American Horror Story ‘Freakshow’ - the last episode featured Jessica Lange’s character singing ‘Heroes’ as a montage of what-became-of-the-characters was shown. My favorite AHS season……I love that song, for some reason it makes me tear up. It hits me in the feels…it’s so…majestic.
Sure
What does that even mean?
I’m not the biggest Bowie fan, though I do like a lot of his music, appreciate his influence on other musicians and his chameleon-like ability to change his persona and sound. It’s all subjective.
I’ll tell a deep dark secret of mine-- I’ve long felt like the Beatles were a tiny, wee bit overrated. Sure, they crafted some fine pop songs in their early days. Then they caught the wave of generational change and did a great job surfing it to everlasting fame and influence, boldly experimenting with different musical styles and innovative recording techniques. I know all that, give them credit and don’t disagree. But honestly, I feel like a fair amount of their later stuff was influenced by all the drugs they were doing, and not in a good way. The White Album, for example-- I think they could have cut out some of the more druggy, experimental songs and maybe 60% of the twee McCartney songs influenced by 30s Brit dance hall music (What Lennon called his ‘Grandma songs’) and made a tight single album out of it.
Not to hijack-- I’m just trying to make the point that, again, nothing is much more subjective than music.
(Ahem) you probably just have the title wrong and you are thinking of the Bowie song called ‘Space Oddity’, but just in case, there is a completely different song (a sequel of sorts) called ‘Major Tom’ by Peter Schilling. Just sayin’.
This is exactly it. His performance of “Starman” on “Top of the Pops” in July 1972 was a country-wide pants-shitting moment in the UK, and kids and parents had a similar reaction to him as Americans did to KISS; kids loved it and started copying it instantly, and adults had no idea what they were seeing and hearing or how to react to it.
Sometimes, when people say that the Beatles were fine but overrated, I suspect that what they really mean is “There are some styles of music I like and appreciate, and the Beatles made some good stuff in those styles, but they also made a whole lot of other stuff in other styles that I don’t really appreciate.”
Whereas, for their biggest admirers, their stylistic diversity—including their druggy, experimental songs, their granny music, etc.—is a big reason they’re so admired.
And (so as not to hijack this thread too much) maybe a similar thing could be said about Bowie?
Well, you seem to be asking two different questions.
The first, which I quoted, is “is he really that influential?”. To answer that you just need to find references to other artists and bands saying they were influenced by him. I think you will find that pretty easily. Entire genres (glam rock, dance pop, new wave, alt/emo) it’s pretty hard to find a group that doesn’t mention him as an influence. Some big ones would include: U2, Smashing Pumpkins, Marilyn Manson (obviously), Trent Reznor - the list goes on and on.
The second is more “does he have a lasting legacy in popular culture?”. I’ll just give an anecdote that in my 5-minute drive to drop the kids off today I heard two different Bowie songs on two different SiriusXM stations (classic rock and spectrum). So, yeah, he’s definitely still around.
Right. As I said:
And that’s probably a factor in why some people may not know why he’s such a big deal. If you listened to only one or two styles, you might not have heard much about him, but he was influential in a whole range of styles. The people he influenced went on to create a whole lot of music in multiple genres.
As it happens, I recently listened to all of Bowie’s classic albums in an effort to answer the same question the OP is asking and…yeah, I still don’t get it.
Maybe people love him because he was the most queer-coded celebrity of the early 70s. He certainly seems to have been a kind person who was admired by his peers. He was obviously very creative and musically versatile. I agree with those who have said that the theatrical/visual/attitudinal aspect of his work has perhaps been more influential than the actual music.
His music is all perfectly pleasant and listenable, and he wrote a handful of great songs, but never more than one or two per album. He’s a very good artist, but I can’t see how people put him in the Beatles/Dylan/Zeppelin tier of greatness. Personally, I’d rather listen to Lou Reed or Iggy Pop.
File another thread into “Tastes differ.” Maybe that could be a subforum of Cafe? 
He was popular slightly before I got into rock, but by the mid-70s and into the 80s, he was definitely a major artist. Changes One Bowie was the entry ticket for me, and - sure, tastes differ, but there are quite a few hits on that one album. I’ll offer a comparison to Elton John, who was also HUGE around the same time. Obviously, they appealed to a few people at the time. Bowie had something like 17 straight gold and platinum albums from 69 through 93. That’s a decent run.
