Happy Belated Valentine's Day from David Bowie and Rock Turtleneck

Last March, when David Bowie stunned his fans by releasing The Next Day, perhaps the greatest non-Elvis musical comeback of all time, with no advance press or interview junket. It may have been the best record of 2013, and I immediately gravitated to the track "Valentine's Day." 

Its floating melody and Mick Ronsonesque guitar parts took me right back to the days of Hunky Dory and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars -- days I didn't experience firsthand, only many years later as a Bowie connoisseur. 

Remarkably, "Valentine's Day" would have been among the better tracks on either of those records, which is high praise indeed.

I remember thinking at the time, "I must feature "Valentine's Day" on Rock Turtleneck next Valentine's Day."  But as with so many thing in life, I forgot until it was too late. Or was it? 

Herewith, David Bowie's melodic, urgent "Valentine's Day."

The Next Day is a brilliant album that touches on many of The Thin White Duke's sounds over the year, and creates some new ones, too. 

While many sounds recall Bowie's early 70s triumphs or the dark genius of his "Berlin Trilogy," (Low/"Heroes"/Lodger), the first single "Where Are We Now," has a stateliness and wisdom that places it solidly in the year A.D. 2013. 



One thing about this record that has always fascinated me is the cover  - basically a white Post-It slapped over his iconic "Heroes" LP cover. What does it mean? My guess is that no one buys records anymore, so why even bother coming up with a cover concept. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below or on Facebook.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Buy David Bowie's The Next Day on iTunes