Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

★ (Music)

 ★ (Music)
type
TVTItem
 ★ (Music)
label
★ (Music)
 ★ (Music)
page
BlackstarAlbum
 ★ (Music)
comment
★ (pronounced Blackstar) is the twenty-sixth and final studio album by David Bowie, released on January 8th, 2016 (Bowie's 69th birthday) through ISO & Columbia Records.The album reflects a somewhat new sound for Bowie, being influenced by avant-garde jazz, Progressive Rock, hip-hop acts such as Death Grips and Kendrick Lamar, and electronic acts such as Boards of Canada. Having been diagnosed with liver cancer in 2014, Bowie dedicated the album to exploring his newfound awareness of his mortality, not knowing whether or not he'd survive his ailment and preparing for the possibility of him having to die. Indeed, Bowie's fears would turn out correct; while shooting the music video for "Lazarus", he was informed that his cancer had become terminal. He would die on January 10, 2016, just two days after the album's release.The record was a commercial success, selling hundreds of thousands of copies in its first week of release and making Bowie the highest-selling vinyl artist of the year. Debuting at No. 1 in both the US and UK and topping the charts in 22 other countries (plus Scotland), it marked Bowie's first album to top the Billboard 200, additionally topping Billboard's Top Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, and Top Tastemaker Albums chartsnote for those curious about the exact list of countries where it topped the charts, in addition to the US, UK, and Scotland, it also was a chart-topper in Australia, Austria, Belgium (on both the Ultratop Flanders and Ultratop Wallonia charts), Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. ★ would go on to become the 5th best-selling album of 2016 in the world, later being certified double-platinum in the Netherlands, platinum in the UK, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Poland, and Switzerland, and gold in the US, Germany, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.★ was supported by three singles: the Title Track, "Lazarus", and "I Can't Give Everything Away". "Lazarus" was the last single to be released during Bowie's lifetime. On a somewhat more trivial note, "★" was, at the time of its release, the longest song to ever chart on the Billboard 100 (running just under ten minutes and peaking at No. 78) until tool broke the record with the 10:21 "Fear Inoculum" in 2019.
 ★ (Music)
fetched
2023-09-03T17:45:11Z
 ★ (Music)
parsed
2023-09-03T17:45:11Z
 ★ (Music)
processingComment
Dropped link to AClockworkOrange: Not a Feature - ITEM
 ★ (Music)
processingComment
Dropped link to GrandFinale: Not a Feature - ITEM
 ★ (Music)
processingComment
Dropped link to LCDSoundsystem: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 ★ (Music)
processingComment
Dropped link to LowDavidBowieAlbum: Not a Feature - ITEM
 ★ (Music)
processingComment
Dropped link to NineteenEightyFour: Not a Feature - ITEM
 ★ (Music)
processingComment
Dropped link to PeakyBlinders: Not a Feature - ITEM
 ★ (Music)
processingComment
Dropped link to TisPityShesAWhore: Not a Feature - ITEM
 ★ (Music)
processingComment
Dropped link to elvispresley: Not a Feature - ITEM
 ★ (Music)
isPartOf
DBTropes
 ★ (Music) / int_22093e9b
type
New Sound Album
 ★ (Music) / int_22093e9b
comment
New Sound Album: Jazz Fusion, with influence from Avant-Garde Music, Hip-Hop, Krautrock, Progressive Rock, Electronic Music, and several other styles. Some of these were styles Bowie had explored before, but some were entirely new to his oeuvre.
 ★ (Music) / int_22093e9b
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_22093e9b
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_22093e9b
 ★ (Music) / int_2719ab04
type
Special Guest
 ★ (Music) / int_2719ab04
comment
Special Guest: Mark Guiliana of Beat Music plays percussion throughout the album. James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem plays percussion on "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" and "Girl Loves Me".
 ★ (Music) / int_2719ab04
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_2719ab04
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_2719ab04
 ★ (Music) / int_27690f66
type
Literary Allusion Title
 ★ (Music) / int_27690f66
comment
Literary Allusion Title: The title "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" is a reference to a 17th century drama by John Ford (not that one) entitled 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, which is infamous for featuring transgressive themes such as Brother–Sister Incest.
