David Bowie: The Jean Genie

[prendrelemick]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGQo6zpVzt8

This morning I am 14 again listening to this on the bus to school. RIP

[Helga]

Yes very sad. It was quite the surprise to see the announcement this morning. My anxiety song, when I am freaking out is Under pressure, with Bowie and Queen, listen to it a lot.

I am a simple girl and the song I chose to listen to when I heard about his death was Space Oddity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP6xBFyA_aw

[Sancho]

So long, Ziggy.

http://youtu.be/VpdHMaccjw4

^not his biggest, or his best, but I dig it. Those first few haunting lines in that unique, deep, baritone voice of his get me every time.

[Hawkman]

Sorry prendlemick, didn't notice this thread when I posted mine. I can still hear him - Jean Genie - "as he falls wanking to the floor." Part of the soundtrack of my youth. The iconic image of the Aladdin Sane album cover is indelibly fixed in my memory.

Edit: Oops, how fallible is memory... it was "Time" that fell into onanism ;) and it is on the b side of Aladdin Sane, which is why it came to mind, perhaps. I really need to disinter my album collection; give it an airing...

H

[HCabret]

R.I.P. David. You are one of the greats!

[Lokasenna]

I must admit, I'm one of those (it would seem few) people who has never understood the appeal of David Bowie. For whatever reason, I just can't find his music attractive or interesting, and the man himself struck me with an overwhelming sense of indifference. Weirdly, I was even talking about it with my family over dinner yesterday evening - they didn't much care for Bowie either.

That being said, just because I don't find him or his music profound it doesn't mean that others do not. The outpouring of grief on my Facebook feed feels sincere in the extreme. Evidently, he touched a great many lives in a meaningful way, and for that reason at least, I am sorry that he has died. I'm sure it is some comfort to his fans to know that he was musically active right up to the end - I understand that he released a new album only a few days ago.

[The Atheist]

I understand that he released a new album only a few days ago.

His official goodbye album, it turns out.

For anyone who hasn't seen it, Bowie's single, Lazarus, says it all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-JqH1M4Ya8

Like everything else he ever did, he does death in style.

[kev67]

I loved his 70s stuff up to about Ashes are Ashes. I did not like Let's Dance from the 80s so much, even though it was very popular. There was something nasal about his singing voice I did not quite like, and sometimes I wished his lyrics were a little bit better. He would write a great line, than a line that was either inexplicable in its profundity or else a bit random. Still, he was truly original and wrote lots of great tunes. People used to deride his acting, but I admired his portrayal of Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ when I had not recognized it was him, as he had dyed his hair black.

[Delta40]

That Lazarus stuff is pretty moving. An artist right till the end. Reminded me of Freddie Mercury. Nice to cry with a grateful smile. Thanks for the gift David.

[qimissung]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2016/01/11/david_bowie_and_queen_s_under_pressure_is_the_grea test_song_he_never_put.html

and this:

http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/chuck-palahniuk-on-how-david-bowie-helped-him-sell-fight-club-20160112

Under Pressure and Young Americans are perennial favorites of mine. I liked David Bowie, although I never went deep into his oeuvre. I have this to say about Under Pressure (I also love Queen): I think it has the most beautiful and haunting of lyrics and its perfectly set against one of my favorite film scenes in one of my favorite movies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWyuAq5Yq34

[prendrelemick]

He did so much for so long, everyone has a personal memory related to a piece of Bowie music.

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

He did so much for so long, everyone has a personal memory related to a piece of Bowie music.

I'm recalling my brother blasting out "Golden Years" followed by the barely audible shouts from my father to turn that crap down!

A particular favorite of mine; Oh You Pretty Things
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgQHZjAafo4