David Bowie - Ashes to Ashes

Following the tragic loss of a true legend and a hero to many fans of music, I thought it would be apt to post this video of the classic track Ashes to Ashes by David Bowie. His whole attitude towards art is an inspiration for me and this song is among my favourite tracks by him. The song's dark and mournful lyrics are nursery-rhyme inspired, while also providing an epitaph for his life during the seventies, in which he stuggled with drug addiction.

My favourite line of the song is "I've never done good things, I've never done bad things, I never did anything out of the blue.." - I don't quite agree with any of that when it comes to his career, but the lines speak to me personally, in the way that he sings them. I also like the juxtapose in expression in the way that he sings the song's chorus in a somewhat dampened manner, as if he were actually reciting the "Ashes to Ashes" passage at a funeral. I love the fact that DB revists the character Major Tom from Space Oddity in the song, even though Ashes to Ashes was released a decade later.

Generally speaking, I think Bowie's use of repetitive riffs is awesome; the fact that they're always so catchy and original to start with, so he makes a feature of them and builds the rest of the song around it. I could go on and on about this track and all the great things that he brought to the world of music and culture, but you're best off just listening to his stuff. Farewell and R.I.P. Starman!