Blackstar by David Bowie | The Vidnight Society

Watch Blackstar: • David Bowie - Blacksta...
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Released just shy of his death, David Bowie's music video for Blackstar left us with a lot of unanswered questions. Lucky for us, Ryan Murphy is a superfan and wants to talk shop with Neil Cicierega about it.
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[@PogieJoe]

I know Neil was joking about the KZbin limit, but the song was originally longer and then shortened when Bowie and Eno found out iTunes had a ten minute limit on singles! Fellow Bowie fan here thanking you for covering this one.

[@ChelseaColeslaw]

I did not know that and I appreciate you sharing. If iTunes knew Bowie was dying, I wonder if they would've made an exception...

[@OliSpleen]

@@ChelseaColeslaw it was originally 11 minutes long, Bowie was into cabalistic numerology, I don't think the fact that he waited until he was 69 to die was a mistake either.

[@user-pc6wp1nn9m]

The dead astronaut is Major Tom from Space Oddity. Major Tom died along with Bowie :'(

[@flyingkangaskhan2]

Ryan Murphy, fashion icon

[@islandkol]

Some guy from the Blackstar comment section said the dead astronaut was Major Tom

[@marcopivetta7796]

yea, can't believe they didn't make that conection, heh

[@ChelseaColeslaw]

Yeah I think that's the most obvious answer. Maybe they were just afraid it was too on the nose?

[@PogieJoe]

That's what I thought too but I also loved them connecting it with the old pulpy dead astronauts imagery!

[@V-grandraccoon]

kol in the “The last 5 years” documentary the director of the music video says that they undoubtedly believe that the astronaut is Major Tom.

[@kyokosakura6724]

This channel deserves way more viewers. Great stuff.

[@kilgorehagechester7021]

They mention the hip-hop style title card as a joke, but Bowie actually said he was inspired by Death Grips and Kendrick Lamar while making this album.

[@Bojac]

"Our next video will be less depressing" Next time, on Vidnight Society: ... ... '*Johnny Cash's Hurt*'

[@KevinJamesVideo]

I think we're going to do Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz. I think.

[@donnylurch4207]

@@KevinJamesVideo That video changed my life. Seeing it on Toonami when I was 10 or 11 years old, with Daft Punk's Interstella 5555, was a huge part of my awakening as a fan of music.

[@Bojac]

Well way to make me a liar. Probably.

[@bonsaipuppies]

@@KevinJamesVideo PLEASE DO!!!!

[@a.dykeman1980]

No Plan. The intended palate cleanser after Lazarus and Blackstar (and I do mean intended, Bowie seems to have meant it that way) is No Plan, another song from the Blackstar album.

[@sixminuteslate679]

The jeweled skull could be a reference to the catacomb saints, which were European Catholic saints and martyrs around the 16th-17th centuries, who were interred in very elaborate jeweled garments.

[@oudonbail]

this song makes me feel really unsettled, and not in a death way more of a life is unknown way

[@liamkinsella3302]

The girl with the tail , I believe might be “the girl with the mousy hair”

[@mattcollins5607]

Great video! I came for Ernest Roulette, stayed for The Vidnight Society. Keep up the good work.

[@elizabethtorres6069]

Cat People 1982 an Erotic thriller was awesome. Yes I do remember the actress Natasha Kinski, she was beautiful. Folks this movie is worth watching. By the way David Bowie was in a movie called, "The Hunger." Where He played a vampire.

[@ChiefBrodyRules]

I'm not prepared

[@rasmusdegn9690]

I think the shoeless women might be a callback to the video for "Let's Dance" but it could just be Music Video Logic.

[@lightbluepika2175]

i listened to lazarus once and it made me cry so now i don’t do that anymore ,

[@islandkol]

Big seinfeld theme for that Love You 'Till Tuesday video recommendation

[@mrminer071166]

The sacrificial theme throughout suggests that David Bowie's "Button-Eyes" character has offered his eyes in some sort of village-of-Ormen religious ritual. The movement of the Tim Burton style characters suggest the resurrection that comes after the crucifixion.

[@martin-gt7id]

Who else is reminded of the video for The Space Program by A Tribe Called Quest? Totally different aesthetic and subject matter but I think they both nail the 'final farewell' part.

[@FrankieSmileShow]

I think the video and song could be about a feeling David Bowie had, that his value came only from the perception of his audience. Maybe because of age and illness, maybe because of the toxic psychological effects of celebrity itself, or likely a mix of the two. Maybe a blackstar is like, a star that is worthless, that has no intrinsic light, a hollow symbol. But there is "a lone candle at the center of it all, your eyes". The video itself has a structure that might be a metaphor for this as well, the beginning and end being dark, the singing somber, the dancing robotic. At the middle of the video, it grows more lively. And at the very exact middle of the video, we see shots of eyes, showing interest, then we see David Bowie's eyes brightening up. It seems to give him life for just a moment, and he comes back to his lively self for a bit, before slowly sinking back into darkness. Idk, thats my half-baked idea watching the video again after a little time. The main problem with that idea I think is, it seems to overlook the mortality aspect entirely, which feels pretty wrong considering the context of the release, and the dead astronaut, etc.

