It doesn’t seem almost a year since I woke up to the news that David Bowie had died. I never met him, or even saw him perform live, and yet I felt as saddened by his passing as I would an old friend.
As a teenager, and in my early twenties, I had a number of clear and vivid dreams about him. In those he was a friend, someone who called around to my place and hung out with me, when he wasn’t on tour. There was no concept of Rock Star, he was just David. I don’t recall dreaming about him for years, and then he visited my nocturnal plane the night before he died. Once again we hung out, drank wine and chatted about our lives, and then he was gone. And when I awoke that morning it was to find he’d truly gone.
2016 was a year of oddities. David Bowie was the first of many celebrities and musicians to go. There were political upheavals with Brexit, and much later, The Donald. There were more terrorist atrocities. The weather seemed confused too. Extremes of everything – and the ground shook HARD in New Zealand.
Was anything good this year?
I discovered SUITS on TV and binge-watched my way through all 5 seasons. I ❤ Harvey.
I read some fantastic books. I fell in love with Sarina Bowen’s new romances (True North series), set in Vermont. Also her Ivy Years college romances.
I listened to some awesome music. There was the day-long Homegrown Music Festival in Wellington (in March), featuring the best of New Zealand’s live music. I also discovered Highly Suspect, Kaleo, and Broods.
If you somehow haven’t heard Highly Suspect, you don’t know what you’re missing. And THIS video. It’s just… WOW! Shot entirely underwater, in a single take, she really does hold her breath that long. Incredible!
I hope 2017 is kind to us.
What were your high (low) lights of the year?
Sofia Grey 