There's something about getting deluged with over two feet of snow, courtesy of Winter Storm Jonas, that makes a person slow down and become more reflective. That, and losing one of the world's greatest musical visionaries--the person who, long before the dawn of MTV, created an entirely new visual format for music.
I still feel quite low about David Bowie's death; he figured heavily into the soundtrack of my high school and college days. I guess this is how many people felt when Elvis Presley died. Mourning a stranger who seemed so familiar, ever-present, and full of life.
On these chilly-white days, I've been poring through David Bowie's expansive body of work. Three things surprised me:
1) His sound through the decades is still almost shockingly current. I listened to a song that I thought was relatively new and was surprised to find it was from 20 years ago (from the Outside album).
2) He had so many good songs that I'd never even heard before--a bittersweet discovery. Twenty-five albums? I didn't realize he was that prolific!
3) He really grew into his own skin in the 1990's, kicking all drugs and alcohol (even wine), finding love with the exquisite Iman, and finally becoming comfortable with performing as himself. In a few interviews, he spoke of his different theatrical personas (like Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke) as a way of getting over his intense shyness and fear of being on stage. To armor himself, he'd "disappear" into the characters he created. That's why it's especially wonderful to have just discovered his A&E "Live By Request" concert from 2002 in which he's so authentically himself: joyous and free, funny and kind. My favorite part is when a 5-year-old fan calls in to request "Ashes to Ashes" (at the 1:18:13 minute-mark of this concert).
It's a five-way tie for my all-time favorite David Bowie song: "Ashes to Ashes", "Changes", "Heroes" , "The Man Who Sold the World", and "Under Pressure" (with Freddie Mercury, another rock legend, who idolized Bowie). My son loved "Under Pressure" so much that a couple of years ago, he asked his violin teacher if he could learn it. (Note to parents with kids who are just starting violin lessons: Do not try this at home.)
I'm sad, and the world is a little colder now, but my goodness, the soundtrack around here lately is out-of-this-world.
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