Bowie

He was one of those artists who rubbed you one way or another. Good or ill.

I have a knee jerk dislike of new music. I have to concentrate and listen to appreciate new sounds that I cannot anticipate and be in sync with.

Warren Raab had just found the album Ziggy Stardust and the Spyders from Mars.
Album art or even book art affects me greatly and this cover was no different. I felt an immediate fascination with this orange-pated "person" who sang of the End Times. Who sang of young love in the future or the past. Time had little bearing.

The music was transparent, although Mick Ronson became a favorite guitar player very soon after discovery of the record.

But the lyrics and the melodies...they took me.
Deposited me in places I had not explored, only had a vague sensation of presence.

The Thin White Duke
David Jones
Ziggy Stardust
Bowie

I am saddened but not surprised that he kept his illness a private thing. As much as he shared he kept secret.

I remember watching a 70s documentary about him and being very impressed with his love of art. He wasn't a rocker as much as a performance artist who happened to grow up during Rock & Roll's infancy. He took to the music because it was what he marinated in.

Alladin Sane
Sigh