A David Bowie retrospective

David Bowie was an artist, in every sense of the word. He was a musical innovator, an aesthetic pioneer, an artistic trailblazer, a film hero; he was a pop icon but a countercultural rebel; he was Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, the Thin White Duke; and first and foremost, David Bowie was a rock star.

Bowie (born David Jones) passed away late Sunday night at the age of 69, after living 18 months with liver cancer. Two days prior, he released the album “Blackstar”, along with a music video for the song “Lazarus”. In November, he released a short film accompanying the album’s title track.

True cultural legacies are vague, hard to track messes that tend to spiral out of control. Rather than try to evade the internal troubles of fame, Bowie plowed through the gauntlet of fame with a vigor and forward attitude that had never been seen and hasn’t been seen since. He left behind a cast of remarkable culture-defining personas and a legacy too large for anyone but himself.

Major Tom and The Man Who Sold The World: 1969-1971

After an unremarkable self-titled ‘60s pop debut in 1967, Bowie’s first truly legendary record (of many) was 1969’s “Space Oddity”. Introducing the Major Tom spaceman character in the iconic title track as well as his unique folk-rock style, the album established Bowie as a supernaturally talented outsider, even in the midst of struggles with managers and band members.
After “Space Oddity” came “The Man Who Sold The World” in 1970, a step away from his first two albums and a standout in his discography as whole. The album almost completely abandoned folk-rock storytelling, featuring a brand new heavy rock backing band and exploration of dark themes of schizophrenia, paranoia, and delusion. The album was not only a sharing influence of the earliest heavy metal with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, but also primed the glam rock explosion of the 1970s.
The next year, he shifted back towards the light and folky pop of his first albums on “Hunky Dory”, where he credited his influences more directly than ever. The same year, his first son was born, and the change reflected in the much lighter tone throughout the album. While not a direct commercial breakthrough at the time, “Hunky Dory” not only brought one of his most timeless hits “Changes” as well as an insight into Bowie’s transition to the Ziggy Stardust era.

Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane: 1972-1974

In 1972, Bowie launched a new stage performance around a striking costume, red-dyed hair, and a space-age aesthetic. As the act brought him to more fame than he had ever known, a cult of his Ziggy Stardust personality arose around the release of single “Starman” and album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars”. The once unimagined fame affected Bowie as his constant stage persona haunted him into daily life, causing plenty of personality issues and personal difficulties.

“Aladdin Sane” in 1973 followed the development of Ziggy as a character, and the group’s live performances became more and more theatrical. The Aladdin Sane persona brought a harder edge to Ziggy Stardust’s acoustic-electric pop, and saw significant roots of the experimentation that would define his later career. Throughout the Stardust/Sane era, Bowie’s androgyny and envelope pushing performance art cause waves through the pop and rock world.

Bowie began to distance himself from the Ziggy Stardust/Aladdin Sane persona, and the most significant step away from the past brought him towards soul and funk through “Diamond Dogs” in 1974. The idealistic spacey world of the past era disappeared, reimagined after emotional problems and drug addiction to be replaced by an Orwell-inspired post-apocalypse setting that created the hit “Rebel Rebel”, another of Bowie’s most renowned tracks.

The Thin White Duke and the Berlin Trilogy: 1975-1979

As Bowie began yet another transformation into the Thin White Duke, he extended further into the world of funk and self-defined “plastic soul”. “Young Americans” brought another hit “Fame” in 1975, but cocaine and excessive touring and publicity continued to take its toll on the star. The Thin White Duke’s image solidified on “Station to Station” in 1976, after being visually created from Bowie’s role in movie “The Man Who Fell to Earth”. The album creates an image of a very transitional time for the singer, and foreshadowed his coming experimental work while partially publicizing his personal struggles with addiction.

In 1976, Bowie moved to Switzerland, both to fight his drug use and focus on non-musical work, especially painting. He soon moved to West Berlin, attracted by the growing scene of independent and experimental music. Working with Brian Eno in the midst of his own experimental rock and ambient projects and recording near the Berlin Wall, he released two albums in 1977 and a third in 1979, the “Berlin Trilogy”. The first, “Low”, saw a more abstract imitation of German innovators Kraftwerk and Neu!, focusing more strongly on music and texture than lyrics. The release was delayed for three months, because of his label’s hesitance at the new sound.

The next album, “Heroes”, is the most iconic of the three and embodies the backwards cultural of the Cold War—both in its lyrics and its recording environment. It built on the influence and experimentation of “Low” with more pop guitar, lyrics, and ambient sounds. After its release, Bowie spent almost a year on tour, revitalized after beating his addiction and covering twelve countries. He returned to Berlin for “Lodger” in 1979, the closest to a return to traditional rock and a rejection of the minimalism of the rest of the trilogy. It also brought in new wave and world influences, creating a forward-thinking album that summarized Bowie’s career and personal life to the date.

 Major Tom Returns: 1980-1988

Bowie entered the 1980s with a spontaneous return to pop, now with the years of cultural experience behind him. Starting with single “Ashes to Ashes” and following album “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” in 1980, the disco-pop sound was augmented with the return of Major Tom’s character in “Space Oddity”. In 1981, he released a lone single with Queen, “Under Pressure”; a defining song of the early ‘80s and a hit collaboration between two icons of sexual identity.

The star’s success skyrocketed again in 1983 and 1984 with “Let’s Dance” and “Tonight”, as Bowie toured more than ever before and embraced dance-pop in its fullest. At the same time, his film career began to pick up as well, including roles in “Absolute Beginners” and “Labyrinth”. The album “Never Let Me Down” in 1987 reintroduced hard rock, and brought and industrial and techno edge, once again sending waves through the music community and amplifying the influence of the new genre’s development.

 Tin Machine, experimentation, and covering the world: 1989-2011

After an extended tour, Bowie disappeared from solo effort and became a member of Tin Machine. The group’s short lived popularity was undermined by unrest from Bowie’s domination of the group, dislike of the political content, and an uncomfortable idea of a man spectacular as David Bowie as a mere band member. Tin Machine drifted apart, and Bowie returned to his solo career.

Bowie began releasing ambitiously experimental solo work: jazz and hip-hop influences in 1993 on “Black Tie White Noise”, incidental tracks on soundtrack “The Buddha of Suburbia” from the same year, and an artistic industrial narrative on 1995’s “Outside”. Each of these works brought their influences to the forefront of the cultural spotlight, and this trend continued with the British jungle influences on “Earthling” from 1997.

Throughout this time, Bowie toured around the world, consistently selling out arenas and still working on new projects. In the mid-2000s, Bowie stepped away from solo work to continue touring, as health problems began to manifest from the exhaustion of performing on a such a rigid schedule.

 The last years: 2012-2016

“The Next Day”, released 2013, was Bowie’s first new music in 10 years. The album was not a comeback or reinvention; it was an art-rock synthesis of all of the artist’s past, and a look to the future. Not only met with critical acclaim, “The Next Day” left the world curious for what move he would make next, as unpredictable as ever.

Four days ago, Bowie released “Blackstar”. The video for “Lazarus”, released the same day, shows Bowie singing blindfolded in a bare room on a hospital bed and disappearing into a shadowed closet. The album, experimental as ever, listens as an eerie goodbye, delivered personally from Bowie himself. Producer Tony Visconti said that Bowie created and timed the album as a parting gift to his fans, and is bound to be recognized as one of the most powerful finales of any artist’s career.

David Bowie inspired people. At the same time, he defined the idea of a rock star and an artist and a cultural icon, but still pushing the boundaries of what each of these could mean. While he may have caused imitations, he will never be matched; and while he may be gone, he will never be forgotten.