Talk:The Buddha of Suburbia (album)

Latest comment: 2 years ago by Mujinga in topic GA Review
Good articleThe Buddha of Suburbia (album) has been listed as one of the Music good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do so. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can reassess it.
Good topic starThe Buddha of Suburbia (album) is part of the David Bowie studio albums series, a good topic. This is identified as among the best series of articles produced by the Wikipedia community. If you can update or improve it, please do so.
Article milestones
DateProcessResult
January 5, 2022Good article nomineeListed
August 8, 2022Good topic candidatePromoted
Current status: Good article

Move? edit

Considering the album's tenuous relationship to the TV play (little more than the title track, and a few song titles and chord sequences) would it not make more sense to move this to The Buddha of Suburbia (album), with *(soundtrack) working as a redirect instead?

Tom Prankerd 17:45, 20 December 2005 (UTC)Reply

Copyright infringement? edit

The bulk of this article is a lengthy quote from the UK album's liner notes. We could probably use a brief excerpt as fair use, but not the amount that's quoted here. -- Heath 66.32.1.24 01:51, 2 January 2006 (UTC)Reply

Followup edit

Wikipedia:Copyrights advises, It is not the job of rank-and-file Wikipedians to police content for possible copyright infringement, but if you suspect one, you should at the very least bring up the issue on that page's talk page. Others can then examine the situation and take action if needed. The most helpful piece of information you can provide is a URL or other reference to what you believe may be the source of the text. I did that on January 2, above.

When that fails, the advice continues, If some of the content of a page really is an infringement, then the infringing content should be removed, and a note to that effect should be made on the talk page, along with the original source. If the author's permission is obtained later, the text can be restored.

If all of the content of a page is a suspected copyright infringement, then the page should be listed on Wikipedia:Copyright problems and the content of the page replaced by the standard notice which you can find there. If, after a week, the page still appears to be a copyright infringement, then it may be deleted following the procedures on the votes page.

Not quite all of the article is a suspected copyright infringement, but certainly the lion's share was, so I have listed the page accordingly. -- Heath 68.118.23.158 21:55, 11 February 2006 (UTC)Reply

I have just removed the copyvio section. If anyone wants to see the content and its source it's located at this url. Otherwise we will rely on good sourcing and writing to rebuild this article's length. gren グレン ? 19:11, 12 February 2006 (UTC)Reply

Requested move edit

The Buddha of Suburbia (soundtrack)The Buddha of Suburbia (album) — correct disambig per WP:ALBUM#Naming, see also #Move?PEJL 18:16, 15 May 2007 (UTC)Reply

This article has been renamed from The Buddha of Suburbia (soundtrack) to The Buddha of Suburbia (album) as the result of a move request. --Stemonitis 18:44, 20 May 2007 (UTC)Reply

Requested move again edit

Even though someone keeps redirecting this album to the soundtrack section it should be correctly moved to the albums category where it belongs. Even the article itself states that it is NOT the soundtrack to Buddha of Suburbia TV play. Very inconstistent. See also: #Move? and #Requested move--Tel33 (talk) 08:31, 20 December 2015 (UTC)Reply

Absolutely right. But the first sentence would have to be rewritten. Perhaps it keeps getting designated as a soundtrack simply because of that first sentence. D.Holt (talk) 04:08, 5 January 2016 (UTC)Reply

confusion... soundtrack or not? edit

The first line reads:

"The Buddha of Suburbia is a 1993 soundtrack album"

The second paragraph states:

"The album is a soundtrack album"

The third paragraph says:

"The album has been classified as a soundtrack although the title track was the only song to be featured in the television programme"

Then we have the 'soundtrack' section:

"Although classified on the album cover as a soundtrack, this album is not the soundtrack Bowie wrote for the BBC dramatisation"

Will any consensus ever be reached, even within this article? It's rather unfortunate that text appeared on the first release of the record, or the album would be recognized for what it is: not a soundtrack, but a fully-fledged David Bowie studio album. At the very least, can any effort be made to clear up the contradicting statements within the article?59.102.46.83 (talk) 15:10, 15 September 2017 (UTC)Reply

External links modified edit

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Requested move 4 November 2021 edit

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: moved. (closed by non-admin page mover) SkyWarrior 17:32, 11 November 2021 (UTC)Reply


The Buddha of Suburbia (soundtrack)The Buddha of Suburbia (album) – Based on research for this album, The Buddha of Suburbia was not actually a soundtrack album. It was marketed as such by Bowie's label when in reality, he himself stated "This collection of music bears little resemblance to the small instrumentation of the BBC play." (only the album's title track appears in the BBC serial). As such, having it labeled "soundtrack" is wrong, as Bowie's biographers and numerous other reviewers consider it a studio album with the rest of his catalog. In fact, it's quite different from Bowie's other actual soundtracks such as Labyrinth, in that it contains new material that didn't appear anywhere else but on this album. Really, its only connection to the BBC serial is the title track happens to be in it and based on it. Other than that, I would say it's an album that was inspired by the serial, not an actual soundtrack from it. – zmbro (talk) 16:24, 4 November 2021 (UTC)Reply

  • I agree. All the research from biographers indicates this was not a soundtrack. 87Fan (talk) 17:01, 4 November 2021 (UTC)Reply
  • Agree - per nomination. (And I note that this move was made in 2007 as per the comment above, and then reverted in 2008 without comment.) -- Beardo (talk) 22:45, 4 November 2021 (UTC)Reply
  • Support. Seems sensible to me as it's not a full soundtrack. Ss112 11:17, 5 November 2021 (UTC)Reply
  • Support, especially given the opinions of secondary sources like Bowie's biographers. Tkbrett (✉) 13:29, 5 November 2021 (UTC)Reply
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

