This week the music world (and indeed the rest of it) was made a little sadder with the death of a musical icon, as David Bowie’s passed on.
Whether you grew up with his music or was fed it in dribs and drabs, there’s a good chance you remember it fondly.
In fact, this week, GadgetGuy’s writers pretty much have Bowie on repeat, and if you’re struggling to work out what to listen to, here are a few options depending on what music services you subscribe to, if any.
Apple Music
It’s probably no big shock that “David Bowie” is a trending search on Apple Music today, and a quick scan reveals six albums to start with, four of which are based on a “best of” formula, while the two outside of this include the highly rated “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars”, as well as the just literally released “Blackstar”.
If you’re a Bowie fan, we’d start with those two, and then pick and choose the albums from there, but if you’re not, either start with those best of titles, or head to one of the several playlists the search pops up.
Alternatively, if you’re keen to see what Bowie did when he worked with other people, Apple’s “Guest List” for David Bowie is a a solid 14 song and 59 minute listing of songs you may not know Bowie worked on.
All it needs is that crazy Mick Jagger and David Bowie video for “Dancing In The Street”. It has the song, but not the video, though we’re sure you can always take a look at YouTube if needed.
Spotify
It hasn’t taken long for Spotify to get a playlist up and online, and the Spotify page this morning even offers its condolences, with a simple “Rest in Peace, David Bowie” across the front.
Spotify’s “This Is: David Bowie” will give you the best tracks from Bowie, with 50 songs spanning almost four hours, which you can access through the embedded Spotify playlist below (though you’ll have to login to see and play it).
Google Play
Google’s editorial team hasn’t quite gotten with the program, and as such, there’s no Google-specific playlist on a front page, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out.
A search will reveal quite a few albums if you’re a Google Play subscriber, including that very latest “Blackstar”, but if you’re keen to go all Bowie all day at work, some of the Google Play subscribers should have you worked out.
For instance there’s a listing of 27 of the 30 essential songs Rolling Stone recommends, with the remaining three missing likely due to licensing issues in Australia, and that’s over at a two hour playlist you can easily find.
But for an all day 15 hour playback of Bowie, the “David Bowie Favourite Albums” playlist has it sorted, just make sure to switch it on random because otherwise you’ll be listening to the albums as they were released, track after track.
Alternatively, start a radio station with more than just Bowie, starting with the sound of “Heroes”.
Guvera
The Aussie-owned free service that is Guvera doesn’t have any messages on its page for Bowie, but it does have a 72 track retrospective, offering anyone with either a Guvera account or without — because Guvera is ad supported but free — the opportunity to listen to several hours of Bowie easily.
HD Tracks (high-resolution audio)
We don’t normally cover music that you can’t stream, but that’s what is in this section, with ten 24-bit albums available over at HD Tracks covering albums both early in his career, as well as later.
In fact, this set of albums makes for a nice change in the high-res audio shopping world, because while Aussies are normally barred from buying albums from various catalogues, this is one selection that isn’t stopping anyone from out part of the world. How nice.
Depending on high quality you like your music, you’ll find 48kHz audio all the way up to the granddaddy we prefer, operating at 192kHz, with even one found in DSD, ideal if you’re an audio purist.
You will need a compatible device and either a decent pair of headphones, speakers, or an amp to play a high-res audio file, though phones like the LG G3 and G4, Samsung Galaxy S6 and Note 5, and Sony’s Xperia Z3 and Z5 phones should all be fine, just make sure you have a decent pair of headphones.
Just remember that HD Tracks sells in US dollars, and our Aussie dollar is beginning to struggle, so remember to factor in currency conversions before going a little crazy.
…something a little different
If you’re a big Bowie fan, you’ll probably already be aware of the impact he made on the music world, and even in the movie world, and if you were watching Jim Henson’s “Labyrinth” last night, we won’t hold it against you, because we were, too.
But did you know David Bowie was also in a video game?
Before game designer and director David Cage went on to make “Fahrenheit”, “Heavy Rain”, and “Beyond: Two Souls”, he dabbled in an adventure title that even starred Bowie, complete with some music, as you can see below.
