To stream or download the mix, click here: D/L. It’s no longer on Mixcloud because of their policy against having more than X number of tracks by a single artist in a given mix.
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Yes, it had to happen…
Was it a shock, despite all our anticipation?
Of course.
Because: denial.
David Bowie is dead.
Actually, I saw something online — a comic strip, I think — that read:
— “Did you hear Bowie’s dead?”
— “Bowie’s not dead; he just went home.”
I think that’s somewhat true. Not that I’m a particularly spiritual or superstitious person, but in David Jones’ case, one has to wonder if he ever really belonged among us, mere mortals.
And yet, he did. He passed from a very mortal disease, and we all have to face an uncomfortable truth: in the end, he was just as discombobulated by Life as the rest of us.
Still, between his first conscious memories and his last, he left us a legacy the world rarely sees.
I don’t want to fall into the superlatives trap, so I’ll skip the word “genius” and its siblings.
But a great artist he was. Musician. Writer. Composer. Producer. Actor. Et j’en passe… Oh! and what a singer.
Wait—
Inspiration.
That, right there, is his true legacy.
The number of people he inspired — in one way or another — is probably even more staggering than you (or you, or I) can fathom. And I don’t just mean artistically.
The world only births people of this magnitude and vision once in a great while, and we should all feel lucky we weren’t dead before he was born.
I’m lucky enough to have parents roughly Bowie’s age (a tad younger, really), which means I quite literally grew up with the man.
Obviously, it was only in my teens that I developed a true appreciation for his œuvre — one that deepened as I grew older and, hopefully, wiser. Or smarter.
Meh. Maybe not.
But certainly more equipped to understand his art.
And in that sense, I feel privileged. I was well-positioned to follow his every twist and turn. When, in the ’90s, he explored Drum n’ Bass or had his songs remixed by this or that producer, I was already immersed in those scenes. It didn’t feel foreign to me.
Bowie always had his ear to the underground — as all the best artists do. They know that’s where real innovation happens.
The Trickle-Down Theory doesn’t work in art. It’s a grassroots process.
Few, if any, artists disregarded conventions as defiantly as Bowie did.
You’ve probably read a hundred times this sad, sad week that he constantly reinvented himself. But I think it was more than that — it was a deep compulsion to explore creative wells he sensed were waiting. Calling. Demanding to be tapped or re-tapped.
Was he always successful?
Hell, no.
Not everything he released was stellar — far from it.
There are nearly as many misses as there are hits in his staggeringly rich catalogue.
But oh, the hits…
Hence this mix: these are some of my favourites. This tribute could’ve been three times as long and still wouldn’t scratch the surface.
What I wanted to do here was graze across the many facets of his intuition, his inspiration, his multitudes.
There are Bowie songs. Covers. Tracks he produced, played or sang on, or simply inspired. The common thread is their impact — and his — on my life as a music lover.
I hope you’ll enjoy taking this trip with me. And with Him.
Thank you.
And Him.
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- Are You Sitting Comfortably? _ David Bowie Narrates Prokofiev’s Peter And The Wolf _ 1978
- Black Star _ Elvis _ Flaming Star _ 1960 Read: Does a 1960s Elvis song hold the key to Bowie’s Blackstar, and 5 other theories behind his mysterious farewell
- Love Is Lost _ Hello Steve Reich Mix _ The Next Day Extra _ 2013
- Ashes To Ashes _ Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) _ 1979
- Reflektor _ Arcade Fire _ 2013 (Bowie on additional vocals)
- Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime) _ Blackstar _ 2016
- I’m Deranged _ Outside _ 1995
- Bring Me The Disco King _ Reality _ 2003
- Life On Mars? _ Barbra Streisand _ Butterfly _ 1974
- Cat People _ Soundtrack _ 1982
- 1984/Dodo Medley _ Recorded 1973, Released On Sound And Vision 1989
- Stay _ Station To Station _ 1975
- Walk On The Wild Side _ Transformer _ 1972 _ Acoustic Guitar and Produced by Bowie
- Changes _ Hunky Dory _ 1971
- It’s Gonna Be Me _ Young Americans _ Recorded 1975, Released 1991
- Abdulmajid _ “Heroes” _ Recorded In 78 Or 79, Released In 1991
- Seven (Beck Mix) _ Hours… _ 2000
- A Better Future (Remix By Air) _ Limited Edition Bonus Disc For Heathen _ 2002
- Blackstar _ Blackstar _ 2016
- It’s No Game _ Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) _ 1979
- Heroes _ “Heroes” _ 1977
- Ziggy Stardust _ Bauhaus _ Single _ 1982
- ‘Tis A Pity She Was A Whore _ Blackstar _ 2016
- The Dirty Song _ David Bowie In Bertolt Brecht’s Baal _ 1982
- The Man Who Sold The World _ Lulu _ Single _ Vocals and Produced by Bowie _ 1974
- DJ _ Lodger _ 1979
- Somebody Up There Likes You _ Simple Minds _ New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) _ 1982 _ Simple Minds’ band name comes from the lyrics of Jean Genie and this song is a nod To Somebody Up There Like Me from Young Americans (1975)
- This Is Not America _ The Falcon And The Snowman Soundtrack _ 1985
- Lazarus _ Blackstar _ 2016
- Space Oddity _ Demo Version _ 1969
- Sense Of Doubt / Moss Garden / Neuköln _ “Heroes” _ 1977