If you haven't checked out his latest album Blackstar, it's absolutely fantastic. Especially considering his passing last night. Through the weekend, a lot of people speculated that on this album, Bowie was portraying a new character, as he is prone to do. What a surprise but, then again, not, when he subverted our expectations and it was revealed that he had been secretly battling cancer for EIGHTEEN MONTHS. This isn't a new character. This is Bowie letting us all know "Hey, I'm heading out. Here's something to remember me by. A reminder that while I am gone, my legacy will live on." Take his last music video, Lazarus. [youtube]y-JqH1M4Ya8[/youtube] On top of being a kick-ass song, let's take a look at the lyrics. It's clear this is a message to us from David Bowie. Not a character, but the man himself. Even more clear is the video. A man in a hospital bed, being lifted up to write one last letter before his death. Blackstar is that letter. David Bowie went out on his own terms. With a fantastic album as a parting statement. Not many artists can lay claim to doing this, and in that small circle, none can say they did it with such bombastic glamour as David Bowie. So, if you haven't already, do yourself a favor and pick up some Bowie albums. My personal recommendations if you're new to the man include the 1977 album Low, the 1971 album Hunky Dory, and the 1977 album Heroes. But honestly, there really isn't a bad album in the lot; a marvelous thing to say with no less than 25 studio albums released in the past 49 years. Each one is a completely different creature and are both easily accessible and wildly experimental, in most cases simultaneously. You wouldn't even be amiss to start with the compilation Changesonebowie, probably one of the best "greatest hits" records ever conceived, thanks in no part to how solid his work has always been. And THAT particular compilation only handles the first 10 albums of his career (incidentally only covering his work up to 1976). Aside from that, let's honor this perennial icon and discuss his work and the impact he has left on music, the world, and each other.
Ever since I can remember, my dad has been a true fan of rock music, and that's partially where my music taste comes from. But also, for as long as I can remember, my dad has been saying David Bowie is his favorite musician, and always called him "a pop icon". So regardless of him being mainly active long before my birth, while growing up I heard a lot of Bowie's music and seen a lot of his live shows (most fondly remember watching his 50th birthday show). I've always found the songs he'd show me extremely catchy and fun, "Let's Dance" for example, and later I found some of his harsher work by myself, and I absolutely loved it, "I'm Afraid of Americans" being my key track here. But, unfortunately, when you're 12-13 like I was at the time, you're busy being blown away by the teen angst of Linkin Park or the poppy synths you get from Coldplay. So, even though I've heard a good chunk of it, I remain largely unfamiliar with the man's work. When I first heard "Blackstar" last year, I was blown away at first listen. In these last few years I've found dark and gloomy music my favorite kind and "Blackstar" just took that to a whole new level. I thought I'd check the album one of these days but I kept putting it off for some reason. Today, I come online and find this news. I'm listening to the album now, reading the lyrics and I'm blown away merely by the fact he did actually make his death a work of art. An enjoyable and impressive one at that. It's something worthy of a lot of respect. He lived for making art and he died making art. It's a shame the world has to lose another musician like this, but even if it's such a small and trivial thing... I imagine I'm not the only younger person who'll be digging into his catalogue these days. Rest in peace.
You said everything I wanted to say. The above is why I will always respect Bowie as an artist, a performer and a musician. He was always two steps ahead of his time, and his entire career, the characters he created, and his concepts, were all works of art. I read something on reddit earlier where someone said something along the lines of "People say we lost a legend. We didn't lose a 'legend', we lost Bowie." and it's so true. To call him a legend undervalues his contribution to music, for he wasn't simply a legend...he was a game changer. He reinvented music, and showmanship and completely changed the game when he arrived on the scene over 30 years ago. There will never be another David Bowie, or anybody with his level of impact on music. He was in a league of his own.
R.I.P. Bowie. I really need to pick up some of his music, i missed a lot. Heaven has a damn amount of awesome musicans. Cant wait for that legendary concert some day.
