This week commemorates 10 years since the passing of the musician, actor, and occasional artist David Bowie. The fact that the 10 – year anniversary is regarded as worthy of recognition shows that Bowie’s status remains as high as ever. His life ended just two days after the release of his final album, . There have been numerous re – releases, new biographies (), and documentaries about him. Although Bowie has passed away, his spirit endures triumphantly.
Even the most devoted Bowie fans—and I would readily count myself among them—might question whether there’s an excessive amount of continued attention. He released 26 studio albums, not all of which were outstanding, and appeared in films ranging from classics (The Prestige, The Last Temptation of Christ). If you’re lucky enough never to have seen the dreadful 1970s film Just a Gigolo, which Bowie once regretfully described as “my 32 Elvis Presley movies rolled into one,” your life will be better off.
However, compared to his contemporaries, Bowie was in a league of his own. I’d have a hard time naming a song released by Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, or Sting in the past 30 years. Bowie’s greatness and genius lay in the fact that, despite his well – publicized and ridiculed mistakes, he never lost the ability he developed in the very early days of his career, which was to write unforgettable music. If you listen again to what were considered his greatest hits, they’re still as mysterious and somewhat obscure as they were when first released.
Compare Bowie’s first major single with Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” which is also strong both lyrically and musically. “Rocket Man” is highly accomplished, extremely memorable, and reveals its merits on the first listen. Meanwhile, the Bowie song is filled with sadness, poignancy, and mystery, as the young Bowie sang about the adventures of Major Tom, “drifting in a tin can” through outer space, and wanting to tell his wife ‘I love her very much … she knows.’ From the start, Bowie presented himself less as a typical rock star and more as a… He may not have been a poet like Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen, a guitar virtuoso like Jimmy Page, or an exceptional vocalist like Mick Jagger. Instead, he was one – of – a – kind. Many have tried to imitate him, but none have succeeded.
Bowie’s era of global dominance came in the 1970s. During this time, he released one brilliant album after another, with the confidence of a man who knew he was touched by genius. From The Man Who Sold the World in 1970 to Scary Monsters in 1980, it’s hard to find a sub – par release—even his 1973 “stop – gap” covers album Pin Ups has its appeal. On several of his records, especially 1972’s , 1976’s Station to Station, and 1977’s Low, Bowie achieved unparalleled greatness in popular music.
Surprisingly, in hindsight, things started to go wrong with the huge success of in 1983. It transformed Bowie from a chameleonic, gender – bending rock star into a mainstream pop entertainer, and this was too much of a change in persona. His confidence wavered, and he produced poor albums for the first time in his career—nobody needs to listen to 1987’s Never Let Me Down, the lowest point. His desperate attempt to form a hard – rock band, Tin Machine, was justly criticized as a wealthy middle – aged man’s vanity project.
Yet he persevered, and even his critics could only praise his determination to regain his former brilliance. There were excellent, underrated albums, such as 1995’s Brian Eno reunion album Outside, among those that didn’t fully work (notably 1997’s drum ‘n’ bass experiment Earthling). By the time… Bowie was once again a beloved cultural icon, helped by the friendly yet detached persona he adopted in press interviews throughout his career.
The next 16 years were a mix of triumph and disaster. He retired from music for most of a decade after an on – stage… only to return in glory with 2013’s The Next Day: an album recorded in complete secrecy and only revealed to the world on his birthday, January 8. He co – wrote a musical, Lazarus, recorded his masterpiece Blackstar, and… with the calm confidence that characterized his entire career. When he died, the world stopped what it was doing. Some of us have never stopped grieving.
It’s easy to be sentimental about the deceased and to imagine what they would have done if they had lived. In Bowie’s case, he left behind one of the greatest bodies of work any artist has ever created, and that should be enough. Even as his Reddit – obsessed fans still analyze his lyrics for hidden meanings, his spirit surely looks down on them with a wry smile at his fans’ never – ending search for depth. I prefer to remember him through the words of his friend and collaborator Iggy Pop, who in 2016 said “David’s friendship was the light of my life. I never met such a brilliant person. He was the best there is.” Ten years later, we can only concur.