Age Oddity
Despite David Bowie's post 80's releases, I've been a fan for forever. The photos of him on the inside sleeve of the great Hunky Dory CD alone make me wish that I was his age and whoring myself backstage in the early seventies like a black-Jewish Pamela DesBarres.
I'm quite taken by the new commercial for Bowie's latest release, Reality. I make the unfortunate, inevitable association with the god awful Gap commercial in which Madonna teams up with Missy Elliott because, like, they both have M names, or whatever. And then there was the Madonna and Britney Spears overtired makeout session at the MTV Video Music Awards recently (which totally pissed off Stevie Nicks, one might note). Madge isn't selling with the youth of today so she's really working hard at trying to be down with the kids, as it were. I don't blame her, really. It ain't easy getting old.
But in Bowie's new ad, the dashing fiftysomething rock and roll icon stars alone. He comes face to face with his own past personas, appearing made over as aged Ziggy Stardust, Alladin Sane, and others. It's pretty amazing. But it kind of weirds me out. The Avril Lavignes of today's piss poor recording industry don't even know his name.
Maybe Bowie, Madonna, and also Mick Jagger could all do a commercial together. They could be sitting in easy chairs in the geriatric ward watching Britney Spears videos. Or maybe Britney and Justin Timberlake and Lil Bow Wow could be sitting in the rec room of the nursing home and they could be watching The Man Who Fell to Earth, Desperately Seeking Susan, and Gimme Shelter while feeding each other Junior Mints with arthritic fingers.
Basically, the David Bowie commercial in particular just makes me feel old. And it's all about me, really.
