# Bowie R.I.P



## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

I am presently lacking sufficient composure to comment adequately, suffice it to say my life may have turned out very differently were it not for the influence of this man.


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## Chouan (Nov 11, 2009)

Indeed. The news provoked real upset; part of our youth has died.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

I know how you feel, Shaver. And beyond that, in this forum, I am afraid to freely express much more. I let the man's amazing achievements and impacts stand for themselves.

Sad.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Indeed, so many are so saddened by this news...may he rest in peace.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

I'm sure many of us have our favorites. Although this was written and originally performed by Iggy Pop, I always enjoyed Bowie's rendition.


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

David Bowie was an extremely talented and creative man.


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## Balfour (Mar 23, 2012)

R.I.P.



Duvel said:


> I'm sure many of us have our favorites. Although this was written and originally performed by Iggy Pop, I always enjoyed Bowie's rendition.


I'd not come across that cover - thanks for posting it.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

FYI, my comment is _in *no way* intended as derogation of the forum or its moderation_. I simply feel uncomfortable expressing the deep feelings I have for the man and his work, in this forum, as I do not wish to have them critiqued or overly analyzed and such, even with positive intentions. This is too personal, to me, and thus the forum would not be appropriate.



Duvel said:


> I know how you feel, Shaver. And beyond that, in this forum, I am afraid to freely express much more. I let the man's amazing achievements and impacts stand for themselves.
> 
> Sad.


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## Balfour (Mar 23, 2012)




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## smmrfld (May 22, 2007)

So, so sad.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

It's from the Let's Dance LP. Back in the day, MTV had it in rotation continuously, it seems. Yes, I'm not ashamed to admit I watched me some MTV. Back when it really was music (of some kind) TV.



Balfour said:


> R.I.P.
> 
> I'd not come across that cover - thanks for posting it.


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## my19 (Nov 11, 2009)

I'd just read a very positive review of 'Blackstar' in the local Sunday paper. Seeing the news flash from the BBC early this morning was more than a shock, as I guess it was to people around the world.

R.I.P.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

I had no idea he'd been ill.


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

Nor did I. Bowie's death was completely unexpected by me. I suppose he may have wanted his privacy in his last days.

I enjoyed MTV when it first came out. After awhile, the novelty wore off and as I got older (and as music became a way to earn money) I became less of a fan.


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## SG_67 (Mar 22, 2014)

I'll never forget seeing the David Bowie exhibit at the MCA in the Winter of 2014. Moving through it I gained a profound appreciation for what a truly complete artist he was.

To say Bowie was ahead of his time is cliché and doesn't accurately capture his style. He was a musician and an artist for all time.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

I also admired his sense of style. He was always stylish, in the best sense of the word, even when he was glam.


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## Balfour (Mar 23, 2012)

Popular, but no worse for that:


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

I came downstairs this morning and turned on the computer to find David Bowie had passed away, so sad.


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## ran23 (Dec 11, 2014)

At 62, I have been a fan for a while. Will have to dig up "Little Drummer Boy' with Bing Crosby.


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## Balfour (Mar 23, 2012)

Been streaming this playlist today (working from home).

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4FA0D24F56BD0191


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## AscotWithShortSleeves (Apr 12, 2009)

RIP. A brilliant musician, songwriter, and performer. A man with the confidence and panache to be as flamboyant and androgynous as he dared--and in doing so was a source of courage for many others. A life too short but inarguably well lived.

By the way, E magazine had a nice writeup of his marriage to Iman: https://www.eonline.com/news/730322/inside-david-bowie-and-iman-s-enduring-love-story


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## Elmer Zilch (Dec 13, 2008)

A friend of mine wrote the eulogy for the culture blog boingboing:

https://boingboing.net/2016/01/11/the-stars-look-very-different.html

Dery has also written elsewhere, most notably in an Amazon Kindle Single, about how important Bowie and other Glam heroes were to a certain type of young person, straight, gay, or gender fluid, living in the stultifying small towns and suburbs of 70's America.

