By killing Ziggy Stardust at 26, it's possible Bowie made certain he didn't join the 27 club. My father, not a fan of Bowie's music, said that when Bowie died, he felt like someone or something important had gone from the world.
I felt the same way. I didn't hate Bowie's music, I just didn't listen to him a whole lot. However, when he died, I felt.. sad. I felt like I just lost someone who was really important to me. I knew I wasn't in the right because I wasn't a fan, but I remember seeing in a magizine sometime in 2015 that he had cancer and I, then as well, felt sad. I really, really wanted him to overcome it. How could that be? Why did I care so much for a man I wasn't a fan of? That night I listened to his parting gift and wanted to cry. It was fuckin' weird. Ever since then, I've hold a high amount of respect for David Bowie.
@@lostmedia-e6p He was awesome. I've joined some groups that talk about him and his albums and some art and stuff. It helps, since I can't really talk to HIM. I was a fan. I was a fan in the 80s. I was a fan off and on. I was concerned about what he looked like when he wore that makeup, and I wondered if he was gay and all that stuff. But even though I liked him a little bit, I didn't want to get to know him more cause I just figured he was mean and stuff. I wanted to know if je was really like the character je played in the Labyrinth. And I saw the interview that they gave him when he was doing the show. Then I saw it again a couple of times in the past couple years. In one of them you can't hear it, and the other one had poor sound quality. Anyway, I didn't really know much of what he did. All I heard of was The Labyrinth, and I didn't know that that whole other slew of songs were his (Let's Dance, Fame, etc), so I just knew him as an actor, a singer that wrote songs for that one movie, and I heard stuff about him off and on because I got confused and about whether or not to like him because I thought he was a copycat. I didnt hear anything else about him after the 90s, so I figured he was laying in the dust and I stopped inquiring about him, liking him, etc. and I was confused about him anyway, so I decided to stop everything and stop liking him. Well, 2016 rolls around, he dies. I didn't think much of it, and I really didnt care. One day, I was strolling through Facebook or something... this had been a few months after he died, I was wondering why he had all these damn fans, and I wondering what the hell people loved him so much for. I really was. I was super annoyed because I didn't figure that one person could deserve so much attention if he was mean and was a copy cat. Turns out, I was wrong. Well, I ate my words, and owned up to not liking him in the past for stupid reasons (that and the fact that I thought he was still a mainstream person back then), and I've been interested since. It took interviews and seeing him off camera and seeing press conferences and listening to what he was saying when he said it, not just listening to the interview. I started looking at him as a celebrity in the beginning, now I look at him as David. When you said you weren't a fan but you felt somebody important had left this earth, I had been a fan off and on til that point, and I didn't know much about him but I felt the same way. He made everybody feel good and he kept huma decency going, good personalities, and niceness as well as the music industry. Too bad I don't know the man personally. we could have had some really good talks .
He was right. We lost a vision, a way of seeing things, that no one else had or will ever have again. It happens every time. This is what it is to lose a great artist.
It's hard not to read Lazarus as a goodbye. "Look up here, I'm in heaven I've got scars that can't be seen I've got drama, can't be stolen Everybody knows me now"
In my honest opinion, and I've heard this phrase on RU-vid videos and comments as well as news sources, Lazarus is to Bowie what Requiem was for Mozart.
Somebody will. “Somebody else took his place and bravely cried; ‘I’m a blackstar, I’m a blackstar’ “ Bowie prophesied of someone who would take up the mantle of Blackstar
When I was 14 I heard David Bowie singing, screaming; "Give me your hand", it sounded like he was talking just to me, so I did, and I haven´t let go since. Thank you for this video.
He was singing to us especially, the alienated teen and the overwhelmed young adult 20 somethings! I saw the Ashes to Ashes video on tv in my Grandmas livingroom in Wallasey, England at 13; I was mesmerized by the visuals of DB walking towards me wearing a ‘French Clown Suit’ singing about Major Tom becoming a Junkie ‘Strung out on heavens high, hitting an All Time Low’! That was when my Mom walked in and snapped off the Telly saying “That’s a bit too morbid for kids”! It resonates as a life changing moment for this brought up in California girl and his cry’s that I’m not alone and I’m not a discussing wrench after the breakup,of my first real Love Affair at 22 really saved me just as his beautific face on the Hunky Dory album cover, lit by the led light from my stereo, helped me come down from a mushroom trip in my Haight Ashbury apartment in the late 80s!! His was a death in the family for me. Thank you for warning me about Rock n Roll Suicide and also (to a lesser degree) thanks to REM for: ‘Don’t Go Back To Rock Ville’ for keeping me safe till ai could be strong, WTF would we have become if not for David Bowie, Robert Zimmerman was not going to restore our sanity! RIP Starman💖
currently, i’m 14 and i’m in probably the worst period of my life. i’m in pain everyday, and david bowie singing rock n roll suicide is one of my favorite things. this comment gave it a better meaning, and ill try to hold on to his hand. i will really try, for david.
