Starman

Today is David Bowie's birthday! He's 65 I believe.

 

When I was a kid he used to scare the shit out of me. My Dad played the Best of Bowie CD in his car and I liked the music so I looked him up. Then I read a bit about the guy and saw some pictures and completely freaked out. I couldn't even think about David Bowie for a few years. Then when I was about 16 I heard Suffragette City in a Gilmore Girls episode and it BLEW MY MIND. I've since been an avid fan.

 

David Bowie's got some great personae. I think my favorite is The Thin White Duke, although strangely I'm mostly unimpressed with his music from that period. It's interesting, some of his songs I absolutely love, but there are also a whole bunch that do nothing for me.

Some of my favorite Bowie songs:

Kooks: So beautiful and sweet. I know it was probably crazy living with Daddy David Bowie, but this is the best hymn to unconventional parenthood. 
Changes (of course) 
Suffragette City: What the HELL is this about? I've heard it's heroin, a wild liberated woman, Clockwork Orange... I'd say it deals with blowing off one love (whatever or whoever that might be) for another that is more exciting. Although somewhat incomprehensible, the lyrics are great. 
Rebel Rebel: This gave me some solace as I walked in misery into the depths of my soul-sucking high school.
Modern Love: it gets me to the church on time 
Life on Mars?: Nothing better to help you study for an astronomy exam. Also, I love Bowie's phantasmagorical take on getting lost in meaningless movie cliches. 
Starman: He's waiting in the sky... 
I Got You Babe: This one is kind of strange. As far as I know it hasn't even been released on any official album. But David Bowie did a weird duet of this Sonny and Cher classic with Marianne Faithfull in his 1980 Floor Show (which actually occurred in 1973). Marianne is brilliantly dressed as a nun, but she is way out of it. Bowie actually does an amazing job. These two give an edge to what before sounded just simple and sweet. The original just bores me now that I've heard their version. Bowie's performance is engaging and just hilarious.

And these are because I find it hard to do a post without mentioning Mick Jagger:

What was the scenario that prompted him to wear a bathrobe?