David Bowie (8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016) · 8:16am Jan 11th, 2016
I've had many influences in my writing, my music, and my attitude. I sometimes point towards Radiohead, Modest Mouse, Metallica, or even Prince. But above all, there was David Bowie, aka Ziggy Stardust, aka The Thin White Duke, aka my personal hero/role model. He wasn't who I wanted to be like when I grew up. He was who I wanted to be. If there was one musician I could talk to in my entire life, it would have been him. He has had that big of an effect on me.
And now, sitting here, writing these words on a Kindle Fire, I must report with great sorrow and depression that David Robert Jones has died at the age of 69 from cancer, two days after his birthday and the release of his 25th album, Blackstar. The man I believed couldn't die is gone. I have talked more and more about him to people lately, and I have been saying how amazed I am that he is, or was, making a comeback.
But he died. He's gone, and here I'm sitting on a mattress wondering what it'll be like in a post-Bowie music world. So many genres were popularized thanks to him. So many people became famous thanks to him. He was the epitome of trend setting when it came to music, and he deserved to be. David Bowie was a god among musicians. If you were making rock, you damn better had been influenced by Major Tom himself.
To hear David Bowie's music to someone like me is the equivalent of looking at a Picasso or Van Gogh to an art lover. To hear of his death to someone like me is the equivalent of an art lover back in the day hearing about Picasso's death. He was an inspiration and a saint to many, and he will be surely missed.
I'd like to close this blog post with a quote from the track "Lady Stardust" off of Bowie's near-perfect album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. It's a strange choice, but I feel it fits the best. So, here it is:
And he was alright, the band was altogether
Yes he was alright, the song went on forever
-"Lady Stardust" by David Bowie
Goodnight everyone. And to David Bowie, Godspeed to wherever the afterlife leads.
I'd just like to mention how I'm currently waiting for a story to get approved, and I mention "Starman" in there. That was a complete and sad coincidence, and I'll try and tweak it a bit to honor Bowie.