Classics Revisited: David Bowie’s Hunky Dory

BY CHARLIE BLODNIEKS

I think it’s necessary to open this revitalized Classics Revisited with the humbling truth that, no matter how hard we all may try to be, I am not Blue Kaufman or Jeremy Haas. Their editorship and dedication to Classics Revisited far surpasses any expectation I have of myself, primarily in the ‘cool grunge aesthetic’ department. This editor-in-chief power duo has been out of office since my freshman year, and I can only hope to do their legacy justice.

I find an odd compulsion to address the fact that my mother is obsessed with David Bowie – an ‘I-don’t-leave-the-house-unless-I’m-wearing-a-Bowie-shirt’ type of obsessed. Due to this, I’m obviously predisposed to hate him, because, duh. And so, in the spirit of truthful journalism, I pulled this gem from David Bowie’s mullet days of the 70s. Hunky Dory was Bowie’s fourth studio album, and apparently one that defined his future. Dropped in 1971, Hunky Dory sets the tone as the up and coming grandfather-of-punk album that it is.

It opens with “Changes,” which, while thematically important, was relatively disappointing. I get it – it was the voice of a lot of stuff for a while, but I can’t really feel connected to the lyrics when I’m not into the tune. On a more positive note, however, I really loved “Quicksand” and “Queen B****.”

“Quicksand,” particularly, tapped into my soft spot for 90s-00s emo ballads, and it was recorded in 1971, which is obviously telling of Bowie’s innovation. The song was inspired by Nietzsche, a heavily misunderstood German philosopher who pretty much just ranted about “becoming.” As a philosophically inclined emo kid, this fact interested me most out of anything I learned in the process of writing this article. It gave me a lot of respect for Bowie, because anyone who’s into mirroring Nietzsche through lyricism is worth listening to.  “Queen B****,” on the other hand, was just fun – but the kind of fun that didn’t make me want to hit my head against a wall in reaction to my own disgust to their obnoxious jubilance. That kind of ‘fun’ is ever too frequent in modern music. “Queen B****” showed the impressive innovation I know Bowie is capable of. His later work (even stretching into Heathen in 2002, my personal favorite Bowie album) shows that he is adaptable and, quite frankly, an utterly beautiful musician. The song leaves me wanting to make this whole article a simple ode to Bowie’s “bippity-boppity hat.” But in the context of the album, Bowie: you can do better than that.
Overall, I didn’t think the album lived up to expectations. It’s obviously an imperative musical masterpiece in the context of influence, but the album itself wasn’t as earth shatteringly beautiful as I had anticipated. David Bowie seems to have this holy aura about him, mullet and all, that makes me feel unable to announce that he is less than divine. But here we have it: Hunky Dory disappointed me. That being said, I absolutely adore “Cactus” and “Slow Burn” off Heathen, and any Pixies fan ought to listen to it. I think he’s highly talented, but in the context of the modern day, Bowie’s Hunky Dory wouldn’t make as many waves as it once did.