As people have said upthread, beyond folk who just liked his catchy tunes, he continually reinvented himself over his career. And he enjoyed success in al of his many reinventions. I’m sure there may be other similar chameleons, but none are immediately jumping to my mind. Maybe David Byrne. (Funny - they both collaborated with Adrian Belew…) So that sorta suggests some artistic ability in my book.
Also, at the time it was obvious that Bowie worked with EVERYONE. Not only collaborating with stars, but pretty much making stars producing, writing…. Mott the Hoople was one that comes to mind. And he attracted amazing musicians. There was tremendous overlay with other music I and most others I shared music with at the time were into. So that sorta expanded the impression of his influence.
Plus, he enjoyed some success as an actor. And he was - um - socially and stylistically influential. He was not just a packaged “poser” acting out someone else’s music in a corporate attempt to sell records. From a modern vantage point it may be easy to minimize the significance and riskiness of his androgyny in the early 70s. All of which contributes to my thinking of him as an “artist” - not just a singer or songwriter.
My personal faves are likely Heroes and Cat People/Putting Out Fire. He was never my all time favorite, but it would be unusual for me to hear a Bowie tune and think, “Turn that crap off.” Maybe it is a tough standard to compare him to the Stones and Beatles. But I’m not sure who else is at that level. We could debate Zepplin, The Who, Floyd, etc. If Bowie is not at the level of Beatles/Stones, IMO he is only a short step or 2 below. But also IMO, there is no denying that he was very good, very influential, and made a lot of fine music.
Specifically to the OP - there will be excessive fans who overstate the significance of pretty much any artist. If someone chooses to overly gush, IMO they could choose many less worthy subjects than Bowie.
So true. In reality many overcelebrated artists leave a musical legacy that lasts a lunchtime.
Thanks, I’m glad to know I’m not crazy or the only one.
Quite coincidentally, I heard an interview with someone who was at the recording session and they claim that the song was written primarily by Roger Taylor and John Deacon. Freddie came in early and Bowie’s main contribution was in the final mix.
I agree with this.
You are correct.
This brings up an interesting point. First, yes I realize tastes differ and music is very subjective. But I feel I’m able to be objective about why people are subjectively influenced by an artist. Take Elton John for example. I’m not a fan of his music. There are songs I like, of course, but even though I don’t care for his style of music, it’s very clear to me why other people put him up on a pedestal. His music is complex and diverse, it’s melodic and I can see why Bernie’s lyrics speak to people. He had tons of hits and his music is pervasive to this day. I understand his influence even though I, personally, don’t like his music. I can’t get there with Bowie.
So I believe that while taste in music and artists is highly subjective, one should be able to look back at an artists career and make a subjective determination about how successful and influential an artist has been.
As I stated in my OP, I don’t dislike Bowie and I do like some of his songs but as an artist I’m not seeing what he has done is more than any number of lesser regarded artists have done. He was talented, but I don’t understand sentiments like this:
“Everything went to shit when David Bowie died. It was like he was some cosmic glue holding it all together.” Gary Oldman,
I’d heard (but never confirmed) that Bowie would write his song lyrics, then take them apart and put them together in a different order. It sort of makes sense, because his songs certainly don’t, from a narrative position. What is Young Americans about again? 
Don’t forget Ashes to Ashes, the “sequel” to Space Oddity.
I love Major Tom, both in English and German, but it strikes me as “ripping off one’s betters”.
To add another one to the list, I like This Is Not America, from the soundtrack to The Falcon and the Snowman. An underappreciated song.
And there are two Cat People, both different, but both good.
It’s funny. I’m not much of a David Bowie expert – I mostly know him from radio and I’ve probably listened through a full album here and there. But this is one of the very few songs that will almost always leave me at least misty-eyed. If I’m already in a reflective, down mood, it will bring full-fledged tears. Very little music does that to me. So a big point to David Bowie.
This thread is baffling to me. In my universe, David Bowie is not just a rock star, he’s an icon - one of the deities of Rock and Pop. His influence is absolutely pervasive in pop culture even 10 years after his death. As others have already said, dozens and dozens of big music stars - to this day - list Bowie not only as A big influence, but THE big influence. Here’s some quotes from a relevant BBC article upon his death:
“David Bowie is easily the most influential and important artist to come out of the UK,” noted Johnny Marr. "There are musicians who are influenced by him who don’t even realise it.
