Only David Bowie could disappear for the best part of ten years, rumoured to be fatally unwell and shying away from the limelight, to then return from the abyss of legend with a brand new album ‘The Next Day,’ to surpirse, thrill and shock his friends and foes.
You would have seen in the news that his new single ‘The Next Day’ was temporarily pulled from YouTube because of its graphic content (check Cotillard with blood spurting from stirgmata-like wounds,) I do agree that there should be a note of what you are about to watch so it is at theviewers own risk, do you? Grabbing headlines, unsettling Christians and behaving in a way the Archibishop of Cantebury has criticised to be ‘juvenile,’ it does make me think there is truth in the saying that there is no such thing as bad publicity, well, is there?
The Italian director Floria Sigismondi is known for her innovative and often disturbing works that often create a sense of the very strange, surreal and bizarre (she also directed Bowie and Swinton in ‘The Stars Are Out Tonight.’) The film sees Bowie performing in a bar surrounded by religious figures, beggers and prostitutes, starring alongside his old pal Gary Oldman and the beautiful Oscar-winning French actress Marion Cotillard.
Outrageous and reactive, do you think this is art or just an inspiring turn on music PR?
Is it provocative for a reason?
Is it, very simply, Bowie demonstrating his sense of daring?
Or is it just Bowie, being Bowie?
THE NEXT DAY feat. GARY OLDMAN & MARION COTILLARD
David Bowie – The Next Day on MUZU.TV.