I really like David Bowie's music, but I'm not sure why his death hit me as hard as it did.

I detest entertainment news in general. Until the last couple of years, I didn't know who the Kardashians were and that discovery was not by choice. But I spent hours reading about tributes to Bowie, scrolling through pictures and memes, listening to Bowie songs I have on my iPhone, and listening to others I'd forgotten as well as some I'd never heard. At 30 years his junior, I've admired his creative genius since I first saw "Labyrinth" and had my second bad-boy crush on Jareth, the goblin king. (First was Danny from "Grease," of course.)

Sure, Ziggy played guitar, but he played multiple instruments and also acted and painted. He was a brilliant public strategist and understood the value of presentation like he had the power of voodoo. His creativity and willingness to experiment – sometimes productively, and sometimes infamously and decidedly less so – was innovative and inspiring. He influenced music and culture for decades. He popularized and capitalized on his alter ego of Ziggy Stardust, which has been emulated by musicians from Garth Brooks to Miley Cyrus.