Note: not “one of.” “Easily the MOST influential.”
Robert Smith of The Cure called Low “the greatest record ever made”, saying his “whole perception of sound was changed” the first time he heard it.
U2 frontman Bono said his vocal style was inspired by Bowie - describing it to Rolling Stone magazine as going “beyond your ‘man’ voice into the feminine … It’s not exaggerating to say what Elvis meant to America, David Bowie meant to the UK and Ireland,” he added.
Madonna, who has single-handedly reinvented the modern arena concert, says Bowie taught her everything.
Killers star Brandon Flowers attributes his musical career to Bowie
Bowie’s Berlin cycle (Low, Heroes, Lodger) is probably his most influential. It’s electronic soundscapes and dystopian lyrics led directly to Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures, while Radiohead have captured a similar sense of paranoia and alienation in their later albums.
Artists as diverse as Suede, Culture Club, Nine Inch Nails, Janelle Monae, Jay Z and the Arctic Monkeys have all cited Bowie as an influence. But perhaps the musician’s most obvious modern descendant is Lady Gaga. She has called Bowie her “alien prince,” saying “Every morning I wake up and I think, ‘What would Bowie do?’”
That is a tiny sample of major artists who have cited Bowie as a massive influence, including Michael Stipe from R.E.M., St. Vincent, Lorde, Arcade Fire, and on and on and on and on. As others have posted, one of his most beloved songs was used in the very recent finale to one of the biggest TV series of the last decade. He had a huge globe-travelling museum exhibition devoted to his music, style, and influence. He has his own Center and Archive as part of the V&A museum in London. I could go on. Bowie was much more than a musician. If you truly want to understand why so many people gush so enthusiastically, I would encourage you to find a copy of the “David Bowie Is” exhibition book - it’s a wonderfully comprehensive overview of his life and career.
I really liked his early album “Hunky Dory” and the song “Under Pressure”.
Other than that, his music isn’t my cup of meat.
I’m sure that will be devastating news for Bowie fans.
I think this statement is really the gist of not only Bowie’s influence and appeal, but also maybe why folks like the OP don’t really see his enduring impact.
“I feel like I don’t hear his songs much anymore” is a reasonable observation (though, as I pointed out earlier, that varies a lot, depending on what sort of station or format you listen to). But, if one’s primary measure for whether a musician continues to be influential, and if his work is enduring, is whether his songs still get played, it kinda misses the point with someone like David Bowie.
My niece is 33 years old; she became a big Bowie fan about 10 years ago, when she was in her early 20s. She has a tattoo of the red-and-blue lightning bolt symbol from Bowie’s Aladdin Sane album cover on her wrist, and very much enjoys his music – but, maybe even more than his music, she is a fan of his style, his personality, and his cultural influence.
And I guess we aren’t alone. I just googled ‘David Bowie Heroes song makes me cry’ and by golly, we are not alone.
Not much more I can add other than that our perceptions differ. I had never equated the 2 before this morning, but the more I think of it, the more apt I think the comparison. I’m surprised you find Elton’s music that much more complex and diverse. Not sure how their number of hits compares. I always preferred Bowie, but never took anything away from Elton.
May I ask - how old are you? I’m 65. Both Elton and Bowie were pretty big when I was in high school and college. I THINK I would’ve said Elton was more commercially successful. But Bowie was more closely related to other music/musicians I preferred - Eno/Mott/Belew - which took you directly to Roxy, King Crimson…. Hell, he produced Raw Power, Lust for Life, Transformer, Devo…! I am ignorant - was Elton a prolific producer?
Not sure I would’ve described either’s music as “better” than the other - just that I preferred Bowie. I thought of Elton more as “pop” music. Personally, when younger I was more into hard rock like Queen and Rush, and later more into Elvis/Stif/punk than either Bowie or Elton. Under Pressure is one of the few “Queen” tunes I liked after A Day at the Races.
Did Elton have as much of an impact on and as many collaborations with others as Bowie? Was he an actor? Tho known for his glasses and outrageous costumes - and known to be gay - did he have the cultural impact Bowie had?
Finally, I read of many artists - U2, Madonna, etc, who cite Bowie’s influence. Do as many cite Elton? (I simply do not know.) Is that relevant?
I’m at work, so I can’t play it now but I did play a snippet and I don’t think I know it. I’ll try to catch it at lunch.