(this post was originally posted there) It’s funny how when people ask me who my favorite singer or band is, I almost never say **David Bowie**. I usually say Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, or Explosions in the Sky, depending on who I’m talking to. Yet a day rarely goes by without my listening to at least one of his songs. For example, I have about 7,000 songs in my music library, 866 of which are by David Bowie. As I often listen to music on shuffle, he does pop up quite a bit in my playlists. (I don't think he's made that many songs; some of those tracks are remixes or different editions of the same song.) I think I have pretty much all of his music. He’s such an integral part of my musical life that I don't think of him as just a "favorite musician." In a sense, he’s way above that. Like everyone else, I learned the news on Monday (January 10, 2016). Of course, I was shocked, yet I wasn't. Since his heart attack twelve years ago, I had assumed that his health had been fragile. His previous album, _The Next Day_, had a vibe of impending doom. At the time, I thought it meant the end of his career; I thought he was about to retire. I found him incredibly thin in the picture released with Blackstar last Friday. But he's David Bowie; he's immortal, isn't he? Well, his body is made of the same stuff as everyone else's, of course, and it isn't immortal. I’m still in the denial phase. The last two "official" photos of David Bowie (by his friend and photographer Jimmy King) released two days before his death, on his 69th birthday and for the release of his final album "Black Star." Contrarily to popular belief, they were taken in September 2015 and not just before his passing. I don’t remember the first time I heard one of his songs or even heard of him. It's as if he's always been a part of my life. I’ve been trying to remember, but I can’t. It's as if I've always known _Space Oddity, Five Years, Ziggy Stardust, Moonage Daydream, Starman, Soul Love, Changes,__Life on Mars_ _, The Jean Genie, Rebel Rebel, Heroes, Suffragette City_ , just to name a few… What’s interesting is that this “knowledge” definitely doesn’t come from my parents. My mom has never really listened to any music at all, and the only interesting band that I have ever heard my dad mention was The Beatles. And I don’t remember him ever actually listening to them, so he must have done it before I was born. I wish I could say that I was named after David Bowie, but I wasn’t, unfortunately. From what I remember of the '70s, the music played on TV and on the radio was much more interesting than it is nowadays. Is it where I listened to him as a young kid? Could one of my cousin have played a part? I have three cousins who are 15-20 years older than me and who often "babysat" me. I clearly remember one of them introducing me to English-language music. However, at the time, she mostly listened to disco. So, I know the Bee Gees because of her, but I’m not sure she can take responsibility for introducing me to David Bowie. In the early '80s, I remember a supervisor at summer camp who was a huge David Bowie fan. She even had his red hairdo from a few years earlier, and I remember her talking about him at length. She must have influenced me because I had never met someone so passionate about music before. I know I became more familiar with partly thanks to her. I remember discussing _China Girl_ with her, and she was surprised that I knew him at such a young age. She's not the one who introduced me to Bowie, though; I already knew him then. (David Bowie's version of China Girl didn't come out until 1983). One thing I remember very well is the first time I saw the _Ashes to Ashes_ video. That is my first clear memory of David Bowie, I think. As a seven-year-old boy, I must admit that I found the video a bit disturbing. However, the music totally captivated me. I think that was the moment I realized that he was the guy who was singing those amazing songs. I slowly started to connect the dots with all the other previously mentioned songs. David Bowie - Ashes to AshesAs I said, I’m going to talk about David Bowie often here. Well, here’s another one of his songs. I don’t really remember hearing David Bowie for the first time, but I definitely remember seeing him for the first time. It was when I saw the “Ashes to Ashes” videoLiminal WebDavid Billa The next big milestone is simply _Let's Dance_, which is the moment David Bowie went mainstream, at least in France. Also that year, the film _Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence_ was released. I only saw it on TV a few years later., and while I haven't watched it in a while, I think it's one of those great movies that doesn't get the recognition it deserves—and not only because of David Bowie. I should also mention _Under Pressure_, but I didn't realize until years later that Bowie was co-singing it. In the '80s, Bowie rhymed with _China Girl_ , _Modern Love_ , _This Is Not America_ , _Absolute Beginners_ , and the movie _Labyrinth_. The '80s was also the decade when I became a teenager. Of all the celebrities around me, David Bowie became the example of "the perfect guy." He was the one I aspired to be like, but I couldn't because he was too cool and too perfect. I was far from being a cool kid in school. In fact, I was quite nerdy, but if I had been given the choice, I would have wanted to become Bowie. He wasn't really a role model. I knew from the start that I could never become that guy, so I didn't even try. He was an unattainable dream. I don't know if that makes sense. To give you an example, there was a kid I'd known forever (our moms worked together) who was a couple of years older than me and the closest thing to Bowie in terms of coolness. When we were teenagers, he didn't pay much attention to me. We weren't friends; we just knew each other. However, we had a summer job together in the early '90s, and we became friends. Sadly, we didn't keep in touch afterward. In my mind, that's when I stopped being an awkward, nerdy kid and became "cool." Or at least "cooler"; I'm not sure if I was ever cool. I became less awkward, though. In any case, if I could be friends with him—the "incarnation of Bowie" in my eyes—and he treated me as his equal, then maybe I had come a long way. Yes, that summer gave me a lot of the confidence I've had since then (or at least put me on the path to self-confidence). The '90s began with the Tin Machine experiment. That was also the time when I strayed a bit from Bowie. It was during the early '90s that I really started listening to a lot of music. At that time, Bowie seemed a bit too '80s and mainstream to me. But even then, I loved _Jump They Say_. Then, in 1995, _Outside_ and his collaboration with Nine Inch Nails came out. I had discovered the band just one year earlier, and they instantly became one of my favorite bands. They still are today. I was amazed that David Bowie would work with them. That's when I started to consciously care about his music, past and present. I started paying close attention to all those songs from the '70s that I had known forever but that were just part of my cultural background. It was also around this time that I started to think about Bowie in terms of albums rather than songs. However, I still need to mention a few songs from _Outside_ , namely _Hearts Filthy Lesson_ (along with the movie _Seven_, one of my favorites). That song really blew me away. Also, _Hallo Spaceboy_ and _I'm Deranged_. I cannot not mention Lost Highway, probably my favorite David Lynch movie. It's "funny" how Bowie worked with a lot of my other favorite artists. Finally, there was also _Strangers When We Meet_ during that time. Next is _Earthling_ , surprisingly the first album of his that I bought. I can't pick one song over the others; I always considered it as a whole, maybe because I listened to it so many times in college. I also kind of group _Hours_ , _Heathen_ , and _Reality_ together. This is probably because they were released one shortly after the other, or also maybe because those are the three albums that where released when I lived in the US. While I like them all, there aren’t many standout songs, in my opinion. These albums were also released at a time in my life when I used to listen to—and consider—whole albums as one musical unit without really listening to the songs individually. He returned with a bang in 2013. _The Next Day_ is an amazing album, and _The Stars (Are Out Tonight)_ on par with his most famous songs. And finally, _Blackstar_ (the album). Such a beautiful album! I know it’s difficult to be totally objective when an album is released just before or after an artist passes away, but I think _Blackstar_ is genuinely one of his best albums. _Blackstar_ (the song) and _Lazarus_ are masterpieces. The rest of the album is of the same quality. * * * I think that's all I have to say. This was a retrospective/anthology of my relationship with David Bowie, or at least his music, to help you get to know him better if needed. Farewell, Mr. Bowie. I could never thank you enough for all you brought to me and the world.

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