fbpx
Politics Foreign Affairs Culture Fellows Program

David Bowie

The rock star and his fans, old and new

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-JqH1M4Ya8?rel=0]

That’s David Bowie’s final video, above. There are tributes to him all over the web; I won’t even attempt one of my own. But my kids offered a tribute that every artist hopes to receive: they woke up to the news and are all visibly sad. They loved Bowie. Lucas, my 11 year old guitarist, taught himself “Diamond Dogs” last fall, and it has become a favorite for them all to sing. A couple of weeks ago, Matthew was calling the few vinyl record shops in our part of the world to see if any of them would have the new Bowie record when it was to be released last Friday. This 69-year-old Englishman, whose music I loved in high school, mattered to a new generation of fans, kids who liked his old stuff and his new stuff. I live with them. Really, it’s just about the best gift an artist can have.

That’s Bowie’s final video above. He had been struggling with cancer for 18 months. You can see it in his face. RIP.

UPDATE: Dang. Lucas, our little guitarist and singer, is still crying. This is real to him. First time this has happened in his life.

UPDATE.2: This is really starting to get to me. He’s been shut up in his room all morning, since getting the news. I can hear through the door Lucas working out his grief by playing and singing every rock song he knows on his guitar. Right now it’s the White Stripes, loud. He’s got a collection of guitar tabs open, and is pushing himself on songs he’s not yet learned. He will be 12 in a couple of weeks, but I’ve got a teenage boy, it seems. Matthew, his older brother, is shut up in his room playing Bowie songs. Far as I’m concerned, he can take the day off. When Jagger or Richards dies, I’m going to be in the same place.

Advertisement

Comments

Want to join the conversation?

Subscribe for as little as $5/mo to start commenting on Rod’s blog.

Join Now