GA Review edit

This review is transcluded from Talk:The Buddha of Suburbia (album)/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Mujinga (talk · contribs) 08:34, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

Overview edit

I'll take this one as part of Wikipedia:WikiProject Good articles/GAN Backlog Drives/January 2022. I vaguely remember the TV series Mujinga (talk) 08:34, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

Good Article review progress box
Criteria: 1a. prose ( ) 1b. MoS ( ) 2a. ref layout ( ) 2b. cites WP:RS ( ) 2c. no WP:OR ( ) 2d. no WP:CV ( )
3a. broadness ( ) 3b. focus ( ) 4. neutral ( ) 5. stable ( ) 6a. free or tagged images ( ) 6b. pics relevant ( )
Note: this represents where the article stands relative to the Good Article criteria. Criteria marked   are unassessed
Thanks for an interesting read, the sources have certainly been consulted for this article. I'll put it on hold for seven days for the comments below to be addressed, please drop me a line when you are done or if something needs clarifying. Mujinga (talk) 09:18, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply
  • Mujinga Thanks for the quick review and the kind words! Responses below :-) – zmbro (talk) 16:38, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply
  • Nice one, this is basically a GA now, I just wouldn't mind a response on renaming the song article and on commas. The commas shouldn't hold up anything for too long though. Cheers Mujinga (talk) 17:40, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply
  • I salute the attention to detail, making this a GA Mujinga (talk) 17:51, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

Earwig copyvio check edit

  • earwig throws up nothing to worry about

Pictures edit

  • ok

Infobox edit

  • ok

Lead edit

  • "It wasn't released" - It was not released
  • That Bowie said it was his fave album in 2003 is worth mentioning here
  • Both done

Conception and recording edit

  • "While promoting his then-upcoming album Black Tie White Noise in February 1993, David Bowie spoke with British novelist Hanif Kureishi for Interview magazine, who sought permission to use some of Bowie's older material[b] for an upcoming adaptation of Kureishi's 1990 novel The Buddha of Suburbia.[8][9]" - suggest better as two sentences: While promoting his then-upcoming album Black Tie White Noise in February 1993, David Bowie spoke with British novelist Hanif Kureishi for Interview magazine. Kureishi sought permission to use some of Bowie's older material[b] for an upcoming adaptation of his 1990 novel The Buddha of Suburbia.[8][9]
  • Done
  • " Bowie agreed " - to the use of his material? Right now it sounds like he agreed that it reminded him of his youth
  • Clarified
  • "recalling that The Buddha of Suburbia "- should it be The Buddha of Suburbia the album or "The Buddha of Suburbia" the track?
  • Album

Music and lyrics edit

  • I'm noting sometimes sentences end ." and sometimes ". so that should be made consistent, ". seems better to me, easily resolved by keyword search
  • I structured them per MOS:QWQ, so full quotes have quotes outside punctuation while shortened quotes have the opposite. – zmbro (talk) 16:38, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply
  • ooh thanks for that, i might have advised someone else wrongly earlier today, eek
  • however i do think for example: "The album doesn't find Bowie diverging from anything he'd done before and feels like another middling entry in the midst of a decade where he would put out some of his most disappointing work," concluding "this record doesn't have much to offer to anyone who isn't a die-hard fan." should have the last full stop outside the apostrophe Mujinga (talk) 17:34, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply
  • Zmbro brilliant, do you mind checking any other instances of ." then we really are done Mujinga (talk) 17:43, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply
  • Zmbro haha excellent then we are done and congrats on the good article Mujinga (talk) 17:47, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply
  • "noted the precense" presence?
  • I can never spell that goddamn word right lol – zmbro (talk) 16:38, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply
  • (comment on quote) wow what a crazy quote from bowie! he had such weird working methods
  • He really did. Truly one of a kind – zmbro (talk) 16:38, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

Songs edit

  • "The title track was written" - may as well name it eg The title track "Buddha of Suburbia" was written
  • Done
  • This is a digression, but the wikipedia article on the song should be called 'Buddha of Suburbia (song)' not 'The Buddha of Suburbia (song)' right? If you agree, I'll change it. Mujinga (talk) 17:36, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply
  • It's weird because on the album there is no 'the' but on the single's sleeve there is. So Idk who to believe. – zmbro (talk) 17:40, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply
  • Yeah Pegg doesn't use 'the' but O'Leary does so it's very inconsistent – zmbro (talk) 17:43, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply
  • "The title is an amalgamation of Hanif Kureishi" - anagram?
  • Yep my bad

Release and reissues edit

  • "featuring a still frame from a BBC stage production of The Jungle Book overlaid by a map of Beckenham" if that is the image in the infobox, then the frame overlays the map
  • Whoops, fixed
  • "remained obscure again until" - suggest remove again
  • Done

Critical reception edit

  • "Some reviewers labeled it" - since we are Br Eng, labeled is acceptable but labelled is more normal
  • Agreed
  • "believing it is "worth a listen" among Bowie's fans" - suggest cutting or rephrasing
  • Trimmed
  • "Bowie's others 1990s works" - Bowie's other 1990s works
  • Done
  • first mention of Perone so can be James E. Perone
  • Oops. When you do these sections out of order sometimes you miss these things. – zmbro (talk) 16:38, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply
  • since The Rolling Stone Album Guide gave one star out of five it would be worth mentioning or quoting part of that review in the text
  • Unfortunately it's not giving me access to that at the moment. From what I recall looking at it months ago I don't think they mentioned much. – zmbro (talk) 16:38, 5 January 2022 (UTC)Reply

Last sections edit

  • Track listing ok, Personnel ok , Notes ok, Refs ok, Sources ok