Changes

I have never been much for change.  I feel comfortable adhering to set patterns.

Ah, the change that can come from a minute or a mile!

Last week my blogging was cheerfully concerned with David Bowie, who was in the news for the release of his latest album Blackstar to coincide with his birthday last Friday.  The two new videos from Blackstar were mesmerizingly cryptic.  The visuals were lavishly stunning and the words were enigmatically endearing.   These elements were found in all of Bowie’s output and is a great part of my attraction to his work.  His imagination was drawn to the otherworldly outcast.  He was creating what fueled my dreams.

Before the excitement of Blackstar’s release had time to fade, a fresh wave of Bowie emotion surged to the forefront of the news.  Bowie had died before weekend’s wane.

Apparently the musical genius had been suffering from cancer.  He shared so many roles with the world via his music – Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, etc. – but his role as cancer fighter he played out privately.

Released videos from Blackstar have been scrutinized for farewell clues.  With an artist as intellectual and vibrant as Bowie, a multitude of clues can be found or imagined.

I’ve read a lot about Bowie and watched/listened eagerly to everything of his I could.  Articles and more about him have stoked the media over the last few days.  I have no greater knowledge about him to share, other then to express my personal adoration of his work.  I thought he was wonderfully bizarre as the title character in The Man Who Fell to Earth.  I loved the futuristic noir styling Bowie incorporated into his 90’s album Outside.  Outside and Diamond Dogs (which began life as a musical version of George Orwell’s 1984) played with paranoia and dark visions of a futuristic society.  This and other elements of Bowie’s charisma remind me of another of the icons I adore – Patrick McGoohan.

Patrick McGoohan’s probably most famous for his work as star of The Prisoner, a 60’s series he also worked behind the scenes to bring to life.  The program revolved around a secret agent who found himself mysteriously transported to an enigmatic village at an unknown locale.  The Prisoner has the edge of Kafka as it dealt with the manifestations of government, education and more upon the life of citizens.

There are some cool connections I can stretch between McGoohan and Bowie.  Patrick McGoohan played a spy using the name David Jones in the film Ice Station Zebra and David Bowie was born with the name David Jones.  Both Bowie and McGoohan died in the month of January.  Both Patrick McGoohan and David Bowie are at the top of my list of favorite artists.

Artists have always been my heroes.  How appropriate that one of Bowie’s songs is called Heroes.  And then there’s also that early hit of Bowie’s called changes that is always due a new listening.

The Many Names and Abilities of David Bowie

Today is the birthday of David Bowie - but when Bowie was born his name was David Jones.

It seems somewhat appropriate for an iconic musician who shed his apparent identity with each new album to have selected a new name to start his career.  Actually adopting a stage name is not all that uncommon, and David Jones/Bowie allegedly selected his new name thanks to the popularity of the bowie knife and a desire to not be confused with the Davy Jones who was heating up the music and television world as a Monkee.  But even with the Bowie moniker in place, David Jones became famous under yet another name…Ziggy Stardust.

It should probably be no surprise that an artist so talented at creating characters from his work would be equally adapt at fashioning concept albums.  Many of Bowie’s albums follow through a concept in form of character or world.  Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was an exploration of the inner alien rock star – his success and corruption.  The album was influential in its visual attributes which were coined glam rock.  Bowie had toyed in the sci-fi realm earlier with the song Space Oddity at the time sci-fi was really just emerging as a vital component in everyday society from film (2001 A Space Odyssey) to the real moon landing.  Bowie’s future concept albums would draw on sci-fi elements from Diamond Dogs which gained life as an interpretation of George Orwell’s 1984 to Outside which took listeners to a dire future society where art could have dark origins and influence.  I greatly enjoy all of David Bowie’s work, but Outside is a particular favorite – although only after multiple listenings which I often find to be the case with Bowie’s innovatively rich out put.

Due to Bowie’s changing musical viewpoints, he is often referred to as a chameleon of music.  No surprise then that a character master should find his way to the theater.  Bowie portrayed John Merrick – better known as The Elephant Man – on the New York stage.  His film work has been more numerous – although still usually in a role of an outsider.  There is no surprise seeing him in The Man Who Fell To Earth as an alien seduced by Earth’s vices as he attempts to complete an mysterious mission.  Other notable roles of Bowie’s include his rapidly aging  vampyric character in The Hunger from directot Tony Scott and as cult favorite scientist Nikola Tesla in director Christopher Nolan’s enigmatic meditation on magic called The Prestige.

Of course Bowie’s contribution to film isn’t limited to acting.  He’s provided soundtracks to many notable films.  In fact his theme of Putting Out the Fire from the remake of Cat People is what first brought the David Bowie name to my attention!

Malcolm McDowell & David Bowie - 2 Greats!

Reality forges links in mysterious ways.

As a teenager I became a huge fan of Malcolm McDowell, first for his work in Time After Time.  McDowell played the great science fiction writer H. G. Wells, but in the film Wells did more then write science fiction - he lived it.  Wells created a time machine, but bad luck had a friend (played by David Warner) turn out to be the infamous Jack the Ripper and the killer escaped into time via the machine.

Time After Time led me to seek out other McDowell films.  I was repeatedly transfixed by his performances in such productions as A Clockwork Orange, if.., and O Lucky Man!.  The later is my favorite film, a heady mix of first rate acting and  music provided by Alan Price of The Animals.  The film has a surreal flair as it follows coffee salesman Mick Travis (McDowell) on a series of adventures throughout England of the late 60's early 70's era.  Travis encounters everything from nefarious businessmen to mad scientists but always looks for tomorrow's oppurtunities.  Interestingly, McDowell himself worked as a coffee bean salesman.  His character in this film, Mick Travis, was the central character in if.., and would return in Britannia Hospital.

Malcolm McDowell managed to introduce me to two musical greats.  It was McDowell's role as offscreen narrator that led me to view The Compleat Beatles.  His voice added a lot to the story of The Beatles start, growth and eventual breakup.  The film is well researched with ample facts and happily does not delve too deeply into gossip or unfounded scandals. 

Malcolm McDowell introduced me to David Bowie's work with Cat People.  The 1982 film was a remake of a black and white Val Lewton film from forty years earlier.  The remake had more blood and a stronger interpetation of the story's central theme of sexuality.  And it had a killer tune by Bowie. 

Cat People (putting out fire) has mysterious and passionate lyrics that somehow maintain an immortal flaire.  Bowie's voice seems to me at it fullest here, able to utilize its deep richness to convey listeners to an eerie plane of existance where the supernatural rules. I found myself recognizing that voice elsewhere, a TV movie called The Annhilator used Ashes to Ashes.  And I couldn't help myself from seeking out his work in albums and film.
 

  
    Myself and Malcolm McDowell at Horrorfind Convention in September of 2012. (Above)

It was a great pleasure to get to meet Malcolm McDowell at serval local conventions.  And recently its been a great pleasure to write for davidbowienews.com - go there to find more of my musings concerning the great David Bowie.