David Bowie has passed away.

[GoGo Yubari]

If anyone wants to check a Bowie marathon from when he was still alive, on Friday Seattle's best radio station, KEXP, did a 12-hour long marathon of his music and music he produced or directly influenced in honor of his birthday and new album. You can listen to it by going to Friday and starting at 6am on their archive. It's what I'm going to do after I listen to Blackstar start to finish at work (and listening to Blackstar in full was always the plan even before he died).

It's only now really, truly hitting me. I can't count myself as more than a casual admirer; I had Ziggy Stardust and The Next Day in full, and I could name a shit-ton of his songs from other albums, but that's not the same. However, I mean, he's David fucking Bowie. I went to a high school that was pretty much designed as a haven for the kinds of weirdos and outsiders (myself included) that are talking about how much he meant to them; a portrait of him overlooked one of our stairways. He towered.

EDIT: And yeah, realizing that Blackstar was a conscious artistic choice is fucking crazy. He made it just long enough to release his last words and experience everyone loving them without knowing what they were truly were before moving on. What a legend.

[Monkey D. Lars]

Going to demand that we will watch Labyrinth tonight at work....

[Lineker]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/a88c6489-4408-4d4b-ae5d-e9d2fd7e6eaf 

[Arjen Robben]

Heard a thing on the news earlier that Brian Eno had said that really got me.

"I received an email from him seven days ago. It was as funny as always, and as surreal, looping through word games and allusions and all the usual stuff we did. It ended with this sentence: 'Thank you for our good times, brian. they will never rot'. And it was signed 'Dawn'.

 

I realise now he was saying goodbye."

 

[METALMAN]

I don't think anyone was able to follow their wildest artistic indulges while remaining such a mainstream success. He was all things to all people really. And probably the best popstar there has been.

My favourites are Young Americans and Station to Station. So I'll listen to them first.

[Regia]

I don't think I've ever been so genuinely upset by a Musician passing as I have been with Bowie today.I was introduced to him by my parents when I was young through songs such as 'Ashes to Ashes' and I gradually became more of a fan to the point where he became one of my favourite artists. The epitome of cool and original.

 

As for his album, while I know hindsight is 20/20 (and overthinking is in full effect), the entire album feels like a last will and testament to the world of music that he helped shape. with 'Lazarus' being a perfect final insight into a his world, as a man who had accepted his fate and come to terms with his own mortality in a way that only Bowie could.

[Skummy]

There will (if there is not already), inevitably, be a push to get something like "Space Oddity", "Let's Dance" or "Heroes" to number one, and that all feels quite self-congratulatory. The appeal, and the legacy, of David Bowie is that he was an artist who constantly adapted, evolved and innovated. He released a challenging, incredible, groundbreaking album a matter of days ago - to pin him down to a "safe" oldies retro hit we can all feel comfortable with is the *least* Bowie thing we could possibly do.

[Jam]

Rebel Rebel is an absolute all time favourite of mine. The tune is one I can listen too all. The words genius, visionary and legend get thrown around far too much these days, but Bowie is the definition of all three of them.

And seeing as i'm clueless at linking videos/tweets on to here, I recommend searching Brixton on twitter to see the tributes, the crowds of people singing. That sums up what he meant.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Jam

[Colly]

11 minutes ago, Skummy said:

There will (if there is not already), inevitably, be a push to get something like "Space Oddity", "Let's Dance" or "Heroes" to number one, and that all feels quite self-congratulatory. The appeal, and the legacy, of David Bowie is that he was an artist who constantly adapted, evolved and innovated. He released a challenging, incredible, groundbreaking album a matter of days ago - to pin him down to a "safe" oldies retro hit we can all feel comfortable with is the *least* Bowie thing we could possibly do.

Agreed. With all respect to Lemmy you can't do a 'get Ace of Spades to number 1', unless it's Chubby Little Loser which I would definitely get behind. Or indeed Bowie by FOTC.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

19 minutes ago, Skummy said:

There will (if there is not already), inevitably, be a push to get something like "Space Oddity", "Let's Dance" or "Heroes" to number one, and that all feels quite self-congratulatory. The appeal, and the legacy, of David Bowie is that he was an artist who constantly adapted, evolved and innovated. He released a challenging, incredible, groundbreaking album a matter of days ago - to pin him down to a "safe" oldies retro hit we can all feel comfortable with is the *least* Bowie thing we could possibly do.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if these things happened.

He never seemed to stop moving though. Anyone who appreciates Bowie will doubtless have a period of his career that resonates more with them. For example, I LOVE "Little Wonder" and "I'm Afraid of Americans" from the '90s - two songs that aren't getting much coverage from an international outcry where many fans are older than me and hark back to earlier times. However, his career didn't end in the '70s, '80s or '90s. He never stopped moving and while he produced some pretty average music or music that didn't really "work" so well for people, it was in the journey of him pushing forward, trying new things, and experimenting, rather than being happy going out and playing a "best of" gig for £100 a ticket year in year out.

