Converting the heathen

I've been thinking entirely too much about David Bowie for the past few days. I have done nothing but listen to him today. Low is playing right now. Specifically, "Always Crashing in the Same Car" is playing. But anyway, it gets me thinking about biases.

For the longest time, I rejected Bowie simply on principle. I had drawn a line in the sand in my ears, and that freak-eyed bastard would not cross. I do not know why. For some reason, on the Glam Rock front, I sided with America. Lou Reed's Transformer was enough. It wasn't until much later that I realized Bowie did back-up vocals on that album. Beside the point. I had a strong, completely unwarranted bias against David Bowie.

And we need that sometimes, I think. Sometimes we need to just reject things based on nothing. What, are we going to accept things based on their merits? Are we expected to give things a chance before we accept them? That is a ridiculous notion. If that happened, we wouldn't have any prejudices. It would be bleeding chaos!

The list of things I initially rejected for no reason but now love is pretty long. Musically, I didn't fully accept The Beatles until I was about 19. One of the biggest rejection-to-love transitions for me was the show Six Feet Under. The greatest drama series ever to air, by the way. It took me a while to accept Kurt Vonnegut. Also, I watch The Jersey Shore religiously. Judge me. I don't care. You're lame anyway.

Colleen, my wonderful wife, is also a participant in this process. I am happy to say I have converted her from blind hatred to total adoration on a couple fronts. She now likes Daniel Day-Lewis. She's turning the corner on topping food with fried eggs, as well. Howard Stern is a battle for another day. Never, probably.

But this is where I come to my point. If not for my wife, I would have lived a life without David Bowie. This is because of the simple law that governs the whole blind-hatred-to-wholehearted-love line. You cannot cross it by yourself. There is no going in to see a movie starring someone you hate and having any prejudice. You hate that person, and the movie fucking sucks going in. You need a vehicle, and that vehicle has to be someone you love and/or respect. Mostly, you need someone who you respect. They can show you the way.

And this is a very delicate process. There is no thrusting something upon someone if they have built up a wall. You must attack when the guard is asleep. This usually occurs after you have had sex with them. No, kidding. This usually occurs after you have accepted something of theirs. For instance, it is much easier to casually coerce my wife into watching a movie she will maybe hate but hopefully loves after we've watched a movie she wants. For every Raging Bull, you must sacrifice a Labyrinth. It's a matter of compromise, you see.

So, at some point, when my guard was asleep, the wall unprotected, my wife managed to give me a proper inroduction to David Bowie. She gave me Hunky Dory. And my life is forever changed. If you are not converted, if you have a wall built up against the thin white duke, Hunky Dory is a pretty heavy-duty wall smasher. Thank you, wife.



On our wedding day