# David Bowie's reputation going forward - stable; improve; decline? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2016, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495 "2016-01-18T14:02:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/21 "2016-01-19T02:19:12Z")
As a counter example, I work at a high school and I heard a fair number of students talking about Bowie’s death. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/22 "2016-01-19T02:23:17Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Based solely on my personal observations of the reaction to his death – not my opinion of Bowie’s merits as a musician – I don’t think younger people know or care much about his work and I don’t see much reason to believe they will be interested in rediscovering it. People my age (30s) were saddened by his death, but he’s beloved by my age group mostly for having been in _Labyrinth_. I know a few real Bowie fans my age, but not many, and I doubt that many of my peers could name five Bowie songs aside from those on the _Labyrinth_ soundtrack. > > I work in academia, and as far as I could tell Bowie’s death went basically unnoticed by people of undergraduate age. I assume there are some serious Bowie fans in their teens and 20s, but again, I don’t think there are many of them. When he died I had expected to hear nothing but old Bowie songs on classic rock radio for at least a couple of days, but this didn’t happen on my local station. So even his death apparently didn’t do much to help expose younger classic rock listeners to his music. Really? It was huge here in NZ; non-stop Bowie on the radio, they’d sign out the news with Bowie videos, the papers were full of accounts and reminiscences of what he’d meant to people. It was really sweet, and very unexpected: his death touched a lot of people, in a way that I don’t think I’ve seen before for a singer or actor. Maybe Lennon, but I was a little young for that so he wasn’t on my cultural radar. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/23 "2016-01-19T03:06:06Z")
If we’re talking a century from now, the only groups from the rock era that will be known to the general public are Elvis and the Beatles. And most people won’t know their music, just the cultural importance that they learned in a high school class on the 20th century. Some music scholars may listen to what they recorded, and may even be able to write Ph.D. theses on how they still influenced music of their own time, but not the general public. I mean, how many popular music figures from the 19th century do you know? Probably just Stephen Foster. No, there were no recordings, but there is still sheet music and people occasionally record or play them. It’s the same for other arts. Can you name the most popular U.S. novelist from the 19th century? [Mrs. E.D.E.N. Southworth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._D._E._N._Southworth), though Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the most popular book, which is known today for its political impact rather than as a novel. Or the most popular playwright? [Augustin Daly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustin_Daly) It’ll be the same for Bowie and just about everyone you can think of. Sic transit gloria mundi. . . . ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/24 "2016-01-19T03:10:24Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Based solely on my personal observations of the reaction to his death – not my opinion of Bowie’s merits as a musician – I don’t think younger people know or care much about his work and I don’t see much reason to believe they will be interested in rediscovering it. People my age (30s) were saddened by his death, but he’s beloved by my age group mostly for having been in _Labyrinth_. I know a few real Bowie fans my age, but not many, and I doubt that many of my peers could name five Bowie songs aside from those on the _Labyrinth_ soundtrack. > > I work in academia, and as far as I could tell Bowie’s death went basically unnoticed by people of undergraduate age. I assume there are some serious Bowie fans in their teens and 20s, but again, I don’t think there are many of them. When he died I had expected to hear nothing but old Bowie songs on classic rock radio for at least a couple of days, but this didn’t happen on my local station. So even his death apparently didn’t do much to help expose younger classic rock listeners to his music. I’m not sure where you are, but here in the UK that wasn’t true at all, people of every age I’ve spoken to were shocked and saddened, and the two biggest Bowie fans I know one is mid twenties and the other late thirties. That may just be my circle of friends though, most are into alternative music of one form or another, and Bowie has been a massive influence on much of that, and continued to make music that people liked and found relevant. I think it’s too soon to say how his reputation will fare. It’s certain that any scholar of popular music in the latter half of the 20th century will know of his work and influence, but beyond that it’s hard to say. It’s also pretty early to judge, but I can see _Blackstar_ being remembered as one of his best albums, or at least most important. Artists writing directly about their deaths is often something that is remembered. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/25 "2016-01-19T03:59:44Z")
