That's very kind of you to say, Cheyenne. Thank you. And I agree with you that we are not alone in our feelings.

The artists you mentioned, along with so many others born of the musical revolution that the Beatles ushered in, they all valued freshness and variety and deep personal feeling in all the music they made. Today, somehow, that philosophy is no longer the rule, but rather the opposite. Freshness is a riskier sell than familiarity. Variety is harder to market than sticking to one narrow genre. Deep personal feeling is expected to be the predictable ones, but never too challenging to the listener...you can tell us how much you love us, but you're gonna have to hide you and your monkey.

I'm not sad about Bowie. I'm saddened when I think about his wife Iman, and especially his fifteen year old daughter. But Bowie himself, wow...what a life he lived, and what a way to go out. Those videos, "Blackstar" and "Lazarus"...unbelievable that a man with terminal cancer could turn even his own nasty death into a gripping work of art, timed meticulously to make the actual moment a part of his own creative vision. THAT is artistically heroic. That is dedication to creativity and art.

It will be difficult for me to miss him, because he left enough music to explore for a lifetime. I'm pretty sure there is enough top-quality backlog that will be released in the future to keep us surprised for years to come.

http://www.soundclick.com/MarkKaufman