Essential David Bowie Songs

 I can't remember a time when I wasn't hearing a David Bowie song on the radio, seeing him in a movie, or coming across a reference to the "Starman." He's that ingrained into pop culture that he isn't just a rock star, he is THE rock star. Marilyn Manson has borrowed from his act, as have countless other rock stars, and also pop stars like Lady Gaga. Countless movies and TV series have used his music.

10. "Moonage Daydream" (The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars)
Speaking of films using his music, this song was recently part of the soundtrack to Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy. That isn't the only reason for it's inclusion on my list. My friend Jackie is the biggest Bowie fan I know, going all the way back to high school when she listened to plenty of his music on the school bus. We reconnected years later and I recall this being a song she mentioned in a text, so it reminds me of her. Not because of the lyrics, or I want her to place her ray gun to my head, just because I've associated it with her more than other songs. "Freak out in a moonage daydream, OH YEAH!" (I do associate "Oh yeah's" with Randy Savage though.)


9. "Space Oddity" (David Bowie)
This is likely THE Bowie song. It's closely associated with him, much like "Rocket Man" is to William Shatner... I mean Elton John. :)

8. "Life On Mars?" (Hunky Dory)
I came across this song back in 2008 because of a short-lived series Life On Mars. It wasn't that great but it was full of references to David Bowie, and come to find out, it was also a remake of a British TV series. That same season, JJ Abrams' Fringe TV series debuted, which also had a reference to Bowie. The shady, not-quite-villainous character of David Robert Jones, was named after Bowie, which was his birth name. Years later, my friend Dustin invited me to join him on his trip to the David Bowie museum exhibit in Chicago, and I bought this album before that trip. "Life On Mars?" is one song I closely associate with that trip.

7. "Suffragette City" (The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars)
Any song with the lyric "Ohhh, Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am!" is a definite choice for this list.

6. "Let's Dance" (Let's Dance)
The radio edit seems to omit much of the saxophone solo section, and the guitar too, which makes the 7 minute album version the preferred choice when listening, or better yet DANCING, to "Let's Dance." My aunt had this CD within her collection, which is the only Bowie album she liked, so I'm glad I could hear the full song (and get his "Cat People" song, too.) 

5. "Young Americans" (Young Americans)
While my aunt only cared for the Let's Dance-era, my mom had told me she owned this album and really liked this song in particular, telling me again after hearing of David Bowie's passing. It's very telling how people can be attached to certain eras of Bowie's music, he transcended genres and reinvented himself with nearly every album he released. I also love the Let's Dance-era too, though my favorite period is Ziggy Stardust. And that eye-patch Bowie!


4. "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" (Let's Dance)
Another Bowie song featured in a movie, Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds from 2009. I'd actually heard Danzig's version a few years prior to this but didn't realize it was actually a cover at the time. The Let's Dance album version also features a guitar solo from then up-and-coming guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. I almost prefer that updated song over the original synth-driven version, but it's a difficult choice. Danzig's cover is actually closer to the original, too.

3. "Starman" (The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars)
Yet another Bowie song featured in a movie, as this was recently used in The Martian, starring Matt Damon. With the movie taking place on Mars for much of it's run time, I was hoping they'd use the "Life On Mars?" song. The movie did use Bowie, but went even better by choosing "Starman", which fit perfectly alongside a montage when they're trying to send Matt Damon's character home. Listening to this song again following Bowie's passing, it sounds even more autobiographical than I thought- David Bowie was just too good that he blew our minds.

2. "Heroes" (Heroes)
I was first introduced to this song through another movie, 1998's Godzilla, and the cover version by The Wallflowers. That, along with Nirvana's "The Man Who Sold The World", would serve as my introduction to the world of David Bowie. It's crazy that those singles outperformed the originals by Bowie.

1. "Changes" (Hunky Dory) 
This is a song I didn't care much for when I first bought the Best Of Bowie CD over a decade ago. I skipped ahead to the "cool" rock songs like "Suffragette City" and the NIN-remixed "I'm Afraid Of Americans". Now as an adult, I feel more drawn to the music of "Changes" as much as it's lyrics. I guess time may change me and my musical tastes.