 ★ (Music) / int_27690f66
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_27690f66
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_27690f66
 ★ (Music) / int_2d4a6d8c
type
Sophisticated as Hell
 ★ (Music) / int_2d4a6d8c
comment
Sophisticated as Hell: "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" is partly written in Antiquated Linguistics befitting the title, but starts with the line "Man she punched me like a dude." "Lazarus" is a very bittersweet song and is written normally, until Bowie drops "I was looking for yo' ass" out of nowhere.
 ★ (Music) / int_2d4a6d8c
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_2d4a6d8c
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_2d4a6d8c
 ★ (Music) / int_2e22f7d4
type
Minimalistic Cover Art
 ★ (Music) / int_2e22f7d4
comment
Minimalistic Cover Art: The album's artwork for the CD and digital versions features a black star on a white background, and below it there are parts of a star meant to spell out "B O W I E". The vinyl cover, in light grey, features the star as a cutout, revealing the record (with an all-black picture label and inside a transparent PVC inner sleeve) beneath. With the record removed, the black paper behind the cutout reveals a hidden picture of a starfield when the foldout sleeve is held up to a light source.
 ★ (Music) / int_2e22f7d4
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_2e22f7d4
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_2e22f7d4
 ★ (Music) / int_34f6774c
type
Concept Album
 ★ (Music) / int_34f6774c
comment
Concept Album: Most songs reflect the singer's illness and impending death.
 ★ (Music) / int_34f6774c
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_34f6774c
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_34f6774c
 ★ (Music) / int_35a858b3
type
Cluster F-Bomb
 ★ (Music) / int_35a858b3
comment
Cluster F-Bomb: "Girl Loves Me", to the point where it directly led to the album being the only one in Bowie's catalog to receive an Explicit Content sticker.
 ★ (Music) / int_35a858b3
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_35a858b3
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_35a858b3
 ★ (Music) / int_361d0d58
type
Concept Video
 ★ (Music) / int_361d0d58
comment
Concept Video: Bowie's final video before his death, 2015's "Lazarus", depicts him as an ailing patient in a hospital contemplating his mortality. Bowie passed away just months later, and the discovery that he was secretly battling liver cancer while making ★ (which saw release two days before he died in 2016) made it apparent that the video was a direct allegory for his situation.
 ★ (Music) / int_361d0d58
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_361d0d58
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_361d0d58
 ★ (Music) / int_396e1c2a
type
Face Death with Dignity
 ★ (Music) / int_396e1c2a
comment
Face Death with Dignity: The album is essentially Bowie doing this, taking his impending death from cancer and turning it into a work of art.
 ★ (Music) / int_396e1c2a
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_396e1c2a
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_396e1c2a
 ★ (Music) / int_40cc0c7e
type
Bittersweet Ending
 ★ (Music) / int_40cc0c7e
comment
Bittersweet Ending: "I Can't Give Everything Away" is this to the album as well as Bowie's career as a whole. Jonathan Barnbrook, who directed the song's music video, had this to say in regards to it:
 ★ (Music) / int_40cc0c7e
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_40cc0c7e
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_40cc0c7e
 ★ (Music) / int_5262cf20
type
Longest Song Goes First
 ★ (Music) / int_5262cf20
comment
Longest Song Goes First: The nearly ten-minute title song opens the album.
 ★ (Music) / int_5262cf20
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_5262cf20
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_5262cf20
 ★ (Music) / int_55c72164
type
Death Song
 ★ (Music) / int_55c72164
comment
Death Song: Both "★" and "Lazarus" are speculated by many to be Bowie writing his own dirge. It was confirmed the album was a Grand Finale for Bowie and a parting gift to the world. "Dollar Days" and "I Can't Give Everything Away" also address the singer's impending death.
 ★ (Music) / int_55c72164
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_55c72164
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_55c72164
 ★ (Music) / int_5744f019
type
Lucky Charms Title
 ★ (Music) / int_5744f019
comment
Lucky Charms Title: The official title of the album and its opening track are the black star symbol itself, chosen over simply writing out "Blackstar" because ★ is a Unicode-standard symbol supported by the vast majority of digital platforms in music distribution, playback, writing, and webpage creation (including this very wiki).
