As
time passes I am more & more convinced that the most evergreen Pop
star is David Bowie. Or, at least, the one that has remained almost the
same and popular as ever, now at the age of 65. Let's see, his more or
less contemporaries, Mick Jagger, doesn't seem to have the energy to
hop about on the stage in florescent leotard any more and, Paul
McCarney? He has become a lovable professional but his new songs, I am
not sure whether I prefer them to be more his old style or not. Lou
Reed? I rather not say anything. I know some other names who know how
to grow old with musical dignity: Marianne Faithful, Bob Dylan, Iggy
Pop, Patti Smith, Bryan Ferry ... all of them share something of the
white duke, be it discretion, charisma or glamour.
This
week David Bowie returns to demonstrate his well reserved profile.
There's a plaque in London commemorating 40 years of his extraordinary
disc The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars,
but the musician didn't appear in the event. The plaque was put on the
street that appears in the cover sleeve of his disc where Bowie, in
1972, with blue suit, guitar and platformed boots, posed in the light
of a classic street lamp. It could have been easy for him to make his
appearance, surrounded with die-hard fans, but he chose moderation,
showing his appreciation at a distance.
During
that party in London, Gary Kemp talked about the impact of the disc
when it was published, and referring to Ziggy as one of the great
fiction characters of London, side by side with Dorian Grey or Alex,
antiheroes of the Mechanical Orange. Ziggy was born as a conceptual
album, a dreamlike narrative in 11 songs that gave rise to a radical
turn of pop music in the 70's. It seems it might just carry on for
that many more years.
Next: 21st Feb 2012 An Irresistible Ad.
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