Bulletin from Boston in the week after Bowie passed: The college stations were giving plenty of shows over to Bowie, because of his influence on their normal artists. WFMU in NY was also in there reviewing it all. It was great. In fact it seemed like we had fallen into a sentimental jag that I never saw before. I noticed that at Christmas too. The hip stations were making sure to play a lot of xmas shows almost like Bill Oreilly got into their heads. I suggest here now that we replace christmas music with Bowie music next year. Ever since OJ, When something big happens everyone is obligated to respond like as in a 24 hour news cycle. ---
**Author:** ![dada2fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ccd318/32.png) [@dada2fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dada2fish)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/26 "2016-01-19T04:03:54Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > It got a lot of transaction on twitter and facebook which either means it will be gone in a moment or set the the agenda. When the rapist thing first came out in (guessing) the late 80’s, it was a story for a couple days then it was gone in a moment. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/27 "2016-01-19T04:08:24Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > If we’re talking a century from now, the only groups from the rock era that will be known to the general public are Elvis and the Beatles. And most people won’t know their music, just the cultural importance that they learned in a high school class on the 20th century. Some music scholars may listen to what they recorded, and may even be able to write Ph.D. theses on how they still influenced music of their own time, but not the general public. I personally think that with recordings and what I like to dub “the continuity of culture” given the internet and especially the easy digital dissemination of data, that this is not going to hold true and that the biggest popular music stars from the last 50 years (and onward) will have more longevity than in the past. Hell, here I am, a 40-year-old in 2016 still listening to music made in the 50s and 60s (and even farther back), over a half-century ago. I wonder how many similarly aged folks were listening to the pop music of the 1900s and 1910s in the 60s. I doubt very many, whereas today, it’s perfectly normal and usual to find any music listener from kids to grandpas listening to music a half century old. So I think the longevity of music will, in fact, be different and I suspect acts like the Beatles will still be known to the general public a hundred years from now. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/28 "2016-01-19T05:04:40Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Really? It was huge here in NZ; non-stop Bowie on the radio, they’d sign out the news with Bowie videos, the papers were full of accounts and reminiscences of what he’d meant to people. > [@Steophan](#): > > I’m not sure where you are, but here in the UK that wasn’t true at all, people of every age I’ve spoken to were shocked and saddened, and the two biggest Bowie fans I know one is mid twenties and the other late thirties. I am in the US, and the biggest fan of David Bowie’s music I know is also in her late 30s…but she’s just one person. Bowie was all over my Facebook feed for several days after he died and many of my 30-something friends were clearly saddened by the news, but (somewhat to my surprise) what affection Americans my age have for him seems to be due largely to his starring role in a movie beloved from our childhood. ETA: _Labyrinth_ was released theatrically in 1986 but wasn’t successful at the box office, and became popular on TV/video in the late '80s and into at least the early '90s. So there are people in my age group who are too young to remember the release of Bowie’s _Let’s Dance_ era hits but who grew up watching _Labyrinth_. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/29 "2016-01-19T05:34:22Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I am in the US, and the biggest fan of David Bowie’s music I know is also in her late 30s…but she’s just one person. Bowie was all over my Facebook feed for several days after he died and many of my 30-something friends were clearly saddened by the news, but (somewhat to my surprise) what affection Americans my age have for him seems to be due largely to his starring role in a movie beloved from our childhood. > > ETA: _Labyrinth_ was released theatrically in 1986 but wasn’t successful at the box office, and became popular on TV/video in the late '80s and into at least the early '90s. So there are people in my age group who are too young to remember the release of Bowie’s _Let’s Dance_ era hits but who grew up watching _Labyrinth_. He wasn’t an actor really. They aren’t running clips of an old movie. They are playing 50 years worth of tunes. On the radio. 100s of hours of it. On college radio stations, not turner classic movies. Material from the 60s and 70s mostly. Some people must have affection for someone based on appearing in a movie, (that noone I knew ever saw or cared about.) But I think more people are moved by music. It’s been that way for my all my life anyway, that I recall. