by Elena Roberts |
"I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring."
David Bowie was, by all accounts, the epitome of a rock star. His work as a gifted musician, composer, actor, and artist permeated and transformed the music industry throughout the last five decades. In that time, he compiled an arsenal of 25 studio albums, 22 film roles, as well as countless other associated projects and awards.
As far as I'm aware, he's the only man to duet with both Bing Crosby and Freddy Mercury and still hold superior name recognition. Bowie, or rather, Ziggy, defined the glam-rock genre of the ‘70s and remained at the forefront of the music industry until the days before his untimely passing on Jan. 10. Despite his quite literal star status, Bowie maintained a humility and genuine kindness that was evident to friends and fans alike.
To me, David Bowie was Starman. He was the somber night-time glow of "Ziggy Stardust" and the rest of the noticeably less-dusty vinyls in the separate stack atop the rest of my family's collection. He was the songs my mother used to sing softly in my ear while we gazed at the glow-in-the-dark constellations on my bedroom ceiling. He was the name written a hundred different ways throughout the pages of her teenage diary and the shoebox full of ticket stubs I came to discover years later. If I had been a boy, he would have been my namesake.
It appears I'm not the only person he's made a substantial impact on. Even in the first week following his passing, Bowie's legacy is tangible. His most recent studio album, “Blackstar,” released on his 69th birthday, became his first No. 1 album in the United States. The mobile app Snapchat, dedicated a two-day story and created a personalized filter in his honor, amassing videos of fans belting his works from London to Los Angeles. I'll be one of many to admit that the Brixton crowd's rendition of "Starman" reduced me to a shallow puddle of tears every time I played it.
The Cincinnati Zoo welcomed a penguin chick named "Bowie," while British astronaut Tim Peake shared condolences via Twitter from the International Space Station.
Perhaps the most fitting tribute was the commemoration of Starman in an interstellar constellation of the iconic "Aladdin Sane" lightning bolt by Belgium's MIRA Public Observatory. In addition, Google Sky launched the "Stardust for Bowie" project, which allows fans to create online, personalized tributes contained within the constellation itself.
Writing a memorial tribute to David Bowie is, at the very least, a remarkably intimidating task. How do you summarize the astronomical impact of such an icon in less than 500 words? The answer is simple: You can't, and I don't believe Bowie would want us to be able to.
In a 1976 interview with Rolling Stone, Bowie noted, "I've always had a repulsive sort of need to be something more than human.”
I think it is apparent now more than ever that he truly was the closest thing this world came to superhuman. Ziggy, Major Tom, Goblin King, Starman, Bowie, rest somewhere supremely and delightfully not-boring.
Elena Roberts is a senior biology major. She can be reached at robertse16@up.edu.
