50 Albums You Gotta Hear in 2013

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January 15 2013, 8:45 AM ET
Photo by: Photo by Jimmy King

David Bowie

Release Date: March 12
The Skinny: Just two years ago, David Bowie's wife Iman was telling reporters that the singer had no plans to record new music again. Now, we've learned through an interview with Bowie's longtime producer Tony Visconti that Bowie had begun work, at virtually the same time as Iman’s remarks, on The Next Day, the singer-songwriter's first record in a decade and his 24th overall. The album's surprise announcement came on Bowie's 66th birthday and was accompanied by a video for the lounge-y, morose "Where Are We Now?" Visconti has called the album "innovative," but retaining that "classic Bowie" feel.
Worth Noting: The album's strange cover art is a deconstructionist refiguring of Bowie's 12th album, "Heroes", with a white box covering the Thin White Duke's face. "Normally, using an image from the past means 'recycle' or 'greatest hits' but here we are referring to the title The Next Day," designer Jonathan Barnbrook explained. "The 'Heroes' cover obscured by the white square is about the spirit of great pop or rock music which is 'of the moment,' forgetting or obliterating the past." K.G.
Watch: "Where Are We Now?"

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50 Albums You Gotta Hear in 2013

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