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/30 "2016-01-19T05:51:41Z")
I like Bowie’s music and have three of his albums. Having said that I think his songs don’t rise a great deal above very good pop. I don’t think the music is sufficiently novel and outstanding as to still be played by anyone much once those of his era have all died. The other part of his act - to which a tremendous number of column inches are devoted - is his publicity technique of changing the style of his hair, makeup and clothes with every album. But that won’t mean anything much to people in fifty or a hundred years time who weren’t there to witness the performance. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/31 "2016-01-19T05:56:32Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > When he died I had expected to hear nothing but old Bowie songs on classic rock radio for at least a couple of days, but this didn’t happen on my local station. So even his death apparently didn’t do much to help expose younger classic rock listeners to his music. In the days immediately after his death, Bowie albums accounted for something like 30 of the top 40 spots in Amazon’s list of bestsellers. A week and a half later and he still controls 10 of the top 40. > [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Within days of his death you had people calling him a rapist because he had sex with girls who he knew were under 18. If the Bowie rapist narrative takes root then everything written about him or mentioning him will have to acknowledge it and eventually it could turn into “good music but you know he’s a rapist right?” No lie… the only place I saw the rapist story was here. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/32 "2016-01-19T11:26:44Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > If we’re talking a century from now, the only groups from the rock era that will be known to the general public are Elvis and the Beatles. And most people won’t know their music, just the cultural importance that they learned in a high school class on the 20th century. Some music scholars may listen to what they recorded, and may even be able to write Ph.D. theses on how they still influenced music of their own time, but not the general public. > > I mean, how many popular music figures from the 19th century do you know? Probably just Stephen Foster. No, there were no recordings, but there is still sheet music and people occasionally record or play them. > > It’s the same for other arts. Can you name the most popular U.S. novelist from the 19th century? > > [Mrs. E.D.E.N. Southworth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._D._E._N._Southworth), though Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the most popular book, which is known today for its political impact rather than as a novel. > > Or the most popular playwright? > > [Augustin Daly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustin_Daly) > > It’ll be the same for Bowie and just about everyone you can think of. > > Sic transit gloria mundi. . . . To be clear: this is exactly why I started the thread. However, music can be different. The music that “exemplifies” a given time/place/culture in history gets played. Even in the mainstream, Greensleeves and Eine Klein Nacht Musik get play. The short-list few songs and artists will represent the culture. Blowin’ in the Wind, Hendrix’ Watchtower, Satisfaction, etc - are already being employed as Songs of the Era. I can see Changes, Heroes and other Bowie songs having that longevity, especially as we see Identity/LGBT issues become more central in our cultural dialogue, which appears will only increase in this online collective era. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/33 "2016-01-19T11:57:54Z")
Unfortunately, the death of Glenn Frey adds to this discussion. To be clear: what Glenn Frey achieved with The Eagles is huge. Per an earlier thread, they must be included in a discussion about the biggest U.S. band. They aren’t my guys, but I have nothing but a deep respect for what they did. Comparing Bowie and Frey, I wonder if The Eagles are more like **RealityChuck** ’s examples. Most popular in their day, but less likely to endure. Eagles songs are the soundtrack of the 70’s but Bowie is the soundtrack of outsiders. Not sure if I am articulating that well, but I perceive a difference. Again, this has NOTHING to do with the respect and honor that Frey deserves at his death. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/34 "2016-01-19T13:56:39Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > if you are GLBT then he will always be everything - there is nothing before Bowie _Either that wallpaper goes, or I do!_ ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/35 "2016-01-19T14:37:33Z")
> [@](#): > > When he died I had expected to hear nothing but old Bowie songs on classic rock radio for at least a couple of days, but this didn’t happen on my local station. So even his death apparently didn’t do much to help expose younger classic rock listeners to his music. As others have pointed out, it definitely seems like some younger people are well aware of who he is. On a classical music forum that I visit regularly, two posters aged 20-22 left messages about him last week. One of them said: “I wasn’t ready. I can’t stop crying”. I was really tempted to ask them how they’d discovered his music in the first place given that he had stopped releasing albums regularly when they were about 10 but, given the nature of the conversation, I was afraid it’d come off as snarky. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/36 "2016-01-19T15:08:55Z")
