We hope you enjoy this encore post from our Bowie Week series, which originally appeared in January 2012.
In a chaotic January day, I was asked by Rolling Stone to work on a cover. The subject was Ziggy Stardust, and celebrating 40 years since he landed on earth. Music is one of the things in this world that makes life better. It can make you laugh or cry or move or imagine. Bowie holds a very special place in my heart. As an artist, he pushes boundaries. Man or woman, human or alien, rocker, disco, soul, metal, singer/songwriter, Bowie is always ahead of the curve. I suppose the often repeated analogy of a chameleon is not right, though it is true for most artists, as they take the form of what is already there. Bowie went to a new place and people followed.
The creation of Ziggy Stardust asked his fans to meet a new person. You suspended what you thought you knew of Bowie and instead looked at him as a musical visitor. Nothing lasts forever and Bowie moved on. It stands as one of the most bold creations in the history of music and one does not have to look far to see how musicians today are applauded as ‘innovators’ for wearing outrageous clothes. Really?