 

 

John Lennon was killed a few days before I was born in December 1980. I'm told that it stopped the world. I would say that David Bowie's death is of such importance. I can't think of any other, except perhaps maybe Freddie Mercury, that affects so many people so deeply. He transcended music, culture, fashion. All those things that we're all scrabbling to discuss and remember. I've been drinking wine this evening and I've gotten myself a little emotional.

 

 

I know Skummy talked about seeing the possible push to make a track like Heroes number one being self-congrtulatory, and I agree....However, I remember the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympics. I bloody cried when the hospital beds lit up to make a huge NHS logo in the stadium (with me ranting to everyone about how the NHS is the best thing that any country has ever come up with). I got kinda emotional when they played through all the British music and TV from '60s onwards in that opening ceremony too......and then we had to sit through an hour of countries walking around the track before....

 

https://youtu.be/4As0e4de-rI?t=3h3m55s

 

It was cliche as anything but bloody hell, it felt right that out of all the music that they played throughout the opening ceremony that it should be Bowie for that moment.

[METALMAN]

Although that particular clip lavishes just as much attention upon the Royal Family unenthusiastically clapping away as it does to the athletes (i.e. the talented ones) that the event is ostensibly about. Can't imagine that knighthood-declining Dame (thought that was quite clever of me) being too approving of that.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

It did sour the moment somewhat, that's for sure. Showing the royals and Camerons clapping for the cameras.

[Colly]

The Five Years documentary on BBC2 at the moment is fantastic, well worth an iPlayer if it's on there. Covers 75-80 (I think, missed the very start) so it's Young Americans through to Berlin, with the odd bits in between like Man Who Fell to Earth and him rerecording old stuff for videos.

Edit: They're up to 83 now, I clearly didn't miss much...

Edited January 12, 2016 by Ultra Rare Colly

[VerbalPuke]

My wife told me this morning, that was a bad way to start the morning. It's shit to lose two musical icons in such a close span, both that had a profound influence on my taste in music. I've been familiar with Bowie since I was a little kid, he was one of my dad's favorites when he was a young man, he had the chance to see him live a few times in the 70s/80s. Anyway, I've been a huge fan of his for years now, great rock and roller.

But really, more than a rock and roller. His musical evolution is very impressive, starting with the fun pop tunes in the late 60s (the Deram years), then as a iconic glam rocker (Ziggy!, my favorite era), the Berlin years (how ever you describe that), the danceable pop in the 80s (lets Dance right?), and honestly I don't know how else to go from there. He was one artist that could change his tune and it not sound like crap, you never heard Bowie stray from rock and wonder "Well that's shitty", instead it was usually some inventive and different. Bowie never went stale, he knew how to constantly reinvent himself, stay relevant as an artist, and constantly stay ahead of the rest of the music industry.

This might be the biggest musical death of my lifetime up to this point.

Oh yeah, I'd also like to mention that Bowie produced Raw Power and The Idiot, both albums of course featuring Iggy Pop. It shouldn't be forgotten that even when he wasn't making his own great tunes he had a hand in two of (in my opinion) the best albums of the 1970s.

I actually ordered a vinyl copy of Aladdin Sane two weeks ago, hasn't shown up yet, but you can bet it's going on the turntable as soon as I have it in the mail.

I will miss David Bowie very much and I am very grateful that he was around to share some great music with all of us.

[GoGo Yubari]

5 hours ago, ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster said:

John Lennon was killed a few days before I was born in December 1980. I'm told that it stopped the world. I would say that David Bowie's death is of such importance. I can't think of any other, except perhaps maybe Freddie Mercury, that affects so many people so deeply. He transcended music, culture, fashion. All those things that we're all scrabbling to discuss and remember. I've been drinking wine this evening and I've gotten myself a little emotional.

I would say Michael Jackson, but that's about it. To my memory, that and this are the only two that have completely felt that way; I imagine Frank Sinatra might have if I were a little older. George Harrison was somewhere in the vicinity but not really the same.

[CobraKaiEnTai]

They always happen in 3's don't they? Lemmy, Natalie Cole and now David Bowie

Truly a pioneer in so many ways.

[JasonM]

Binging so much Bowie songs it's mind boggling to realize how many songs of him you actually know and recognize, you never really expect to know so many yet he has made so many brilliant songs that you can listen all day and still have music to listen to.

In my binge-ing I've found this cover of Life on Mars, one of the best songs he's made and arguably a spectacular yet different cover.

 

 

[apsham]

 

After a few days of listening and going back to stuff that I hadn't heard in ages/haven't heard I've decided this adaptation is my favorite not only Rebel Rebel recording, but favorite Bowie song due to it.

[VerbalPuke]

I'd never heard that version ApSham, that was good.

I feel like I want to check out more Bowie's later catalog, from the 90s to the present. Any suggestions? I'm very familiar with the late 60s-early 80s of course, but haven't heard as much of the later stuff as I'd like.

[METALMAN]

I liked Heathen and the Next Day. I'd recommend giving them a go. I'd tentatively suggest the new one too, but I've not really listened to it too much.

I found Bowie in the late 80s and 90s to be pretty much a write off, but I'm sure you'll find some advocates for it.