Yesterday David Bowie, a musical legend, died. He and his music were loved by many and his memory will live on. David Bowie had been struggling for 18 months fighting cancer and unfortunately, he could not fight any longer and died. Before dying, he left us with his newest album, Blackstar. I look at that album as a parting gift, as if he was thanking every single one of his fans for supporting him. If you’ve never heard any of Bowie’s songs before, now is a great time to start. He has many great songs and 27 studio albums as well as a variety of distinct sounds so there is plenty to choose from! Along with being musically diverse, he was also a great fashion icon who showed people that they could embrace what made them unique, so he was definitely an inspiration to many not only in the musical sense.

After asking students, the top song among those who liked Bowie was Under Pressure. This song was released in 1982 and was a collaboration between the band Queen and Bowie. It has a great tune and you can really hear the passion coming out in the song. If you haven’t heard this song before, you may have heard the song Ice, Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice (and if you haven’t that’s totally okay, too!). This song samples the bass line used in Under Pressure, so be sure to listen out for it if you decide to listen to both songs! When I asked Ms. Sharpe what she thought of Bowie’s death she replied, “I was sad. It made me think of one of my favorite movies, Labyrinth.” Yes, that’s right! David Bowie starred in the movie Labyrinth in 1986. Although, I have not seen the movie, it seems like an exciting movie with great adventure. I also asked Ms. Sharpe what her favorite song by Bowie was; surprisingly, both of us think Let’s Dance is our favorite song. This was the first song by David Bowie I had ever heard and it immediately caught my attention. He has such a great voice and the beat always makes me want to dance! It’s overall a really fun song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4d7Wp9kKjA

I also asked students what they thought about Bowie’s untimely death as well as their favorite songs. Celeste Torres told me it was “Dreadful! He didn’t deserve this! He’s very inspiring. It was very depressing. The first thing in the morning [the day after], my step-dad told me. I was shocked!” She definitely looked like she’d taken it hard. In response to her favorite song she replied, Space Oddity. This song is very heartfelt to me, you can definitely hear a lot of emotion in it. Another student, Ari Martinez, said, “He’s had a hard life and now he can rest in peace.” Very true! Although, it is sad he was taken from our world, at least now he’s in better place. Ari said his favorite song was The Man Who Sold the World. Now you’re probably thinking, isn’t that a Nirvana song? Yes, it is, but it was David Bowie’s originally, they just covered it. It’s a great song and also my second favorite. The vibe you get from the song is almost as if you were in another world, detachment from the world or even yourself.

Other great songs by Bowie are China Girl, Modern Love, Life on Mars?, Rebel Rebel, Suffragette City and many more. David Bowie may be gone, but his memory and legacy will live on. He will remain admired and an inspiration for many. As David Bowie once said, “The truth is of course is that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time.” It may seem like he’s departed from us, but he’s simply arriving somewhere else and he’s arriving in the hearts of all his fans.