The last track – I’m Afraid of Americans – seems very prescient when you realize this was written in the 90s and performed in 2000 – before 9/11 and our reaction.
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Also, Bowie had the canny showmanship that carried into his ability to project a certain persona or character.
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Saw him do Ziggy Stardust at Radio City…amazing. His duet with Bing is one of my favorite Christmas carols. RIP, Major Tom.
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Spot-on as usual Randy.
Fripp, Eno, Manzenera, Byrne, Belew, et al-- were my rock/fusion influences of the era.
Bowie’s commercial appeal transcended all of the above-- and places him in a different-- but not very different place in my pantheon of artists.
jw1
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Good music is anything that gets you through bad times. Thanks David - couldn’t have made it through without you.
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For Landshark:
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Yes, he kind of bridged various influences and audiences.
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This is not news I wanted to wake up to.
R.I.P. David and thanks for the music.
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Interesting article – and the following passage is posted for those who mock his influence in this world:
{…} I have a friend who said he saw you perform the song in Berlin in 1987 at the wall.
BOWIE: I’ll never forget that. It was one of the most emotional performances I’ve ever done. I was in tears. They’d backed up the stage to the wall itself so that the wall was acting as our backdrop. We kind of heard that a few of the East Berliners might actually get the chance to hear the thing, but we didn’t realize in what numbers they would. And there were thousands on the other side that had come close to the wall. So it was like a double concert where the wall was the division. And we would hear them cheering and singing along from the other side. God, even now I get choked up. It was breaking my heart. I’d never done anything like that in my life, and I guess I never will again. When we did “Heroes” it really felt anthemic, almost like a prayer. However well we do it these days, it’s almost like walking through it compared to that night, because it meant so much more.
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What’s your problem? I’m not in mourning, I am commenting on his music and a movie he made. But I will still be living my life today. And a happy one, not a miserable one like you seem to have.
I’m not a fan of Prince or Madonna. Not even sure how they are relevant to this discussion. I’ll probably listen to some Sarah Vaughan later. So? What the hell does that have to do with making a comment about Bowie? No, he was not the greatest musician who ever lived by any means. But he was extremely talented and incredibly innovative. He died too young also. Influenced lots of big time musicians. If you don’t agree, your prerogative. But you seem pretty obsessed with the hate.
Bowie was a lifelong smoker and died of cancer. Smokers don’t seem think that they personally will become sick, it happens to someone else, but it happens far too frequently. I say this as one who lives with a now cancer free ex-smoker who now has only one and a half lungs as a result of surgery, chemo, etc. but who heeded the symptoms early enough to see treatment. To anybody who smokes, you ought to consider stopping right now.
I’ve been listening to Natalie Cole whose father also died of lung cancer brought on by smoking.
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RIP Guvner
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Plus people think smoking only damages your lungs. It leads to other cancers as well, but also it just breaks down your immune system big time. Just a real stupid thing to do on a regular basis. One or two cigarettes a day is likely not a problem, but pack a day and up is just big trouble.
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My husband smoked since he was a teenager, unfiltered usually, later filtered when he was told he had mild emphysema in the 90s. All the advice in the world didn’t deter him, but when his left lung collapsed twice in a month it finally got his attention. I see teenagers smoking, and maybe it’s because of the peer pressure involved, and as much as I hate to recycle Nancy, they really need to say no.
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My mom smoked for something like 60 years. She claimed the stress of quitting would do more harm than the tobacco, she took all kinds of vitamins and did wacky nutritional stuff, all because she knew she was cruising for trouble. And she finally quit, but not soon enough to avoid emphysema. Now she’s doing her middle 80s the hard way, frail, beset by a variety of infections and general malaises, on oxygen, not having any of the fun and quality of life a healthy person her age would. And I helped with hospice care for a girlfriend’s mother who was dying of lung cancer. Smoking is a bad thing and if you smoke for Christ’s sake do whatever you need to do to stop.
I tried everything to stop until Chantix came along. Took that for one month back in 2007 and have never looked back. I still have a thought about having a smoke but within ten seconds my mind just says nahh and I move on to something else.
Chantix has it’s own potentially harmful downsides, any drug does. But for those who, like me, had smoked a pack a day for thirty years what’s the differnece? You’re already killing yourself.
Disclaimer I do not own Pfizer stock.
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Yeah, no doubt AP pulled the thing from the archives and didn’t fully update the caption. But a nice, comprehensive piece; would that more political coverage were as solid.
It can’t be said strongly enough, don’t start smoking and quit if you can when the first symptom crops up. He had good doctors and surgeons and good health insurance and an upbeat I can lick this attitude. I just hated to watch him endure so much pain, and I’m sorry you’ve had to too.
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R.I.P., thin white duke…
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Few listened to his music for decades. An oldies act.