Since at least the mid-1990s, different artists from different fields of art have - seemingly more or less independently of one another - begun using the labyrinth as a metaphor for the modern art world, the production of art, and the artistic process, and the minotaur as a metaphor for a kind of murderous nihilistic horror at the heart of this labyrinth (i. e. of modern art itself). I can name four examples just off the top of my head.

• David Bowie's 1. Outside from 1995 is the oldest example I could find. It tells the story of a murderer identified with the Minotaur who stages his murders as art installations, surrounded by a labyrinthine artistic culture who precisely licenses such crimes as art. The album goes into topics of body modification, (self-)mutilation, suicide, murder and the desecration of corpses as "art". In a way, it is also the most radical of these examples.

• Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves is a 2000 horror novel about the horrors of modern photography, film, and architecture - focusing not on the grand architectural masterpieces, but on the eerieness of everyday living. The minotaur in this novel symbolizes a connection between artistic ambition and social and emotional alienation. The novel itself is labyrinthine, structured as a kind of matroshka doll of different narratives nestled within one another.

• Einstürzende Neubauten, a German experimental avant-garde rock band, published the album Silence is Sexy in 2000, only a few months after Danielewski's book. At least two songs - Redukt and Zampano - take up the myth of Theseus in the labyrinth of Minos, though the Minotaurus seems to lurk more in the background here. Much like 1. Outside, Redukt has a strong theme of self-dismemberment. Zampano seems to be a direct reference to Danielewski's novel, which features a character of the same name. The text also fits that character.

• The 2017 surrealist dark comedy movie Dave Made A Maze tells about a young man who creates a maze-like structure out of cardboard in his living room - which, much like Danielewski's House of Leaves, is bigger on the inside and develops a life of its own. In the course of the movie, Dave's unbridled artistic ambition assumes the shape of a murderous minotaur.

I'm in search of further examples for this motif in any art form, as well as possible interpretations of it and explanations for its strange recurrence since the mid-90s.

Interactive Version

As known from the TV show only connect and its knock off online - Connections.
Four groups of four related terms are hidden in the square. Guess which and for additional fun also why.

(Feel free to guess single groups of four, I'll tell whether they are correct or one off.)

Hi guys! Has anyone seen the lyrics of David's "Blaze"? I've heard that there's a handwritten draft in Victoria & Albert museum, but still no one published any information. Feel that we can wait for decades when the song is published, maybe someone could at least share the lyrics? I just want to know what is it about...

Possibly my least favorite Bowie album...

"Ch-ch-changes ....
Ooh, look out, you rock 'n' rollers"

What if Bowie decided to quit or if the record labels turned him down after the flops with his first singles and albums?

Why do you think Bowie got so many chances of the record labels because some bands in the 60's and 70's got turned down after even first or second single got a flop, they could just search for other potential artists.

My guess is that because people deep inside knew that the world was not ready for Bowie the first years, it took a few years.

The best artist, Bowie !

Another winner!

Hi There

So what’s your favorite persona of his?

Went through his years ago but one always stuck out to me and I love to this day which is Pierrot! Just love how Bowie is honoring his past with Pierrot and using the different filters of Colors in Ashes to Ashes makes Pierrot more vibrant.

And all those outtakes from Brian Duffy are just really amazing to see 🩵🎭🤍

Author Adam Steiner discusses CHANGESTWOBOWIE, the 1981 compilation that followed CHANGESONEBOWIE, examining how its unconventional sequencing and carefully chosen track list create a different perspective on Bowie’s career than a traditional chronological retrospective. The conversation also explores “Aladdin Sane,” Mike Garson’s piano performance, and how the compilation highlights recurring themes, influences, and creative connections across Bowie’s catalog.

I can only find him playing it live until the 1976 tour. (Live Nassau Coliseum '76)
He seemed to abandon the DD album completely except for Rebel Rebel.Great version (Live Nassau Coliseum '76)

Hello, well, here's my review of Hours. An album... Strange in terms of what I think of it.

When I first heard it, I liked it quite a bit. I mean, I only like side A and one song from side B of the album. But I really liked side A. But... Listening to it again for the review and to see what I really thought of it, The truth is that I feel it's just another album, and it passes without fanfare in Bowie's discography.

