Oddly enough, I woke this morning to the beginning strains of "Life on Mars?", my 4:00 AM iPhone alarm song,I and I lay in bed for a few minutes thinking about about how long I'd been a Bowie fan. As a bit of an outcast (under statement) in a small midwest town, I loved David Bowie. He was this beautiful, slinky, intergalactic pirate, whose songs were about such otherworldly, wonderful subjects.
It was such a gift to watch the 1980 Floor Show on The Midnight Special. I could not believe I would actually be able to see an entire show dedicated to Bowie and his band. Oh my godz! My young mind was blown. The show was perfect, smart, and oh so cool. The "I Got You Babe" duet with Marianne Faithful, who dressed like a nun and was so obviously high, was brilliant.
I caused quite a sensation in grade school when I wore a red dog collar to school. Diamond Dogs had just come out and was ready to show my support. People freaked out. My step mother and dad were so angry at me - it made absolutely no sense to them. They would retell the story, as if I'd woken up and decided to wear the dog's collar to school. In their defense, they were always looking for ways to solidify the fact that I had to be bonkers. They sadly missed the point.
As an adult, I see that I was paying homage to probably the single most important cultural icon and artist of our time. It makes me smile that I was lucky enough to have at least caught a glimpse of the Thin White Duke in all his glory.
The dog collar, btw, was purchased new; it was not borrowed from the dog.
