2013: Year of the Comeback
Spacious Oddity
When David Bowie dropped his first single in ten years – a lush melancholic tune named “Where Are We Now?,” his manager hardly predicted it would be download hit and pushing tracks by Rihanna and out of the way. The song, produced by Tony Visconti and written by Bowie, soared to the Top Ten in a host of countries, including the UK (No. 6), Spain (No. 9), Netherlands (No. 9), Denmark (No. 2) and Belgium (No. 5). In the US, it claimed the number one spot on iTunes in a host of countries. In the US alone, the iTunes download was in the top ten. A music video of the song was also officially released, and has since been viewed 1.7 million times. After the single dropped, word quickly leaked out that Bowie was preparing to drop a new album (The Next Day) on his fans in 2013. The album cover art actually is a reincarnation of the Heroes album, but with ‘The Next Day” typed in an Arial font inside a white box which covers the entirety of Bowie’s face.
All of this paranormal activity surprised music critics, particularly those who had no clue of Bowie’s secret “comeback” strategy in today’s internet age. “We haven’t seen this before, a real legend dropping the announcement, the music, the photographs, everything in the blink of an eye,” said Tim Ingham, editor of music industry magazine Music Week. “At 66, he’s run the whole machinery of the music industry and the music media ragged, and he’s run social media ragged too.”
It’s a remarkable return for the Thin White Duke, since he dropped Reality back in 2003.
Don’t expect the rock legend to hit the road in grandiose style to promote the album. No plans have been rolled out to promote the upcoming record, but Bowie’s guitarist Earl Slick is hoping for a change of heart. “I would love nothing more than to tour with Bowie right now,” he says. “I think it would be the most exciting thing that music would experience for a long time.”
The Next Day is scheduled to drop on March 11 (UK) and March 12 (US).
