Triple Love Special: David Bowie

Love Hate Relationship

After the tremendous experience of our Triple Love Special on Robin Williams (available here), Andy and Alex have decided ten episodes later to try it again with another tragically passed fixture of joy to the outcasts, the incomparable David Bowie.

They ground everything in a lengthy, tangent-filled rundown of Bowie’s life and career, from his early education in art, dance, and music, to his burgeoning attempts to make it as a songwriter, to his eventual success and all of the good and evil it did him all the way into his later years.

They devote a long, carefully constructed (especially for them) segment to Bowie’s problematic turn in the 70’s towards fascist iconography and his character of the Thin White Duke, what can be looked at in context, what can be excused or not excused because of time period or deteriorated mental states, and whether latter-life apologies and acknowledgement for bad behavior deserve to be considered.

They also gleefully recount their favorite Bowie anecdotes, from how he permanently dilated one eye, to his inadvertent contribution to the invention of British Punk Rock (spoilers: it involves the Sex Pistols and arguable grand larceny), to his willingness to forego royalties on Under Pressure purely out of spite, and talk about his surprisingly extensive catalog of movie roles and support for newer artists.

Once more, no Hate or Relationship segments: just Andy and Alex discussing what David Bowie meant and means to them, the man’s stories, the work that helped shape them and countless other fans, and even a list of their favorite Bowie songs at the end. Even if you aren’t a fan, they hope you’ll give it, and Bowie, a chance.