David Bowie on my mind

I've been thinking a bit about Bowie these last several days. His recent album reflects at least in part on his life in Berlin (with bad boy Iggy Pop) at a much earlier time. Having visited the location of that apartment on Berlin, and walking around the area has led to clusters of thoughts. The house was basically at the wall, it sits in Schöneberg near Kreuzberg, and is now an area populated by immigrants and home to wild nightclubs and locales for Berlin's younger and gayer populations. This part of Berlin is hardly what you would call beautiful.

During the afternoon, I've been listening to old and new Bowie on YouTube, listening to the wonderful interview of Jimmy and David by Dinah Shore from the 70's (with Rosemary Clooney at her side), in which both men appear as vulnerable and quite adorable, or perhaps in awe of Dinah's beautiful southern accent. The rain outside adds to the feel of the afternoon. Bowie is looking back at his life, his voice is older, his face older and somewhat bloated, and it's just a bit melancholy. The video in grainy black and white adds to this feel, especially since the Berlin Bowie remembers still had a wall.

Now the building houses a 70's music cafe, the only hint that Bowie lived there.




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