Bowie

"A magnificent and deceptively slim book, in which no essay takes longer to read than it would take to listen to a David Bowie song, but in which there is a cumulative sense of revelation as regards what makes Bowie special, and why it is that his work seems to yield more, the more time you spend there. The book is delightful, highly readable, with bits of Nietzsche, Ruskin, Roland Barthes and Deleuze rising up like wisps of cloud in its funny, moving and passionate field of inquiry." -Rick Moody, Salon An appreciation of David Bowie – artist, lyricist, performer, icon What made Bowie special? What made him the cultural icon he is today? And what made millions of people around the world tune into his peculiar wavelength and find exactly what they'd been looking for all along? These are the questions asked by Simon Critchley in this keen-eyed, moving and textured tribute to Bowie. Each of the two dozen deceptively short chapters looks at Bowie from a new angle, slowly unfolding the enigma that was his artistic life into a celebration of what made him unique. From the author's earliest childhood exposure to the bizarre musical and sexual contours of Ziggy Stardust right through to the supernova glow of Blackstar, and covering everything in between, Critchley traces the development of Bowie's music and lyrics to tell the story of how he tapped into zeitgeist - and into our hearts. Growing up in working-class suburban England, the young Critchley was instantly drawn to this creature from another planet, 'so sexual, so knowing, so strange'. Now a celebrated philosopher who Jonathan Lethem has called 'a figure of quite startling brilliance', Critchley draws on a plethora of cultural and philosophical touchpoints, as well as his own intensely personal response to the music, to paint an essential portrait of Bowie as songwriter, poet, performer and icon. (Source: [Serpent’s Tail](https://serpentstail.com/work/on-bowie/)) Simon Critchley first encountered David Bowie in the early seventies, when the singer appeared on Britains most-watched music show, Top of the Pops. His performance of Starman mesmerized Critchley: it was so sexual, so knowing, so strange. Two days later Critchleys mum bought a copy of the single; she liked both the song and the performers bright orange hair (she had previously been a hairdresser). The seed of a lifelong love affair was thus planted in the mind of her son, aged 12. In this concise and engaging excursion through the songs of one of the worlds greatest pop stars, Critchley, whose writings on philosophy have garnered widespread praise, melds together personal narratives of how Bowie lit up his dull life in southern Englands suburbs with philosophical forays into the way concepts of authenticity and identity are turned inside out in Bowies work. The result is nearly as provocative and mind-expanding as the artist it portrays. Playlist of Bowie's songs that appear in the Critchley's book: (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyC8ffmxBYgQlMIjRGOAmhjGTfWGbbLBC) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... In this concise and engaging excursion through the songs of one of the world’s greatest pop stars, Critchley, whose writings on philosophy have garnered widespread praise, melds personal narratives of how Bowie lit up his dull life in southern England’s suburbs with philosophical forays into the way concepts of authenticity and identity are turned inside out in Bowie’s work. The result is nearly as provocative and mind-expanding as the artist it portrays. Bisac Code 1: BIO000000,Bisac Code 2: PHI000000,Bisac Code 3: MUS050000 My first sexual experience Episodic blips The art's filthy lesson Wonderful I am a Heideggerian bore Utopian something A seer is a liar Hold on to nothing Hamlet in space Dystopia... Get it here, thing Les tricoteuses The majesty of the absurd Illusion to illusion Discipline Disappearance Yearning You say you'll leave me Giving up on reality Playing on God's grave Nothing to fear Sun, rain, fire, me, you.