 ★ (Music) / int_5744f019
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_5744f019
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_5744f019
 ★ (Music) / int_6682d6e4
type
Dying Moment of Awesome
 ★ (Music) / int_6682d6e4
comment
Dying Moment of Awesome: Bowie recorded ★ while battling a terminal case of cancer, which took his life two days after this album's official release.
 ★ (Music) / int_6682d6e4
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_6682d6e4
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_6682d6e4
 ★ (Music) / int_74149c93
type
Epic Rocking
 ★ (Music) / int_74149c93
comment
Epic Rocking: The title track is nearly ten minutes long, while "Lazarus" is 6 and 1/2, and "I Can't Give Everything Away" is almost 6 minutes long.
 ★ (Music) / int_74149c93
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_74149c93
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_74149c93
 ★ (Music) / int_7d276626
type
Siamese Twin Songs
 ★ (Music) / int_7d276626
comment
Siamese Twin Songs: "Dollar Days" and "I Can't Give Everything Away" not only cut directly into one another, but they're also the two songs that most openly discuss Bowie's feelings about his impending mortality. In sequence, they portray the feeling of coming to terms with one's own passing.
 ★ (Music) / int_7d276626
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_7d276626
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_7d276626
 ★ (Music) / int_7e38ea1
type
Dead Artists Are Better
 ★ (Music) / int_7e38ea1
comment
Dead Artists Are Better: Invoked; it's possible to interpret "Lazarus" as Bowie being self-conscious about how audiences will look at his work differently after he's gone, with all the private torment and anguish that belonged to the artist and his work now becoming common property:
 ★ (Music) / int_7e38ea1
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_7e38ea1
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_7e38ea1
 ★ (Music) / int_8774fb47
type
Eldritch Abomination
 ★ (Music) / int_8774fb47
comment
Eldritch Abomination: An otherworldly mass of tendrils appears at the end of the "★" music video.
 ★ (Music) / int_8774fb47
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_8774fb47
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_8774fb47
 ★ (Music) / int_985f0a0f
type
Production Throwback
 ★ (Music) / int_985f0a0f
comment
Production Throwback: In some parts of the music video for "Lazarus", Bowie wears a striped jumpsuit identical to the one he was pictured in on the back cover of the Rykodisc CD reissue of Station to Station. The harmonica on the closing track "I Can't Give Everything Away" plays the same tune as the harmonica on "A New Career in a New Town" from Bowie's 1977 album Low; fans have also cited similarities to "Never Let Me Down", "Soul Love", and "Thursday's Child". The music also becomes more reminiscent of Bowie's old styles towards the end of the album.
 ★ (Music) / int_985f0a0f
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_985f0a0f
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_985f0a0f
 ★ (Music) / int_99b51746
type
Time Title
 ★ (Music) / int_99b51746
comment
Time Title: "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" takes its subtitle refers to the period in 'Tis Pity She's a Whore in which siblings Giovanni and Annabella have an affair with one another. "Dollar Days", the penultimate track on the album, is named after a term for days when stores sell items at very low prices.
 ★ (Music) / int_99b51746
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_99b51746
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_99b51746
 ★ (Music) / int_a122bf2f
type
Blind Seer
 ★ (Music) / int_a122bf2f
comment
Blind Seer: Invoked by the button-eyed figure Bowie plays in the "★" and "Lazarus" videos.
 ★ (Music) / int_a122bf2f
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_a122bf2f
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_a122bf2f
 ★ (Music) / int_a6254a7a
type
Loudness War
 ★ (Music) / int_a6254a7a
comment
Loudness War: The album's mastering is arguably its only significant flaw; it comes out to DR5, making it probably Bowie's loudest album, and is badly clipped. Even the vinyl and iTunes editions are plagued by clipping. Possibly intended as fridge especially if you know what DR5 can stand for.
 ★ (Music) / int_a6254a7a
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_a6254a7a
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_a6254a7a
 ★ (Music) / int_ad22fa80
type
Apocalyptic Log
 ★ (Music) / int_ad22fa80
comment
Apocalyptic Log: As Bowie didn't know whether or not he'd survive his battle with cancer during the writing and recording process (his cancer wouldn't be declared terminal until the shooting for the "Lazarus" music video), the album acts as a rumination on his mortality and uncertainty regarding his forthcoming fate.
