What a way to start off this snowy morning in NY...We got more snow than expected, so stepping in it was like stepping in quick sand!!! Our dogs we almost lost in the fresh snow, but they loved jumping up and biting the falling snow. Have a beautiful and healthy day!
Ditto except I'm in Connecticut. Just got done with the snowblower a little bit ago. Now I've got my coffee and a reaction to one of my favorite bowie songs.
An overlooked gem. Too dark for many. The lyrical mood harks back to his previous album, The Man Who Sold the World, which you really must hear as tracks like Width of a Circle, The Supermen and All the Madmen are essential steps along Bowie’s path 👍
Width of a Circle....one of my favorites. Awesome in the movie, "Ziggy Stardust, The Motion Picture". A great Ronson moment. And speaking of the Ziggy movie, another favorite on there is "My Death", a concert addition as it doesn't appear on any albums (in the day). And you're correct in that Crowley wrote the Satanic Bible. And just another tidbit......supposably, Robert Plant wrote "Stairway to Heaven" in the former residence of Crowley in a single night (lyrics, anyway).
@@gog583 Actually Plant wrote the lyrics at Headley Grange, where Zep recorded their 4th lp. An old house yes, but nothing to do with Crowley. However Jimmy Page did own Crowley’s old home, Boleskine House, on the shore of Loch Ness, though he rarely stayed there and it became derelict.
One of the greatest songs about depression ever written, expressed through cerebral, existential thesis - Bowie coming from a family history of severe mental illness. Ahead of it's time. One of Bowie's most beautiful choruses. A big influence on The Cure, Robert Smith would cover the song live with Bowie in 1997 for db's _50th Birthday Concert._
Incredible song that gets little attention. You can dive deeper into the lyrics, the Golden Dawn was a magical group Crowley was associated with for a time before founding his own Thelema. What I like most about the baby boomers was that internal search for answers and identity. Bowie had an appetite for knowledge and experience.
Bardo is the state of existence intermediate between two lives on earth. "According to Tibetan tradition, after death and before one's next birth, when one's consciousness is not connected with a physical body, one experiences a variety of phenomena." The Tibetan concept of purgatory. ETA: Also, "Garbo" was the code name for Juan Pujol García. He was a WWII British double agent.
One of my favourite Bowie tracks. A blend of great songwriting, arrangement and performance. My only gripe is that it's too short: I could happily listen to a mix twice that length. Recorded over 50 years ago and still sounds fantastic!
I think the explanation that seems more plausible to me is that this song was written from the perspective of Hitler if Hitler started to doubt himself before his death, which I dont think he did. Hitler allowed himself to do all those attrocities because he viewed himself as destiny, an instrument of history which the lyrics allude to a few times. Dont believe in yourself, dont decieve with belief is probably Bowie warning against this kind of thinking, where one is so unchanged in their beliefs that they make others follow their delusions with frightfull consequences. The lyrics dont mention Hitler directly, but they mention Himmler who carried Hitlers plan while mixing them with occultism, Churchill - one of his main enemies, Garbo - a spy who worked against Nazi Germany and assasination attempts. Bowie described himself several times that he is a very indecisive person when it comes to stuff like personal identity, so he probably found this kind of mentality both terrifying and fascinating.
Always one of my favorite Bowie songs - he never played this live until late in his career….someone must have reminded him of how strong this song was. There is a live version at the 10 Spot (NJ?) that is very enjoyable. Love your Bowie journey!
Bowie is relating an existential crisis very common among young people. So many get to their late teens and early college years and read philosophical works from people like Nietsche and others or they find simpler works like Ayn Rand's miserable pulp novels and begin to question their lives and their prevailing society. We are witnessing how these personal crises and societal disquiet can lead so many to absurd conspiracy theories and fragmented, incoherent worldviews. Quicksand shows the origins of these crises. Bowie's lyrics reveal how dangerous these ideas can be and, sadly, offers little hope for positive resolution overall. Today's social and political climate in the US shows that this lack of optimism is well-grounded.
Like the XTC tee shirt. I'm about 12 miles away (and have walked around/on) the Uffington White Horse. Cool song of course.: David was the major voice of my teens and I still love his songs.
Dude, I was 14 when I bought this album. It had just been released. I have now had a 50 year love affair with Hunky Dory and David Bowie. To me, as a young artist then, and an old artist now, Quicksand has always been so metaphorical too me. As one who watches, this song represents just how difficult it is to take in everything your eyes are seeing and your brain is processing. I enjoy your Bowie reactions, so shut up.
Hi Justin. I think you summed it up well. It's a "Deep Cut" both musically and lyrically. I agree about Ronson's contribution. His string arrangements are excellent and his guitar on this track is sublime! I saw David perform this live in 2004 on his "Reality" tour. It was fantastic to hear him perform it, he had an excellent band as always and with Mike Garson on keyboards they did a first rate performance that night. I never expected to hear this live. It's a cherished memory! 😊
Perfect in every way. His masterpiece? Maybe. I always say Quicksand or Win, when talking about my favourite Bowie song (which, outside of my own head, must have happened, oh, at least twice).
Hey. Really liked your analysis. To me, this song has the most beautiful chorus ever. Bowie was such a talented composer...the chord progression is amazing...from F#m to B7 then to E and Em Bm....and so on.... beautiful. Cheers
Bowie had his mystical magical side. The references here to Aleister Crowley and the Golden Dawn are blatant. In the song "The Thin White Duke" he sings "Here are we, one magical movement from Kether to Malkuth". Kether is at the top of what is known as "The Tree of Life", part of Kabbalah. Malkuth is all that we see as manifestation around us, sitting at the bottom of the Tree of Life. From whatever source is, all the way down into this manifestation we live. So Bowie sings: "There are you, you drive like a demon from station to station." The stations are the Sephiroth, of which Kether and Malkuth are but two. These actually correlate to the Tarot as well. And there are paths between the Sephiroth. We live. We learn. We incarnate, Kether to Malkuth, and then seek return to the source, Malkuth to Kether. And there are many paths there through the Tree of Life. Bowie may not have been a practitioner, but his intellect took in much. Blessings.
