I am sitting here right now devastated as many others are over the passing of David Bowie. In some strange way it seems impossible that he’s really gone. This is because Bowie was more than just a living human being. Bowie was and is an embodiment of something truly magnificent in the human spirit. He was the embodiment of change, personal reinvention, taking risks, and perseverance in the face of failure. This is what David Bowie is to me, and I think a lot of people feel the same way about him.
As the gentle synth sweeps of “Warszawa” play on the far from perfect copy of Low I purchased two decades ago at a thrift store in some coal town in Pennsylvania whose name I can not recall, I am reminded of how deeply the presence of David Bowie is embedded in my consciousness. That is not something that can possibly die with the man. And while my consciousness will die with me, David Bowie will still live on through his work and through what he represents to so many of us and will most certainly represent to countless more people years down the road, most of whom are not even born yet.
We will never have another like him. David Bowie broke a thousand molds as he made himself. Something truly did happen on the day he died; David Bowie was born.
