R.I.P. David Bowie: Visionary singer dead at the age of 69

[TimisaMonster 31,073]

On 1/13/2016 at 10:00 PM, StefaniLives said:

Shes in mourning, he is her number one, he is her sire.

Inb4 Gaga rewrites Sire after David...not Michael

Pulling a IWBWY/Dope cuz it's "deeper and more personal"

Welp...there goes us hearing the original version

 

[Ambrosia 3,775]

It really is quite a loss about the human man, but his legendary status and immortality in music and entertainment will survive.  And much like with Hendrix, generation after generation will discover his music and it will provide clarity as to what is real musical prowess, and what is not. 

[Wenli 826]

21 minutes ago, Ambrosia said:

It really is quite a loss about the human man, but his legendary status and immortality in music and entertainment will survive.  And much like with Hendrix, generation after generation will discover his music and it will provide clarity as to what is real musical prowess, and what is not. 

Perfectly stated.

[PopBitch 1,218]

Just having my mind blown by Bowie listening to Hallo Spaceboy.  '95, over 25 years in the business and he came up with this album, Outside.  Also, I'm Deranged from Outside.

 

 

[PopBitch 1,218]

[nativenewyorker 1,190]

Still processing the fact that David is gone, I'll try to let this post convey just a glimpse of how devastating this is for me. The pain I felt after reading the news of his death is something indescribable. Knowing that one of your most paramount influences, a certified living legend, is no longer alive and creating anymore is like losing a childhood best friend. Especially finding out just hours after listening to a beautifully haunting new album from him, reminding the world he still had that magic touch. The feeling of hearing one of David Bowie's songs for the first time is such an otherworldly, transcendental experience. My first listen to Blackstar, when he was alive, will now mark the last time I got to experience that feeling of hearing new Bowie music and it's hard accepting that fact.

My appreciation for Bowie began right before I hit 13 years old. His philosophy and music have inspired and influenced me in so many areas of my life ever since. Seeing someone be so outrageous and unorthodox, yet stay so true to themselves with such perserverence and confidence in their ideas gave me a safety blanket. When you put a creative kid in a environment that doesn't nurture creativity but rather discourages interest in the arts and the imagination in favor of studying things like science, math, business, or law, they can't release their emotions and ideas which results in a deadening of the creative spirit. Any kind of alternative lifestyle than the standard "going to college to work a boring 9-5 job selling life insurance or something equally as soul-draining." Whenever I'd feel like it was wrong for me to speak up and not just shut up, go with the flow and be like everyone else, Bowie was in the back of my mind, reminding me that it's okay to go against the grain and I'm always free to live the life I want. Sculpting and resculpting my identity and my life until they reflect and satisfy my own ambitions and desires, unique from anyone else's, is something to be proud of, not ashamed.

If you have any kind of out of the ordinary creative ideas or skills, you will feel like you need to wear a "normal" mask just for other people to like and understand you. Just so no one could suspect you of being "different" or "weird." The goal for them is becoming another boring part of the "average-machine" like most people. If you let everyone around you dictate your decisions, you're living their life, not yours. With Bowie, he became this transformative, supernatural entity and sang these intelligent, eerie, yet evocative songs no one else could've written but him. He made himself the ultimate outsider, the biggest "freak," so whatever ideas of mine that I might think too weird to pursue, it's all suddenly okay. If Bowie can make it to the top of the charts being the outspoken, intelligent, creative, androgynous person he is, maybe my ideas aren't so weird after all. 

He approached all of his work with a true confidence and freedom that I may never posess in my lifetime. He mastered that and relentlessly surrended himself to living a lifestyle that served as a testament to his vision and personal belief system, an authenticity for which all artists should aim. He gave that gift of freedom to me, Gaga, and all the other countless Bowie fans across the globe. Gaga's been passing that same gift onto her fans since the beginning of her career.

I've been holding in all the sadness and pain from realizing he's actually gone. But along with this storm of pain comes an even stronger wave of gratitude for all the wondrous things he bestowed upon the world during his time with us. His legacy will live on in our memory, and his influence will continue to inspire millions of artists for years and years to come. A star that shines as bright as David won't just fade to black anytime soon. He'll sit there, up in the sky, watching and waiting to blow our minds anytime we choose to look back on the collection of beautifully diverse sounds, images, and ideas that complete the infinitely fascinating, multifaceted portrait of the Starman himself, Mr. David Bowie.