"Quicksand" and "Life On Mars?" are the two highlights of the album, for me. Gorgeous and moving, with poetic lyrics whose meaning is a mystery to me. Aren't you glad that you decided to react to this album?!
Great lyrical examination. The song reminds me of an old German Cabaret style musical confessional in the midst of a play. Garbo, first name Greta, is a very famous Swedish actress of silents and sound films of the '30s. She retired fairly young not enjoying the Hollywood movie machine.
Bardo is a stage inbetween the former life and next life, lasting 49 days. In the Tibetan Book of Death one is taught how to act in bardo state. One can for example experience monsters attacking, but according to the Book and teachings one should not be afraid but to understand that one is in dreamlike bardo and those monsters are just hallucinations and projections, not real, like ropes taken as frightful snakes. I think the nicest approach and joke is the question "What if this life one is living right now is just a state of bardo?"
I think Bowie means, that if you are mixed up, "all"is not "lost"at all, but you will have possibility to understand in the bardo state of mind, after "death".
@@Katehowe3010 I have not read Seth books, but I will write down this info. But I have some twenty odd years ago spent a lot of time with Tibetan Book of Death, and it has influenced me a lot (lengthy and important foreword by Chogyam Trungpa). I think that the consept of bardo is very important one. I think that in this song the chorus both musically and lyrics wise gives one kind of relief and understanding (by "death") beautifully, Bowie was such a huge artist. "Hunky Dory" has always felt to me, decades after decades, as fresh and new and exciting experience to listen.
Bowie's highlighting the difference between believing in your (self-conscious) self and actual Self-knowledge, which is fundamentally different, pointing out that true Self-knowledge (not just believing) comes only with the (psychological) death of that self-conscious self. Crowley was a member of The Hermetic Order Of The Golden Dawn.
Great video JP. I have heard a lot of David Bowie songs, but I have actually never heard this one. Really liked this one, and I can't wait for more. If you are scrolling through the comments, I hope you have a great day. You Are Awesome!
Probably my fave song from this album. It was never one he performed on stage in those early years, but he actually reached back into his catalog & added it to his touring lineup in the late 90's. I believe it was some members of his band that encouraged him to revisit several of his earlier songs. And yes Justin, it is about him having a bit of an existential crisis. The was also a component of mental instability that ran in his mother's side of the family. His half brother Terry, who Bowie idolized, suffered from schizophrenia, and was in & out of a mental hospital for many years before committing suicide in the mid 80's. The younger Bowie was always living with the fear of it being his fate as well & much of that played into him trying to find his own way artistically. This is one of his early songs that I still go back & listen to.
Nostalgy time : I remember walking through Paris with this song in my old walkman, with the sound set to max so I couldn't hear anything from around. Every second, it felt like I was in a movie...
There's so many layers to this song, one of my favorites, I have an attraction / repulsion to this song. One lyric was a reference to Greata Garbo. This song plays heavy with the Aryan myth that was built up in the 1930s. A lot to unpack here.
I can relate! Was terrified of quicksand after watching the movie "Lawrence of Arabia" on TV. Unfortunately, it does exist, for real, especially in river estuaries. I do love this song, and thank you for posting it.
Garbo refers to Greta Garbo, an actress born in Sweden, she was in movies mainly in the 1930s. She was known as a meloncholy figure. Nice review, Bowie makes some interesting references.
It's more likely a reference to Juan Pujol codenamed "Garbo" who was a British double-agent during WW2, hence the lyrics: "I'm the twisted name on Garbo's eyes, living proof of Churchill's lies".
@@GunnedPoison676 with apparent references to Garbo and Bardot, the listener is led up the wrong path. The Pujol tale is quite something, and Bardot actually seems to be the Tibetan Bardo - much more intriguing. Thanks.
GunnedPoison676 is correct in saying that "Garbo" refers to Garbo the British double agent and George Davis-Stewart is correct in saying "Bardo" refers to the Tibetan Bardo.
Garbo is also who’s photo David’s cover photo is based on. (“I vant to be alone” was part of her myth - she retired from movies ‘early’ and lived in NYC in seclusion the rest of her long life. The next “bardo” refers to the space/time we exist between lives (if we believe in reincarnation. I hear a lot of Buddhist influence as well as the Aleister Crowley/Golden Dawn/total goal stuff.
Yes, Justin, quicksand, as portrayed in adventure movies and TV was almost always fatal if the protagonist wasn't nearby to fish you out with a conveniently available branch just long enough to save you... Scared the hell outta me as a kid! It must have scarred us because our own play-adventures often included a pit of quicksand on the way to save the princess... lol
There's a comedian (wish I could remember who) who has a bit: "Remember all those cartoons and old westerns where someone falls into quicksand, and they struggle to get them out? Turns out quicksand isn't nearly the problem in our lives they were making out that it would be!" Or, words to that effect! But, I guess depicting life's foibles like car repair and checkbook balancing would not a riveting story make!
great great song!! man bowie was on a roll here...a roll that lasted many years! this is a favorite of mine from this album (but then the whole album is fantastic). thank you for always pointing out Ronson's contributions. I LOVE the strings on this...and it's amazing to me that this album/song are Ronson's first attempt at string arrangements. not too shabby. I hope someday you will continue on and check out more ronson...some of his solo stuff and his stellar work with Ian Hunter and many others. in the meantime....loving these bowie album reactions!
