Alan Cross (33:17)
Fans spent much time going through the Black Star record to see what Bowie left behind. And there were plenty of Easter eggs. The COVID features a big black star on a white background. Below it, a star is cut into five pieces, and if you look carefully, you'll see that those pieces spell out Bowie. If you expose the vinyl itself to a beam of light, it gives off a reflection that looks like a star. Some people see a bird, which also kind of works in light of the circumstances. If you expose the COVID to sunlight, the star fades and it becomes filled with a starry sky. You put it under black light and it shines like a star at night. Some fans noted that the CD smells like black licorice when you first open it. One of the fonts used on the back of the sleeve is known as and I'm not making this up as Terminal. Draw whatever conclusions you want from that. Oh, and the font belongs to a design suite named Lazarus. Open up the gatefold liner, and Bowie's image on the right is reflected in an eerie way onto the star field on the left. Speaking of which, if you connect the biggest stars in that star field, you'll end up with a stick figure. So Starman? Sure, why not? There are other things lurking just waiting to be found. So, like Bowie. Don't explain. Just allow the wonder of discovery. When Bowie died, there were tributes around the world. The building on Lafayette street where he lived became a shrine. There's a mural of him in Brixton, where he was born, and that became another shrine. Other tributes popped up in Berlin, Los Angeles and other cities. There was no funeral, as per Bowie's instructions. According to the death certificate, he was cremated and his ashes were taken to Bali, where some Buddhist rituals were performed. It's not known exactly where his ashes were spread, but a couple of guesses are Almapura, on the eastern coast of the island, and the Sideman Fields, which are a little further inland. Bowie had been to both places and loved them. He was a very, very big fan of Balinese design. His estate at the time of his death was worth about $100 million. Most went to his wife and two kids. Two million went to his faithful employee Coco Schwab. Another million was gifted to his friend Marion Skene, who was his son Duncan's nanny. We have spent three episodes talking about all the things Bowie did, and we could do another three about his painting, his love of art collecting, his movie career, his philanthropy, his views on spirituality and religion, his politics, fashion, and his writing. One of the saddest things is that Bowie never got around to writing his autobiography. He promised he'd do it one day, but he just ran out of time. Who knows? Maybe there's something lurking somewhere. David Bowie was and remains one of the most influential musicians ever. You can even argue that because of his ability to constantly reinvent himself, he may have influenced more musical genres than anyone, even the Beatles. His DNA can be found in glam punk, art rock, folk, hard rock, grunge, industrial music, electronic music of all flavors, indie rock and even hip hop. And I love this. When he died, the German Federal Foreign Office thanked Bowie for his role in the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall. Bowie also brought a level of sophistication to rock that we hadn't seen before and really haven't seen since. This is still being studied with documentaries and biopics and music exhibits. He's still finding new fans among younger generations, and they are being influenced by not just his work, but his life. He's in the Rock and Roll hall of Fame. He's in the Songwriters hall of Fame. He's in the Science Fiction and Fantasy hall of Fame. The BBC once named him the best dressed Briton in history. There's a species of spider after him. Of course there is. The Asteroid Belt has a chunk of rock called 342843. David Bowie. He's been on British postal stamps. There's a statue of him in the British town of Aylesbury, the place where he first introduced Ziggy Stardust. And there's a street in Paris named after him. I think I could go on, but I probably have made my point. I want to end this program with a thought. In the age of artificial intelligence, machines and computer programs cannot pump out legends like Bowie. And if AI Continues to get smarter, will we ever have another Bowie from anywhere? I don't know. I will say this, though. If Bowie were still alive, I guarantee you he would be using AI as some sort of tool. Just imagine what he might have done with it. So, yes, David Bowie still matters. And he will continue to matter for a long, long time to come. If you missed the first two chapters of this look at Bowie. You can get them as podcasts wherever downloads are available. Just pick one. And there are hundreds, yes, hundreds of ongoing history of new music programs available as podcasts. They're all free. And while you're there, grab a few episodes of Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry. That's my Music meets True Crime podcast. Let me know what you think of that. We can connect on most of the social media networks, I'm always updating my website with music news and information. That's a journal of musicalthings.com and it comes with a free newsletter. And of course you can always email me about anything. I'm available through AlanLancross CA Technical Productions by Rob Johnston I'm Alan Cross.