 ★ (Music) / int_ad22fa80
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_ad22fa80
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_ad22fa80
 ★ (Music) / int_b067ddfe
type
Animated Music Video
 ★ (Music) / int_b067ddfe
comment
Animated Music Video: That for "I Can't Give Everything Away", and strictly out of necessity (as Bowie was already dead by the time it entered production). The video was directed by Jonathan Barnbrook, who designed the parent album's cover art.
 ★ (Music) / int_b067ddfe
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_b067ddfe
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_b067ddfe
 ★ (Music) / int_b0cd3349
type
Fridge Brilliance
 ★ (Music) / int_b0cd3349
comment
Possibly intended as fridge especially if you know what DR5 can stand for.
 ★ (Music) / int_b0cd3349
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_b0cd3349
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_b0cd3349
 ★ (Music) / int_b24ce4b2
type
Rearrange the Song
 ★ (Music) / int_b24ce4b2
comment
Rearrange the Song: "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" and "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" were originally recorded for the 2014 compilation album Nothing Has Changed, and were released together as a single with the latter song as the A-side to promote it; of these two, "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" was the only one featured on the album, with "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" relegated to B-Side status. Bowie re-recorded both songs from the ground-up for ★; while the 2014 and 2016 versions of both songs are fairly similar in style and instrumentation, both songs are noticeably shorter on ★ than on Nothing Has Changed (with "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" going from 5:26 to 4:52 and "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" going from 7:24 to 4:40).
 ★ (Music) / int_b24ce4b2
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_b24ce4b2
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_b24ce4b2
 ★ (Music) / int_bc00493f
type
Precision F-Strike
 ★ (Music) / int_bc00493f
comment
Precision F-Strike: "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" randomly throws in the phrase "she kept my cock" on only one occasion, contrasting the Cluster F-Bomb of "Girl Loves Me" and the lack of R-rated profanity elsewhere on the album.
 ★ (Music) / int_bc00493f
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_bc00493f
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_bc00493f
 ★ (Music) / int_bd2812b5
type
Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence
 ★ (Music) / int_bd2812b5
comment
Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: What the subject of "★" goes through after his demise.
 ★ (Music) / int_bd2812b5
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_bd2812b5
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_bd2812b5
 ★ (Music) / int_bef696dd
type
Mind Screw
 ★ (Music) / int_bef696dd
comment
Mind Screw: The song "★" is filled with abstract and bizarre symbolism that make it look less like the singer's having a mental breakdown and more like he's already insane to begin with.
 ★ (Music) / int_bef696dd
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_bef696dd
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_bef696dd
 ★ (Music) / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 ★ (Music) / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: "Girl Loves Me" features lines sung in "Nadsat", the language from A Clockwork Orange, one of Bowie's favorite novels. Some of the slang words used in the track are also adopted from Polari (carnie slang that was widely adopted by Britain's Gay Cruising subculture in The '70s), while others are of Bowie's own invention. The title itself might also be one; there exists an obscure Elvis Presley song titled "Black Star", which features lyrics about how "Every man has a black star [...] over his shoulder / And when a man sees his black star / He knows his time has come". Given that the album was released on January 8th (the birthday of both Elvis and Bowie), a widely reported theory was that this Bowie album was named for the Elvis song. It's also been suggested that the title was a reference to the British TV show Peaky Blinders, of which Bowie was a fan (and whose writers are clearly fans of this album, since "Lazarus" was used in a third series episode). On the show, the phrase "Black Star Day" or a black star drawn on a calendar marks the day someone is to die. The reference to the chestnut tree in "Girl Loves Me" is very likely another of Bowie's Nineteen Eighty-Four references ("Under the spreading chestnut tree, I sold you and you sold me").
 ★ (Music) / int_c75df49a
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_c75df49a
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_c75df49a
 ★ (Music) / int_cd3703a2
type
Genre Mashup
 ★ (Music) / int_cd3703a2
comment
Genre Mashup: Jazz Fusion, progressive rock, krautrock, modern electronic music, hard rock, avant garde and Bowie's famed art rock and glam rock sounds thrown in a blender. Bowie also cited experimental hip hop artists like Death Grips and Kendrick Lamar as influences, and it shows in some of the beats. He also cited the Metallica and Lou Reed collaboration Lulu as an influence. They do happen to share similar lyrical themes, likely because both Reed and Bowie were at death's door.