Definatly a forgotten gem Bowies 70s catalogue is remarkable... If i had to pick my favourite. It would be low. And i may be in the minority... Thanks jp
Mick Ronson played on 3 Artists Signature Album’s Bowie Ziggy Stardust Lou Reed Transformer Ian Hunter Schizophrenic Played on Bob Dylan’s Legendary Rolling Thunder Review Tour Came in and Saved John Cougar’s American Fool Album by Saving the Song “Jack & Diane” and a few others. The List goes on & on Check Out Lou Reed’s Song “Perfect Day” on the Transformer Album. With Lou’s Vocals and Ronson on Piano & Strings It’s Perfect
My favourite song on the album. A gem saddly underrated by a lot but loved by Bowie. He started to play the song live in the late 90's accompanied by Gail Ann Dorsey and one with Robert Smith of The Cure. Beautiful.
What strikes me aside from the lyrics and instrumentation is how David uses his vocal delivery and if you listen to it again, he changes his sound , sometimes soft and bare, other times sharper and powerful, and a few passages layered and ethereal, he literally gives us the "kitchen sink" of vocal delivery and it makes for a complex track. The instrumentation is somewhat limited, guitar, piano and drums, little else and as you stated Ronson and Wakeman demonstrate their brilliance in what they bring. You mention Ronson and his contribution was solid but I loved Wakeman's piano, it is delicate and elegant in places and provides an efficiently limited fill just when the piece needs it for the continuity of the song. Very nice track indeed.
In an album full of songs that I love ("Queen Bitch" is the one that made me a Bowie fan), this is the one song I'm most intrigued by. This is my favorite Bowie album, mainly because this is where Bowie decided that songwriting is what Bowie did best. Two things: Aleister Crowley was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, referenced here by Bowie, and a notorious occultist. I don't believe he was a Satanist of any form. I might be wrong, though. Himmler was also an occultist, and he was interested in restoring old Germanic pagan cults since he disliked the the Jewish origins of Christianity. There's also that mention of a potential "superman", which is a nod to Nietzsche's "overman", a notion Nazis were obviously enamored with. Also, the Bardot at the end refers to Brigitte Bardot, who was just about the hottest actress in the universe in the 1960s. Greta Garbo, a stunningly beautiful Swedish actress from the 20s through the late 40s, had really striking eyes.
I too used to think that Bowie was referencing Greta Garbo. In fact, Garbo is a reference to a codename for a WW2 spy who helped Chrurchill decieve the nazis over the d-day normandy landings - hence the line "living proof of Churchill's lies".
@@Azabaxe80 Bowie was on record saying that the reference was about Garcia and is thought to have read the book 'The Counterfeit Spy' which was published in Jan 71 (Hunky Dory was recorded in June the same year).
This is one of my favs. The Bardos in Tibetan Buddhism are the stages of death and the afterlife: "I can tell you all about it on the next Bardo" then refers to the afterlife after death's release. Sinking in the Quicksand indeed.
Interesting ditty. Did enjoy it as a first listen. It’s definitely different from my favorite albums. Instrumentally very nice and pleasant. We all search for our directional belief, sometimes it veers drastically from your friends and family. I just chose to rename it and gradually that became too much work for me and just came back to something I grew up with. With carve outs and additional things. I enjoy the song and comments that help go deeper in the quicksand, then wiggle one leg up and then the next till I’m free. Listened to some Monkees, UB40, L.A.Woman, for Jim, Astro & Brian Travers, and Michael. They are missed. Peace and Q&A Music
A beautiful and very deep song, with allusions to many belief systems. The song is harmonically very complex for a "pop" song, almost jazz chord sequences in parts, without sounding in any way jazzy. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin was obsessed by Aleister Crowley, had a collection of Crowley artefacts and even bought his mansion.
Just a mortal with potential of a superman I'm living awe is the correct lyric and 'BARDO' was a code name for a WW2 code breaker operation they were using to read coded messages of the nazis
Some think it's a dark song but I don't think it is. For what I understand, it's just that Bowie tries to get straight to the point without bothering with existentialist thought, religious mysticism, or some dogma of any kind, but in the end he's always lost in it. his thoughts somewhat torn by an ideal and the desire to be detached by it and live his life in the present without bothering too much, but after all, Its just complexity of human kind. I even find the music and the arrangements luminous suggesting a glimmer of hope. It's very contrasted.
Six degrees of separation? Bowie's first few albums borrowed heavily from the stylings of a singer named Anthony Newley, who often collaborated with Leslie Bricusse, a popular British lyricist/composer. My mom was personal assistant to Leslie from 1975 to 2020.
@@JustJP - I just did the math - it's 3 degrees. In her job my mom got to know Rod Stewart, Elton John and a million others but she never mentioned David. All Brits.
I really enjoyed his '97ish tour (Ballrooms/small theaters) th-cam.com/video/ZDO456fG8n4/w-d-xo.html when Bowie opened up the concert, solo, just strumming his guitar - the rest of the band slowly joins in. The above link is from the inaugural concert of MTV's "10 Spot" - a short-lived, but excellent program. For the inaugural episode, the Rolling Stones were supposed to play. However, Jagger, I think, fell ill with the flu and MTV had to quickly find a replacement. Bowie, who was in the middle of his tour, was in the New York area - obviously he said yes!
The song is about Bowies "struggle" with Satanism, Crowley was a Satanist, If your a Satanist you may have every reason to be frightened by the total goal. This Darkness was with him even up to his last Album, Brilliant !
you do v interesting music. I just now checked your Neu- reaction. It looks like you enjoy exploring away from the beaten track. I'd lik to make a suggestion. Beck's Bolero (1966) This is a track put out by a spontaneous collection of musicians that turned out to be the prototype for Led Zeppelin. In this case led by Jeff Beck including Keith Moon , (from the future Led Zep) Jim@y Page and John Paul Jones
Dinosaur Jr did a really good version of this, I think. And they used the acoustic guitar part from another song on this album, "Andy Warhol", at the beginning.