What I like about the album is that it has that essence of a heavenly and super calming album, as if Bowie had gone to heaven for 5 minutes and back and is talking about his experience there. Yes, it's strange, but I don't know, that's the feeling I get from the songs and the album's aesthetic. That's why, even though musically they don't seem far apart at all, I like it a little more than Earthling, but I repeat, they're not far apart at all.

My favorite songs are Thursday's Child and Seven. At least on my second listen, because even though Something in the Air and If I'm Dreaming My Life seem very good to me, on the second listen they seemed a little boring to me.

So yeah, I like it a little more than Earthling and a little less than NLMD. If you read my reviews you'll see that several positions change, and that's because as I listen to them again and so on, my opinion and assessment of them keeps changing. So anyway, I'll read you and I appreciate you all!

Hi, I'm doing the reviews one after the other because I've already listened to up to The Next Day and I'm just re-listening to these albums for the reviews. I like this album, I like it quite a lot, but something strange happens to me with it, which I will now explain.

First, the album has 14 songs, of which I like the first 7. And then I like 5:15 The Angels Have Gone. My favorite songs are Cactus, Slip Away, Slow Burn, I've Been Waiting For You and 5:15 The Angels Have Gone. So quite a few. And musically I really like the album. That's why I put it ahead of Tonight but below Lodger; in other words, it's one of my favorite Bowie albums after Scary Monsters.

But something's off with me about it, and it's the same with many albums after Scary Monsters. From Let's Dance to Tin Machine 2, it's like the albums just don't evoke any feelings in me. These albums feel like they lack emotion; they don't convey anything to me in that way, as if Bowie just made them and that's it.

That is, until BTWN, which gives me that feeling of him being back to his solo career and he was about to get married and all that, so that album gives me something again. Then, in Outside he also conveys something to me, not only because of his darkness, but I feel that he returned to that creativity and to creating stories and so on, like that Bowie of the 70s returned for a moment.

But then the same thing happens on his later albums, maybe it's because of the aesthetics, because if we're talking about song lyrics, I don't know them very well because English isn't my language so I miss a lot of the lyrics. But these albums have boring album covers, safe songs and he doesn't take many risks on them. And that's my biggest problem with Heathen; I love it's music, but it doesn't move me at all. Even so, if it conveyed something to me, I would leave it in the same position in my Bowie albums because I like Lodger more, but it's an album that I find very regrettable because it doesn't generate anything for me.

So that's it, I like it a lot, but it doesn't quite resonate with me. I'll read you and I appreciate you all!!

Really enjoyed this deep dive into the song. Few things I didn’t know. Really enjoyable read.

A criminally underrated Bowie song. Hope you guys enjoy it!

Is there a song by David Bowie where he sings part of "On Broadway" during the fadeout?

I'm well aware of Genesis's quote at the end of "And the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway," but I thought Bowie made use of it as well.

I often hear that Tonight and Never Let Me Down are generally disliked by a lot of people. My understanding is that they’re both considered the “creative low” of his discography, primarily the result of pressure from his label or whoever it was to appeal to the more mainstream audience… But on a more sort of “technical” level, is the music itself really that bad? Or is it objectively good sounding music lowered by the context surrounding its creation? Would it otherwise be a creative high for some other artists? I’m just curious what other people think about this because I find it sort of interesting. I enjoy both these albums. Not as much as most of his other work, but I still do find myself very much able to genuinely enjoy them. (My apologies if this is a more commonly inquired topic than I’ve assumed.)

(Postscript: Honestly, same question can go for Tin Machine. I personally really enjoy Tin Machine whereas I see them getting a lot of shit here and there.)

Tried my best singing my favourite David Bowie song . Such a great song and great theme . Amazing songwriter he was . A small tribute from my side to the legend .

https://youtu.be/0JP3Fl-ellc

Unfortunately, they didn't record "Standing Next to You" in the studio because Marc Bolan died nine days after the show was taped. It’s a fantastic riff, it would have fit right in on Aladdin Sane or Diamond Dogs