NILANKUR DUTTA
Of course , this is all because the thing I never imagined could happen , has happened : David Bowie exits stage-left , with a liver full of cancer . Yes , all humans are given a limited leash on life , but if there ’ s one person you could imagine living forever , the one person who deserved immortality so he could wallop Death right in the face with Mark Ronson ’ s guitar , was Ziggy . And now he is gone , and we are left with a more prosaic world , where the Martian spiders do not visit any longer .
The news of his death comes amidst generally a bad year for rock and roll : Glenn Frey , founder of the Eagles also passed away , as did Dale Griffin , English drummer for Mott the Hoople . Not that any of them had an influence as profound and monumental as David Bowie . There is very little left to say about Bowie that has not been said expertly in the thousands of obituaries and honors that poured in after the event . Both the words misfit , and extraordinarily charismatic invariably show up . He was both , bridging the gaps between reality and theater . At once , Bowie , The Duke , Ziggy Stardust . Even his death was an act of misdirection and magic , preceded by ‘ Blackstar ,’ which has now shot to number 1 . The Belgians have even declared a constellation in his honour ( who knew that the Belgians were in charge of the stars ), seven stars shaped like the lightning bolt .
But we are in 2016 , and honestly , David Bowie has released exactly one really good album in the entire time that I have been alive . His days of rock and roll wizardry are a good forty years away . In popular culture , David Bowie , at least until he died , was as relevant as twerking .
But there is something to it . Something that compelled me to throw out my draft of “ 10 Weirdest Gastrointestinal Tract Disorders While Onstage at a Concert ”, and write this instead . Maybe it was the fact that I obsessively listened to “ The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust ” over 10 million times between the ages of 16 and 16 + 8 months . Or because Bowie shows up in my life in the most unexpected places : in a movie I love ( The Prestige ), the soundtrack of my first real relationship ( Rebel Rebel ). He has spawned entire genres of music I love : glam rock , and bands that I am guaranteed to dig just by the virtue of his friendship to their members : Marc Bolan and Lou Reed .
He was also in Zoolander .
Despite his much flaunted homo / bi / pan-sexuality , my favorite obituary of David Jones , was offered by his friend , producer Robert Fox , who remembered him at 23 : quiet , shy , well-read and curious about everything . And despite all of the things that happened over the next half-decade , every time you listen to Bowie , whether it is brilliant or awful , you can make out the quality of earnestness : like he is trying to reach out to you . And that is why you will forgive “ Dancing in the Street ” every single time .
And by all accounts , he died quiet and unassuming , his 18-monthbattle with cancer secret from the world , just a pffft and he is gone . “ Rock n Roll ” suicide , from early on his career , is almost prophetic :
“ You ' re too old to lose it , too young to choose it And the clocks waits so patiently on your song You walk past a cafe but you don ' t eat when you ' ve lived too long Oh , no , no , no , you ' re a rock ' n ' roll suicide ”
But here ’ s something which I think has never been said in the thousands of memorial posts : if you ’ re a millennial and you ’ ve never heard of David Bowie , and now that he is dead , you think it ’ s too late to be a fan . It ’ s not . Everybody gets one life , and creatively speaking Bowie had a long one . Check out “ Rise and Fall ..”,” Aladdin Sane ”, “ Space Oddity .” If you ’ re into a more pop-sound : there ’ s the sterling “ Scary Monsters ” from the 80 ’ s . Listen to “ Heroes ”, listen to the original “ Man Who Sold the World ”, ( there ’ s a reason why Kurt Cobain covered it ). Go ahead , pirate the albums , he doesn ’ t care anymore . As It turns out , the music was really rather good .
And that is as good as note as any to say goodbye to the man who fell to earth : thank you , it was all really rather good .
" Such a creative genius , his music has inspired many . The world has lost a musician from the golden era of rock n roll " - Jonathan Reuben ( Clowns With A Frown )
“ I am not a prophet or a stoneaged man just a mortal with potential of a superman I am living on - These lyrics from his tune quicksand best describes him . He was and always will be a true Rock & Roller ” - Sunny D ' souza ( Bhargava ’ s Musik )
“ He was inspiring millions around him even the day before he died . such was his legacy . A great inspiration for millions around the world . A big loss to what ' s left of the goodness in the dying music industry .” - Srikrishna Natesan ( Blind Image )
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