RIP David Bowie. I woke up just a few days ago with a text from my dad bearing the saddest news I had heard in a while: “David Bowie died.” He and I have always been huge Bowie fans, and just the other day we had watched a documentary about him in honor of his newly released album, titled “Blackstar.” My favorite songs of his included “Rebel Rebel” and “Let’s Dance,” both of which made me feel happy and cool listening to. Though it may sound simple, that seems like a pretty good way to describe what--I infer, at least--David Bowie was like: happy and cool.
David Bowie was an icon for so many, not only because of his long and successful music career, but because of his personality and his public appearance. Bowie was a true artist who challenged gender and societal norms to create a fantastical show in his performances and day-to-day life. Expressing himself through multiple characters, including Ziggy Stardust, Bowie created a multifaceted persona for himself, encouraging others to search for and find their alter egos. He supported the “different” and those who wanted to stand out instead of just blending in. A famous quote of Bowie reads, “It amazes me sometimes that even intelligent people will analyze a situation or make a judgement after only recognizing the standard or traditional structure of a piece.” Bowie’s music, although popular throughout the world, was far from traditional, and brought a new, fun outlook on pop/rock music to the music scene in the 80’s and beyond.
In a way, it is as if David Bowie predicted his death. Granted, he was terminally ill with cancer and knew his days were coming to a close, but as a parting gift, he left us with a song off his newest album called “Lazarus.” By referencing a biblical figure who rose from the dead, he predicted what the end of his life would do to the music world. In just the last few days since he died, a significant number of David Bowie’s older songs have re-appeared in iTunes’ Top 100 charts, including the songs Space Oddity, Changes, Let’s Dance, Under Pressure (performed with Queen), Heroes, Rebel Rebel, and Fame. Not that his fabulous career needed resurrecting à la Lazarus, but people are using his death as a melancholic catalyst to bring back classic Bowie songs that younger people may not be familiar with.
His death has struck a chord (pardon the pun) within the music community, causing musicians of all genres and people of all types to express their condolences and reflect upon Bowie’s influential (although seemingly short) life. Musicians and public figures ranging from Lorde to Ozzy Osbourne to Conan O’Brien have all expressed their sadness in Bowie’s passing as well as reminisced on how he impacted their respective lives through his music and other works. The world has come together in sadness but also in feelings of respect and joy towards Bowie and the effects of his music.
As macabre as it sounds, people die every day, famous or not. David Bowie, though, will live on forever as a pop and rock music icon who challenged society’s views of what “normal” was through song, dress, and action. He was a unique being that made all his listeners feel as if they were special and living in a different, starry dimension just as he was. RIP David Bowie.
