viernes, 20 de abril de 2007

Queen, one of the best bands ever

I love Queen. You would say that it is not from my times, or that not many young people listen to it… but I do! I was inside my mom when wonderful Freddie died, but I also felt that horrible loss to the world. Since I was born, in my house my parents listen Queen. And I remember me and my brother standing next to the loudspeaker, with our ear stuck to it, singing, dancing, shouting and trying to say the same that Freddie was saying.

Don’t stop me now that I’ve started to talk about this great band. You just can’t because when I start writing about something, I can’t stop until I’ve said all I wanted to. And you know that… =)
I’m not the greatest fan of all, but Queen’s music reaches me, my heart, my soul. It transmits such great messages that move a lot inside of me. I guess most people know the most important points of Freddie’s life. So, if you read the lyrics of this great band, you can easily find some phrases related to what Freddie was and all his feelings. Not only his… also the other members of the band.

Once, in 9th grade at school, for English class we were asked to choose a song and talk about it, about the artist, and something else we wanted to add. I remember in the group: Leo Cabral, Juli Isas (is no longer at school, but is still a Queen’s fanatic) and Vale Marún. We chose Bohemian Rhapsody, by the greatest band of all: Queen. We made people listen to it, we talked about what the lyrics showed, and all that madness (Sofía, the teacher, was surprised about what we liked, as she had never listened to the lyrics), we talked about the band, about Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor, Brian May and John Deacon. When the time to talk about Freddie’s death arrived we all felt a huge sadness inside of us. At least inside of me, I felt for the first time this ‘death’, as I hadn’t been in the real moment and I had born with an ‘already dead Freddie’. Anyway, Freddie, Who wants to live forever? We all die someday, somewhere, somehow, death reaches us all.

I’m going slightly mad now that I’m telling Queen’s story through mine and now that I’m listening Killer Queen while I remember all these intact memories I have.

Queen’s music has been close to me for all my life. I’ve said many times It’s a beautiful day, when I was feeling good, and You don’t fool me to some people. I’ve been Under pressure and I’ve sung with some friends, altogether crying the lyrics of You’re my best friend and Friends will be friends. Anytime we hear Queen with some of these four friends of mine that I’ve mentioned, we look at each other and a smile showing some kind of sadness and melancholy reaches our faces. We feel connected with this music. But not only with my friends; Queen also remembers my brother and my parents. They taught me that culture, that music; that heroes were put in me by them.

When I think about Freddie and everything that happened to him, I am really sorry for him. He was great, he had the best voice in the world, he was famous, he was the leader of the best band ever, he was acclaimed by everybody, he had support all around the world… and he died. How life can be unfair, I can say. Why him? But I have to admit that he has been in all this sexual madness, and it’s not by accident how he got infected with AIDS. In some way, he looked for it; he had to suffer the consequences of his own mistakes. It’s a hard life says Freddie in one of his songs… And I want it all also shows the desire of this man to have it all, I’m sorry for the repetition. But that’s not the point. That’s his personal life, his private world and I only care about his music as I haven’t lived in those days to say if he was a good person, if he behaved goodly, if he did good actions…

Queen is the immortal band. Is the band that has fans of all ages. Is the band that after 18 years of not doing music is still in force. Queen is one of my favourites band. Maybe what I will write now sounds a bit macabre, but I think it that way! I think that ‘Everything happens for a reason, even if the reason is not near, clear or seen in that moment’. In some way, I think that Freddie’s death was not that bad. I believe that if Queen had continued making music, it would have happened the same as most artists: they would have become a popular and commercial style. What I admire most about Queen is the great range of musical capacity the four of them had (and some still have). There are plenty of artists that have it too, but in order to sell more or just to keep up with the times, they completely ruined their music course. I know that if that would have happened to this great band, they wouldn’t be as acclaimed as they are nowadays and they wouldn’t be as wonderful as they were in their times. Nowadays, they would have been a common band with just a long and successful past. I’m not saying that necessarily that would have happened, but is the most probable. Some artists don’t even know they are changing styles, they just go to where most people is going because of unseen forces and influences.

Anyway, Queen was in the past, but is still present and I know it will still be in the future. They have been so great that they can’t be forgotten just like that. I am from the generation when Freddie was already dead, when Queen didn’t sing together anymore, and I love the band. I know that will continue for many generations more. So, Queen, you don’t sing together anymore, but you still can sing We are the champions because reaching what you’ve reached is not that easy. You are the champions.

I’ve cried with some of your songs in difficult moments and your ‘Save me, save me, save me, I can’t face this life alone’ has been written in my forehead for some time. Every time I listen one of your CDs, I find something new, a different tune, sentence; I think a phrase in a different way, and that helps me with the illusion that you’re still alive and taking out new stuff. I’ve lived many years of my life disagreeing with the lyrics of a song, until I really noticed that what Freddie was singing was right: ‘Too much love will kill you every time’. For me, it was not ‘every time’, it was ‘sometimes’. But after analysing the phrase for a long while, I found out the truth in what they used to sing.
Each song brings me back some memories of my life: from childhood to where I am today. I don’t know if I’ve already really tasted this Crazy little thing called love, but Now I’m here and I want to break free. Queen is my music, Queen is the best band ever.

Dead or alive, Freddie, I believe you when you say ‘I’m the invisible man’. I cannot see you; I can only find you in some magazines, or behind a screen showing an old clip. But you are still in my heart! Even though I’ve never seen you live, as you were already dead when I came to this world that was still crying for you.

The dream of all my life (and damn it’s impossible) has been to see one of Queen concerts. I know I would have paid everything! Whatever they wanted, I would have given, just to see one of the greatest concerts of the world. It doesn’t care how long your show would have been, but I know that I would still be shouting the classic ‘Show must go on’.




Freddie never died.
Queen never stopped singing.
Your voice is still in my room,
You sing in my mind, soul and heart.
You never died, you’ll never die.
Freddie, you have been and you’ll always be the best.
A voice like yours, I’ll never find.
Don’t stop singing, never stop please.
You still fulfil so many people, and we love you!

We miss you, and you’ll never die!





Vale Becker



3 comentarios:

Anónimo dijo...

Hi, i really liked you'r article as i also admire queen , they'r history as they'r music ..i knew queen more or less as you did , because of my parents , and i feel as you do , queen is one of the bands i most admire i love them , i love the music the lyrics the rithm everything .. so thx for the post.I hope to read anotherone as good as this one,
Pablo

Leo dijo...

Hey vale!!!
I just read your article...I can say I totally agree. Queen' music has something that I havent found in any ohter band , it gets to your heart , it makes you think, its... I just dont know how to explain it . When I hear Freddy singing I feel this exciment, sandness , frustration , and happynees , all at the same time , I dont' know really what it is.
Anyway..love you girl

CAL dijo...

Wow! Nice report on Queen! I loved this band - actually I grew up trying to sing Bohemian Rhapsody and Love of my Life and other songs that have now become classics. Great job!