"Age doesn't bother me. So many of my heroes are older guys...I do what I've always wanted to do. I'm a writer. It's the lack of years left that scares me. The having to let go of it all." - David Bowie (2002)
Few people in the world have transcended culture across space and time quite like Bowie. More than a rock star, David Jones was above all a restless innovator who merged wildly eclectic influences across genres. He blended textures with song, fashion with theatre. He made music his muse drawing from a myriad of performative art, composition, design---a true iconoclast of American pop culture. From wildly popular hits like "Heroes" to "Space Oddity" to the resolve of "The Laughing Gnome" to the downright bizarre of "Life on Mars," Bowie drew inspiration from all directions challenging traditional schools of thought that celebrate niche over renaissance. Pulling from the likes of The Velvet Underground to Jacque Brel to American soul, even German minimalism can be traced on his tracks. Releasing his last record just two days before his 69th birthday, it all seemed too perfectly timed. A master of characters and inventions from alien rock star Ziggy Stardust to his latest album Blackstar exploring themes of life and death, Bowie perfected performance.
We have gained one of our greats.