[@anabellelei8540]

So glad there's a big fan on this review,as I am an emotionally attached Bowie fan. There is no way to look at this w/out all the little details. Bowie has never been on a shelf.

[@POsomething]

Here are some things I've gathered: The tail on the woman was just something that Bowie wanted because "it's kinda sexual", according to the director of the music video. The jiggling dance is a reference to old Popeye cartoons, where inactive characters moved similarly. The large towers behind the village are actually straight from Die Nibelungen: Siegfried.

[@user-is2zv4sc6y]

I checked out that music video when I saw this was scheduled. Didn't know any of the background to it but thought it was rather interesting. Thanks for the insight Ryan and Neil!

[@KevinJamesVideo]

Ryan came to the shoot for this so well prepared. He literally had notes just off camera he was citing during most of the conversation. He knows his Bowie. We sometimes do an "interview style" show like this, where one of us is the expert and the other asks a bunch of questions to hopefully prompt good discourse. The original recording was 35+ minutes!

[@user-is2zv4sc6y]

@@KevinJamesVideo I love the chemistry between you guys. You're obviously good friends enjoying what you're doing for the most part.

[@Valentyne90]

Really been loving this series!

[@Sputnik312]

If you wanna feel good from Bowie, Modern Love is so solid

[@guytorie]

Oh thank you so much for the palate cleanser recommendation that's very considerate

[@Hateburn]

Neil just fucking with Ryan the whole video.

[@stevedriver1376]

"Big cupboard thing" is a wardrobe

[@barbarachieppo8290]

I love David Bowie as much as you do He was a true artist He was a genius in my mind He is just fascinating and living poetry to me

[@MinimunWage]

@Ryan in my opinion, Bowie's own appearance is an evolution of Ziggy Stardust, or more specifically his outfit with the eyepatch. maybe within this storyline where maybe Ziggy didn't die at the end of his eponymous song, he instead started to lose sight in both eyes? plus, Bowie's own hairdo does look a little like the Ziggy mullet aged up and shaved down in some areas.

[@susannabonke8552]

Bowie was nearly half blind with only 14. So that imagery has a Background. Not knowing what comes after death is another allusion of being blind.

[@waltrohrbach2459]

what a great shirt on Ryan, content alright, although having been an avid DB fan since 1972, that "black star" thing never resonated with me, way too dark and creepy IMHO, but yes, of course, i do respect it as his last artistic expression.

[@andalltheangelssay212]

The song is about St. Lucy

[@LouieFromPikmin2]

I love the videos

[@smashfanwii]

"Believe it or- funny"

[@wonderfulsoap4456]

I love how Neil has a goofy movie pin!

[@JD-jl4yy]

5:50 Major Tom and the girl with the mousy hair...

[@doesyourdogbite4799]

Its not a black star with black stars underneath it. It spells Bowie....

[@lightbluepika2175]

i liked how the halo theme was played while they talked about the bible stuff

[@thrillshow]

I've heard people theorize that the girl with the tail is the girl with the "mousy" hair from "Life On Mars?"

[@theohaegele9011]

It's funny how Neil says the title card reminds him of a rap video, because Bowie's producer has said the album was very influenced by Kendrick Lamar

[@nyx2889]

i thought that girl with the tail was the girl with the mousy hair mentioned in Is There Life On Mars?

[@mikaelizabeth]

speaking of wild crazy sad 10 minute music videos, i'd be interested in you guys' thoughts on the voidz' video for "human sadness".

[@christinebainbridge2354]

They used to put coins on the eyes of the dead.

[@leonline3424]

The astronaut is Major Tom from Space Oddity.

[@charliepie1212]

OLD GREGG

[@jessica5497]

Man.. You guys never heard of Major tom? Lol

[@praxibetelix1664]

CRUCIFIED STRAWMEN

[@SamanthaPortUkulele]

Neil, where the fuck did you get that amazing Goofy Movie pin?

[@susannabonke8552]

The Evangelist Matthew contains a parable of the Virgins awaiting their saviour. That may be a reference with the girls. ( He comes in the middle of the night, an hour No one thought of , so better be ready for judgement day any time ).

[@ChelseaColeslaw]

The bejeweled skull may be a reference to Damien Hirst? Or not? (Edited to correct spelling of "Hirst")

[@user-is2zv4sc6y]

Honestly I sort of thought maybe like a crystal skull but I don't know the background of that myth or if it was popularized at a time Bowie would have been influenced by it.

[@ChelseaColeslaw]

@@user-is2zv4sc6y Damien Hirst literally covered a skull in diamonds. I took a lot of art classes in college.

[@ChelseaColeslaw]

It may also bear mentioning that the art piece Hirst made was titled "For the Love of God"

[@holdingpattern245]

This one is weird in hindsight.