David Bowie's "Jump, They Say" - C or D?

Is it at all guitar-heavy like "Scary Monsters" ? And does he fuse
the inorganic with the organic ?

Maybe I'll sample some tidbits at Amazondotcom...

hahaha.

he is rather close to the fire and if you imagine the photographer standing on an oil slick....

Great, GREAT song. So cool. I know no other song in '93 that sounded like this: "modern," in the best sense -- a modernity that didn't exist, and might never. The Nile Rodgers rhythm guitar, the driving bass, the TRUMPET solo, and Bowie's own wailing sax over the chorus.

I can see why it never caught on in the States: college radio didn't play anything this glossy (Bowie and Rodgers still pretending that "Let's Dance" could be updated).

Just listened to it for the first time in 15 years and yes I agree it holds up. Sounds a bit like it could have sat nicely on Heathens, actually. I think the video is supposed to be inspired by Marker's La Jetée.

Oh yes, always liked this, and even the lyric I think

I used to play this LP over and over again, taped from a library CD!

Interesting thread revival -- I heard this on the radio yesterday for the first time in lord knows how long. I could get over how great it sounded -- 100X better than I remember it!

Don't listen to the crowd they say jump.

Got to belieieieve some-bo-dy

I have the cd-single somewhere. Don't remember any of the remixes by heart (Leftfield did one) - any good?

This song is not at all bad. The album it was taken from may be among his very worst though. Very few highlights there in general.

Al reviving his own thread shockah.

I didn't remember this song, really, until this thread prompted me to pull it out. On first listen, I must say I like the chorus quite a bit -- is that Bowie's sax playing the melody?

Not really much of a "tune" anywhere else, tho.

is that Bowie's sax playing the melody?

Yes!

Al reviving his own thread shockah.

He said JUMP!

And the trumpet is the other Bowie!

Not really much of a "tune" anywhere else, tho.

It's not one of his most memorable melodies, no. And yet Jump, They Say is, to my mind, one of his most memorable songs. It's all about the ominous mood and and the sleek electro-funk arrangement (which, like most of his work, has dated remarkably well). I do love the grim, Cohenesque humour of the final verse, too:

They say, "Hey, that's really something"
They feel he should get some time
I say he should watch his ass
My friend, don't listen to the crowd
They say, "Jump."

It was interesting to read above that the subject matter is Bowie's late brother. I had always assumed that it was a commentary on the relationship between artists and their audience.

this song is pretty good

Black Tie White Noise is at least as good as Outside: three or four terrific song. "You've Been Around" also gets under my skin; an interesting decision to mix Gabrels' guitar real low so that it sounds like this foghorn.

total classic, great video too.

Particularly good write-up: http://bowiesongs.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/jump-they-say/

I was right!

I don't get why anyone would have beef with this. It sounds a bit like a weird throbbing drone even though the production is all clear and undistorted, it's a little bit ADD and the chord progression never really resolves "properly" as that blog post points out. Noize people should respect if not love this one.

I liked most of this whole album fwiw.

great track

This track: Classic.
The album it's from: Dud.

Is it underrated?

This was his first single after all that Tin Machine covfefe, and it was all "David's Back!!!" and it was true.

I did have a ahem Bowie Singles setoftracks, and I have to say the Tin Machine singles were way better than the Bowie singles that preceeded them (the eighties ones post "Let's Dance" album, "Loving the Alien" excepted), but I've not heard those albums so hey.

Let's Dance where I get off the bus and Outside is where I get back on. If he'd had the good sense not to release hours... his run of records from Outside onwards is actually pretty decent.

I don't get why anyone would have beef with this. It sounds a bit like a weird throbbing drone even though the production is all clear and undistorted, it's a little bit ADD and the chord progression never really resolves "properly" as that blog post points out. Noize people should respect if not love this one.

I liked most of this whole album fwiw.

― El Tomboto, Tuesday, August 1, 2017 8:24 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm

The verses are so tense thanks to those unresolved chords.

I like most of this album, particularly this song, the scott walker cover, 'you've been around', and 'miracle goodnight'. like every album from never let me down onward, it was presented as "bowie is back!" also I like both tin machine albums and their singles so whatever. as good as this album was it feels like it was let down by the record company; I think they went bankrupt right after it came out or something. He should have toured behind it.

That's what happened. I don't think it would ever have gone over in America (it debuted and peaked in #39), but the collapse of Savage destroyed any chance of a success. It's interesting thinking about this album as either the end of an era (i.e. Bowie as mainstream star; look at his suits and hair during this period) or the beginning of a new one.

I just watched the video again and, yeah, I always forget how the last part of the 20th century was unable to imagine a future where men didn't wear suits and ties all the time

the Zuckerberg category would completely misunderstand this song

This album was the end of an era. It's not just the last 80s Bowie record, it's the last Bowie as Innovator record. It's the beginning of him not being ahead of his time, and then finally getting to be himself because he's not chasing the bleeding edge anymore. It is officially the Bowie Gets Old inflection point. That's probably why people feel so comfortable hating on it. They're still full of shit.

(to alfred's point above. wasn't trying to pretend I came up with that)

"It is officially the Bowie Gets Old inflection point." I'd actually push this off a few records to Hours.