March the twelfth 2013, David Bowie releases a new album 'The Next Day.' No one, expected a new record from The Thin White Duke. Well, at least not many other than Bowie himself - and those working with him on the album. The first single from the upcoming record has many things in common with one of Bowie's album classics.
Thus, History and the Berlin Wall ties David Bowie's upcoming album 'The Next Day' and the albums first single 'Where Are We Now?' to the epic 'Heroes' album and its single in and unique way.
On the new single, The Thin White Duke sings about Berlin today and Berlin and the Berlin Wall during the Cold War. The Berlin Wall also played an important role in the classic 1977, 'Heroes' single, where David Bowie sings about a young couple that meets at the Berlin Wall. In an interview later that year, Bowie wondered, why the two lovers, sitting on a bench, had met on such an unpleasant location.
In Bowie's song the settings gets a twist. Thus, the verse: 'I, I can remember standing by the wall, And the guns shot over our heads, And we kissed, as though nothing could fall.' Here the drama is on, guns are firing over the two lovers heads. Are the guns real, maybe firing at a couple who tries to cross the Berlin Wall, or are the guns symbolic fire against a dying relationship that is being killed by the harsh consequences of reality.
Thus, the Berlin Wall was already part of David Bowie's artistic expression in 1977, where the 'Heroes' album and its first single were released. While, Bowie sings about a doomed relationship on 'Heroes,' the young couple still dream that their romance will survive. They act like like heroes, dramatic ceasing the moment; 'kissing like nothing could fall,' and forgetting everything else.
The Berlin Wall is also a stark symbol of the Cold War and its inhumanity. East- and West Berliners' couldn't just visit each other, they ran the risk of getting shot if they tried to climb over the Berlin Wall.
On 'Where Are We Now,' Bowie also reflect on the Berlin Wall, however, from a historical perspective and based on his own experiences with Berlin in the 70s. Places that has become historical important landmarks for our understanding of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the closure of the Cold War, are mentioned.
The connections between the two albums and singles become even more obvious when you look at the front cover from 'The Next Day,' it is from the original 'Heroes' cover. However, the 'Heroes' logo have been overwritten, and Bowie's face on the photo have been replaced with a white square and the albums title: 'The Next Day.' Maybe, as a symbolic historical confirmation of the 'Heroes' single; the 'Heroes' have died and the Wall has fallen, raising the new single's title question: 'Where Are We Now?' Only time can tell, when the album is released 12th March.
Thus, History and the Berlin Wall ties David Bowie's upcoming album 'The Next Day' and the albums first single 'Where Are We Now?' to the epic 'Heroes' album and its single in and unique way.
On the new single, The Thin White Duke sings about Berlin today and Berlin and the Berlin Wall during the Cold War. The Berlin Wall also played an important role in the classic 1977, 'Heroes' single, where David Bowie sings about a young couple that meets at the Berlin Wall. In an interview later that year, Bowie wondered, why the two lovers, sitting on a bench, had met on such an unpleasant location.
In Bowie's song the settings gets a twist. Thus, the verse: 'I, I can remember standing by the wall, And the guns shot over our heads, And we kissed, as though nothing could fall.' Here the drama is on, guns are firing over the two lovers heads. Are the guns real, maybe firing at a couple who tries to cross the Berlin Wall, or are the guns symbolic fire against a dying relationship that is being killed by the harsh consequences of reality.
Thus, the Berlin Wall was already part of David Bowie's artistic expression in 1977, where the 'Heroes' album and its first single were released. While, Bowie sings about a doomed relationship on 'Heroes,' the young couple still dream that their romance will survive. They act like like heroes, dramatic ceasing the moment; 'kissing like nothing could fall,' and forgetting everything else.
The Berlin Wall is also a stark symbol of the Cold War and its inhumanity. East- and West Berliners' couldn't just visit each other, they ran the risk of getting shot if they tried to climb over the Berlin Wall.
On 'Where Are We Now,' Bowie also reflect on the Berlin Wall, however, from a historical perspective and based on his own experiences with Berlin in the 70s. Places that has become historical important landmarks for our understanding of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the closure of the Cold War, are mentioned.
The connections between the two albums and singles become even more obvious when you look at the front cover from 'The Next Day,' it is from the original 'Heroes' cover. However, the 'Heroes' logo have been overwritten, and Bowie's face on the photo have been replaced with a white square and the albums title: 'The Next Day.' Maybe, as a symbolic historical confirmation of the 'Heroes' single; the 'Heroes' have died and the Wall has fallen, raising the new single's title question: 'Where Are We Now?' Only time can tell, when the album is released 12th March.
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Read a preview of David Bowie's new album 'The Next Day' + the latest news on the album, or get more information on this blog.'
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