David Bowie has finally given fans a look at what was going on inside his head when he wrote his new album 'The Next Day'.
The famously private pop legend revealed 42 words that helped organise his thinking on the project, after a request from American novelist Rick Moody.
Moody asked for a "work flow diagram" explaining Bowie's creative approach towards his first record in a decade, here's what he got back:
Effigies
Indulgences
Anarchist
Violence
Chthonic
Intimidation
Vampyric
Pantheon
Succubus
Hostage
Transference
Identity
Mauer
Interface
Flitting
Isolation
Revenge
Osmosis
Crusade
Tyrant
Domination
Indifference
Miasma
Pressgang
Displaced
Flight
Resettlement
Funereal
Glide
Trace
Balkan
Burial
Reverse
Manipulate
Origin
Text
Traitor
Urban
Comeuppance
Tragic
Nerve
Mystification
Can you make sense of these words? Let us know in the comments below.
Bowie's return to the music scene has been a resounding success with 'The Next Day' receiving critical acclaim and in March he became the best-selling artist of the year so far.
In even better news for devotees of the Star Man turned family man, his model wife Iman may have put her foot in it - by hinting that he could be about to go back on the road with his new tunes.
Iman told Grazia magazine (via NME) that their daughter's schooling would require her to stay home if/when Bowie hits the road:
"We have a 12-year-old in school, so we are stuck, we can't travel. Our schedule is around her, so I don't know. We'll have to go visit him, but we won't be on tour with him because she's in school."
Others close to the singer have given contradictory testimonies on the possibility of a tour. Gerry Leonard, Bowie's guitarist, set the odds at "50/50" and added that Bowie himself seemed to be undecided on the matter.
"A couple of times, when we played back one of the more kick-ass tunes from the new record, he'd be like, 'This would be great live!'" Leonard told Rolling Stone. "Of course, everyone was like, 'What? Did he just say that?' But other times he'd just roll his eyes if someone brought up playing live."
But Tony Visconti, the producer of 'The Next Day', claims Bowie "made a point" of saying there would be no tour and that the singer remains "fairly adamant" about not hitting the road.
Iman also gushed about the 66-year-old's new music, explaining how David was "loyal to his vision" during his decade-long hiatus. "Isn't it great? Wait til you hear the album, it's fabulous," Iman said.
"Everyone asks, 'How did he keep it so quiet?' But they were loyal to his vision and he asked, could they just keep it under wraps til it was released? They were just happy he was working on something and it's just great to hear him."
