If you live in NYC, you probably take the site of the Empire State Building for granted. If you live in San Diego, you probably take a sunny 72-degree day for granted. And if you are a rock fan, you probably take David Bowie for granted.

Bowie, who put out his first album, David Bowie, in 1967 has been a fixture on the rock landscape ever since and has crossed genre lines so many times, charting it would look like an airline route map in the back of those terrible in-flight magazines.

Whatever your pleasure, Bowie has something for you. You want straight up rock and roll? There’s 1974’s Diamond Dogs and 1980’s Scary Monsters. If it’s a red wine night at home, there is 1971’s Hunky Dory, with more piano-driven tracks, including the powerful “Quicksand” and “Life on Mars,” a song that has surfaced everywhere from Phish shows to Wes Anderson movies.

Read on for more Thin White Duke lovin’, and a few clips from his illustrious career…

He glams it up on 1973’s Aladdin Sane and tackles a complete album of covers with the follow-up Pin-Ups.

Kurt Cobain thought enough of Bowie and 1970’s The Man Who Sold the World to include its title track in his Swan Song MTV Unplugged performance:

Bowie has conquered the concept album (1972’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars) and played the part of the ego-obsessed rock star. But he also has written enough catchy pop songs to fill an Ipod Nano. Who wouldn’t put Let’s Dance, Heroes or Golden Years on their playlist?

Beyond the music, Bowie has appeared in everything from the mystical flick Labyrinth to a cameo as “Walk Off” judge in Zoolander and even wrote a special song for Ricky Gervais’ Andy character on the HBO show Extras:

Maybe he hung out with Trent Reznor, who has said Bowie’s album Low is one of his all-time favorites, a little bit too much in the late ’90s. But with all the attention going to classic rock reunions – the Police, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd – what about the guy who never went anywhere?

Luke Sacks

Luke Sacks listens to mostly Phish, Wilco and Classic Rock but also will throw on Neutral Milk Hotel, Vampire Weekend or TV on the Radio when the mood strikes. He lives in Jersey City with his wife and Norwich Terrier Axl and is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his first child in May, 2012.

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