I was never a major fan of Bowie's music, but I respected his ambition and artistry and admired his style and persona. Reinvention, a working-class boy shaping his life to match the images in his head: It strikes a personal chord in a lot of people, including me.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

An identification of Bowie' s greatest lyric would be too difficult a task to even consider undertaking but deny, if you can, the power contained within the the vocal delivery of this song (from my favourite Bowie album) and the irresistibly profound majesty of these words:

There's a shop on the corner that's selling papier mache
Making bullet-proof faces, Charlie Manson, Cassius Clay

​


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## Chouan (Nov 11, 2009)

Shaver said:


> An identification of Bowie' s greatest lyric would be too difficult a task to even consider undertaking but deny, if you can, the power contained within the the vocal delivery of this song (from my favourite Bowie album) and the irresistibly profound majesty of these words:
> 
> There's a shop on the corner that's selling papier mache
> Making bullet-proof faces, Charlie Manson, Cassius Clay
> ...


Coincidentally, I was listening to that track as I read your post. I agree with your view on this, perhaps one of his best works.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

There's much that I admire in Bowie's catalog, but this remains probably my favorite.The Lodger and Scary Monsters LPs are some of his strongest works.


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## MRR (Nov 19, 2009)

I'm surprised at the lack of mention of Ziggy Stardust. Perhaps my musical ear is too immature.

EDIT: Or Jareth, but I don't really consider that to be quality work; more of a guilty pleasure.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

I recognize the importance of the earlier 1970s stuff but for me Bowie is much more interesting starting around Low and Heroes.


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## Langham (Nov 7, 2012)

MRR said:


> I'm surprised at the lack of mention of Ziggy Stardust. ...


After Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane his later stuff completely passed me by. I spent the early 70s at a northern grammar school, and Bowie was by the standards of the time a somewhat controversial character - the various facets of his stage persona a cause of embarrassed bewilderment almost.

The effusion of sorrow at his passing seems a little excessive, he lived quite a full life after all.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

Effusion of sorrow? I'm sad that a great artist, someone I admired, whose music meant a lot to me, is gone.


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## Langham (Nov 7, 2012)

Duvel said:


> Effusion of sorrow? I'm sad that a great artist, someone I admired, whose music meant a lot to me, is gone.


I didn't mean you. I meant the eight-page pull-out colour supplements in today's newspapers.


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## Duvel (Mar 16, 2014)

Ah. Well, maybe they're sad about it, too. Although I doubt it. They probably mainly just want to sell papers.



Langham said:


> I didn't mean you. I meant the eight-page pull-out colour supplements in today's newspapers.


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## Chouan (Nov 11, 2009)

Elmer Zilch said:


> A friend of mine wrote the eulogy for the culture blog boingboing:
> 
> https://boingboing.net/2016/01/11/the-stars-look-very-different.html
> 
> ...


Except that he was no more a "working class boy" than the Beatles were.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

MRR said:


> I'm surprised at the lack of mention of Ziggy Stardust. Perhaps my musical ear is too immature.
> 
> EDIT: Or Jareth, but I don't really consider that to be quality work; more of a guilty pleasure.


Not a bit of it, Ziggy is an undisputed masterpiece. In my youth I went on pilgrimage to the "K. West" sign, and the telephone box from the rear cover, located in a back street of London's West End. The stabbing chunk of electronic guitar noise that anthemically announces 'Moonage Daydream' is instantly recognisable.

*I'm an alligator!
I'm a mama-papa coming for you.
I'm the space invader, I'll be a rock 'n' rollin' b*tch for you​*


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## AscotWithShortSleeves (Apr 12, 2009)

Interesting article today in DC's free local weekly, in which the author recalls meeting Bowie as a young journalist--and bringing him home to have drinks with the parents!

https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com...01/12/when-david-bowie-came-to-silver-spring/


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