Exclusive Interview: Blackstar guitarist Ben Monder

David Bowie’s last album, Blackstar, certainly seemed like a staggering work of genius in the days after he died. Yes, it sounds great, but coming out just days before Bowie’s passing, it seemed more than that, it seemed profound. An artist using his death as art. That was eight years ago— has it held up? Yes. It remains a staggering work of genius, and one of my favorite albums.

Bowie turned to Ben Monder, more well-known as a jazz guitarist to work with him on Blackstar. Monder delivered, and not only that but he ended up being the one who played the last notes on the last song of the very last Bowie album.

Ben Monder is the first musician to have actually played with Bowie to agree to an interview for this blog. I’m honored, but more than that I learned from his answers some things I didn’t know about the album. Though Blackstar’s reputation has not shrunk in the ensuing years, the mythology around it has grown. Ben disabused me of some of those notions.

I’ve featured a video on which Ben played every day this week, which I’ve consolidated and will leave as a kind of permanent Ben Monder page, which you can link to HERE, that in turn has links to those songs. Today’s video is the album version of Sue (or a Season of Crime)— I’ve posted the official video, which is of the single version before.

But I’m keeping you from there interview. Here it goes…

—-

Q. Blackstar is one of my favorite albums, but I remember being confused by it for the first few days, then getting a news alert that Bowie passed away and feeling almost overwhelmed with a sense that I suddenly understood the album. Have you heard that type of story often? Is that assigning meaning that wasn’t intended?

A. I haven’t heard that story, but I think this album can accommodate as many meanings as can be assigned to it, and all interpretations are valid. And you may be intuiting something that is definitely there; even if partly unconscious, he was obviously grappling with mortality in a very immediate sense.

Q. When you were making the album, did you and the others think of making art out of Bowie’s dying? If not, did you get a sense that something was up? I don’t think you played on, “Dollar Days,” but when you heard him sing, “I’m dying too”– did you hear that as “to” or “too?”

A. I had no idea at the time that he was at all unwell – this was not divulged to me, and when I heard he died it came as a total shock. Also, I don’t think I was too cognizant of the lyrics while playing my parts. There may have even been a couple of tracks where the words weren’t written yet. By the way, I did play on “Dollar Days.”

Q. You play the last notes on the last song on Bowie’s last album. Did you know that “I Can’t Give Everything Away” was going to close out the album? I hear that as the end of something that began with the opening notes of “Space Oddity” (putting aside Bowie’s 1967 album)—that song quietly, slowly fades in, and “I Can’t Give Everything Away” slowly, quietly fades out. While you were playing on that song did you have a sense that it was a kind of culmination?

A. Definitely not, I don’t think anyone had an idea of how it would be sequenced or even what would remain on the album at the time of tracking, although I may be wrong. There were a total of 12 songs (I think) but only 7 made it onto the record. I do feel they made the best possible choices, and I was amazed when I heard the whole thing months later. And yes, that track does feel like the perfect way to end.

Q. You played on the single of “Sue (Or In a season of Crime) and then came in to the Blackstar sessions once Bowie and the McCaslin group had already begun working. How did they explain the project? How did you become acclimated to what was underway?

A. There wasn’t a ton of explanation or direction, which was part of the fun of it. I think we were all grateful to have been trusted to find our own ways once we became familiar with the material. The only preparation I had was maybe four demos of various songs, one of them being “Blackstar” itself, so I could get some sense of how I was going to approach them, but there wasn’t any rehearsing or anything. For the most part the parts fell into place fairly naturally.

Q. You’ve said that Blackstar is not a jazz album—how would you explain that to someone not overly familiar with jazz? To my ears it doesn’t sound like rock.

A. The definition of jazz is notoriously hard to pin down, if it even exists, but there is something about the song structures and harmonies that nudges the album more into the pop realm to me. I think its melding of styles is a combination of David’s expansive vision and the fact that it was realized by musicians who, though their primary language might be jazz, have grown up with a variety of contemporary influences. But really who cares what I call it or don’t call it? It’s unique!

Q. You’ve said that Bowie was funny during the sessions. Can you give some examples of what you meant?

A. I don’t remember anything specific but there was a lot of banter, and he was super sharp and wielded a sardonic wit, you could say. A master of the takedown, but always in a good natured way.

Q. Is there any material from the Blackstar sessions that wasn’t released that you think potentially can be released?

A. I remember only one tune that was on neither Blackstar nor No Plan, kind of an old school rock tune. No idea what happened to that one.

Q. Aside from Blackstar, what’s your favorite Bowie album? What’s your favorite Bowie song?

A. I love all the albums through the 70s, especially the ones with Mick Ronson. Hard to pick a favorite but it might actually be The Man Who Sold The World. It still has that psychedelic 60’s sound coupled with his amazing songwriting. A few favorite songs – “Life On Mars,” “Starman,” “Win,” “Dead Man Walking.”

Q. And if you’d indulge me one non-Bowie question—I’ve heard your “Goldfinger,” which I think is terrific? Would you want to do a Bond soundtrack?

A. Thanks! But probably not, I went through a phase of doing covers, recorded it, and at this point don’t have plans to revisit the idea. But anything’s possible. By the way, I am about to release a triple album of originals if anyone’s interested :)

—-

That was great! I’d like to thank Ben Monder for participating in this interview and look forward to the new album.