Binary Stars: Lemmy and Bowie

In Disney’s 1975 classic Escape from Witch Mountain, one of the film’s mysterious interstellar twins carries with her the Star Case, s small box with a picture of two stars next to one another. That’s where I learned about binary stars — two stars that orbit around one another and depend on each other for survival.

Last week, Lemmy Kilmister, lead singer of the band Motorhead passed away at the age of 70. Last night was David Bowie’s turn. He was 69.

I discovered Motorhead on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball back in the late 80s. After a couple of hours of the latest hard rock and heavy metal songs, the show would slip in videos from newer, unknown bands and older classics. The vintage, straight-forward aspect of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spaces” stood out at a time when budgets for music videos were typically in the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Many music videos of that era featured flashy costumes, big sets, special effects and roving locations. Not the 100 mile per hour classic anthem “Ace of Spades.” In it, we get a smokey stage with Lemmy up front, warts (er, moles) and all.

In a music industry full of fast cars, Motorhead was a semi-truck barreling forward, largely unchanged and not stopping for anyone.

Quite the opposite was David Bowie. If Lemmy was the guy standing in front of you daring you to hit him, Bowie was a master boxer, always moving about the ring and only appearing moments before he delivered his attack, precisely picking his shots.

While Lemmy only had one personality both on and off the stage, Bowie had dozens throughout the years. My introduction to David Bowie was a silly one: his duet with Mick Jagger on “Dancing in the Streets.” Throughout the years Bowie would record duets with dozens of artists, including John Lennon (“Fame”), Bing Crosby (“Little Drummer Boy”), Queen (“Under Pressure”), and Trent Reznor (“I’m Afraid of Americans”). When David Bowie made his appearance as The Goblin King in 1986’s Labyrinth, I didn’t appreciate just how versatile the guy was. It wasn’t until I was a little older that I discovered Ziggy Stardust (around the time Marilyn Manson, and his critics, were citing Bowie as an influence). You never knew what style of music you were getting with David Bowie’s next album, but you always knew you were getting something artistically interesting.

Last week, David Bowie released his final album, “Blackstar.” The UK’s Mirror called it “perhaps the most extraordinary in his amazing career“.

Last November, Motorhead was in Paris the night of the terrorist attacks and was scheduled to play the following night. When their show was cancelled, Lemmy went on television to call the terrorists “assholes and cowards.”

Binary stars. It’s better to burn out than fade away. RIP Lemmy and Bowie.