David Bowie invented music.
In a Bowie world, exaggeration and extravaganza are norm. What you’re about to read is not a “Oh, we loved him and he was great” kind of article in a posthumous appreciation setting. This is a heartfelt expression of gratefulness, shock, and extreme sorrow.
David Bowie invented music.
Of course, there were some stellar artists before he came along, and genres were extremely groovy and people were really happy with what they heard, there’s no denying that. Even today, that music sounds amazing. But when David Robert Jones came in this world, it had changed for good; only nobody knew it yet.
Everywhere, in any field, Bowie added his touch. He was a singer, a musician, an actor, a model, both for fashion designers and people trying to find themselves, and of course, he was a magician.
David Bowie wasn’t from this world, that’s for sure. He was the “Starman waiting in the sky” and he indeed blew our minds. An alien with the capacity to adapt to any time, style, genre of whatever.
In 2015, here at Undersound, we were working on an article titled “Karma Chameleon: Polyvalence in a Monochromatic World”. It was about how some artists have the crazy ability to excel in any music genre, in an age where most performers stick to what they know and think are good at. The article would feature musicians such as Beck, Devendra Banhart, and of course, at the very top of the list, Bowie.
But Bowie isn’t merely a music legend who could do his own, incredible, “thing” no matter what it sounded like. Bowie was so high, he couldn’t even see the boundaries. Bowie invented things, in an age where everything seems so generic and recycled. Bowie was a creator, a visionary, a genius, and now we’re running out of words to describe his greatness.
He was, alongside Marc Bolan, the king of Glam Rock. Simultaneously, he was the most avant-guard musician in the history of Pop music: experimental Pop was Bowie’s baby, in a way.
Concept albums never sounded as good as The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars. David Bowie was a tale-teller. Through this 1972 record, David Bowie changed the world, again. Of course, he had already done so with Hunky Dory and Space Oddity, but this opus proved Bowie really could do anything, and pull it off like no one ever did.
Bowie did Rock, Bowie did Pop, Bowie did Blues, Bowie did Soul, Bowie did Bowie.
Bowie did everything. Bowie did everyone. He collaborated with giants: Cher, Queen, Mick Jagger, Arcade Fire, etc. and he took the smaller ones under his wings: In 1972, the band Mott The Hoople weren’t doing so well. They decided to try to release one last effort, and if it didn’t work, call it quits. To make sure they were giving it their all, they called Bowie. He wrote the song “All The Young Dudes”, an instant hit.
Bowie saved the career of an entire band thanks to one single track. Who does that?!
Bowie was an influence-sponge, but just because his spread at pandemic speed.
He took in every bit of music he could and incorporated it in his songs: from The Monkeys in the ’60s to Kraftwerk, Neu!, Annie Lennox in the ’80s and ’90s and even, more recently, Kendrick Lamar for his reverence-inducing Blackstar.
Everything he took, he gave back. No one can mention David Bowie’s influence enough times. That’s how big he was. That’s why he “invented music.”
Wether it was in the ’60s with “Life On Mars?” and “Space Oddity” or the ’70s with “Ziggy Stardust”, Bowie’s audacity led him to lands that mere mortals have yet to discover.
Showmanship. He had it, big time. Costumes, props and makeup that would make Lady Gaga look like a dummy.
Then came the ’80s, New Wave, and “Let’s Dance”. We indeed did.
The ’90s and his Electronic phase. Bowie is omnipresent, Bowie is immortal, through his works and countless characters like The Thin White Duke from Station to Station, and Ziggy Stardust.
Bowie loved the youth. Bowie adored the idea of a future generation that could take over where he left off and take music even farther. He loved Arcade Fire, he loved Lorde, and anyone who loved music.
You’re a David Bowie fan. Even if you’ve never heard of him, (however unlikely as this may sound), you’re a David Bowie fan. Bowie’s reach is endless, so much so that even if you’ve never listened to any David Bowie, you’ve listened to some David Bowie.
The immensity of this… being, is and shall never be equaled.
In 2006, Bowie appears in Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige. Well, it seems he had set up his own prestige for his final trick: On January 8th, Bowie releases his final album, Blackstar. An incredible record, inspired by Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly denouncing the so-called Islamic State. With this 25th studio album, (25th!!!) Bowie made us look away from where the trick was really taking place: the giant was secretly fighting a battle with liver cancer.
Bowie passed away on January 10, 2016, leaving behind the greatest legacy one man could ever have built. David’s immortal and so are his songs, movies, outfits, characters and everything he ever gave us.
His song “Lazarus”, which was one of the best of 2015, now turns his passing into art. “Look up here, I’m in heaven”, he sang.
Yes, you are.
Thank you David, for everything you’ve given us. We were lucky enough be alive when you were, to listen to your music, to watch your movies and to witness your greatness.
“I’m not a prophet or a stone aged man, just a mortal with potential of a superman. I’m living on.”
-David Bowie