Let's be honest: The world doesn't deserve a "David Bowie" in it anyways …

There are going to be things written about this man for decades to come, perhaps even centuries. While many of our past greats have shaped the way popular culture is devoured now, no others did it like Bowie did it. He persevered through his audience's confusion, bringing people into his world rather than forcing himself to liquefy into theirs. Cemented from being himself, his style, his panache, his poetry, became what others would emulate — his individuality inspiring beacons of unrelenting imitations throughout art. Copying Bowie in song became a requirement; so long as there's music to listen to, his influence lives on.

As his final goodbye, in a poignant video for the single "Lazarus" (from his last, recently released album Blackstar​), Bowie does what Bowie did best — he confuses the hell out of people, while still maintaining enough familiarity that everyone can participate in it. Supported by his downtrodden imagery, it seems he knew where he was going when filming the video. Inside of himself, it appears, he had it all figured out. In the final seconds of it all, Bowie says his goodbyes, locking himself into an unknown — hidden away from the real world. Gone from this place forever.

"I don't know where I'm going from here," Bowie once said, "but I promise it won't be boring …"