David Bowie: A Tribute

DAVID BOWIE: A TRIBUTE

At the moment, my mind is filled with so many ideas for this blog, but somehow, the thought of writing a post without pausing to stop and celebrate the iconic, incredibly influential, mesmerising music great, David Bowie, feels so completely and utterly wrong. To continue life as though nothing out the of the ordinary has happened, doesn't feel like the right thing to do. To move forwards to the future, without stopping to remember this amazing, extraordinary human being who has sadly departed this world and this life, feels almost immoral in a way. David Bowie. Ziggy Stardust. David Jones. Father. Husband. Friend. Musician. Pioneer. Actor. Icon. A national treasure whose value is not measured in money or material things, but in hearts touched, souls electrified, lives influenced and defined, movements generated, the realms and realms of respect and admiration, generations who identify, decades of social evolution characterised by this incredible man's continued presence and influence. One of the most important figures of both this century and the last. A constant in the lives of millions. A source of inspiration, an emotional and social stronghold, an innovator who changed the times, beliefs, arts. A man who descended upon this world in a whirlwind of light, electricity, belief, determined to make a change, cause a stir, shake things up, set the world alight and enjoy every minute of it.

Now I can't profess myself a massive or knowledgeable Bowie fan, because his music and Bowie himself have only be dotted on the circumference of my life. Both have emerged here and there, crept their way in through other channels, but I haven't actively sought either out, nor have I had much of a desire to do so yet. I always assumed that Bowie was something that I would do seek out when the time was right. Sometime in the future, when I found that I needed it, when my tastes changed, influences broadened even more so, when one dot connected to another and lead me to him, or his music crossed my path in a defining, significant way. I knew I would take the time to explore David Bowie's music in greater depth one day, I just didn't expect it to be now. Why I've never had that overwhelming urge to discover David Bowie yet, is something I can't honestly give you an answer for. I'm a huge music lover, the industry fascinates me, I love exploring it, embedding myself within it, learning all about it and educating myself. Music is a vital part of my life. Yet for some reason, in spite of actively pursuing other greats like The Beatles, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Elvis, Fleetwood Mac, The Bee Gees, Joni Mitchell, Springsteen, I never had that urge to pursue Bowie. Today has made me start to question why. Part of me feels it's because I was born into a generation that has never actively been pointed towards Bowie and his music. A generation that missed Bowie when he was at the absolute pinnacle of his career, when his very presence was a catalyst of cultural change, when he had the greatest effect. For example, some of the only reasons I even know David Bowie and some of his songs include the 90's definitive coming-of-age novel 'The Perks of Being A Wallflower', the iconic 1985 film 'The Breakfast Club', his song 'Changes' appearing in Shrek, an M&S advert, the TV series 'Life on Mars', the hugely successful V & A exhibition and my Dad. 

Bowie always appeared to me through other means, indirectly, a spark on the perimeter, not an explosion right in front of my very eyes. I'm part of the generation that has unknowingly grown up surrounded by Bowie's influence. Grown up in a world that has been shaped by David Bowie. The songs I hear, the clothes I see, the magazines I read, the visuals I watch, the cultural and social pillars, beliefs, movements that have always been upright and present in my lifetime, but weren't always. All of those things I take for granted, take a face value, never before realising that they all had to be inspired by something, someone. For my generation, discovering Bowie, and I mean really discovering Bowie, was a choice, a decision, a path one carved for themselves alone. On the converse, I then see those from the generation before mine, and the one before that. I see my parents generation, and the generation before that. For them, all those millions upon millions of people worldwide, Bowie is not someone that popular culture or one's own curiosity lead them to, Bowie is someone they grew up with. Someone who was always there. Someone who shaped and defined their lives, who characterised and influenced every decade lived. Someone who's decisions and actions challenged and changed public perception, someone who's artistic choices reverberated endlessly and powerfully, someone who's music is a soundtrack and inspiration to the lives of so many people. I'm not saying that Bowie isn't all those things still, because that would simply not be true. His presence and influence is still felt strongly to this day. His 25th album Black Star was already number one before news of his passing was released. It's just that to me, the loss of David Bowie means something different to those who's lives have already been defined by him, who's lives he has already touched. Just like I said before, Bowie and his music, and now his passing, affect me indirectly. For the vast majority of people, including loved ones in my own life, it's a direct wound straight through the heart. I feel the loss through them.

Right now I don't really feel I have the right or authority to truly mourn David Bowie's passing, or celebrate who he was and what he meant. I wasn't a massive fan, my life hadn't been properly touched by him and his music. My time hadn't come yet. But that leads me onto my final point. For many people, the passing of David Bowie is a loss. It's a reason to cry. A reason to hurt. An event that most people never, ever thought would happen. A sad day for the world. They will play his music and laugh, cry, sing, remember. Watch videos and remember when the events happened. See pictures and have them resonate. Hear interviews and remember when it was recorded. And yes, I completely agree, the world is a poorer place without David Bowie in it. We are poorer without this great man in our lives. The world had to stop spinning temporarily, just to try and comprehend the magnitude of what has happened, and the gaping hole the loss of David Bowie has created. Things will never be the same from here on out. But here's the thing. Although the passing of David Bowie is a tragic, significant, awful thing, simultaneously, just like the man himself and all those many, many things he did, it is this: influential. For my generation, and those to come after, today has been a direct dose of Bowie. The day when our path and Bowie's path finally, finally collided, crossed, experienced that colossal impact that so many millions of others have already experienced. Today he has been brought to the forefront of our worlds and our minds. He has shot through the sky of our consciousness like a starman in his rocket, Finally, finally, we have been introduced to Bowie and his greatness. This is a true artist. This is what a legend looks like, sounds like. This is a courageous, wise, creative, innovative man. The world has finally directed us towards this iconic, definitive figure and unleashed his greatness, his power, his brilliance upon us, and I don't know about you but I can feel those reverberations running throughout me, and I finally get that magic. I understand why this great man was and is adored so intensely, and now I can't wait to go and learn about him further. 

We may have lost today yes, but simultaneously, we are left with Bowie's continued power, influence and the gift of his timeless music. Another generation has been set alight with that special Bowie magic, another generation is inquisitive, wants to know more, wants to actively seek out this hugely adored icon so beloved by the world around them. And that will be passed down to future generations, and so on. Bowie may have died, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that a star that bright, that bold, that beautiful, can never truly burn out. It can never truly die. It leaves a legacy, and in Bowie's case, that legacy will last forever.