Ashes to Ashes — David Bowie

I most strongly associate David Bowie with the parodic figure surrounding him. Like most figures who piqued (forgive me) before my birth, I don't so much know their fame as I know the effects of their fame. I never saw the Beatles' rise and fall; I was born into a world where they were canonized. And David Bowie had been canonized as this ridiculous cross-dressing Ziggy Stardust figure, wild and distinctive and flashy, the way I thought of most of the '80s.

But I was on shuffle and Ashes to Ashes came up. My first impression was, (distressingly), the song Better Than This by Keane. Wikipedia confirms it was a tribute, so. Yeah.

I want to understand Bowie as he was in his own era, and I'm not sure if it's possible. The Seinfeld Effect shows us that sometimes it isn't. I still very much like Ashes to Ashes; I like the synth-pop precursors, and I like the nursery-rhyme atmosphere. But it's not a clear song. It's not an anthem or a ballad. I'm not sure what it's saying.