When my alarm on my iPhone went off this morning, I reached over to tap "snooze", like I do every weekday. I saw the screen had a notification from The Guardian. Another war or plane crash, I assumed. I struggled to keep one eye open long enough to read "Singer David Bowie has died of cancer aged 69".
Well, wasn't expecting that.
It seems to have hit people really hard, myself included. For selfish reasons, like losing a favourite singer, or a piece of one's childhood, but there was more to it than that. Tributes from other musicians emphasize what a fine man he was, as well as an inimitable artist.
David Bowie seemed immortal because he was so damn timeless, and such a shapeshifter. He was kind of terrifying when I was a kid! To wit, his Saturday Night Live appearance in 1979:
This awesome video of The Man Who Sold the World, where he had to be carried out in his costume, then his other look was this:
That was a little strange to a suburban kid in the late 70s. Still, my mom bought me the album Scary Monsters in 1980 (she had a wonderful habit of just buying me whatever was popular at the record store; kind of cool, right?) and I started to see the artistry as well as the coolness.
Anyway, by the time I was in high school, I was a big fan. Everybody was. He was rocking the slick, Modern Love/Serious Moonlight look by then, but his back catalogue was so varied and cool, he appealed to everybody.
We had fairly epic parties when I was in high school, back before cell phones and home security video. Parents would leave you a c note and the car keys, and head off on vacation. Party time! If you had a blowout, inevitably, kids would start fighting over what music to play. In the 80s, there was, to name just a few styles: typical pop, a la Duran Duran and Culture Club; new wave music, 60s and 70s stoner music (hello Pink Floyd!), and rock like the Clash and Springsteen. Different groups of kids liked different music. Actual fights would break out near the stereo. The one artist who could keep the peace was Bowie. Everyone liked him. Preppies, nerds, jocks, geniuses, new wave kids, and dirtbags all felt connected to his music. Put on any Bowie, and the fights would stop, replaced by singing (and drinking; he was a rock star, not Gandhi!)
[A word on the term "dirtbag"- in my high school, that was what the stoners were called. It wasn't a class distinction by any means, it simply referred to the kids who smoked outside, and were the furthest thing from preppy. Dirtbag parties were the best, because they were actually more inclusive than the other cliques. The term made me laugh then, and it still strikes me as ridiculous, but that's how it was.]
David Bowie is gone, but he left a new collection just last week. I haven't listened yet, but I will. I want to know what he expressed when he knew his time was running out. An artist and a class act 'til the end. We are all better for having heard his voice.
Well, wasn't expecting that.
It seems to have hit people really hard, myself included. For selfish reasons, like losing a favourite singer, or a piece of one's childhood, but there was more to it than that. Tributes from other musicians emphasize what a fine man he was, as well as an inimitable artist.
David Bowie seemed immortal because he was so damn timeless, and such a shapeshifter. He was kind of terrifying when I was a kid! To wit, his Saturday Night Live appearance in 1979:
This awesome video of The Man Who Sold the World, where he had to be carried out in his costume, then his other look was this:
That was a little strange to a suburban kid in the late 70s. Still, my mom bought me the album Scary Monsters in 1980 (she had a wonderful habit of just buying me whatever was popular at the record store; kind of cool, right?) and I started to see the artistry as well as the coolness.
Anyway, by the time I was in high school, I was a big fan. Everybody was. He was rocking the slick, Modern Love/Serious Moonlight look by then, but his back catalogue was so varied and cool, he appealed to everybody.
We had fairly epic parties when I was in high school, back before cell phones and home security video. Parents would leave you a c note and the car keys, and head off on vacation. Party time! If you had a blowout, inevitably, kids would start fighting over what music to play. In the 80s, there was, to name just a few styles: typical pop, a la Duran Duran and Culture Club; new wave music, 60s and 70s stoner music (hello Pink Floyd!), and rock like the Clash and Springsteen. Different groups of kids liked different music. Actual fights would break out near the stereo. The one artist who could keep the peace was Bowie. Everyone liked him. Preppies, nerds, jocks, geniuses, new wave kids, and dirtbags all felt connected to his music. Put on any Bowie, and the fights would stop, replaced by singing (and drinking; he was a rock star, not Gandhi!)
[A word on the term "dirtbag"- in my high school, that was what the stoners were called. It wasn't a class distinction by any means, it simply referred to the kids who smoked outside, and were the furthest thing from preppy. Dirtbag parties were the best, because they were actually more inclusive than the other cliques. The term made me laugh then, and it still strikes me as ridiculous, but that's how it was.]
David Bowie is gone, but he left a new collection just last week. I haven't listened yet, but I will. I want to know what he expressed when he knew his time was running out. An artist and a class act 'til the end. We are all better for having heard his voice.
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