders with the best releases from glam acts such as T. Rex, Roxy Music and the New York Dolls. “Five Years” sets the stage and tells an apocalyptic tale of Earth five years before its destruction. “Moonage Daydream” is a key song in this conceptual record, where the hero Ziggy Stardust is born to save Earth from doom. The record finishes in style with three excellent tracks: “Ziggy Stardust” pays tribute to the hero and his guitar; “Suffragette City” is the most straightforward song in the record, with a piano line reminiscent of Little Richard’s compositions; and the closer “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” depicts the decay and collapse of Ziggy Stardust. For more insight into The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, listen to “Suffragette City”:

Music Milestones, 1971: Chico Buarque – Construção

A close follower of the bossa nova movement and dedicated apprentice of earlier composers such as Tom Jobim and João Gilberto, Chico Buarque had a flying start in his musical career with the release of four stellar eponymous records in the late 1960s. These records blended bossa nova and samba to great effect, and cemented Buarque’s position among the MPB giants. However, the best of Buarque was yet to come. Construção, released upon Buarque’s return to Brazil after exile, is arguably his most accomplished effort to date and undoubtedly one of the best records of Brazilian music. Here, Buarque broaches darker topics than those in his previous discography, while his lyrics are more politically engaged. “Deus lhe Pague” constitutes the most biting political comment in the record, where Buarque openly criticizes the Brazilian dictatorial regime and its social aftermath. “Cotidiano” and “Construção” are also socially concerned, and address the boredom of daily routine and the debasement of the workingman, respectively. “Valsinha” is a sad love song about a couple that experiences a brief moment of joy after a long period of dullness. “Minha História” imaginatively retells the story of Jesus Christ as the son of a sailor and a prostitute. My favorite song in Construção is “Samba de Orly”, a tribute to the exiles during the military dictatorship that was composed by Buarque, Toquinho and Vinícius de Moraes:

Zap the World, Episode 1: 2012 Music in Review

Below you can find the first episode of my podcast Zap the World! In this first episode, I play some of the tunes that caught my attention in 2012. The playlist for the first episode of Zap the World is the following:

Spiritualized - "Hey Jane" (from Sweet Heart Sweet Light, out on Double Six Records)

Neneh Cherry & The Thing - "Dream Baby Dream" (from The Cherry Thing, out on Smalltown Supersound)

Six Organs of Admittance - "Close to the Sky" (from Ascent, out on Drag City)

Tame Impala - "Mind Mischief" (from Lonerism, out on Modular Recordings)

Cat Power - "Ruin" (from Sun, out on Matador)

Lee Ranaldo - "Angles" (from Between the Times and Tides, out on Matador)

Redd Kross - "Stay Away From Downtown" (from Researching the Blues, out on Merge Records)

Sic Alps - "Glyphs" (from Sic Alps, out on Drag City)

Ty Segall - "Thank God for Sinners" (from Twins, out on Drag City)

Thee Oh Sees - "Lupine Dominus" (from Putrifiers II, out on In the Red Records)

While I intend to post new episodes of Zap the World as regularly as possible, they will come out less frequently than the posts of my retrospective Music Milestones. So, please bear with my slow pace and enjoy the music!

(To download this episode, right-click here and choose to save link.)

Music Milestones, 1970: José Afonso – Traz Outro Amigo Também

Heavily influenced by his tenure at the University of Coimbra, José Afonso began his musical career playing fado typical of that Portuguese city. The fado from Coimbra informed Afonso’s early guitar playing and singing style, as well as some of the topics that he addressed in his songs. However, Afonso eventually emancipated from the rather strict conventions of the fado from Coimbra, and developed into a folk singer in his own right that would become one of the most vehement voices against the Portuguese dictatorial regime. Afonso has a vast body of work and my favorite period of his discography ranges from 1970 to 1974, starting with Traz Outro Amigo Também. While this record still displays many characteristics of the fado from Coimbra, there are already hints of a break from that music genre. The record starts with “Traz Outro Amigo Também” and “Maria Faia”, both fine examples of the fado from Coimbra. “Canto Moço” appears to be a call to arms mobilizing youth against the regime. Afonso’s lyrics are most caustic in “Os Eunucos (No Reino da Etiópia)”, a harsh denouncement of those who betray freedom and other fundamental values. “Carta a Miguel Djeje” is a tribute to a former servant of Afonso’s during his stay in Africa, and constitutes the most accentuated departure from traditional fado in the record. “Epígrafe para a Arte de Furtar”, a harrowing piece about humanity and identity based on a poem by the oft-neglected Portuguese writer Jorge de Sena, is for me the best track in Traz Outro Amigo Também: