RIP, David Bowie (Part 2)

Image courtesy of David Shankbone's Flickr page - David Bowie by David Shankbone: https://www.flickr.com/photos/shankbone/3491815800/in/photolist-6jytbG-f2UCj4-6cR2HB-qLQZtt-69ZZ3y-hJ4D8z-rdbGDU-epbhak-eG3X48-qmtFsB-pciCtb-6cVb95-cFaVGj-epbhfv-e5uuiT-n45LFd-n15RF2-c1HG5L-4EUwSH-Cztm5L-dZwpZ2-6NLa6n-6xztux-r1dsg8-r14mTP-q4qyoH-qXVg1u-r18D59-q4qyFM-rvV11b-4fGdBb-6NQkxU-7T2Btv-59DMML-aSUKQ2-aSUKPe-aSUL6H-aSULcF-aSUL24-aSULaF-aSUKSk-dv3gES-dv3gQJ-dv3gxo-dv3gDb-dv3gSs-duWF2Z-dv3gAS-dv3gAh-duWFu4

Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Okay, I have a little bit more time now to write a more proper RIP entry for one of the greatest artists of our time, David Bowie.

One major thing that I wanted to mention yesterday in the blog entry, but never got around to due to time constraints, was my own experiences listening to Bowie. Like everyone else growing up in the 1980's, I was very familiar with his pop hits, which were quite good.

But I got into him in a more serious manner in the nineties, particularly around the time that he toured with Nine Inch Nails (anyone else remember this rather strange coupling?). At that time, I was far more absorbed with the whole grunge thing, particularly the Seattle bands (especially Pearl Jam), but my appreciation of Bowie - a deeper understanding and appreciation of the originality and impact of his body of work - had begun.

Then came the early 2000's, and the release of Heathen in 2002, and I started to really get into David Bowie. As my brother mentioned in the comments section of my first RIP piece on Bowie yesterday, we went to that concert. It was one of five individual concerts, in what amounted to a tour of each of the five boroughs of New York City. These shows were generally in smaller, more intimate venues, and there were no bad seats. Still, my brother and I had awesome seats, making the concert one of the more enjoyable concert experiences that I can remember. And man, once I heard the news yesterday of his passing, I was really, really glad that we had seen him, at least that one time.

He seemed like a genuinely good guy, and conversed easily with the crowd. It felt almost like a regular conversation, even though it was a performer talking to his audience. At one point, he mentioned that there were things about the music business that he really did not like, as he took out his ear pieces to protect his hearing, saying that these were among them. He performed the rest of the concert without them.

What was particularly sad and shocking about his loss was that he seemed to be about to get back to being active, with the musical and the albums and the release of a new music video just this past Friday, mere days before he died. I remember listening to that piece that I mentioned in yesterday's post, about his being the most influential living musician in the world today, and it made me think that it would be a good idea to try and catch one of his shows with what was presumably to be a tour to follow up this latest album release. Unfortunately, that was not going to happen, and his lyrics about going up to heaven now seem to have an entirely different meaning, in light of his battle with cancer. I was not even aware that he had had cancer, until it was announced yesterday.

I am saddened by his loss, but will continue to enjoy his music, his legacy, and the memories of the one show that my brother and I were fortunate enough to attend. There is a video link to that show below, as well as of his just released music video: