An exceedingly strange track ends an album I always found to be exceedingly strange too, back in the day, when Bowie put "Diamond Dogs" together in the wake of his stint as Ziggy Stardust's executioner. I was so incensed by his decision to kill off this most glorious creation, I vowed to have nothing to do with the new album (well, it was new, back in 1974). And thus it stayed, until a year or so ago, when I decided to give it a chance.
Having listened (and re-listened) to the tracks on "Spotify" over a few weeks, I took the plunge and bought the download version from "Amazon". I am now totally at ease with "Diamond Dogs", and happily Jam this track today. For a bit of background info, I turn once more to Chris O'Leary, of the blog "Pushing Ahead of the Dame" (bowiesongs.wordpress.com):
"Brutish and short, 'Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family' was the only way Bowie could have ended something like Diamond Dogs. Segueing from 'Big Brother', the track could be Winston Smith's complete, joyous submission to power, or it could just as well be the return of the 'Diamond Dogs', dancing around a bonfire on some skyscraper roof in Hunger City.
"...The track, and the LP, end in a 'pseudo-lock groove', the first syllable of Bowie singing 'brother' repeated in a stabbing loop of sound. The idea of a repeating 'lock groove' on a record was an 'avant-garde' experiment, its main innovator Pierre Schaeffer, a co-founder of the 'Groupe de Recherche de Musique Concrète'.
"By the mid-'60s, 'lock grooves' had begun to appear on pop/rock LPs like 'The Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper' and 'The Who Sell Out' (the latter's 'lock groove' was an endlessly-repeating advertisement for 'Track Records').
"There, the 'lock groove' was often intended as a joke, meant to startle stoned people who were unwilling or unable to get up and change the record (Paul McCartney said 'The Beatles' were inspired after many parties where everyone sat listening to the ticking of a record's end groove for 20 minutes)." That exceedingly strange technical information on 'lock grooves' probably complements this track perfectly! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Dogs
Haha I always thought the end bit was either 'rock' or 'cry' being repeated endlessly. I too was gutted at the discarding of Ronson et al, but DO think that Diamond Dogs stands alongside Bowie's classic albums... Sweet Thing medley and We Are The Dead in particular...
@leejohnson i am glad to see you come to terms with Ziggy's demise. as i have said before, Diamond Dogs is my favorite Bowie album. Future Legend is insanely good
16 Comments (since 17 Jul 2015)
leejohnson
An exceedingly strange track ends an album I always found to be exceedingly strange too, back in the day, when Bowie put "Diamond Dogs" together in the wake of his stint as Ziggy Stardust's executioner. I was so incensed by his decision to kill off this most glorious creation, I vowed to have nothing to do with the new album (well, it was new, back in 1974). And thus it stayed, until a year or so ago, when I decided to give it a chance.
leejohnson
Having listened (and re-listened) to the tracks on "Spotify" over a few weeks, I took the plunge and bought the download version from "Amazon". I am now totally at ease with "Diamond Dogs", and happily Jam this track today. For a bit of background info, I turn once more to Chris O'Leary, of the blog "Pushing Ahead of the Dame" (bowiesongs.wordpress.com):
leejohnson
"Brutish and short, 'Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family' was the only way Bowie could have ended something like Diamond Dogs. Segueing from 'Big Brother', the track could be Winston Smith's complete, joyous submission to power, or it could just as well be the return of the 'Diamond Dogs', dancing around a bonfire on some skyscraper roof in Hunger City.
leejohnson
"...The track, and the LP, end in a 'pseudo-lock groove', the first syllable of Bowie singing 'brother' repeated in a stabbing loop of sound. The idea of a repeating 'lock groove' on a record was an 'avant-garde' experiment, its main innovator Pierre Schaeffer, a co-founder of the 'Groupe de Recherche de Musique Concrète'.
leejohnson
"By the mid-'60s, 'lock grooves' had begun to appear on pop/rock LPs like 'The Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper' and 'The Who Sell Out' (the latter's 'lock groove' was an endlessly-repeating advertisement for 'Track Records').
leejohnson
"There, the 'lock groove' was often intended as a joke, meant to startle stoned people who were unwilling or unable to get up and change the record (Paul McCartney said 'The Beatles' were inspired after many parties where everyone sat listening to the ticking of a record's end groove for 20 minutes)." That exceedingly strange technical information on 'lock grooves' probably complements this track perfectly! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Dogs
Bukowski
'Diamond Dogs' is a hugely underrated album.
ErnieBilko
Haha I always thought the end bit was either 'rock' or 'cry' being repeated endlessly. I too was gutted at the discarding of Ronson et al, but DO think that Diamond Dogs stands alongside Bowie's classic albums... Sweet Thing medley and We Are The Dead in particular...
joeldurhamjr
@ErnieBilko It's my favorite Bowie album! Asked why, I usually use the same two examples - Sweet Thing and We Are the Dead.
ErnieBilko
@joeldurhamjr Haha...great minds :-)
gloveofbones
Very often my preferred Bowie album especially the Sweet Thing /. Candidate section.
hsmagnet
@leejohnson i am glad to see you come to terms with Ziggy's demise. as i have said before, Diamond Dogs is my favorite Bowie album. Future Legend is insanely good
leejohnson
@hsmagnet @gloveofbones @ErnieBilko @Bukowski Thanks guys! Reconciled to a once-hated album, at 61 years of age..... not bad!! ;)
Sid_Bonkers
Hey, I think the records stuck man.......... Pass the skins ill wrap another one up.
ErnieBilko
@leejohnson Haha well done mate :-)
ErnieBilko
@Sid_Bonkers :-D