Yes just unreal. Never done before while knowing they were dying. DB was a star in life and in death. God how I miss him. I keep listening to Rock n Roll Suicide lately. It seems to make me feel closer to him.
Blackstar is one of the best albums I've ever heard and I think that every human being should listen to it. I know it's not for everyone, but I can't explain how an album could be so beautiful and complex, so unique in its sound and style, both musically and poetically. Just give Bowie a chance. He made a real work of art.
It fascinates me how an album as dark as that is also so chill. I remember when I needed to do an ethics project, listen to Blackstar the whole day during it.
I often wonder how many suicidal people have been saved by listening to "Rock n Roll Suicide". Thanks for this, what an artist. I listened to Blackstar (the song) every night before I went to sleep for months after he died. ❤️✨❤️
I've still only been able to listen to Blackstar a few times. When he passed I couldn't listen to him for a year and it was such a hole in my life as I always listened to him constantly. I can listen to him again now and enjoy his music again but I'm still not ready for Blackstar. I've grieved more for him than family members which surprised me. It's such an adjustment to a world without him in it.
Sons of the Silent Age Make love only once but dream and dream Don't walk, they just glide in and out of life They never die, they just go to sleep one day.
I had a theory for Rock 'n' roll suicide, for me, is connected with the first song of the album 'Five years' where it says that the human kind has five years before the end of the world. So, 'Rock 'n' roll' suicide would be after that five years, in the last days, I thought this because of the final lines: "Just turn on with me, and you're not alone Let's turn on and be not alone Gimme your hands, 'cause you're wonderful Gimme your hands, 'cause you're wonderful Oh, gimme your hands" Because of the way he sings it, it's almost like a preacher, giving hope to the people of the earth, even when all is lost.
I'd love to see you do some videos on the following artists: 1. The Doors 2. Janis Joplin 3. Sly and The Family Stone 4. The Monkees, The Partridge Family, and The Brady Bunch 5. Judy Garland
@@whenthemusicsover6028 These are my ideas for each musician 1. The Poetry of Jim Morrison 2. Janis Joplin's unfinished farewell (Pearl) 3. How Sly and The Family Stone took funk into a darker direction (There's a Riot goin' on) 4. The history of fictional TV bands (Covering The Monkees and The Partridge Family) 5. The Story of Judy Garland
There are different versions of him hanging around in the multiverse, but there is only one The David Bowie that we had. It is a somewhat comforting thought.
Rasmus Anthin it’s crazy. I typically don’t believe in that stuff, but some ‘Wagner’ site did an evp and he addressed his eye injury and the response straight up sounded like him saying “yep, I was 13...” THAT was nuts because most all of the reports on it have falsely always reported his being 15. The other odd thing tho- 2 separate people doing those evps (which I wouldn’t touch with a 10ft pole) for him, had the same sounding woman saying, “he’s still alive”... Leave it to someone like Bowie to find his way back here though. He was always way ahead of us to begin woth😂
Not listening to Bowie is like not listening to an entire genre. His music is so eclectic, unique and consistently high quality. You should at least listen to the essentials, which there are like 10. Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, Young Americans, Station to Station, Heroes, Low, Scary Monsters, Let's Dance, Blackstar. It's an experience every human should have.
Bowie is seriously my all time favorite. His songs Ashes to Ashes and Heros (the labyrinth, and so many others.) were the songs that motivated me to walk into rehab and get the help I needed at the age of 17. I knew the day before David Bowie died that he was going to die the next day. I had a conversation with my co-worker after I saw his CD inside my workplace and (even though I already had three copies of the same CD) I purchased it. My co worker saw I bought it and I had a gut feeling he was going to pass away the next day. He still remembers me saying that as well, brings it up to me all the time that I knew, my Hero, was going to heaven. I was 13 when I used opiates and almost died three times. His story and music helped me when I was using and when I decided to get better. I love Bowie. I was very depressed as a child. I felt I wasnt normal or that I was retarded because I would cry at everything and felt that I missed the past even though I wasnt alive very long. I was and am a nostalgic child, and Bowie I sincerely think he felt that way as well. Thankyou mom for showing me him. As David Bowie once said, 'still dont know what I was waiting for- cha-cha-cha changes, time to face the strange, turn and face the strange'. You cant go on in life and be afraid to face the strange and new. David Bowie helped me realize that.
RIP Bowie, It has been 3 years since He died and It still hurts that he's gone now. He has made death art and he's the most human rock star who has ever lived He was truly a Starman through and through.
