Thoughts on "Blackstar"

The following is a piece I wrote for a zine created by Bands Poorly Drawn (@bandsdrawnbad) which came out in February 2016. In it, I reflect on the release of "Blackstar," as well as the life, death and artistry of David Bowie.

     We'll all know where we were the day we heard the news of David Bowie's passing. He was a true cultural icon; a title that only a select few in the music world actually deserve. His most impressive attribute was arguably that he managed to always have one foot in the realm of the weird, and the other in the realm of the accessible; never letting one outweigh the other. In a way, it's as if he were the yin and yang of New Wave. Even if you're one of the few still unfamiliar with his music, you likely still know of the characters he portrayed on stage, such as Ziggy Stardust and The Thin White Duke. With his final album "Blackstar," Bowie effectively reveals to us yet another persona; himself.
     It's not to say Bowie didn't act like himself in his public life, after the era of his various characters. In fact, it was a trait he was well known for. The thing that sets the self he expresses in Blackstar apart from the Bowie we already knew and loved is that, quite frankly, he was dying. The subject of death and contemplations thereof will always have a place in songwriting, but how often has an artist been able to create a piece on the matter when they were actually facing it? J Dilla's "Donuts" comes to mind, but that's about the full extent of it. This idea that Bowie essentially worked from his deathbed to complete this album shows us that he was not fearing the end of his life, but embracing it; allowing us to see his desire to "go out with a bang," if you will.
     Where most artists might give up in a weakened state, Bowie persevered. His voice, although wearied, is confident as ever, and manages to still retain his distinct style. The instrumental arrangements even possess a stark quality to them, characterized by jazz and electronic influences. However, the strongest element of this album relating to Bowie's own circumstance lies in the lyrics.
     Two memorable lines from the song "Lazarus" are "Everybody knows me now" and "I've got nothing left to lose," which likely mean that he is acknowledging his widespread fame but at the same time realizing he is at the end of the line. In "Dollar Days," he actually says "I'm dying too," which is almost unsettling when you take into account how literal of a statement it is. It seems to mean he's going through the same thing all of us will someday, but his time is merely closer than ours. Even just the title alone of the last track, "I Can't Give Everything Away," provokes thought because it can be interpreted in a few ways; one theory being that it means he "can't give everything away" because he feels he has so much more to put out into the world, but knows he will not be around long enough to do so. What makes this line interesting is that it's not resentful in tone, and while he still may have had more he wanted to do, he accepts that this completed project is ultimately going to serve as his farewell to the world.
     Overall, "Blackstar" is nothing short of a perfect swan song from David Bowie. It gives us a window into what would become his final moments, which allows us to relate him in ways we previously could not. It reminds us that even though he managed to achieve legendary status in his life, and reach people on unimaginable levels, at the end of the day he was still human; still susceptible to the same circumstances as any average person.