I like your T shirt Justin, the Uffington White Horse. A giant horse carved into chalk near Oxford. You should google the other famous English chalk carving, the Cerne Abbas Giant 😄
'knowledge comes with deaths release' a nice thought, but is it really true, I doubt it, a beautiful song though, but who really cares about knowledge when you you can't cuddle with a beautiful woman
One of DB's most gorgeous tunes. Also, one of DB's most disturbing and nihilistic ones. I'm torn, but ultimately find it too depressing in some way. If anyone's interested - and if you're a Bowie fan, of course you are! - here's the demo to Quicksand. th-cam.com/video/Im_04nWapnA/w-d-xo.html
I never found it depressing at all, though I can see how people easily could if they aren't familiar with philosophical / religious traditions that focus on avoiding getting too wrapped up in one's own ego. Basically, don't be so self-centered and avoid the sin of needing to be right.
somebody has probably already touched on this, but i feel compelled, and don't want to read all the comments. Aleister Crowley was not the founder of The Church Of Satan. That would be Anton Lavey. Crowley died in 1947. The Church Of Satan was not founded until 1966. Also, Crowley was British and Lavey was American. Crowley was certainly an influence on Lavey, but they ultimatley had very different philosophical and spiritual beliefs. Not going into that further here, as that is a very involved subject, but easily searchable. But Crowley was famously kicked out of the British hermetic order The Golden Dawn (referenced in this song), then founded the magical order Argentium Astrum, developed the religion/magickal discipline known as Thelema, and later became involved with the power structure, teachings and workings of the magickal order OTO. anyway, much more to say, but as I said, it's all easily extensively researchable
Interesting how the song's lyrics all point to a dark fate for the singer. I was hoping for the uplifting melody part, with the strings and piano, to have a saving grace to it. So that the tragic, dark side of the song has an upbeat, optimistic counterpart. It reminds me of the Flintstones cartoon bit where Fred is feeling hopelessly melancholy, and the theme song takes the tone of a funeral dirge. But then someone (Wilma or Barney) cheers Fred up, and theme music switches to an upbeat sparkly ditty. And with a Flintstones cartoon, there was a probably an incident where Fred was sinking in quicksand.
When you get to 'Queen Bitch' please also give a listen to this performance by Bowie with Lou Read at David's 50th birthday bash as it was a tribute to the Velvet Underground. There's also a video of David talking to a reporter about how musically VU were more influential than The Beatles, not an opinion many would agree with. th-cam.com/video/tbxp1hC8vts/w-d-xo.html
No, Aleister Crowley founded Thelema. Just because he called himself The Wickedest Man in the World doesn't mean a necessary connection to the idea of Satan. Please excuse me for not getting into the specifics of Crowley's mysticism but would take at least a monograph.
This song, along with "The Bewley Brothers" is one of the most cryptic and disturbing Bowie ever wrote. Which is nice.
Cracking tune, too!
We Are The Dead is in there too......totally agree.
Couldn't agree more! Both are epic tracks!
I always thought 'The Bewlay Brothers' was about his brother, Terry, at least in some form.
@@Kainlarsen It is.
Agreed. Along with after all & all the madmen🙄
What a way to start off this snowy morning in NY...We got more snow than expected, so stepping in it was like stepping in quick sand!!! Our dogs we almost lost in the fresh snow, but they loved jumping up and biting the falling snow. Have a beautiful and healthy day!
Ditto except I'm in Connecticut. Just got done with the snowblower a little bit ago. Now I've got my coffee and a reaction to one of my favorite bowie songs.
The Bardo is a Buddhist concept, a sort of spiritual waiting room where spirits go awaiting their next reincarnation.
crowley was a magician from the beginning of the century, (portraited in many musical themes like mr crowley from black sabath )
I like Bowie's voice at this stage of his career, it's more vulnerable than his later work.
An overlooked gem. Too dark for many. The lyrical mood harks back to his previous album, The Man Who Sold the World, which you really must hear as tracks like Width of a Circle, The Supermen and All the Madmen are essential steps along Bowie’s path 👍
For sure... and I would like to add After All
Width of a Circle....one of my favorites. Awesome in the movie, "Ziggy Stardust, The Motion Picture". A great Ronson moment. And speaking of the Ziggy movie, another favorite on there is "My Death", a concert addition as it doesn't appear on any albums (in the day).
And you're correct in that Crowley wrote the Satanic Bible. And just another tidbit......supposably, Robert Plant wrote "Stairway to Heaven" in the former residence of Crowley in a single night (lyrics, anyway).
@@gog583 Actually Plant wrote the lyrics at Headley Grange, where Zep recorded their 4th lp. An old house yes, but nothing to do with Crowley. However Jimmy Page did own Crowley’s old home, Boleskine House, on the shore of Loch Ness, though he rarely stayed there and it became derelict.
@@mickcapewell6369 Thanks for the correction. That was the story I always heard. Great tale by candlelight I guess. lol
Width of A Circle....has to be the David Live version. THAT is one of my favorite Bowie recordings.
One of the greatest songs about depression ever written, expressed through cerebral, existential thesis - Bowie coming from a family history of severe mental illness. Ahead of it's time. One of Bowie's most beautiful choruses. A big influence on The Cure, Robert Smith would cover the song live with Bowie in 1997 for db's _50th Birthday Concert._
And this is the music my sister bought when i was 10 yrs old.....i would listen to this all the time......MEGA.......
Love the chorus. I love melancholy music. Bought this at age 14 in 1973.
