Always one for flipping conventions, David Bowie is celebrating his 66th birthday today by giving his fans the gift of new music. This morning, the shape-shifting singer released a new single and announced his first new album in almost 10 years. The Next Day—Bowie's long-awaited follow up to 2003's Reality—will be out mid-March, with longtime Bowie producer Tony Visconti at the mixing board. 

The mellow single reflects on his fabled years as a Berlin transplant, a particularly creative period in the late '70s during which Bowie shared a flat with Iggy Pop, tried to kick cocaine, and churned out a trilogy of experimental albums with Brian Eno. His work from that era was marked by persistent drums and fuzzy electronics, but Bowie's new direction sounds pretty restrained and traditional. Check out "Where Are We Now?"—and its creepy Tony Oursler-directed video—below. 

Unfortunately, a Bowie representative says the artist has no plans to grant interviews or tour. So much for those rumors about Bowie headlining this year's Coachella. 

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David Wagner