A hero for more than one day: Reflecting on David Bowie

It is Sunday night, I'm in bed, it's 2 a.m., I am about to go to sleep, I am on Twitter reading about the Golden Globes, and I receive a notification about the death of David Bowie. It's amazing that something as so simple as a notification can ruin one's mood. My face dropped, I sat straight up, propped up my pillows against the wall, and clicked on the notification.

I wasn't alive for Jim Morrison or Freddie Mercury, probably my favorite artists, but I was alive for David Bowie. Bowie is not one of my favorite artists, but I love him so, so much. One of my favorite canvas tote bags has a portrait of Bowie with his last name written in bold red. I've gotten so many compliments about that bag, from people triple my age, my own peers, and little kids who just like the bright colors. I would sport that bag around campus and think I was so cool. 

It's easy to forget your heroes will face death too. It's hard to remember your heroes aren't immortal. David Bowie will remain immortal though. David Bowie will outlive us all. An article from Vice writes, "Without him, there would be no punk, no glam, no post-punk, no hair metal, no goth, no Brit-pop, no new wave, no freak folk, no new romantics, no (as we know it) blue eyed soul, no (as we know it) art-pop." David Bowie was cool, timeless, fearless, daring, wild....a STARMAN.

Bowie was everything. He was a superhuman with otherworldly forces. He was so much more than human and he knew it. His records always amazed me. Shocked me, stunned me, surprised me. How can one album go off on a tangent like that and come right back to where it started? Bowie's albums are an unbelievable fantasy. It's like floating in space and playing with stars. There's no way to describe a feeling an album gives you but that's the feeling I get. Floating in space and playing with stars. That is what David Bowie would have wanted. 

Everyone always asks me the same questions when a musician dies. How will they be remembered? What do you think their best album is? What's your favorite song of theirs? I hadn't thought about David Bowie in weeks when I received this notification and now I can't stop thinking about him. I tried to fall asleep on Sunday night but I couldn't, David Bowie has died.

Celebrating life the only way I know how...by listening to a lot of music. 

David Bowie has not died. His music lives forever in hundreds of different film soundtracks. Very seldom do I see a film and there's NOT David Bowie song (an exaggeration, but I love Bowie so, so much). David Bowie contributed to the soundtrack of my life. "Changes" was one of my favorite songs growing up because of the crescendo of music and the catchy chorus. Nirvana's cover of "The Man Who Sold the World" gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. Old favorites still remain to be "Starman," "Ziggy Stardust," "Space Oddity," and "Moonage Daydream" because of the way Bowie can lead me to a different universe to float in space and play with stars.

Shocked me, stunned me, surprised me. That is how I felt about the death of David fucking Bowie. You have to live forever, you have to keep changing music, you have to keep making music that will shock, stun, and surprise. The death of Ray Manzarek of The Doors made me feel the same way when he died in May 2013. The Doors made me who I am today and I can't imagine high school without the band. Lemmy Kilmister and Scott Weiland of Motörhead and Stone Temple Pilots, respectively, each died last month and, although sad, it didn't hit me as hard. My favorite rockstars are dying but they remain a present in our lives. 

David Bowie was, excuse me, is, everything. He is an androgynous rock star who was so keenly flamboyant onstage but also married a gorgeous supermodel. He reinvented himself with each album, with each persona being a part of pop culture. Bowie was, and always will be, recognizable through all the changes. Thomas Forget, biographer, said, "Because he has succeeded in so many different styles of music, it is almost impossible to find a popular artist today that has not been influenced by David Bowie." Hear, hear. 

Bowie released his 27th and final studio album "Blackstar" on Friday, January 8, his 69th birthday.

"Blackstar" standout tracks: "Lazarus," "Girl Loves Me," "Dollar Days"