It is simply amazing how well certain artists are able to cross musical boundaries and genres without losing quality or artistic integrity. In the same sense, it is no surprise that others fail horribly while attempting similar metamorphoses to stay current with changing trends. Perhaps most notably in recent years, the trend frequently followed is that of venturing into "Electronica."
Ah yes, "Electronica," the buzz word of today. The confines of this "genre" (has it truly reached genre status?) are fuzzy at times. But many attempts have been made to incorporate characteristics of Electronica into artists music whose prior repetoire consisted mostly of more organic based music (ie: live instrumentation). Two minor examples come to mind as non-successes. A few years back, Love & Rockets "_Hot Trip to Heaven was, in my opinion, a horrid attempt at a techno-esque album. Around the same period of time, Peter Murphy used a techno producer for his album Cascade; a better album than Heaven, but still not commercially successful.
Now, the time is right for artists to reap the rewards of the ever-encroaching rage of Electronica. U2s Discotheque is a fine (yes, I know, this is up to debate) example of a smooth crossover. Smashing Pumpkins' "Eye" is a great representation of Billy Corgan's ability to work with a sound completely different from that found on Siamese Dream. Conceivably, the most tastefully executed crossover is David Bowie.
Bowie's 1995 release, Outside basically blew my ass out of the water. Dense layering of sounds, rich textures, fantastic dynamics, and grim moodiness permeated the album. That, along with the futuristic sci-fi murder story running through the songs, made the electronic based album extremely Bowie. Traditional Bowie theatrics blended with the modern conveniences of technology made the transcension of styles very tasteful and convincing.
Earthling represents another step into the realm of Electronica. However, Earthling, in some ways, surpasses Outside in that the album touches a greater variety of sub-genres within electronic music.
A few years ago, I never would have been able to guess that Bowie would have had jungle beats underlying his songs in 1997. Lead-off single, "Little Wonder" is clearly quirky enough to be classic Bowie. But the herky-jerky feel for the song combined with a jungle beat and the contrastly in-your-face bridge/chorus make "Little Wonder" a modern-day Bowie masterpiece.
Now imagine a neurotic, obsessive-compulsive barbershop quarter being backed by a groovin dance beat. If you could, you would have the opening to "Looking for Satellites." If everything, except for guitar and vocals, were removed from "Battle for Britain" you WOULD have a classic Bowie song. It's as if he simply continued to write in the old vein and then re-orchestrated to an extreme. As a bonus, there is an extremely cool reverse-effect break toward the end of the track.
"Seven Years in Tibet" is like a bad mix of old-school R&B, low budget horror film score, and Nine Inch Nails "Closer." You've got the slightly cheesy horns, the beat from "Closer," and the irritating trebly organ from old-school horror flicks. Immediately following on the album is "Dead Man Walking." It honestly sounds like Bowie locked himself in a small room with a large collection of KMFDM CDs for a month!
Basically, through the nine tracks comprising Earthling, Bowie appears as if he has multiple-personalities with similar interests. How's that for a selling point, eh? At any rate, in a time where the Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, and Underworld are all gaining recognition, it is wonderful to see that the "old-timers" can more than adequately keep up.