Incredible song that gets little attention. You can dive deeper into the lyrics, the Golden Dawn was a magical group Crowley was associated with for a time before founding his own Thelema. What I like most about the baby boomers was that internal search for answers and identity. Bowie had an appetite for knowledge and experience.
Bardo is the state of existence intermediate between two lives on earth. "According to Tibetan tradition, after death and before one's next birth, when one's consciousness is not connected with a physical body, one experiences a variety of phenomena."
The Tibetan concept of purgatory.
ETA: Also, "Garbo" was the code name for Juan Pujol García. He was a WWII British double agent.
One of my favourite Bowie tracks. A blend of great songwriting, arrangement and performance. My only gripe is that it's too short: I could happily listen to a mix twice that length.
Recorded over 50 years ago and still sounds fantastic!
I think the explanation that seems more plausible to me is that this song was written from the perspective of Hitler if Hitler started to doubt himself before his death, which I dont think he did. Hitler allowed himself to do all those attrocities because he viewed himself as destiny, an instrument of history which the lyrics allude to a few times. Dont believe in yourself, dont decieve with belief is probably Bowie warning against this kind of thinking, where one is so unchanged in their beliefs that they make others follow their delusions with frightfull consequences. The lyrics dont mention Hitler directly, but they mention Himmler who carried Hitlers plan while mixing them with occultism, Churchill - one of his main enemies, Garbo - a spy who worked against Nazi Germany and assasination attempts. Bowie described himself several times that he is a very indecisive person when it comes to stuff like personal identity, so he probably found this kind of mentality both terrifying and fascinating.
Always one of my favorite Bowie songs - he never played this live until late in his career….someone must have reminded him of how strong this song was. There is a live version at the 10 Spot (NJ?) that is very enjoyable. Love your Bowie journey!
There was a collab between The Cure and Bowie on this song.... it was epic!
Probably my favorite Bowie song - melody, mood, lyrics, all in place.
Bowie is relating an existential crisis very common among young people. So many get to their late teens and early college years and read philosophical works from people like Nietsche and others or they find simpler works like Ayn Rand's miserable pulp novels and begin to question their lives and their prevailing society. We are witnessing how these personal crises and societal disquiet can lead so many to absurd conspiracy theories and fragmented, incoherent worldviews. Quicksand shows the origins of these crises. Bowie's lyrics reveal how dangerous these ideas can be and, sadly, offers little hope for positive resolution overall. Today's social and political climate in the US shows that this lack of optimism is well-grounded.
Like the XTC tee shirt. I'm about 12 miles away (and have walked around/on) the Uffington White Horse. Cool song of course.: David was the major voice of my teens and I still love his songs.
I really like the alternative acoustic version of this brilliant piece! So intimate, like he's right in the room with you - just David and his guitar.
This song is one of the best at depicting world weariness and resignation.
Definitely!
dont believe in your self, dont decieve with belief! such a beautiful voice is like a cave with diamonds and pure gems!
Dude, I was 14 when I bought this album. It had just been released. I have now had a 50 year love affair with Hunky Dory and David Bowie. To me, as a young artist then, and an old artist now, Quicksand has always been so metaphorical too me. As one who watches, this song represents just how difficult it is to take in everything your eyes are seeing and your brain is processing.
I enjoy your Bowie reactions, so shut up.
Thank you Corrine :)
That is the age when I won this album at a raffle.....that started me on my Bowie journey. Always loved this.
Hi Justin. I think you summed it up well. It's a "Deep Cut" both musically and lyrically. I agree about Ronson's contribution. His string arrangements are excellent and his guitar on this track is sublime! I saw David perform this live in 2004 on his "Reality" tour. It was fantastic to hear him perform it, he had an excellent band as always and with Mike Garson on keyboards they did a first rate performance that night. I never expected to hear this live. It's a cherished memory! 😊
My favorite Bowie song from my favorite Bowie album!
Perfect in every way. His masterpiece? Maybe. I always say Quicksand or Win, when talking about my favourite Bowie song (which, outside of my own head, must have happened, oh, at least twice).
Thank you for giving love to Win. It is gorgeous.
Well, you certainly are a Bowie fan...great reaction.......Win and Right rule.
Hey. Really liked your analysis. To me, this song has the most beautiful chorus ever. Bowie was such a talented composer...the chord progression is amazing...from F#m to B7 then to E and Em Bm....and so on.... beautiful. Cheers
Bowie had his mystical magical side. The references here to Aleister Crowley and the Golden Dawn are blatant. In the song "The Thin White Duke" he sings "Here are we, one magical movement from Kether to Malkuth".
Kether is at the top of what is known as "The Tree of Life", part of Kabbalah. Malkuth is all that we see as manifestation around us, sitting at the bottom of the Tree of Life. From whatever source is, all the way down into this manifestation we live.
So Bowie sings: "There are you, you drive like a demon from station to station."
The stations are the Sephiroth, of which Kether and Malkuth are but two. These actually correlate to the Tarot as well. And there are paths between the Sephiroth.
We live. We learn. We incarnate, Kether to Malkuth, and then seek return to the source, Malkuth to Kether. And there are many paths there through the Tree of Life.
Bowie may not have been a practitioner, but his intellect took in much.
Blessings.
In the line 'just a mortal with potential of a superman I'm living awe" he's talking about himself he knew at that point he was awesome
"Quicksand" and "Life On Mars?" are the two highlights of the album, for me. Gorgeous and moving, with poetic lyrics whose meaning is a mystery to me. Aren't you glad that you decided to react to this album?!
Glad indeed :)
Great lyrical examination. The song reminds me of an old German Cabaret style musical confessional in the midst of a play. Garbo, first name Greta, is a very famous Swedish actress of silents and sound films of the '30s. She retired fairly young not enjoying the Hollywood movie machine.
