{"id":2822,"date":"2019-10-10T01:15:57","date_gmt":"2019-10-10T08:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/?p=2822"},"modified":"2019-12-30T21:59:10","modified_gmt":"2019-12-31T05:59:10","slug":"albums-of-the-teens-i-guess-2013-goes-full-bowie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/2019\/10\/albums-of-the-teens-i-guess-2013-goes-full-bowie\/","title":{"rendered":"“Albums of the … Teens, I guess?”: 2013 goes full Bowie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Cloud Cult at The Independent in San Francisco, May 9, 2013. [author’s photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The question that looms over 2013 is, “Who put out the most Bowie-esque album?” This would seemingly be settled by the fact that David Bowie himself put out an album in 2013 that very deliberately hearkened back to his Berlin Trilogy era, but he wasn’t alone. Queens of the Stone Age and Arcade Fire also made strong plays, the latter featuring a guest appearance by Bowie himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arcade Fire didn’t make the cut into my Top 5 albums for 2013. (I like Reflektor<\/em>, but not quite that much.) The other two did, however, which makes this entry in the series a particularly Bowie-riffic affair. And, let’s be honest, Bowie’s influence is so wide-ranging that all of these albums surely reflect some of his musical imprint. **Googles Patty Griffin’s publicist** [Insert quote from Patty Griffin about how David Bowie influenced her.] <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love<\/strong><\/em>, <\/strong>Cloud Cult<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Released: March 5, 2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s impossible to write a better, truer sentence about Cloud Cult than Christopher Bahn<\/a> did in his review of the Minnesota collective’s previous album, Light Chasers<\/em>, for The A.V. Club<\/a><\/em>: “… [Leader Craig] Minowa\u2019s songs are like hymns for a religion that hasn\u2019t been invented yet.” On Love, <\/em>Minowa refines that theology. Throughout the song set\u2014a morphing soundscape that veers from delicate folk ballads to cinematic symphonic arrangements to brooding synthpop\u2014he submits that we all have a decision to make: Are you going to be a good spouse\/parent or an asshole? Are you going “to tame that jerk inside your head” or let him run amok? Are you going to let your anger get the best of you or embrace love? And, he says, it’s a commitment you have to make every. Single. Day. For folks who …<\/strong> seek communal musical euphoria, but are creeped out by The Polyphonic Spree. Moment that gets me every time: <\/strong>“Every day with you I say, ‘I do’ \/ and it means so much more each time.” If you listen to just one song: <\/strong>“It’s Your Decision,” which is basically the album’s thesis statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n