Photo: Press
Happy Birthday David Bowie, you ageless God amongst mere mortals, you. Yes, today marks the day that Bowie turns 69. Yes, 69. Makes you sick doesn't it? He also releases his 25th album today - and it's among his finest work. How can he look and sound so brilliant and omit such magnetic waves of glory that artists a third of his age can only dream of? HOW DOES HE DO IT?
Simple: He has always embodied the style of the time, moving like a chameleon from era to era while living by his own code. Bar a few minor slip-ups, he's always grown old gracefully and stayed true to his artistry.
Well done, Bowie - we salute you.
While many of his peers and contemporaries have either faded into obscurity or aged into embarassing elder statesmen of cringeworthy dad antics - Bowie is still the king of cool. Here's how to grow old gracefully in the style of David Bowie.
He keeps inventing
His 25th album Blackstar is one of a marked departure from his past, and it's all the better for it. Reviewing the record to make it our album of the week, we wrote: "Bowie could have delivered a smattering glam-rock-lite hits, a pastiche of his past glories - but there would be no challenge in that. It's not in his nature to make the same record twice.
"One can't help but feel that this may have been part of his plan all along. If The Next Day was his bridge back on to the world stage, one can't help but feel that Blackstar is him again leaping sideways into the breach. This is a far more bold, artful and fulfilling affair. Never second guess Bowie. Tomorrow never knows, especially when it comes to an artist always with one foot in the future."
Listen to the new album, Blackstar, in full below:
The past belongs in the past
The V&A exhibition taught two things: 1) That Bowie's influence crosses genres, decades and mediums, and 2) That he moves on relentlessly. As iconic as Bowie's life as Ziggy Stardust was, he killed him and tried something else, again and again. As tempting as the multi-million offers must have been, you just won't see Bowie prancing about in a leotard and facepaint in his sixties. The past belongs in the past - take note, Kiss and Alice Cooper.
What mid-life crisis?
Your dad may reach an age where he gets a piercing, dyed hair, tattoos and a motorcycle. When Bowie was in his forties (yeah, he had piercings and dyed hair etc) he was making bat-shit mental gothic artrock..and something that was a bit like drum and bass. Either way, he had his finger on the pulse and looked and sounded amazing.
He's a walking mannequin
Tommy Hilfiger, Alexander McQueen, Louis Vuitton - the list of designers who clamour to pin their wares on the coolest man on Earth is endless. Here he is looking achingly majestic in the latest Louis Vuitton campaign.
Survival
Most icons have their fair share of embarassing moments. Macca is still plagued by 'Frog Song', Prince has his attempt at hip-hop, and Bowie is no exception. The Labyrinth is a thing that happened and we all have to live with it. Fortunately, while it may be unnerving enough to make the moon cringe, it panders to two of Bowie's best sides: the eccentric and the mainstream genius. Who else could survive this, go on to still prove himself relevant in decades to come and go on to be crowned coolest Brit of all time? (As a result, we'll even forgive him for 'Dancing In The Street').
He can laugh at himself
From his self-depricating on-stage humour to his appearance in Extras, Bowie's humour seems to be one of the main factors in keeping The Man Who Fell To Earth's feet firmly on the ground. We don't see David Gilmour or Pete Townsend in any rush to take the piss out of themselves.
He's still the go-to guy of cool
How does he do it? This year alone, he's appeared on the cover of NME three times without even uttering a word. No interviews, no public or live appearances, no constant Tweeting about what he's had for lunch - and yet he's dominated every sphere of culture throughout 2013. From the V&A exhibition to the Radio Soulwax 'Dave' mini-movie and the worldwide celebration every time he drops a star-studded music video, Bowie's absence has proven to be more of a presence, letting his art and legacy do the talking without entering the public realm. He's made Arcade Fire's new album even MORE of an event, forced LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy to come out of remix retirement and Louis Vuitton still wants him to be the face of his latest ad campaign.
The video for James Murphy's Steve Reich remix for 'Love Is Lost' says it all. Here stands Bowie - drawing on the images and sounds of the past, gripped by the present and still looking and sounding like he's from the future. No one is more in demand than Bowie.
He's not really human, is he?
Who else could star alongside Tilda Swinton and make it look like a perfect mirror: Andrognynous, sphinx-like, immortal, incredible.
All of these men were born in 1947
Only one of them looks like David Bowie
You see, Bowie just doesn't age like you or I
He looks like some kind of awesome shark
He remains the daddy of music videos
Just watching the video for 'Blackstar', you feel the energy of a restlessly creative spirit. Not only has he played a fundamental role in putting together Lazarus, a musical based on his cult classic film The Man Who Fell To Earth (as well as supplying the music), but he's also contributing to the new Spongebob Squarepants musical. That aside, and he still has the artistic energy to carve out the vision for the videos that accompany Blackstar - a mini epic telling the tale of a blind and false prophet. Visually stunning, inescapably engaging, beautiful in every way, Bowie remains the master of the form.