 ★ (Music) / int_cd3703a2
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_cd3703a2
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_cd3703a2
 ★ (Music) / int_dc1761bd
type
A God Am I
 ★ (Music) / int_dc1761bd
comment
A God Am I: The singer of "★":
 ★ (Music) / int_dc1761bd
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_dc1761bd
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_dc1761bd
 ★ (Music) / int_e1721fd1
type
Antiquated Linguistics
 ★ (Music) / int_e1721fd1
comment
"'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" is partly written in Antiquated Linguistics befitting the title, but starts with the line "Man she punched me like a dude."
 ★ (Music) / int_e1721fd1
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_e1721fd1
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_e1721fd1
 ★ (Music) / int_e303d198
type
Whole-Plot Reference
 ★ (Music) / int_e303d198
comment
Whole-Plot Reference: "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" is one to 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, the title of which was also the namesake for "'Tis a Pity She's a Whore". Perhaps not coincidentally, both songs are re-recordings of tracks initially recorded and released as a single to promote the Nothing Has Changed compilation in 2014.
 ★ (Music) / int_e303d198
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_e303d198
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_e303d198
 ★ (Music) / int_f3cf057b
type
Fading into the Next Song
 ★ (Music) / int_f3cf057b
comment
Fading into the Next Song: The drumbeat at the end of "Dollar Days" segues directly into the intro of "I Can't Give Everything Away".
 ★ (Music) / int_f3cf057b
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_f3cf057b
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_f3cf057b
 ★ (Music) / int_f8cbda13
type
Textless Album Cover
 ★ (Music) / int_f8cbda13
comment
Textless Album Cover: It features only the titular black star as well as star symbols that can be interpreted to spell out "Bowie", making this an odd Zig-Zagged Trope. It's also one of the few Bowie sleeves that doesn't have his Face on the Cover, and the only one to lack his likeness whatsoever (discounting the cover art◊ for the original 1970 US release of The Man Who Sold the World, though the art◊ for the 1971 UK release is considered the canonical one anyways).
 ★ (Music) / int_f8cbda13
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_f8cbda13
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_f8cbda13
 ★ (Music) / int_f8ffd45
type
Pictorial Letter Substitution
 ★ (Music) / int_f8ffd45
comment
Pictorial Letter Substitution: The album cover features a series of star fragments at the bottom, which are shaped in just the right ways to read "BOWIE."
 ★ (Music) / int_f8ffd45
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_f8ffd45
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_f8ffd45
 ★ (Music) / int_fa77309d
type
Alternate Album Cover
 ★ (Music) / int_fa77309d
comment
Alternate Album Cover: The CD and digital releases depict the titular black star against a white backdrop, with "BOWIE" written at the bottom in star fragments. The LP release, meanwhile, changes the background to black, spot-varnishes the "BOWIE" logo, and uses a die-cut hole for the star, exposing the record (protected by a transparent plastic inner sleeve) underneath. Removing the record and holding the open gatefold outer sleeve to the light also reveals a humanoid constellation in a field of stars under the star-shaped hole.
 ★ (Music) / int_fa77309d
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_fa77309d
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_fa77309d
 ★ (Music) / int_name
type
ItemName
 ★ (Music) / int_name
comment
 ★ (Music) / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 ★ (Music) / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
★ (Music) / int_name
 ★ (Music) / int_name
itemName
★ (Music)

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
Alternate Album Cover / int_ae38fb59
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
Apocalyptic Log / int_ae38fb59
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
British Music / int_ae38fb59
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
Concept Video / int_ae38fb59
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
Epic Rocking / int_ae38fb59
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
Greatest Hits Album / int_ae38fb59
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
Milestone Celebration / int_ae38fb59
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
Multi-Disc Work / int_ae38fb59
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
New Sound Album / int_ae38fb59
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
Production Throwback / int_ae38fb59
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
Progressive Rock / int_ae38fb59
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
Textless Album Cover / int_ae38fb59
 ★ (Music)
hasFeature
Time Title / int_ae38fb59