Putting aside the “image”, he had maybe 5-7 songs that really broke through to the audience outside his core followers. He made a great career for himself but in the long term picture I’m not sure what sets him apart from someone like Annie Lennox. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/37 "2016-01-19T16:13:55Z")
I dunno what “broke through” in your part of the world pal, but it wasn’t mine: > **[David Bowie | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/19138/david-bowie/)** > > All the singles and albums of David Bowie, peak chart positions, career stats, week-by-week chart runs and latest news. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/38 "2016-01-19T17:45:01Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > Putting aside the “image”, he had maybe 5-7 songs that really broke through to the audience outside his core followers. He made a great career for himself but in the long term picture I’m not sure what sets him apart from someone like Annie Lennox. He’s Annie Lennox’s daddy is the difference. He is more well remembered in the US for his LPs of which there are 4, or 8 or 12 that are groundbreaking, depending on who you ask. Aside from the dress-up, he was advancing songwriting which not many do. The top 40 may appear to be irrelevant and quaint to those 100 years in the future. Jimi Hendrix was a one hit wonder on Billboard. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/39 "2016-01-20T01:38:42Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > He wasn’t an actor really. They aren’t running clips of an old movie. They are playing 50 years worth of tunes. On the radio. 100s of hours of it. On college radio stations, not turner classic movies. Material from the 60s and 70s mostly. Not around here they aren’t. Since David Bowie died I’ve heard exactly one of his songs on the local classic rock station that I listen to daily during my commute, which is about as often as I’d hear him before he died. One of my friends also remarked to me that he’d expected for it to be basically non-stop Bowie for a while, but it didn’t happen. As for college students, maybe some college radio stations are doing Bowie tributes now but as far as I can tell the students at the university where I work were completely unaffected by his death. I asked two of our student assistants today “Out of curiosity, were people your age sad when David Bowie died?” and they said “No, not really” and “Well, a few people, but mostly not.” One said she’d seen “Older people, like my parents’ friends” posting about Bowie’s death on Facebook but that’s it. I also checked the student paper online and found no mention of Bowie’s death or even the release of his recent album. I’m not saying this because I hate David Bowie and want him to be forgotten or something. These are my honest personal observations. > [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](#): > > As others have pointed out, it definitely seems like some younger people are well aware of who he is. I said myself that I assume there are some teen/20-something Bowie fans out there, but the question asked in the OP isn’t whether some young people today know who he is. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495/40 "2016-01-20T02:02:11Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Not around here they aren’t. Since David Bowie died I’ve heard exactly one of his songs on the local classic rock station that I listen to daily during my commute, which is about as often as I’d hear him before he died. One of my friends also remarked to me that he’d expected for it to be basically non-stop Bowie for a while, but it didn’t happen. > > As for college students, maybe some college radio stations are doing Bowie tributes now but as far as I can tell the students at the university where I work were completely unaffected by his death. I asked two of our student assistants today “Out of curiosity, were people your age sad when David Bowie died?” and they said “No, not really” and “Well, a few people, but mostly not.” One said she’d seen “Older people, like my parents’ friends” posting about Bowie’s death on Facebook but that’s it. I also checked the student paper online and found no mention of Bowie’s death or even the release of his recent album. > > I’m not saying this because I hate David Bowie and want him to be forgotten or something. These are my honest personal observations. > I said myself that I assume there are some teen/20-something Bowie fans out there, but the question asked in the OP isn’t whether some young people today know who he is. My town might be an outlier towards cosmopolitanism, but that doesn’t disprove the OP. Your town might be an outlier too. What is it? No offense, but there are square colleges. And towns can be anywhere on the cultural map. Commercial classic rock stations anywhere ought to be much less flexible towards the kind of coverage and depth of feeling I’ve heard in the northeast on noncommercial stations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-bowies-reputation-going-forward-stable-improve-decline/743495.md?page=3)