Bardo is a stage inbetween the former life and next life, lasting 49 days. In the Tibetan Book of Death one is taught how to act in bardo state. One can for example experience monsters attacking, but according to the Book and teachings one should not be afraid but to understand that one is in dreamlike bardo and those monsters are just hallucinations and projections, not real, like ropes taken as frightful snakes. I think the nicest approach and joke is the question "What if this life one is living right now is just a state of bardo?"
I think Bowie means, that if you are mixed up, "all"is not "lost"at all, but you will have possibility to understand in the bardo state of mind, after "death".
@@Katehowe3010 I have not read Seth books, but I will write down this info. But I have some twenty odd years ago spent a lot of time with Tibetan Book of Death, and it has influenced me a lot (lengthy and important foreword by Chogyam Trungpa). I think that the consept of bardo is very important one. I think that in this song the chorus both musically and lyrics wise gives one kind of relief and understanding (by "death") beautifully, Bowie was such a huge artist. "Hunky Dory" has always felt to me, decades after decades, as fresh and new and exciting experience to listen.
Happy Birthday Bowie!
🎂
Bowie's highlighting the difference between believing in your (self-conscious) self and actual Self-knowledge, which is fundamentally different, pointing out that true Self-knowledge (not just believing) comes only with the (psychological) death of that self-conscious self. Crowley was a member of The Hermetic Order Of The Golden Dawn.
Great video JP. I have heard a lot of David Bowie songs, but I have actually never heard this one. Really liked this one, and I can't wait for more. If you are scrolling through the comments, I hope you have a great day. You Are Awesome!
Great tune. Enjoy how you go deep through LPs.
Probably my fave song from this album. It was never one he performed on stage in those early years, but he actually reached back into his catalog & added it to his touring lineup in the late 90's. I believe it was some members of his band that encouraged him to revisit several of his earlier songs.
And yes Justin, it is about him having a bit of an existential crisis. The was also a component of mental instability that ran in his mother's side of the family. His half brother Terry, who Bowie idolized, suffered from schizophrenia, and was in & out of a mental hospital for many years before committing suicide in the mid 80's. The younger Bowie was always living with the fear of it being his fate as well & much of that played into him trying to find his own way artistically.
This is one of his early songs that I still go back & listen to.
Beautiful melody, complex and brilliant lyrics, intense performance, and great production. A truly great song.
Nostalgy time : I remember walking through Paris with this song in my old walkman, with the sound set to max so I couldn't hear anything from around. Every second, it felt like I was in a movie...
There's so many layers to this song, one of my favorites, I have an attraction / repulsion to this song. One lyric was a reference to Greata Garbo. This song plays heavy with the Aryan myth that was built up in the 1930s. A lot to unpack here.
my favourite Bowie album
I can relate! Was terrified of quicksand after watching the movie "Lawrence of Arabia" on TV. Unfortunately, it does exist, for real, especially in river estuaries. I do love this song, and thank you for posting it.
yeah, same. and what a sad scene it is. 😭
this song overwhelms me
Garbo refers to Greta Garbo, an actress born in Sweden, she was in movies mainly in the 1930s. She was known as a meloncholy figure. Nice review, Bowie makes some interesting references.
It's more likely a reference to Juan Pujol codenamed "Garbo" who was a British double-agent during WW2, hence the lyrics: "I'm the twisted name on Garbo's eyes, living proof of Churchill's lies".
@@GunnedPoison676 with apparent references to Garbo and Bardot, the listener is led up the wrong path. The Pujol tale is quite something, and Bardot actually seems to be the Tibetan Bardo - much more intriguing. Thanks.
GunnedPoison676 is correct in saying that "Garbo" refers to Garbo the British double agent and George Davis-Stewart is correct in saying "Bardo" refers to the Tibetan Bardo.
Just realized how the "Ah Ah Ah"s after "Knowledge comes with death's release" remind me of the "Ah Ah"s in Blackstar. I suspect that's no accident.
Garbo is also who’s photo David’s cover photo is based on. (“I vant to be alone” was part of her myth - she retired from movies ‘early’ and lived in NYC in seclusion the rest of her long life. The next “bardo” refers to the space/time we exist between lives (if we believe in reincarnation. I hear a lot of Buddhist influence as well as the Aleister Crowley/Golden Dawn/total goal stuff.
Juan Pujol García=Garbo
Great review, as always. Love the XTC T-shirt.
Yes, Justin, quicksand, as portrayed in adventure movies and TV was almost always fatal if the protagonist wasn't nearby to fish you out with a conveniently available branch just long enough to save you... Scared the hell outta me as a kid! It must have scarred us because our own play-adventures often included a pit of quicksand on the way to save the princess... lol
Lol exactly!
There's a comedian (wish I could remember who) who has a bit: "Remember all those cartoons and old westerns where someone falls into quicksand, and they struggle to get them out? Turns out quicksand isn't nearly the problem in our lives they were making out that it would be!" Or, words to that effect!
But, I guess depicting life's foibles like car repair and checkbook balancing would not a riveting story make!
Belief is fleeting. Knowledge can be a burden.
great great song!! man bowie was on a roll here...a roll that lasted many years! this is a favorite of mine from this album (but then the whole album is fantastic). thank you for always pointing out Ronson's contributions. I LOVE the strings on this...and it's amazing to me that this album/song are Ronson's first attempt at string arrangements. not too shabby. I hope someday you will continue on and check out more ronson...some of his solo stuff and his stellar work with Ian Hunter and many others. in the meantime....loving these bowie album reactions!
That chorus at the end, though ❤️
Definatly a forgotten gem
Bowies 70s catalogue is remarkable...
If i had to pick my favourite.
It would be low.
And i may be in the minority...
Thanks jp
Great reaction and analysis as always.
