Who was Ziggy Stardust?

William S. Burroughs was an author and icon for many a weirdo starting with the Beat Generation. He wrote about drugs, madness, and practiced non-linear narratives, often using something called the cut-up technique.

This practice involved cutting up a writing and rearrange it to reveal new texts and hidden meanings.

David Bowie practiced the same as a musician and magician. Yes, magician, as in magick. A practice to shift user's mindsets and reality through rituals. Bowie practiced this through personas and stories he would tell himself. Possibly more behind the scenes, but what we saw were new versions of Bowie emerging every few years.

Ziggy Stardust was just one of many personas.

I am across this discussion between Burroughs and Bowie on Bluesky. It's really informative regarding the depth of story behind Ziggy Stardust. Though I've listened to the album many times and watched the live performance many times, I've never caught on to these ideas. Really delightful and interesting.

I think the most interesting is the fact that the songs are news. Singing announcements rather than anthems for the populace. A really beautiful idea.