Something Happened

On The Day He Died

10 January 2016 – After a good night’s sleep
something hits me hard when I read the news.
Much harder than I had anticipated. I’m in tears.

Tears for the death of a man I never met, hardly
knew, but who had been a larger part of my life
than I cared to admit. When David Bowie died
it felt like I had lost an older brother, or a teacher.

It felt like I had lost the answer to so many open questions,
for his teachings were always in beautiful but shrouded lyrics.

I realized the meaning of his last lesson.
“I Can’t Give Everything Away”
Now I would never know.

From now on I would have to make it on my own.

~

 

Or so I thought

Enter OBL, a dutch Facebook group of co-admirers. After the first shock, Menno Kooistra, the man behind one of the most wonderful Bowie tribute videos, invited the group to collect the ultimate list of Bowie songs.

This was not going to be a ‘Best Of’ collection. Every member would suggest a song that meant something to them, with or without a short motivation. Together we turned this into a lovely and therapeutic project that would become a collective but personal Bowie compilation of seven volumes.

This needed a physical manifestation. Combining the graphic design of Blackstar and a collection of lesser known photos, the collection took shape. Contrary to the official discography, this set never completely reveals David Bowie’s image. The booklets contain the tracklists and all of the contributors motivations.

 

 

The process

The process of collecting and compiling this collective tribute turned out to be the best therapy one could wish for. At the same time it opened new doors to parts of the oeuvre that had escaped me, by throwing new light on albums, songs and lyrics featured in the collection.

This was a lovely project to have been part of. Thanks Menno!

 

The files

 
shotdhd-A3-front.pdf    A3   14 pages
shotdhd-A3-rear.pdf     A3    4 pages
shotdhd-A3-disc.pdf     A3    4 pages

shotdhd-print.zip (418 Mb)

The compilation consists of seven volumes. Every set needs 18 double sided A3 color prints, 4 sticker sheet prints, 18 cuts and 35 folds. Be sure to check out this page for any missing components.

The booklets are collected in a fourteen page A3 PDF for double sided* print.

The inlays are collected in a four page A3 PDF for double sided print.

The CD stickers are collected in a four page A4 document. This will need to be adjusted to the exact layout of the sticker sheets used for printing.

* Double sided print on 100% size requires print alignment

 

Previews: booklet

The booklets need to be cut clean around the edges, folded once horizontally and twice vertically. Keep an eye on alignment of the double sided prints. The black top center square is the front of the booklet.

 

Previews: inlay

The seven double sided inlays are distributed over two A3 prints and need eight cuts and fourteen folds. The tracklist goes on the back, the sides are lined up to form two eyes.

 

Previews: disc

Most compact disc sticker sheets are A4 sized, featuring two stickers. Although the layout of this PDF file is similar, it should be aligned to match the exact sticker positions of the used sticker sheets before printing. All PDF files are editable in Adobe Illustrator.