Pet_Sounds

Some time close to Christmas several years ago, my mom told me about an amazing collaboration between Bing Crosby, whom I knew as the crooner who narrated The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and "a British rock star named David Bowie" on one of my favourite Christmas songs, "The Little Drummer Boy". So she showed me the famous video.



At the time, I distinctly remember thinking two things: one, that "David Bowie" was just about the coolest name I'd ever heard, and two, "Wow, he looks like something from another planet." I'd been watching some early Star Trek at the time, and I had aliens on the brain. I had no idea who John Lennon and Harry Nilsson were, except that I kinda thought Lennon was connected with the Beatles.

A couple years later, I found out that Bing Crosby died shortly after the video was filmed. I remember thinking that recording a piece of music which lasted for generations and made an impression on countless listeners was a pretty cool way to go.


School was cancelled because of snow. I was using the time off to catch up on my English homework by studying The Merchant of Venice. I was researching the original tales that inspired Shakespeare's play when my dad came upstairs. I could tell something was unusual from his body language. He said--and I remember his words exactly, "I'm sorry to disturb your work, but I just found out David Bowie died, and I thought you'd want to know." He passed me his phone, on which was displayed a brief Rolling Stone article.

My first reaction didn't really happen. I was stunned. He was so… alive. This wasn't supposed to happen. I think I said "wow" and maybe, "Thanks for letting me know." After about five minutes, the news sank in, and I went off to my room to cry.

Bowie had made an impression on me long before I seriously listened to any of his music. I remember seeing his early album covers, specifically Aladdin Sane, in record stores and thinking, "What a weirdo." A magazine I picked up in an orthodontist's waiting room had a feature article on Chris Hadfield's version of "Space Oddity". But other my first exposure came through this forum, specifically a themed journal week Urban organized in late November 2014. As an absolute beginner, I opted to review The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, "which I chose simply because of its fame."

I'm sorry to say I didn't. I listened to Ziggy Stardust a couple more times and otherwise completely neglected Bowie until the radio brought him to my attention. In the course of a week in late January 2015, I heard a live version of "Ziggy Stardust", "Space Oddity", and "Changes" all playing on either my local rock station or CBC Radio 2. It was "Changes" that captured my imagination and rekindled my interest. I identified with its lyrics, particularly the second verse:

I watch the ripples change their size, but never leave the stream of warm impermanence. And so the days float through my eyes, but still the days seem the same. And these children that you spit on, as they try to change their worlds, are immune to your consultations. They're quite aware of what they're going through.

So on February 7th, I visited the used record store downtown and bought Best of Bowie, a two-CD set with 38 songs, for only nine dollars. I remember looking at all the amazing song titles and eagerly anticipating hearing them for the first time: "The Man Who Sold the World"… "Life on Mars?"… "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps"…

"David Bowie and Charlie Parker? You've got classy taste for a 14-year-old."

I smiled and corrected the cashier's observation by stating that Charlie Parker was for my brother and I hadn't heard much Bowie. That was about to change.

I listened to the entire first disc that day. "Life on Mars?" thrilled me. "Panic in Detroit" made me want to dance. And then something bizarre happened. The music changed. "Young Americans" was all right, I guessed. But I was severely disappointed in "Fame" and "Golden Years". When was Bowie going to get back to the awesome rock energy of the earlier songs? After forcing myself to sit through "TVC15" and "Sound and Vision", I had high hopes. "'Heroes'" was up next! It was apparently his greatest song--surely it would be cool? Nope. I remember thinking, "Maybe Bowie isn't as good as I thought." I listened to the first 30 seconds of "D.J.", then switched to Simon and Garfunkel.

Over the next few weeks, something weird happened. I slowly began to love those disappointing tracks. Unable to relax, I turned to the hypnotic rhythm of "Sound and Vision". Struggling on an essay due within hours, I turned to "'Heroes'" for inspiration and received my highest mark ever. David Bowie had opened my ears to a new world of music. I began to admire the man behind the art. I styled my hair to look like his did in the '80s. I adopted the famous Heroes pose for photographs. The British rock star with a cool name had indeed become one of my heroes.

I introduced Bowie's music to several friends, most notably the super-talented 14-year-old artist who drew the picture I now use as an avatar for my 15th birthday. She had no idea who Paul McCartney was (although I'm happy to say I've changed that) at the time. But, even as someone who's not into music, she became almost as much a fan as I was.

David Bowie was my most played artist in 2015, but the release of Blackstar took my enthusiasm to another level. Not only had he already created some of the most stunning music known to man, he was still at it, over 40 years later! Where would he go from here?

I know it sounds ridiculous, hyperbolic, and cliched, but David Bowie quite honestly changed my life. There's no other way to put it. I'm glad I was lucky enough to discover his music while he was still alive and experience him as an active musician, something future generations will only dream of.

January 8th, 1947 - January 10th, 2016. Rest in peace.

(By the way, I re-recorded this on January 11th. I apologize for the crappy audio and my shaky voice--I didn't have a decent mic set up and was close to tears a couple times.)

__________________
Everybody's dying just to get the disease