I just leaned back on/
my radio and bid the/
Thin White Duke adieu.
OR
I just leaned back on/
my radio and bid the/
Starman a farewell.
AND
On Ziggy’s Segue — My Favorite: Revolutionary ImproVerse Haiku Lament
Ziggy played guitar /
as I grew up. Hey man, may/
his loud sounds not fade.
AND
original found poems / haiku inspired by David Bowie (RIP)
Dancin’ With Mr. D: Revolutionary ImproVerse Haiku
Today, if I had /
some red shoes I would put them/
on and dance the blues.
AND
We Have In Common Surprise: Revolutionary IMprov Haiku
Commonalities:/
“Hey that’s far out! So you heard/
him too!!” surprised me.
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Overview of how David Bowie influenced me:
Share a comment, reflection or memory related to David Bowie and/or his passing:
Leaning back on my radio in Milwaukee in the early 70’s, I heard the amazing sax and guitar rocking riffs of “Suffragette City”. Blown away, I anxiously waited until the end of the song for the DJ (not hazy cosmic jive) to announce the name of the song, the artist and album. Gathering my coins together, I rode my bike up to the record store on Silver Spring Drive and anxiously asked the cashier if they had “Ziggy Stardust by some Bowie guy”.
Listening to the album, I at first didn’t like the slower, ballad/bluesy songs that made up most of the concept album… but then grew into loving them — and the amazing lyrics — as much as the fast-paced pieces.
When Aladdin Sane came out, I bought it when it first hit the shelves, and hung the centerfold poster on my wall. My dad made me take it down, saying it was a bad influence on my younger brother.
PinUps, with Bowie’s amazing covers of older rock classics, was my next and final purchase. School, travel, missionary work and marriage removed me from an active fan status, but I always watched his work with interest, and wanted to see him in concert.
I never took the chance.
As a Mormon missionary with a companion who HATED me, it was my air guitar quote of “Ziggy Played Guitar” which got my companion to start talking to me about music (and, boy, could he play guitar!), and turned a hater into one of my best friends.
And the lyrics! So bizarre and complicated, yet so accessible and amazing. Mr. D. was truly a genius who let us dance in our own style.
“Hey that’s far out! So you heard him too!”
David Kuhns, Springville, Utah / Milwaukee, Wisconsin — Jan. 12, 2016