Ty Dan!
BEAUTIFUL
Oh gosh, this song!
David had obviously been down a rabbit hole of deep reading before he wrote the lyrics of this song
Hunky dory is the Best LP of David Jones Bowie, by far !!! TKO
Mick Ronson played on 3 Artists Signature Album’s
Bowie Ziggy Stardust
Lou Reed Transformer
Ian Hunter Schizophrenic
Played on Bob Dylan’s Legendary Rolling Thunder Review Tour
Came in and Saved John Cougar’s American Fool Album by Saving the Song “Jack & Diane” and a few others. The List goes on & on
Check Out Lou Reed’s Song
“Perfect Day” on the Transformer Album. With Lou’s Vocals and Ronson on Piano & Strings It’s Perfect
The fact you're wearing an XTC shirt was good enough. But great video! Long live Bowie! (And XTC)
My favourite song on the album. A gem saddly underrated by a lot but loved by Bowie. He started to play the song live in the late 90's accompanied by Gail Ann Dorsey and one with Robert Smith of The Cure. Beautiful.
Such a classy album and a beautiful song, definitely a highlight
What strikes me aside from the lyrics and instrumentation is how David uses his vocal delivery and if you listen to it again, he changes his sound , sometimes soft and bare, other times sharper and powerful, and a few passages layered and ethereal, he literally gives us the "kitchen sink" of vocal delivery and it makes for a complex track. The instrumentation is somewhat limited, guitar, piano and drums, little else and as you stated Ronson and Wakeman demonstrate their brilliance in what they bring. You mention Ronson and his contribution was solid but I loved Wakeman's piano, it is delicate and elegant in places and provides an efficiently limited fill just when the piece needs it for the continuity of the song. Very nice track indeed.
In an album full of songs that I love ("Queen Bitch" is the one that made me a Bowie fan), this is the one song I'm most intrigued by. This is my favorite Bowie album, mainly because this is where Bowie decided that songwriting is what Bowie did best.
Two things: Aleister Crowley was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, referenced here by Bowie, and a notorious occultist. I don't believe he was a Satanist of any form. I might be wrong, though. Himmler was also an occultist, and he was interested in restoring old Germanic pagan cults since he disliked the the Jewish origins of Christianity. There's also that mention of a potential "superman", which is a nod to Nietzsche's "overman", a notion Nazis were obviously enamored with. Also, the Bardot at the end refers to Brigitte Bardot, who was just about the hottest actress in the universe in the 1960s. Greta Garbo, a stunningly beautiful Swedish actress from the 20s through the late 40s, had really striking eyes.
I too used to think that Bowie was referencing Greta Garbo. In fact, Garbo is a reference to a codename for a WW2 spy who helped Chrurchill decieve the nazis over the d-day normandy landings - hence the line "living proof of Churchill's lies".
@@emptysquares6863 That sounds interesting. Was Juan Pujol's identity enough of a common knowledge in 1971 for a pop singer to be name checking him?
@@Azabaxe80 Bowie was on record saying that the reference was about Garcia and is thought to have read the book 'The Counterfeit Spy' which was published in Jan 71 (Hunky Dory was recorded in June the same year).
@@emptysquares6863 Cool! Thanx.
This is one of my favs. The Bardos in Tibetan Buddhism are the stages of death and the afterlife: "I can tell you all about it on the next Bardo" then refers to the afterlife after death's release. Sinking in the Quicksand indeed.
This is great to know, I always thought he was referring to the next Bridgette Bardot film. She was very popular in Bowie's time.
@@frugalseverin2282 Well, the double meaning homonym may have been intentional, too. Who wouldn't love to spend time with Bridgette?
Interesting ditty. Did enjoy it as a first listen. It’s definitely different from my favorite albums. Instrumentally very nice and pleasant. We all search for our directional belief, sometimes it veers drastically from your friends and family. I just chose to rename it and gradually that became too much work for me and just came back to something I grew up with.
With carve outs and additional things.
I enjoy the song and comments that help go deeper in the quicksand, then wiggle one leg up and then the next till I’m free.
Listened to some Monkees, UB40, L.A.Woman, for Jim, Astro & Brian Travers, and Michael. They are missed.
Peace and Q&A Music
Great analysis JP.
Thanks Hi!
great Bowie track, love it.
A beautiful and very deep song, with allusions to many belief systems. The song is harmonically very complex for a "pop" song, almost jazz chord sequences in parts, without sounding in any way jazzy. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin was obsessed by Aleister Crowley, had a collection of Crowley artefacts and even bought his mansion.
Just a mortal with potential of a superman I'm living awe is the correct lyric and 'BARDO' was a code name for a WW2 code breaker operation they were using to read coded messages of the nazis
Epic track!!!
Always thought he sang "Knowledge comes with debt relief"
The next circle out from the Wheel of Life is called Bardo. I think it depicts spirits being pulled down by demons.
I USED TO HAVE THAT SHIRT
Spot on bro!
Greta Garbo, "Lola" of the old Blue Angel movie.
"Lola Lola look for love, Lola never find it,
"But if Lola find her love, Lola _never mind _*_it!"_*
Not my favourite singer-songwriter, but this one is intriguing, with an imaginative arrangement. Thanks, JP.
Lovely shirt, JP!
Ty :D
His little existential crisis. LOL. Maybe he's got angst in his pants. I'm not a huge Bowie fan, but these lyrics are very strong. Thanks.
don't think it's possible or imaginable, that anyone could hate you..or Bowie and his music..
We were led to believe that quicksand was going to be a far bigger problem than it really is.