R.I.P David Bowie, The legend, The Myth, The Starman. I will admit that when I first heard the news of his passing I broke down in tears, and was basically depressed for the rest of the day, as he was important to my mother, which made him important to me as he was a link I shared with my mother even after her own passing.
you're too good to have in your catalogue so few videos on David Bowie. I really phisically need more. Jokes aside, your video essays are the best, and David Bowie is my personal god. This is why I really dream about a focused video essay on anything he did. Lol I love you
I feel the whole album is reflecting heavily on his death and fame. Especially in Blackstar you can really see how he reflected around fame and how people would act past his death. He was an absoloutely amazing musician without question.
David taught us to be fearless and fully accepting of ourselves, to recognize that we were all alien to some extent. He empowered all of us. And he wrote some of the best damn pop music EVER.
That was a great analysis of Bowie's death and how he chose to say farewell. I am still sad about him leaving. But seeing how hard he pushed to keep making art, even as he was dying, motivated me to finally put my art out there. Thanks for the video.
I produced tears throughout this video. Beautifully explained, dear. It was a lovely video. Rock 'n Roll Suicide has saved me from the brink of death many times. And I think it helped him, too.
There are important things missing from this video. * Lazarus was resurrected. This is a song about resurrection. * “up here” and “heaven” are the music itself. * in the final line of this track, he says “Ain’t that just like me?” The “me” blends directly with the sax. This is Bowie’s transition from 3D extension into pure music, the only form in which we may truly know him. His tracks are left there, laid out on display for everyone as he really is, not as the fleshy thing people might refer to as Bowie. This is important because if you take it seriously, you may also “ascend” or “be resurrected” by leaving your tracks behind as honestly and truly as you can.
the mourning he died, I got a phone call from my mother. She, 80 years old knew what Bowie ment to me since I was 11years old. Without meeting him I spend more time with him and his music than with my father. Thx for everything... see you later for a jam session, Bo
It’s terrifying and heartbreaking to see Bowie so... conscious of his death and his leaving us. He knows what happens and he’s talking to us. He’s recounting his passing to us in real time with so much honesty. Devastating.
There are interviews from about 10 years prior when his daughter was young and he talks about a real, palpable fear of mortality. Heartbreaking. At his death he was really thinking about his family, not his fans, I think we should be realistic about that. Making Blackstar was probably more him coping with the experience using what he knew, his artistic toolset and for him to say some final things. It had the function of a farewell to fans but I don't think that was his main intention, he made art for himself, not for his audience.
This is by far your best video. You seem to grow with every new video. You're kinda like Goku for video editing and motion design. You can literally take a snapshot of a random frame and turn it into a poster. Be proud!
Good work as always, but not Polyphonics strongest release. It feels like the timing was off in a couple of places - especially at the end, before introducing skillshare. When ending on such a profound / somber note, it deserves a bit of time. But maybe I'm just so critical because the quality of work is otherwise so high. Great video, keep em coming!
Getting out of LA and off coke is what saved him. The reinventions were really part of that self-struggle while being a heavy drug user. Once he stopped using drugs he did the character thing a lot less.
Polyphonic, has always been my online class for educational purposes. I learn a lot of things because of you!! Thank you so much and keep up the good work!!
Beautifully done both in art and word. Loved the combo Ziggy/Blackstar logo. I agree with other commenters that the one flaw in this video was the seamless transition to the skillshare ad. Billbowie
You deserve so much more views and subs dude, you're nothing short of amazing with the essays. Everyone is well thought out and just so in depth that it adds much more meaning to music i/we have loves for years. Hope all is well on your end, keep up the phenomenal work you're seriously great.
I find it so hard to watch any of Blackstar - it is too deathly too sad. And very brave. As was Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen. David was like an 'out there' cousin that I always knew at a distance but never met. RIP cuz.
I think "I've had my share" refers to pain - "I've had my share - I'll help you with the pain" = "I've had my share of pain, I'll help you with yours." I find that really poignant. I like your analysis - Rock n' Roll Suicide is my favourite Bowie song (out of about 20 other "favourites"!!) I enjoyed this.Thanks!
I think and feel David Robert Jones Bowie is the most creative person of the last 100 years ... I have always thought the line "planet earth is blue" refers to more than just the color of the earth but also to the state of mind of all the inhabitants ... "and there's nothing I can do" is how helpless he felt knowing this but unable to do anything about it ... he is a brilliant star who will shine long after the stars are dead ... So Long Starman ... RIP ...
I first discovered David Bowie when I was in the ninth grade in the Library at my Junior High school.i couldn't take my eyes off this Alien man ..from that point he was my idol..he was my hair and clothes designer..he is responsible for my life style the Man who felt to earth..he is still Ziggy Stardust and will continue to be my burning Star...I miss him dearly but I know I will also burn out slow one day..I'm going to make a painting of his life in my interpretation..
This video was on time, I've had an obsession with David Bowie this past week and I absolutely loved Rock N Roll Suicide the first time I listened to it. It really touches you, how he tells you "you're not alone" at the end. And I just listened to Lazarus yesterday and man oh man it's heavy.
