Maybe I've been drinking to much coffee and watching too many episodes of The Untold History of the United States, but does anyone else feel like the apocalypse is just around the corner? I've been going back and forth — sometimes I feel like I should truly embrace these fears and start prepping, and other times I remember we've been at the brink of apocalypse for decades now, so why not chill out and listen to some Bowie?

Especially because David Bowie already channeled these fears and weird feelings about America into Aladdin Sane in 1973. By way of Pushing Ahead of the Dame (a most excellent blog that you should all read), I came across this interview with Bowie in the July 1973 issue of Circus magazine. A highlight:

“Without realizing it, David Bowie had given birth to the theme that would obsess him throughout his tour of the States, the theme of Aladdin Sane: that the Americans he had met were poised unknowingly on the lip of a cataclysm that would rock the world.”

If Bowie felt this way in the 70s, I wonder what kind of album he'd compose today. (Yes, I know we have his dystopian Blackstar, but I think of that as a much more personal statement, rather than a statement on America. Also, he had no idea we were about to elect a pompous, Cheeto-colored, real estate developer as our president. OR DID HE. )

So if you're feeling scared, take a break from artfully stacking all your bricks of distilled water and listen to Aladdin Sane. Maybe the apocalypse is on its way, but wouldn't you be listening to some crazy piano riffs while it happens?

Happy Saturday!