Maggie's Farm

I find it interesting that Zachriel had to comment on Bowie, but given his proclivity for trolling (not to mention his connection to music), it's not all that surprising.

At any rate, I remember hearing Bowie for the first time, quite well. It was the freakiest stuff I'd ever heard. That said, I was still new to the rock scene. At that age, Elton John was still relatively strange and new to me, though my best friends had started listening to him.

I was quite young, I had older stepsisters who had introduced me to the Beach Boys, The Kinks, Van Morrison, Steve Miller, Lou Reed, Dylan, the Stones (not the Beatles, who were 'too poppy'). So I had enough exposure to popular music to be aware. Bowie was just TOO weird, a step beyond the barely tolerable Elton John.

It's not really a surprise to me how I changed my view. When I was that young, looks played as much a role in what I was willing to listen to as the sound did. Bowie and Elton John were a 'show', not just musicians. I hadn't signed on for the show yet.

I remember the first time thinking "Hey! I like this." It was 1978 and a friend of mine had a band and played "Rebel, Rebel" for the school talent show.
2 years later I was in college and had moved full on into the London Punk scene. I had been sold on 'the show' and Bowie was a critical part of that show.

Over time, as I learned more about art and music, I realized Bowie was more than just music and a 'show'. He was a mulit-talented artist. Like any artist, his art isn't going to be acceptable to all. I was able to look back and see why I didn't like him when I was younger, but was also able to determine why and realize how tastes change. As my wife said, "Ziggy Stardust was the first album I could recite all the lyrics to. I was shocked to hear it on the radio the day he died and realize I could still sing all the songs from memory." He did have an amazing influence.

One of my favorite bands, The Talking Heads, cite Bowie's work as a major influence on their development. To me, it was always obvious, they were all multi-talented artists, as well. They related to the 'show'.

Bowie, like some artists, was able to remain relevant over time by reinventing himself. Each reinvention had its level of success, though his most pervasive influence was probably earliest in his career. Most of his work later was trying to show he could master a trend, following rather than leading.

But the one thing which seems to be pretty clear is that he was a genuinely nice person. I know several people who met him, most were in situations which almost required Bowie to be on his best behavior. But there was one which occurred and could very easily have led to conflict.

A friend of mine had a band, and they would practice at a studio in Manhattan:

"I was playing drums in a weekend band almost 10 years ago. We would practice every Thursday night at a studio in Manhattan, same time every week, same studio every week. On this Thursday, I walked into the studio office, bypassing the check-in area since we always had the same studio booked, and walked into 'our' practice studio. The place was jam packed with brand new, state-of-the-art equipment. As I was drooling over the wonderful set of drums and looking forward to spending the evening on them, I noticed a few people milling about that I didn't recognize at first. It was David Bowie and his band! They were practicing for his 60th birthday show at Madison Square Garden (I learned later). I'm standing there with my mouth agape and David starts laughing and says 'hello' just as the studio manager came running in to tell me that they had moved our band into another studio this week. I apologized and David said 'no worries have a good session' still smiling."


Some stars are a bit full of themselves. Bowie always seemed rather content with his position and realized he was where he was because of his fans.