The final act of his play was his death. And through that final act, he turned himself immortal. He was a legend before, but an even bigger one now. I can't put into words how impressed I am with "Blackstar", now knowing the appropriate context. I'm not a Bowie connaisseur by any means, but I've always respected the guy's visionary mind and attitude. Always trying to reinvent himself, always thinking of new concepts when working on projects. He was the real deal. And this is such a classy way to go. I listened to his previous album when it came out and found it to be a bit safe, which made me think that his candle had fizzled out a bit. But when "Blackstar" dropped, I was blown away. Insanely weird imagery in the music video and a 68-year old at the center of it all. It was one of those occasions where I'd see something and instantly love it, without fully realizing why that is. I shared the music video with friends and told them "look, this man still has it in him to make this". With one friend in particular I've since had so many discussions on Bowie, his impact on entertainment and his constant reinvention. Then "Lazarus" was released, which again took me by surprise. Easily one of my favourite singles from the last couple of years. Last saturday during what would be my fourth or fifth listen of the album (I was in my bath, out of all places), I started paying close attention to the lyrics and for some reason, without realizing it, put the puzzle pieces together. The thought of this being his final goodbye popped into my head. For some reason I thought: would an artist like him use his death and make it part of his final work? Would someone like him f.e. be willing to commit suicide, as part of a final art project? And how would the world react to that? I didn't think much of it, since it was "just a passing thought". With that said, I don't think I need to tell you how shocked I was when reading the news on his death this morning. Reading about his 18-month battle against cancer made me realize that I was right. He knew he was going to die. And this was all planned out: the release on his birthday, the ambiguous/mysterious tone of the album, filled with talk on death, the afterlife and reminiscence, the visuals in the music videos: this was his final goodbye. And as with everything Bowie-related, he turned it into a grand "spectacle", for everyone to witness. The amazing part is that it was done in the most tasteful way possible, for both his family and his fans. Like Minus said in his opening post: few can lay claim to what he's done and even less people can say that they've done it as tastefully and genuine as him. What he leaves behind is a lasting impact and source of inspiration that will last for many many decades to come. RIP
I saw a post on Facebook that said something along the lines of how the Earth is billions of years old and we were fortunate to exist at the same time as David Bowie. I know I'm glad I did. He was fantastic and I've loved him since I was a kid. The world's never going to have another David Bowie. He was transcendental.
I never really caught on David Bowie's music, but I kinda first heard it when I heard "Heroes" in the radio once and "Moonage Daydream" in the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack. I know he's a legend and all, so I'm kinda starting to explore his music.
In the light of him passing away and with this release, Bowie will certainly be cemented as one of the biggest performative, influential and mythological musicians of our lifetime. As a final farewell: Seeing more and feeling less Saying no but meaning yes This is all I ever meant That's the message that I sent I can't give everything Away
Very well, I'll be the dumb one without culture, but I just knew David Bowie... by name. Seems he was a trully talented artist, and that song Lazarus is pretty kickass, so it might be a good time to get into his stuff. R.I.P.
It's pretty impossible to not know at least one of Bowie's tracks so, doubt you only know him by name. You might think so, but I doubt that's the case. [video=youtube;Tgcc5V9Hu3g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgcc5V9Hu3g[/video] [video=youtube;psYQMY69gLo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psYQMY69gLo[/video] [video=youtube;v--IqqusnNQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v--IqqusnNQ[/video] [video=youtube;N4d7Wp9kKjA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4d7Wp9kKjA[/video] [video=youtube;cYMCLz5PQVw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYMCLz5PQVw[/video] To name a few. Or maybe you know one of many well-known covers of Bowie songs [video=youtube;fregObNcHC8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fregObNcHC8[/video] Or maybe you've seen Guardians of the Galaxy? Then you know this one [video=youtube;JFDj3shXvco]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFDj3shXvco[/video]
Fair enough, I know "Under Pressure"' and "Let's Dance". But really, in a "ooh, so that was him" kind of way. Oh well, I'll definitely catch up.
There's a Starman waiting in the sky They say that the body has a way of delaying death when we still have things left to finish. It's insane that everyone was trying to figure out what Blackstar could even mean, assuming it was just Bowie being Bowie, but then it was all made clear. Got diagnosed with a terminal illness, made an album based around it, then lived just long enough to see it release. The two music videos, the lyrics, all of it, all to make his death a part of his art. For me to call him a legend would be an understatement. I really don't know what else to say aside from fuck cancer, I'm still a bit shocked.
This is probably my favorite Bowie song and quite possibly one of my favorite songs period. [video=youtube;vIBO7XS7pe8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIBO7XS7pe8[/video] Speaking about his death a little bit, I think its no surprise that he made the Blackstar album with his eminent demise in mind. From the music to the lyrics and music videos.. everything is quite indicative. With that in mind, it makes listening to the album quite an experience. In a way he turned his death into a piece of art. Quite profound.
I never really listened to David Bowie to be honest. I always heard great things about him, but never really took the time to listen to his work. I feel very out of touch for not having done so. There are so many great artists who I never get into until long after they're gone and it makes me feel socially awkward and embarrassed being so far behind all the time. Just a few years ago, my music collection was very small and I was completely ignorant to all of the great music out there. My musical horizons probably still aren't nearly as broad as they should be.
Well the great thing about Bowie, and something that may make it easier for you to familiarize yourself with his music (shall you desire to do so) is that he has such a wonderfully diverse, unique and experimental discography. He reinvented himself so many times over his 25 album career, and played so many different 'characters' that there's quite literally something for everyone to enjoy in his vast catalog of music. Many of his songs were covered, and the covers themselves became famous in their own right (case in point: 'The Man Who Sold The World' was originally his but enjoyed a resurgence when Nirvana did their famous acoustic cover of the song on Unplugged). Download a Greatest Hits album, you won't be disappointed.