In my last blog about Metallica, I wrote that you have to respect them as artist because they have been influential to so many artists that are popular today. The case is the same with David Bowie. Even if you hate Bowie, you have to have appreciation for his work because he has left such an incredible legacy on music.
The reason I love Bowie is because for one he is an incredible performer and two he writes concept albums. You look at someone like Gaga and some people think she’s a freak; however, she’s not doing something that hasn’t been done before. She wears ridiculous costumes and makes odd videos because she’s an artist and a performer, not just a musician. This was what Bowie did decades ago. He was androgynous to say the least, but he put a show from every angle. It takes unbelievable talent to be able to do what he did, what artist like Gaga are continuing to do. It’s a step above and beyond what is necessary of a musician.
With his amazing abilities as an artist he was able to bring the story of Ziggy Stardust to life. I am a sucker for concept albums as a person who appreciates good music. To write a concept album you need the skills of a storyteller in addition to the skills of a lyricist and I bow down to those that have succeeded. Ziggy in my personal opinion may be the greatest concept album of all time, it brought it to a whole new level (I know I’ll have some Beatles fans screaming “SGT. PEPPER’S !” at me). For those of you unfamiliar with Ziggy,(first I must ask “WHY?!”) in short, it tells the story of the world, destined to end in five years times, and Ziggy is the ultimate rockstar. Ziggy has dreams of starmen coming to save the planet and believes he is some sort of prophet. When these starmen come to earth they are invisible and must use Ziggy’s body to make themselves visible. They ultimate tear apart Ziggy’s body on stage and he dies. Bowie would dress up and portray Ziggy on stage, and created an impressive visual adaptation of the album. The only thing I can compare it to in present terms is My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade and how they had costumes for the stage performances (which was an incredible show if you had a chance to see The Black Parade tour a few years back) and you better believe Gerard Way was listening to some Ziggy went writing that album.
Respect your elders, children! Even Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong said Ziggy was one of greatest albums of all time.
So what are your thoughts and opinions?
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