Guys, having just listened to Harry Styles' debut solo single, "Sign Of The Times," I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised. I don't know what I was expecting to hear, but it was definitely not this bombastic slice of rock-pop goodness that the singer has served up. And after numerous listens to the almost six minute long ballad, one thing is gloriously evident about it: David Bowie's influence on "Sign Of The Times" can be heard all over the song, and it could indicate major things for Styles' career. Show From the very first opening piano chords to the bold, choir backed vocal of the finale, "Sign Of The Times" sounds like a contemporary mashup of some of Bowie's best work from Hunky Dory — an album full of sublime experiments in redefining what rock, pop, and the classic ballad could sound like. Clearly, this is Styles' own moment for redefining those same genres of music within the one song. In doing so, "Sign Of The Times" announces his solo debut with a clear cut confidence and staggering ambition. It's worth stating, too, that Bowie's influence on the overall sound of the song is so blatant that it feels like a deliberate creative decision. After all, "Sign Of The Times," isn't just evocative of one specific Bowie signature, but of many of them. And the delivery of these signatures within the song indisputably announces Styles as an ambitious solo artist, eager to be taken seriously. Lyrically, it's impossible to hear the lines, "Just stop your crying, it’s a sign of the times / Welcome to the final show / I hope you’re wearing your best clothes," of "Sign Of The Times," without automatically thinking of Bowie's brazen piano ballad, "Life On Mars." The line, "Take a look at the lawman/ Beating up the wrong guy/ Oh man, wonder if he'll ever know/ He's in the best selling show," sounds like a direct older relative of Styles' lyric, and the two songs also share similar musical cadences too. From the way that "Sign Of The Times," and "Life On Mars" both build up from their tender piano beginnings into a brash, sweeping drama, to how both of the songs are punctuated by an impassioned closing vocal (also reminiscent of the end of Bowie's "Five Years"), the inspiration is undeniable. Throughout his career, Bowie established himself very much as an artist who could also play with the expectations of his audience, and change his form at a whim. There was never a moment when he wasn't surprising. While Styles may be simply paying tribute to a musical hero of his with such musical references as his palette, his alignment with Bowie's sound could also signal his capabilities for reinvention. And, evidently, there's some reinvention at work in the next phase of Styles' career. Though the DNA of his boy band roots are still clear within "Sign Of The Times," they've also evolved to showcase his metamorphosis to the world. In a manner that would make Bowie himself proud, Styles has turned to face the strange and has changed. And if "Sign Of The Times," is anything to go by, then this change is truly colossal, and something for fans to be extremely excited about.
 */ One Direction and classic rock aren’t often put side-by-side, but they probably should be. As Brodie Lancaster notes in this detailed analysis of the influences behind One Direction’s last album, Made in the AM, the band “slowly established a pattern of picking up inspiration from rock history” as their releases developed. Harry Styles, in particular has made his interest in classic rock clear in everything from his dress sense to his gig choices – and now, with the release of his new single, “Sign of the Times”, it’s more obvious than ever. “I think it’s hard to not have influences from what you grew up listening [to],” Harry told Nick Grimshaw on Radio 1 this morning, just after the song debuted. “I had a good mix between my mum and my dad, because my dad was into, like, Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Queen; while my mum was like, Norah Jones and Savage Garden.” “Sign of the Times” continues in that vein. “He delivered a true spacey rock ballad,” declares Billboard, “something that might fit in more with David Bowie’s catalogue or perhaps even an epic Nineties rock jam like Spacehog’s “In the Meantime” than it does with today’s top 40”. Yes there’s lots of Bowie in there. And if the lyrics seem familiar – it’s because they are. Obviously, there’s that Prince reference, but there’s more, too. Let’s break it down. Select and enter your email address Your email address Job title
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Those first chords sound a lot like Robbie Williams’s “Angels”, but then we get a whooshy noise straight out of “Space Oddity”. What an opener. David Bowie’s “Five Years” meets Oasis’s “Stop Crying Your Heart Out”.
I’m in yesterday’s t-shirt, if I’m honest, Harry. This has something of David Bowie’s “Life on Mars” with its doomsday glamour: “He’s in the best-selling show”.
Ah, the old “heaven as a nightclub” metaphor. Makes me think of The Stone Roses’s “Breaking Into Heaven” and Alex Turner’s lyric: “It’s like you’re trying to get to heaven in a hurry / And the queue was shorter than you’d thought it would be / And the doorman says, ‘You need to get a wristband’.”
Your looks won’t save you come the end of the world, as we know from Lana Del Rey.
Enter falsetto. Finally, the mix of Foster the People and “Heroes” the public have been waiting for. There’s also a hint of Radiohead’s “Daydreaming”.
“It’s fine, it’s only the apocalypse, darling.” Basically. This is the part that sounds the most Bowie – lyrically, “Watchtower”’s “There must be some kind of way outta here” with the stretched out diphthong of “aways” on Oasis’s “Don’t Go Away” and “Stand By Me”. There’s a Drop of Jupiter in here somewhere, too.
Like that “bullet” bridge, there’s an overarching futility here lyrically similar to Bastille’s “Pompeii” and Coldplay’s “We Never Change”. It’s a dense call-back to rock of decades past, and, to the casual observer, it might seem like a huge departure from Styles’s earlier work. But, as culture writer Lancaster notes, it won’t seem as much of a leap to dedicated One Direction fans. *** Now listen to a discussion of Harry Styles’ new single on the NS pop culture podcast, SRSLY: Who originally recorded sign of the times?"Sign o' the Times" (stylized as "Sign "☮︎" the Times") is the lead single from American musician Prince's 1987 album of the same name. Despite being negative in nature, the song was originally intended for two separate Prince albums meant to be released in 1986, that were both shelved: Dream Factory and Crystal Ball.
What song is sign of the times sampled from?Cee-Lo Green and Bob James's 'Sign of the Times' sample of Bob James's 'Angela (Theme From Taxi)' | WhoSampled.
What song does Harry Styles sign of the times sound like?Harry Styles Drops First Solo Single 'Sign of the Times': Listen Now. Opening with a stately piano and some synth effects, the song immediately brings to mind an even slower version of Coldplay's “The Scientist,” with a touch of the Beatles' “Hey Jude.”
Is Harry Styles inspired by David Bowie?The sleeveless suit, which he wears with a pair of Freed of London heeled boots, arguably bears a resemblance to those worn by musical legends including Freddie Mercury, Prince, Mick Jagger and David Bowie, all of which Styles cites as his major inspirations both musically and sartorially.
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Sign of the Times original David Bowie
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