For a guy who always manage to spark my imagination, his art never forced me to imagine a world without him in it. There are a lot events from my early 20’s that can be marked with a David Bowie song or album. I’m sure it is no accident that much of my sexual adventures came about during the same period.
It is also no accident that many of my friends then (some of them still remain) shared a love for the man and his work. I was getting high on opium in this stripper’s apartment the first time I heard Ziggy Stardust. She owned a vinyl copy of it. It blew my mind. It was so crisp and perfect. It was epic,and tragic–histrionic even. Low was my favorite of his 70’s album, produced with the great Brian Eno (Station to Station a close second).
I was even fortunate enough to work at a record store when Heathen and Reality came out (not his best work, but solid in comparison to what was being released at the time). Bowie for me was at first a guilty pleasure, but the more people I met who dug him, the less I felt guilty about my pleasure. He was so kooky that he made me feel pretty normal, and when my life wasn’t weird enough, I could just throw some Bowie on. His new album came out on Friday, and had I known he was dying, I probably would have listened to it.
If you hang around long enough as an artist, the chances are that you’ll be taken for granted. I’m glad that the man lived long enough to drift into the shadows of respectability. He could have easily burned out when he was at the top of his game, but he didn’t. I feel like that is a victory in itself. Can you imagine a world without songs like “Under Pressure”, or “Golden Years”, or the movie “Labyrinth”?
Neither can I. 69 is a very young age. I’m already halfway there, and I cannot help but think of all the projects that I haven’t finished. The man gave us so much in the scope of fashion, music, and art. So thank you Thin White Duke for being the weird, uncompromising, chameleon that you were. You taught us a lot. Ciao.
BM
Nuclear Polio Vaccination 
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