David Bowie Celebrates His Birthday By Coming Out Of Retirement

Do you guys know how sad it makes me that all my social media buddies can think to post on today, David Bowie's 66th birthday, are photos from Labyrinth? Not the man's proudest moment, folks. And he's had quite a few - groundbreaking music, an interesting and varied film career, super-talented spawn. But nope. This is how we commemorate the man today.

Maybe it's because all my Facebook friends are more movie-centric, or are a good decade younger than me, or just REALLY dig that bulge in the Goblin King's pants. Whatever. I don't get it. (Confession: I've never seen all of Labyrinth.)

Anyway, a retraction is in order. Last year I celebrated Mr. Bowie's 65th birthday, noting with respect his decision to quietly retire. But today the man himself announced a new album, The Next Day, on his site, kicking things off with a video of his first single, "Where Are We Now?" (props to Bowie for not shying away from a song title ripe for making confused old man jokes). The video is directed by Tony Oursler, a multimedia artist who specializes in, as you'll see, projected image installations.

The song's a bit slight, but I'm still embracing this news as GOOD. While there was something cool about Bowie quietly exiting the arena, it's also nice to see an artist compelled to create when it suits him, even if that means taking a ten-year break. It's a stark contrast to the frenzied pace at which Bowie released albums in the '70s, but he's never really been about repeating himself.

The new album can be pre-ordered now on iTunes. Welcome back, old man!