Challenging gender, fashion, space, lifestyle, and song structure, David Bowie lent us comfort in exploring the unknown. His iconic concept album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, introduced the world to a real life man from space and proved that creativity can beat out the laws of reality, to whomever was willing to feel its spark. That creativity burned bright up until his last days with Blackstar, serving as a final testament to his strong will and self expression.
Bowie also soared far beyond his own material. Helping young talents, like Luther Vandross, shine through, writing a hit rock anthem (and high school dance favorite) for Mott The Hopple, and producing the rebellious debut solo album of Iggy Pop, he created a musical landscape based on some sort of magic.
While Bowie has now left us to explore for ourselves, The Pudding took some time to celebrate his triumphs, reminiscing about our favorite songs.
“Rock N Roll Suicide”
“As a kid I had never heard the word ‘queer’ and like a lot of my friends, Bowie was the first person I was aware of who seemed to also exist outside of an easily definable sexuality and relationship to gender. Before we had the Internet or made friends that broke us out of the isolation of queer adolescence, we had Bowie records. Rock and roll suicide was and still is my favorite for its exhilarating ups and downs and enduring message: ‘you’re not alone’.” – Sami Martasian
“Five Years”
“Easily one of his best opening songs to an LP. It’s an indelibly “college” record for me, when all my friends from the radio station would pass a whiskey handle in the booth and spin records on a Thursday night. We rarely agreed or intersected with our tastes, but Ziggy was a unanimous choice. Few songs will feel quite as good to howl drunk with your friends at two in the morning.” – Tim Gagnon
“Space Oddity”
““Space Oddity” was Bowie’s breakthrough song, but I didn’t know that when I first heard it as a teenager. All that I knew was that it gave me chills. In itself, it felt like a pure encapsulation of isolation and uncertainty, but the song’s themes also appeared in a constellation of his later works, all flickering with the sense that he was bringing the otherworldly down to earth. Though his sound metamorphosed endlessly, his talent for wrapping words around the vast and intangible remained boundless across decades and genres.” – Karen Muller
“The Man Who Sold The World”
“Though better known via its Nirvana tribute, this song epitomizes the spirit of Bowie. Cryptic and rambling lyrics accompany his dark melody, creating the ultimate mystifying Bowie experience. And the Nirvana cover is great too, which served as my introduction to Bowie.” –Anna Marketti
“Heroes”
“I’ve always struggled with my appearance and gender representation. I used to see it as black and white, but someone like David Bowie, can show you that’s not always the case. Whatever David was wearing whether it was a tuxedo or a skin tight body suit with face paint, he was always himself, a true freak. He’s someone we can all call a hero for this.” – Christine Varriale
“Dancing In The Street”
“Bowie’s work had a sense of humor and purpose that is on full display alongside Mick Jagger in a Martha and the Vandellas cover for Live Aid in 1985. One of my favorite examples of musicians having fun with it, and the face he makes at Jagger at the 2:17 mark ruins me every time.” – Jamie Loftus
“Modern Love”
“”Modern Love,” the opening track off of Bowie’s hit 1983 LP Let’s Dance, plays with duality and dichotomy the same way he did in life. Bowie wrestles with authenticity, religion, faith and purpose through five minutes of absolute musical joy that could quite possibly soundtrack the best dance party you’ve ever been to. Only someone who loomed as large as David Bowie could straddle this line between pop and sinister, zeitgeist and otherness, shiny and dark. Only someone like Bowie deserved to.” – Sydney Moyer
“Word On A Wing”
“One of my biggest fears when I was younger was the thought that I would never know anyone who would think the same way that I do. Although it’s true, no one thinks exactly the same and telepathy isn’t really a thing, Bowie’s expression hits thoughts in a way that transcends all understanding. The afternoon in high school when my friend showed me the picture of him that she kept in her locket and gave me her Bowie crash course, was one of the last days that I ever felt as alone. Whenever I hear this song, I cannot help, but to think of everything I owe Bowie for this vast, amazing world that I have come to know.” – Lauren Moquin
“Magic Dance”
“The first time I watched “Labyrinth” as a kid, I was absolutely terrified, but also mesmerized. When the VHS tape reached it’s end, I rewound it and just watched the whole movie again. I have probably watched it at least once a year since then, and each time it is still so gloriously cheesy and creepy and perfect, Through this movie David Bowie and the music he wrote are deeply intertwined with my own experience. To me this scene, where David Bowie sings “Magic Dance” as Jareth the Goblin King, just epitomizes everything that made this movie, and David Bowie, so great. If anybody knew what kind of magic spell to use, it was him.” – Mary Kate McGrath
“Young Americans” (as performed on The Cher Show)
“‘I heard the news today, oh boy.’ I like to think David Bowie’s disbelief in journeys is spoken best by this single, timeless line. Everything in the world is ridiculous. The turning never stops. “We are arriving and departing all at the same time.” In “Young Americans,” Bowie proves that power by belting the sound of bliss. There’s no waiting for the build and no counting down to the chorus. Sax, beat, life cycle and lucky pupils, it’s simultaneous fun that only a human can snatch.” – Becca DeGregorio
“Moss Garden”
“Co-written by Brian Eno as part of David Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy era, “Moss Garden” is about as transcendent as a Bowie song can get, working in a koto so it becomes some kind of Blade Runner-inspired Japanese garden. As usual, Bowie creates something wholly immersive and ethereal. The difference is that this one lets you escape to a planet where you can reflect on any mood you please.” – Nina Corcoran
“Changes”
“”Changes” was an anthem as personal as it was career-defining. Considered David Bowie’s North American debut single (although “The Man Who Sold The World” was released 2 years earlier), “Changes” was also the last song Bowie played live at his last performance in 2006. Never before has the line, “time may change me, but I can’t trace time” hit so hard.” – Jackie Swisshelm
Continue to honor Bowie at Out Of The Blue Too Gallery’s Tribute Night on Thursday at 9:00 pm. Local bands will play cover songs as Labyrinth is projected above. It is all ages with a suggested donation of $5.
