The world lost an amazing musician, artist, and personality in the passing of David Bowie.
For me, Bowie was so much more than a musician. He was a groundbreaker. He was a trendsetter. He broke all the rules and rearranged the pieces as he saw fit. Bowie was known for not fitting into the spaces that other set aside from him and being truly unique. From his early career as Ziggy Stardust to his androgyny of the 80’s, Bowie was often imitated but never replicated.
The only person that ever changed David Bowie was David Bowie, and he did so throughout his career.
One of the greatest things about Bowie was his love for all things intelligent. He loved art, music, and creativity. He once described himself by saying, “I’m a born librarian with a sex drive.” His love of language and reading was second only to his love of music. The world will miss his unique style and influence.
Here is a collection of some of my favorite quotes from the Goblin King himself:
“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”
“I always had a repulsive need to be something more than human. I felt very puny as a human. I thought, “Fuck that. I want to be a superhuman.”
“Turn and face the strange.”
“I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.”
“Speak in extremes, it’ll save you time. ”
“I’m looking for backing for an unauthorized auto-biography that I am writing. Hopefully, this will sell in such huge numbers that I will be able to sue myself for an extraordinary amount of money and finance the film version in which I play everybody”
“I’m an instant star, just add water.”
“If it works, it’s out of date.”
“There’s a terror in knowing what the world is about”
“Don’t you love the Oxford Dictionary? When I first read it, I thought it was a really really long poem about everything.”
“I’m just an individual who doesn’t feel that I need to have somebody qualify my work in any particular way. I’m working for me.”
“I’m always amazed that people take what I say seriously. I don’t even take what I am seriously.”
“Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming”
“Once you lose that sense of wonder at being alive, you’re pretty much on the way out…”
“Heathenism is a state of mind. You can take it that I’m referring to one who does not see his world. He has no mental light. He destroys almost unwittingly. He cannot feel any Gods presence in his life. He is the 21st century man.”
“I’m not a prophet or a stone aged man, just a mortal with potential of a superman. I’m living on.”
“The truth is, of course, is that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time.”
“People are so fucking dumb. Nobody reads anymore, nobody goes out and looks and explores the society and culture they were brought up in. People have attention spans of five seconds and as much depth as a glass of water.”