Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
What a difference a day makes! Yesterday may not have been the worst day of my life but I'd rather not see its kind again. Fast forward 24 hours and I can't remember having had such a good, contented feeling at the end of a day. Today is better.
What made today better? For starters, it wasn't yesterday. A big stack of CDs from Amazon sure didn't hurt. Among those waiting for me on my lunch break was David Bowie's A Reality Tour. I talked about this in an earlier VCV this week as in my weekly New Album Releases column. I've had this on my wishlist since I learned it would be released last fall and it has not disappointed.
As excited as I was about the rest of the stack — and we'll be talking about those in good time — the Bowie set put the special smile on my face. I love Bowie. When things felt like they were crashing down on me, I needed a pick-me-up and that's exactly what A Reality Tour has been for me today.
So what's that got to do with "China Girl?" Nothing… and yet, everything.
I know the song isn't about good days and happy times, but sometimes you just want to shut up and dance (or face the music and dance). I smile when I listen to this. I sing along (badly). I lose myself and feel better.
The same can be said of many of Bowie's songs, but for some reason I felt drawn to this one and I don't see the need to dig deeper for understanding on a day where I just needed to be drawn to something that made me feel good. Curiosity has its place. Sometimes it's good for there to be some mystery. Sometimes it's best just to say "thank you."
