RIP David Bowie

I am sure every single person on the planet is now aware of the death of one of the biggest, most well known, most extraordinary, most exceptional artists of all time. Most everybody of all ages has heard his name at some point in their lives and most of us can probably at least remember the lyrics to one song that we have heard from, David Bowie. If not, then, you have got to be living under a rock somewhere and most likely, on another planet.

I wouldn't necessarily put David Bowie up in my top 10 or top 20 favorite artists, personally. However, I have to admit, a lot of the music I listen to, most likely wouldn't be here if it weren't for David Bowie and his phenomenal talent. David Bowie is one of those musicians/artists who doesn't even have to try. It just comes naturally and the the fact that he is such a fascinating creature is what seems to have almost broke the internet's heart over the last 24 hours.

I received a text message late last night with the news. (NBC broke it first. At least to me.) I immediately copied and pasted the text message and posted it on Twitter and then Facebook and then texted a few people, my mom was first of course! I expected to see a gazillion posts and pictures and videos, all over the world wide web. It happened almost instantly after the initial post was made on his official Facebook page........ I don't think I have ever seen anything quite like this before. It was mesmerizing, seeing so many people sharing their experiences, their favorite songs, videos, stories about this one individual. It was oddly refreshing to see posts that had several thousand comments and shares and nobody was bickering, not one word of politics, no drama, nothing but people getting along because they all have this one thing in common. They are all saddened by the death of this astonishing superstar who has affected so many and for so long. (and will continue to for eternity.) 

Now, again, I have never been a huge Bowie fan. I mean, I have always had nothing but the most respect for him, considering how he has changed music in so many ways and how he was able to give so much to so many genres of music. I only ever owned one album of his and the whole album is quite good. But, that's the most I have ever really gotten into any Bowie music. One thing I found very interesting, was the amount of artists that I adore, who have been paying their respects and thanking him for everything he has done for them and their own music. I already knew a lot of this, I knew he performed with Trent Reznor, (Nine Inch Nails.), created music with many others, for instance, one of my other all time favorites, Maynard James Keenan, of Tool. This Bowie guy had/has a way with charming everybody, no matter who they are, where they are or what they are into.

My heart is very heavy for all of his family and friends. His supermodel wife, Iman, their daughter, his son from a previous marriage. I can only hope they were all able to spend as much time as possible, smiling and laughing with him in his last days.

What exactly is this post about? I'm not so sure. I found myself being terribly sad over this news all day. The whole internet had this dark cloud over it last night, today, and even still, tonight. At the same time, people are getting along and yes, I know this won't last for very long and yes, I think it's sad that it takes something such as death, to make everybody put aside their differences, just for a few hours, a day, maybe 2. Why can't we do this more often? I think we used to....

I imagine that this would be what the internet would have been like, had it been around when John Lennon passed away. My mom is a major Beatles fan so, I know a little about them ;) For instance, I do know that they were very well loved and I can't think of anybody else who would have topped a Beatles member passing away. I think it's horribly sad when anybody dies and sometimes I have a hard time trying to figure out what exactly the issue is that it takes a superstar's death to make people get along for a little while? I understand that we will always see and read and hear more about them since they are, well, famous. But, why isn't anything else as important to the entire world, all at once? From what I understand about the type of person, David Bowie was, he would have preferred that we would all be able to come together and forget about our labels and differences for a bit.

One thing that strikes me about this person is the fact that he was somehow able to keep his personal life, personal. I'm not sure how, but somehow, we didn't know about cancer and neither did his close friends. I think I understand why it was kept a secret and I actually think it was done to help his close friends and fans and most of all, his family. I respect a star who doesn't have all of the drama and ridiculous stories following him or her and who is well respected by famous people and just us regular people, of all shapes and sizes. I also respect a person who has done so much and hasn't blabbed about it to magazines and talk shows but kept it a secret, simply because he/she is a kind, genuine soul.

I read this post on Yoko Ono's Facebook page today and it brought tears to my eyes. So, celebrities have feelings and hearts and they do things for others behind the scenes and not for attention. (I knew this and hope more people are aware of this as well.) Because of this post, I started researching and reading more about this enchanting "human" being and everything I have found, just all pleasant things. I now have a new found respect for this individual and I can't even think about how anybody could think of him under any other light. Hopefully, more stories will continue to pop up over the coming days....

I hope that more people will take something from this tragedy and turn it into something wonderful, in his honor. Even if it's just little things like, treating others' nicely, being polite, putting aside differences, putting other people first, understanding that it doesn't matter what somebody looks like, or what they do or where they live, what matters is what is inside. Even if you don't have any of those things in common with somebody, one thing you most likely have in common, is music. While it may not be, David Bowie himself, BUT, it may be an artist that you admire who was also influenced by this generous soul.

One more thing, I am certain that many of you have already watched David Bowie's chilling video for his newest single, Lazarus. I almost think he released this album and this video, to prepare everybody for what was happening to him and what just occurred. I can't think of any other reason behind this song, the lyrics, the different parts of the video, such as: levitating from the hospital bed, the skull on the desk, the wardrobe that the "healthier" David Bowie walks into at the end, the blindfold... it is such a compelling and gloomy song. After watching it and wondering why he made such a song, I couldn't help but think that just as he has done in his life here on earth, he is still, after death, putting others before him.