David Bowie spent his entire career redefining the art of popular music, and on Sunday he pulled off perhaps his greatest ever coup when he turned his own death into one last spellbinding performance.
Advertisement
Streaming giant Spotify said streams of Bowie’s music were up 2,700 percent on Monday, while the Official Charts Company in the United Kingdom said Bowie’s “Blackstar” album was headed to the top spot on the charts with sales of 43,000 since its Friday release.
The lyricism on “Blackstar” grows wistful as Bowie – long fascinated by space and his separation from his body – reflects on his dwindling time on earth.
Fans left flowers and candles outside of David Bowie’s residence in NYC early Monday morning, hours after the legendary rock singer’s spokesman confirmed that he had died at the age of 69.
Visconti posted on Facebook that the project was Bowie’s “parting gift”.
“I was being honored by my charity (the We Are Family Foundation) and they thought the most appropriate person to give me the award was Bowie”, said Rodgers, who produced Bowie’s platinum-selling “Let’s Dance” album. “I wasn’t, however, prepared for it”.
Yet the video takes on powerful new meaning in light of Bowie’s undisclosed illness.
The video begins with Bowie lying in a hospital bed, and ends with him disappearing into a wardrobe.
Setting aside the very telling song title, even the first line of the song (Look up here, I’m in heaven) points towards the fate that Bowie knew was awaiting him.
In tributes on social media, fans have been sharing the third verse’s lyrics: “This way or no way, you know I’ll be free”.
“Blackstar” was only Bowie’s second recent album.
He made a surprise comeback in 2013, after a 10-year break from recording, when he suddenly released a new single on his 66th birthday, with an album out weeks later. At his best, Bowie trafficked in irresistible pop hooks (“Starman”), soaring epics (“Space Oddity“) and straight out rock (“Suffragette City”) – usually reaching at least two of the three and sometimes hitting the trifecta (“Changes“).
“We had so many good times together”. The intimations of suffering and death in the new songs, like Lazarus?
Advertisement
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin was quoted as saying Bowie wrote the song about the Islamic State group, although others around the singer said they were not sure. Some were sent by Bowie’s famous friends.
