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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016
W H A T ’ S
O N
T H E I R
PLAYLIST
he Daily Astorian invites people to share the music they are enjoying and
describe a few thoughts about the work. This week, Krist Novoselic, a musi-
cian, political activist and grange enthusiast who was the bass player for Nirvana,
gives us his playlist. Novoselic, who lives in Wahkiakum County, Washington,
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great satisfaction in growing potatoes. To submit a playlist, send to news@
dailyastorian.com
T
I
“Blackstar,” David Bowie
bought David Bowie’s “Blackstar” on the
day he died.
“On the day he died,” is actually a lyric
to the song of the same name. The store clerk
said a lot of people were also buying it that day.
I got the second-to-last vinyl LP on the shelf.
Once home, I performed the ritual of taking the
cellophane off the record, removing it, placing
the record on the turntable and setting the tone
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The music of the title track is truly haunting.
The lyrics on the whole record seem full of
messages regarding Bowie’s mortality. There
are some blogs that attempt to decipher the
meaning, however, I should not do that here,
except to say the music I heard struck me as
profound.
As side two came to a close and the tone
arm drifted across that inner groove, it dawned
on me that I will never again hear a new David
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will be reissues, and collected material from the
vaults, but it will never be a cohesive statement
like “Blackstar” is. Bowie’s music was made for
2016 and you can hear it in this release. It may
be contemporary, at the same time, as we fans
know, David Bowie’s music is timeless.
F
“Fear Fun,” Father John Misty
ather John Misty is the alter-ego for Josh
Tillman. I recommend his two records,
“Fear Fun” and “I Love You, Honeybear.”
Tillman writes eloquently about life — his, and
the one we all share in our society. In one lyric
he can speak our times, while in the next we
hear something about yesterday with cultural
references to Richard Brautigan titles. The
good Father is not a big commercial musical
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own work. The song “Holy Shit” is a stirring
and beautiful work. I dare say it is a perfect
summation of our country today. This is why
the title makes sense. Americans, on the left,
right and in between, seem to be running down
dark alleys, chasing after any smokescreen they
see. “Holy Shit” might have nothing to do with
this, as it is only my interpretation, nevertheless
the composition’s beauty is damaged commer-
cial goods by way of the title. The difference is
that Tillman knows what he’s doing while our
society, at the current moment, seems to be lost.
F
“Saint Cecilia,” Foo Fighters
oo Fighters’ “Saint Cecilia” is a state-
ment on how they are the biggest rock
band in the world. I downloaded this free
EP off the Internet. I bought 2011’s “Wasting
Light” CD at the Fred Meyer in Warrenton —
even though I played on it! It matters not that
nobody remembered to send me a copy because
they thought enough of me to invite me into the
Submitted Photo
Krist Novoselic
studio. “Saint Cecilia” is more straight-ahead
rock that is done really well. I went to the Foo’s
last gig at the Moda Center in Portland and they
rocked a packed house. I love the drummer Matt
Sorum. However, he is so wrong in his statement
about danger and the Foo’s somehow lacking it.
First off all, I know about danger in rock. I was
the bassist in Flipper — and survived! Look at a
band like Queen, who totally rocked. They were
way more dandy than danger. Queen knows
how to rock a stadium. So do the Foo Fighters
and you’ll hear big rock on Saint Cecilia.
T
he thing about danger in rock is that it
takes its toll. People burn out. The only
person able to sustain this, not surprising,
is Iggy Pop. Yet sadly, the rest of the Stooges
are gone. I recall in the early days of Nirvana
how some hipsters would sneer at us. We didn’t
care. Today, some of these people seem to be
aghast that you can buy Nirvana T-shirts at J.C.
Penney; like the band is not cool anymore. I am
proud that Nirvana will always rock, no matter
where you buy your clothes. We grew up with
working people. Foo Fighters are carrying the
torch by connecting to people in a personal way.
I was once at one of their shows, watching from
the side of the stage. I looked out into the stands,
way up high on the left, and there is this woman
standing on the steps moving to the music in a
visceral way. She stepped out of her seat to hang
onto every note. This was her night. I bet she
worked hard all week and needed to feel some-
thing. I could tell she got what she paid for.
Bowie’s estate, built on innovation and savvy, worth $100 million
Rock legend
often changed
his sound, style
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Rock
legend David Bowie wanted
his ashes scattered in Bali “in
accordance with the Buddhist
rituals,” and he left most of
his estate to his two children
and his widow, the super-
model Iman, according to his
will.
The 20-page document,
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legal name David Robert
Jones, said the estate was
worth about $100 million,
but didn’t break down the
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The “Fame” singer left
his SoHo home he shared
with Iman to her, and half
of the rest of his worth. His
son Duncan Jones from a
previous marriage received
25 percent and his daughter
Alexandria also received 25
percent as well as his Ulster
County mountain home.
Bowie left $2 million to his
longtime personal assistant
Corinne Schwab and left her
shares he owned in a company
called Oppossum Inc. He left
$1 million to Marion Skene,
Alexandria’s nanny.
The chameleon-like star
transformed the sound — and
the look — of rock with his
audacious creativity and his
sexually ambiguous makeup
and costumes. His hits
included “Space Oddity,”
‘’Golden Years,” ‘’Heroes”
and “Let’s Dance.” He had
cancer about 18 months
before he died Jan. 10. He
was 69.
Bowie prepared the will
in 2004. He said if crema-
tion in the Indonesian island
was “not practical” then he
wanted his remains cremated
and his ashes scattered there
still. According to the death
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his body was cremated Jan.
12 in New Jersey.
Long before alter egos and
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place in pop, Bowie turned
the music world upside down
with the release of the 1972
album, “The Rise and Fall
of Ziggy Stardust and the
Spiders from Mars,” which
introduced one of music’s
most famous personas.
“Ziggy Stardust” was a
concept album that imagined
a rock star from outer space
trying to make his way in the
music world.
Bowie re-imagined himself
over and over again with
personas like the “Thin White
Duke” and “Aladdin Sane.”
Two weeks ago, his new album
“Blackstar” was released. It
topped the U.S. iTunes albums
chart. An
off-Broadway
musical created by Bowie
called “Lazarus” is currently
playing, and stars Michael C.
Hall.
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