Right!? :D
Some think it's a dark song but I don't think it is. For what I understand, it's just that Bowie tries to get straight to the point without bothering with existentialist thought, religious mysticism, or some dogma of any kind, but in the end he's always lost in it. his thoughts somewhat torn by an ideal and the desire to be detached by it and live his life in the present without bothering too much, but after all, Its just complexity of human kind. I even find the music and the arrangements luminous suggesting a glimmer of hope. It's very contrasted.
The album cover is Bowie recreating the classic Greta Garbo look.
Six degrees of separation? Bowie's first few albums borrowed heavily from the stylings of a singer named Anthony Newley, who often collaborated with Leslie Bricusse, a popular British lyricist/composer. My mom was personal assistant to Leslie from 1975 to 2020.
Thats pretty cool Dennis!
@@JustJP - I just did the math - it's 3 degrees. In her job my mom got to know Rod Stewart, Elton John and a million others but she never mentioned David. All Brits.
I really enjoyed his '97ish tour (Ballrooms/small theaters) th-cam.com/video/ZDO456fG8n4/w-d-xo.html when Bowie opened up the concert, solo, just strumming his guitar - the rest of the band slowly joins in. The above link is from the inaugural concert of MTV's "10 Spot" - a short-lived, but excellent program. For the inaugural episode, the Rolling Stones were supposed to play. However, Jagger, I think, fell ill with the flu and MTV had to quickly find a replacement. Bowie, who was in the middle of his tour, was in the New York area - obviously he said yes!
While not on Hunky Dory, I would check out Conversation Piece (the original mix). Very good song that questions one's life at a low point.
The song is about Bowies "struggle" with Satanism, Crowley was a Satanist, If your a Satanist you may have every reason to be frightened by the total goal. This Darkness was with him even up to his last Album, Brilliant !
you do v interesting music. I just now checked your Neu- reaction. It looks like you enjoy exploring away from the beaten track.
I'd lik to make a suggestion. Beck's Bolero (1966)
This is a track put out by a spontaneous collection of musicians that turned out to be the prototype for Led Zeppelin. In this case led by Jeff Beck including Keith Moon , (from the future Led Zep) Jim@y Page and John Paul Jones
Dinosaur Jr did a really good version of this, I think. And they used the acoustic guitar part from another song on this album, "Andy Warhol", at the beginning.
I was just looking at his albums again and I think the most consistent are Aladdin Sane and Young Americans.
I like your T shirt Justin, the Uffington White Horse. A giant horse carved into chalk near Oxford. You should google the other famous English chalk carving, the Cerne Abbas Giant 😄
You were wanting a "rise" out of the Cerne Abbas, you got one, all the way from Brisbane, Australia 🤣
'knowledge comes with deaths release' a nice thought, but is it really true, I doubt it, a beautiful song though, but who really cares about knowledge when you you can't cuddle with a beautiful woman
One of DB's most gorgeous tunes. Also, one of DB's most disturbing and nihilistic ones. I'm torn, but ultimately find it too depressing in some way. If anyone's interested - and if you're a Bowie fan, of course you are! - here's the demo to Quicksand.
th-cam.com/video/Im_04nWapnA/w-d-xo.html
I never found it depressing at all, though I can see how people easily could if they aren't familiar with philosophical / religious traditions that focus on avoiding getting too wrapped up in one's own ego. Basically, don't be so self-centered and avoid the sin of needing to be right.
somebody has probably already touched on this, but i feel compelled, and don't want to read all the comments. Aleister Crowley was not the founder of The Church Of Satan. That would be Anton Lavey. Crowley died in 1947. The Church Of Satan was not founded until 1966. Also, Crowley was British and Lavey was American. Crowley was certainly an influence on Lavey, but they ultimatley had very different philosophical and spiritual beliefs. Not going into that further here, as that is a very involved subject, but easily searchable. But Crowley was famously kicked out of the British hermetic order The Golden Dawn (referenced in this song), then founded the magical order Argentium Astrum, developed the religion/magickal discipline known as Thelema, and later became involved with the power structure, teachings and workings of the magickal order OTO. anyway, much more to say, but as I said, it's all easily extensively researchable
Interesting how the song's lyrics all point to a dark fate for the singer. I was hoping for the uplifting melody part, with the strings and piano, to have a saving grace to it. So that the tragic, dark side of the song has an upbeat, optimistic counterpart. It reminds me of the Flintstones cartoon bit where Fred is feeling hopelessly melancholy, and the theme song takes the tone of a funeral dirge. But then someone (Wilma or Barney) cheers Fred up, and theme music switches to an upbeat sparkly ditty. And with a Flintstones cartoon, there was a probably an incident where Fred was sinking in quicksand.
When you get to 'Queen Bitch' please also give a listen to this performance by Bowie with Lou Read at David's 50th birthday bash as it was a tribute to the Velvet Underground. There's also a video of David talking to a reporter about how musically VU were more influential than The Beatles, not an opinion many would agree with.
th-cam.com/video/tbxp1hC8vts/w-d-xo.html
Have you hit Song for Andy Warhol yet? Great song off that album.
Hi amazing bowie song , as a bowie fan in the UK I have always thought this song was about the last days of Hitler ?
Cant beat the 12 string on this album;. he's no virtuoso but makes the instrument sound amazing
'Hemetic Order of 'The Golden Dawn'', see Alistair Crowley .. also Jimmy Page etc., I don't think Bowie was ever actually a member.
I think you mean Ronson's arrangement and not his songwriting. Bowie is definitely the composer though Ronson did a lot of work on the arrangements
Suggestion, you will want to listen to "Fill Your Heart / Andy Warhol" as a pair as they segway.
Will do! :D
An awesome song, but I prefer the alternate take off the same album.
No, Aleister Crowley founded Thelema. Just because he called himself The Wickedest Man in the World doesn't mean a necessary connection to the idea of Satan. Please excuse me for not getting into the specifics of Crowley's mysticism but would take at least a monograph.