Without a doubt, one of the best live music performances I have ever seen was David Bowie for his Sound+Vision tour at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. It was one of those situations where I decided to go about 30 minutes before the show, walked up to the arena, no ticket in hand and purchased one from one of the entrepreneurs who are wont to be found in front of such events, and I took advantage of their sense of emporium skills and bought an incredible 3rd-row floor ticket to see Bowie.
At the time, 1991-2, the acoustics of the Erwin were reprehensible at best, but to be about 20 feet from Bowie was worth every nails-on-the-chalkboard miscue of the PA system, or lack thereof. I knew that I was truly in the presence of musical genius, which Bowie is.
However, as with many things in life, it is often much later that we find out the details of events and the oddities of Space and Time begin to show through in Low moments or again in epiphanies and revelations.
What struck me so odd of all about Bowie, someone whose work I have admired for many, many years, is that I didn't even look into him until somewhat recently. I just liked Bowie. I knew that the curious eye discrepancy was due to a youthful encounter, disfiguring his vision for life, though probably enhancing his quest for sound as well.
But, only quite recently did I look up the "meaning" of "Life on Mars" and found that it is somewhat of an Alice in Wonderland perspective of a young girl listening to the news. Now, the song makes perfect sense. Having a daughter of my own who is beginning to be quite aware of the world around her, and its imperfections, the detail of what the devil this song was about became crystal clear, like a diamond bullet through the forehead, if you will.
The world is a mysterious place and the world of adults is quite as mysterious for children as it is vice versa for adults to remember the world of our youth. J.D. Salinger's "Nine Stories" is akin to Beethoven's Ninth (as interpreted in the movie Immortal Beloved) of bringing this troubled connection of youthful innocence and adult folly into focus.
Bowie's "Life on Mars" does so likewise, and suddenly a song took on a whole new meaning for me.
At the time, 1991-2, the acoustics of the Erwin were reprehensible at best, but to be about 20 feet from Bowie was worth every nails-on-the-chalkboard miscue of the PA system, or lack thereof. I knew that I was truly in the presence of musical genius, which Bowie is.
However, as with many things in life, it is often much later that we find out the details of events and the oddities of Space and Time begin to show through in Low moments or again in epiphanies and revelations.
What struck me so odd of all about Bowie, someone whose work I have admired for many, many years, is that I didn't even look into him until somewhat recently. I just liked Bowie. I knew that the curious eye discrepancy was due to a youthful encounter, disfiguring his vision for life, though probably enhancing his quest for sound as well.
But, only quite recently did I look up the "meaning" of "Life on Mars" and found that it is somewhat of an Alice in Wonderland perspective of a young girl listening to the news. Now, the song makes perfect sense. Having a daughter of my own who is beginning to be quite aware of the world around her, and its imperfections, the detail of what the devil this song was about became crystal clear, like a diamond bullet through the forehead, if you will.
The world is a mysterious place and the world of adults is quite as mysterious for children as it is vice versa for adults to remember the world of our youth. J.D. Salinger's "Nine Stories" is akin to Beethoven's Ninth (as interpreted in the movie Immortal Beloved) of bringing this troubled connection of youthful innocence and adult folly into focus.
Bowie's "Life on Mars" does so likewise, and suddenly a song took on a whole new meaning for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment