David Bowie - Rock 'n' Roll Chameleon

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By Ceara Russell, Year 12

David Bowie: a rock ‘n’ roll chameleon, musical genius, Ziggy Stardust, Thin White Duke, and Aladdin Sane. The star who died at age 69 never failed to reinvent himself. Personally, I can say that David Bowie has always been a big part of my early childhood. My dad, who has been to a total of 58 of his concerts, never failed to consistently play David Bowie; he always managed to have David Bowie’s famous portraits on our walls.

When it comes to David Bowie’s music, here are a few of my favourites:

1. All the Young Dudes

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“All the Young Dudes” is commonly known for being one of the best glam-rock anthems. I only recently fell in love with this song when my dad took me to a place where they had a David Bowie tribute night after his death. Everyone got up from their seats and started singing along. It was definitely a moment when everyone shed a tear or two.

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0syRTFF0UbQ

2. Life On Mars?

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“Life On Mars?” is definitely one of the obvious favourites. “Life On Mars?” is commonly labelled as one of David Bowie’s best songs, due to the uniqueness of the lyrics. This song was released on 1971 as a part of his album “Hunky Dorky” and remained #3 on the UK top charts for more than 10 weeks.

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v--IqqusnNQ

3. Dollar Days


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Honestly, I can say that “Dollar Days” has got to be one of his most lyrically powerful songs about his death. Throughout the track, David Bowie says the line, “I’m dying to”, a phrase in the light of his passing, can be read as “I’m dying too”. Dollar Days is a track off his last album, Black Star.

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqW-kvU5cLg

4. Ziggy Stardust


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“Ziggy Stardust” was a character created by Bowie and inspired by Legendary Starburst Cowboy. This song, as well as the character itself, inspired a lot of Glam-Rock bands like T-Rex and Suede. The track is featured in his album, “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars”. My dad was so in love with Bowie’s ‘Stardust’ character that he named my dog after him: “Ziggy”.

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXq5VvYAI1Q



5. Lazarus

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“Lazarus” by David Bowie was his last single before his death. The extremely powerful music video and strategically designed track left us all in shock. The hints of his dying were barely evident until the explicit reveal of his death. The clues were evident, though: the hospital bed, the creeping lady representing death, and the image of Bowie having to rush his writing because he knew his time was almost up. Lazarus was also another track off the album, Blackstar.

Listen and watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-JqH1M4Ya8

6. Changes


  

“Changes” will definitely always be one of David Bowie’s most well known songs. Most of you may know this song from the animated movie, Shrek. However, this song is also the last song Bowie ever performed live in 2006. “Changes” is from the album ‘Hunky Dorky’, which was released in 1971.

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCgzX7vwlFk

7. Golden Years


 

I can say that “Golden Years” may be one of my favourite upbeat songs by David Bowie. David Bowie mentioned that he once offered Elvis Presley to perform this song, but Elvis unfortunately declined. This track is from his album, “Station to Station”. This track was also known to be one of the first songs to be on the top list in the United States for Bowie.

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9OIrJQIn2Q

 8. Jump They Say


“Jump They Say” is a song David Bowie wrote himself about his schizophrenic half-brother, Terry, who committed suicide by jumping off a building. The words “Jump They Say” were in relation to the voices in Terry’s head that put pressure on him to jump. However, on a less tragic note, “Jump They Say” was the first music video I had ever watched (thanks to my dad again), and I did not stop playing it for a month straight. Yes, it made my dad go insane, but with the futuristic tones, nothing could have stopped me from playing it over and over again.

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avJt0SQec0I

9. I Can’t Give Everything Away



“I Can’t Give Everything Away” is the most grounded track for me on an album that is unapologetically full of flights of fancy. With its callback harmonic and melodic themes, it's like the cookie given to longtime fans as a reward for sticking with this experimental album till the end. This song is also from his last album, Blackstar.

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE1Zcngd3VA

10. Valentine’s Day


 

“Valentine’s Day” is one of the tracks that were on ‘The Next Day’. For everyone, this album was a shock. Typical David Bowie, dropped a single: ‘Where Are We Now?’ out of nowhere after so many years. A couple of months later, ‘The Next Day’ album was out. This song is one of my favourites from the album.

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4R8HTIgHUU

11. Moonage Daydream


“Moonage Daydream” has recently been a very well known song by Ziggy Stardust, as a popular film, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ used the track in their film. The song’s sci-fi imagery gives it a sense of escapism and wonder.

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEde35UbwUI

12. The Stars (Are Out Tonight)



“The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” was the second single from his album, ‘The Next Day’. This is another one of my favourite songs off the album. This song was also written and produced by David Bowie. However, this song is known for the amazing music video, starring the actress Tilda Swinton.

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdU3OPxLq

13. Heroes


“Heroes” is a song that we are all familiar with. However, when the song was first released, it was not as popular. The song became a hit due to incredibly effective advertising.

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgcc5V9Hu3g

14. Drive-In Saturday


“Drive-In Saturday” was one of the singles from Aladdin Sane, which quickly rose to the top of the UK charts. Bowie’s aim for this song was that the story is told from the perspective of an inhabitant of the future looking back in time (post-apocalypse).

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgKcFNqXHaI

15. Space Oddity 


“Space Oddity” was about a fictional character/astronaut that David Bowie made - Major Tom. This track was his opening track for his self-titled album. The first moon landing happened five days after this single was released.

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D67kmFzSh_o

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