R.I.P. David Bowie (1947-2016)

As a young London musician named David Robert Jones was just beginning what would prove a long and fruitful creative life, he confronted one significant obstacle to a potential path to stardom: his name. Inviting confusion with Davy Jones, a member of the then-wildly successful Monkees, from his name, David Jones chose to rename himself David Bowie. It was the first of many reinventions Bowie would undertake in a breathtakingly diverse and successful career in not only music but also film, television, theater, and much else.

Bowie first gained musical prominence with "Space Oddity," the 1969 psychedelic tale of an astronaut's voyage into space, that peaked in the charts right around the time man first landed on the Moon. He probably could have launched a fine career known mainly for that song. But through the 70s, 80s, and beyond, he committed himself to bold, persistent experimentation, mastering (or even launching) genres such as psychedelic rock, glam rock, progressive rock, R&B, plastic soul, new wave, and many, many more. But he hardly toiled in obscurity, uniting his innovation with a commercial appeal that gave us such gems as "Young Americans" and in a legendary collaboration with Queen and Freddie Mercury, "Under Pressure." He even gave the world a new Christmas standard in "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy," a somewhat unlikely duet with Bing Crosby.

But he was not content merely to be a dominant presence in music. He also provided memorable turns in theater (playing John Merrick, aka "The Elephant Man" on Broadway); film, starting with 1976's The Man Who Fell to Earth as a visiting extraterrestrial, and continuing in, among other works, such an unpredictable melange of movies as Labyrinth (as Jareth, the Goblin King), The Last Temptation of Christ (as Pontius Pilate), The Prestige (as Nikola Tesla), and, of course, Zoolander (as himself), while just missing out on portraying Elrond in The Lord of the Rings; and television, in Twin Peaks, Extras, SpongeBob SquarePants, and more. 

In the time leading up to his death, he stayed not just relevant but also insistent upon maintaining the creative pedigree he had established through an amazing career. Among other things, he had a vocal cameo on "Reflektor," a recent song of "Arcade Fire," one of the best musical acts of our generation (or one of my favorites, anyway). And on January 8, his 69th birthday, he released Blackstar, his 25th album. Such numbers easily translate to posterity. Almost like he planned it that way...

...yet it would be callous to suggest anyone would so plan his death (but if anyone could, it would be David Bowie). Even so, there is evidence that he consciously intended "Lazarus," his last commercially-released single, to be his swan song. Watching the music video now, especially for the first time after his death (as I did), it seems foolish to deny this: Its first lyrics are "look up here, I'm in heaven"; the rest of the song describes a man near the end of his life; Bowie's actions in the video give the same impression; and it ends with Bowie retreating into a coffin-esque cabinet and disappearing from view. Watch it for yourself:




David Robert Jones was many things to many people, many of whom have paid tribute to him far better and more lovingly than I could: David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust, Starman, The Thin White Duke; an icon, a father, a husband, a friend; comfort, solace. Throughout a career and life of relentless innovation and self-innovation, one could always count on him for one thing: He would always surprise you with what he did next. Even his death on January 10th of cancer surprised many. His passing deprives us of yet another Baby Boomer titan of popular culture, one we can never hope to replace. He will be missed.