For the Man Who Has Been Everything

There are many doors to the house that Bowie built. You can peek through some of them here, in the first themed issue of Uppagus.

I stumbled on a back entrance, having grown up only peripherally aware of Bowie’s most popular work. (One notable exception: Some cool teacher chose “Changes” as the theme song for our middle-school graduation ceremony.) I knew enough to feel flattered when I told someone my name and they replied, “You mean like ‘Ziggy Stardust’?”

And so, through timing or cultural backwardness or both, Black Tie, White Noise became the first (not last) full Bowie album I played over and over. Now that I’ve revisited during the hammer-and-nails phase of Bowietry, I can tell you this: It holds up.

Bowie is bigger than Bowie. The man and his art inspired others long before his death, and I predict his influence will continue far into the future.