I originally posted this diary two years ago today. It is mostly unchanged, except for a new video/song combination near the end. And, of course, all the comments are new. :) I hope you enjoy this diary.
Today is the 18th anniversary of the death of Farrokh Bulsara, better known to us as Freddie Mercury. In an article that was not entirely complimentary of the politics of Freddie Mercury and Queen, British columnist, John Harris wrote:
Those who compile lists of Great Rock Frontmen and award the top spots to Mick Jagger, Robert Plant et al are guilty of a terrible oversight. Freddie, as evidenced by his Dionysian Live Aid performance, was easily the most godlike of them all.
I was thinking of Freddie Mercury recently in the context of an argument between two characters in Hermann Hesse's book, Steppenwolf.
Hesse's main character was an eccentric academic named Harry Haller who became involved in a remarkable community of spirited human beings.
More below.
In the argument in question, Haller attempted to engage Pablo (a much-loved musician from that community) in a conversation about the 'greats' of music, about 'timeless' music, but Pablo refused to be drawn out, and replied that in his opinion, music does not depend upon discussion. When asked what music does depend on, he answered:
It depends upon the fact that one makes music, Herr Haller, that one plays music as much and as well and as intensively as one possibly can. That's it, Monsieur. If I hold the complete works of Bach and Haydn in my head and am able to say the cleverest things about them, no human being benefits. If, however, I take my horn and play a lively Shimmy, played well or badly, the Shimmy will still bring the people joy, it will flow into their legs and into their blood. That is what it depends on. Look into a dance room in that moment when - following a long pause - the music picks up again - how the eyes sparkle, the legs begin moving, the faces begin to smile. That is why we play music.
(My translation of a paragraph from Hesse's Steppenwolf.)
The conversation continued, in the book account, but Haller finally had to give up. Although Pablo didn't claim to be a particularly thoughtful human being, a deep and solid philosophy backed his music, and Haller could do nothing to change that.
I never met Freddie Mercury or had a conversation with him, but I have experienced his music. I have felt it flow into my legs and into my blood. I have felt it flow into my heart. And I have seen videos of the impact his music had on fans. To this day, Queen's Live Aid concert at Wembley is considered by some to be one of the greatest live rock performances in the history of rock music.
What I loved most about the man was his passion for the music and for performing it live for fans.
This YouTube video is of a song he wrote (co-wrote with Mike Moran, who sometimes accompanied on piano) and performed live with Montserrat Caballé, the famed Spanish soprano. I know many dKos diaries link to YouTube videos and it can sometimes be inconvenient to load and listen to those, but I will tell you now you can't fully get this diary without watching this one. My apologies for any inconvenience. :)
(The video on YouTube says embedding disabled, but it SEEMS to have embedded properly. If you cannot view it, please take a few moments to go see it here. I guess embedding was disabled. :( Sorry folks. At least it transports to YouTube for play, I guess that's something.)
Here are the lyrics to the song (which was the title song for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona):
Barcelona
(Freddie Mercury and Mike Moran)
Barcelona, Barcelona
Barcelona, Barcelona
Viva!
I had this perfect dream
Un sueno me envolvio
This dream was me and you
Tal vez estas aqui
I want all the world to see
Un instinto me guiaba
A miracle sensation
My guide and inspiration
Now my dream is slowly coming true
The wind is a gentle breeze
El me hablo de ti
The bells are ringing out
El canto vuela
They're calling us together, guiding us forever
Wish my dream would never go away
Barcelona! It was the first time that we met
Barcelona! How can I forget
The moment that you stepped into the room
You took my breath away
Barcelona! La musica vibro
Barcelona! Yella nos unio
And if God is willing, we will meet again someday
Let the songs begin
Dejalo nacer
Let the music play
Ahhhhhhh...
Make the voices sing
Nace un gran amor
Start the celebration
Ven a mi
And cry!
Grita!
Come alive
Viva!
And shake the foundations from the skies
Shaking all our lives
Barcelona! Such a beautiful horizon
Barcelona! Like a jewel in the sun
Por ti sere gaviota de tu bella mar
Barcelona! Suenan las campanas
Barcelona! Abre tus puerras al mundo
If God is willing, if God is willing, if God is willing
Friends until the end
Viva!
Barcelona!
Of course, Freddie Mercury was dead by the time the song was played at the Olympics.
It has not been very long since I first watched that video, but I viewed it with growing awe and amazement, at the creative power of the dual performance, at their incredibly beautiful and most human chemistry. Recorded in 1988, which put this after Freddie's private diagnosis with AIDs, he is nonetheless at the very top of his form, and his power leaps out from the video to touch us and all in attendance.
I am reminded, when I watch it, of the essential conflict in Goethe's Faust, in which Goethe's hero will be considered successfully tempted by the devil if he can be compelled to say, pertaining to the intensity of the experience the devil provides...
Verweile doch, du bist so schön!
Which means, please remain, you are so beautiful! (The words are Goethe's, of course, from Faust.)
But such an experience is never demonic, it is a gift from the highest spirit within us. And in this video we see two human beings flush with the ecstasy of being exactly where they want to be, doing exactly what they want to be doing. Which is a miraculous thing indeed, and a miracle (speaking for myself) to witness and absorb. No matter how many times I watch I am brought to tears at the triumphant conclusion to the song, fireworks exploding in the background, and Freddie coming to kiss Montserrat Caballé on the cheek. Watch her dazzling response and see the glistening of her eyes. It's what life is about, I think.
When I experience the song I think they are singing to each other. Freddie went to Barcelona (Caballe's hometown) for the purpose of meeting her and suggesting a cross-genre collaboration. When he sings ...
Barcelona! It was the first time that we met
Barcelona! How can I forget
The moment that you stepped into the room
You took my breath away
... I believe he is expressing very consciously, intentionally and explicitly the intensity of his feelings upon meeting the opera star, about whom he once said:
I love music and she is music.
I believe that singing with her was a dream for him, and that it came to be that for her, too. The Wikipedia bio on Freddie Mercury describes it this way:
Barcelona, recorded with Catalan soprano Montserrat Caballé, combined elements of popular music and opera. Many critics were uncertain of what to make of the album, with one critic referring to it as "the most bizarre CD of the year."[43] Caballé, on the other hand, considered the album to have been one of the great successes of her career.
The Freddie Mercury Memorial at Montreaux Switzerland.
(Photo from swiss-riviera.com.)
Montserrat Caballé dedicated the statue to Freddie thirteen years ago tomorrow.
Freddie Mercury was criticized for many things in his life, for things he did, for things he could have done and didn't. As is true with all of us, some of the criticisms were valid. But I did not do this diary to criticize, I did it to honor and to appreciate. Sometimes there is too much negative criticism in the world.
In my opinion, anyone who pursues her/his creative expression with such passion is inherently progressive. Anyone who shares the fruits of that creativity so willingly and passionately is inherently progressive. So I honor Freddie Mercury tonight on the anniversary of his death.
Rest in Peace, Freddie Mercury.
I promised another video for this year's Freddie diary. I am not finding the source at the moment, but I believe this was the last video Freddie Mercury ever recorded.
If you are feeling experimental tonight, please view this video as if Freddie Mercury is singing the song to us, one final expression of his feeling for us at the end of his career and his life. That is how I viewed it.
Once again, embedding is theoretically disabled, but I am trying to do it anyway. ;) If it does not work, the video may be found here.
Reportedly, the video was filmed in black and white to mask the advancing effects of his illness.
Here are the lyrics for that song, if, like me, you like to read along:
Sometimes I get to feelin'
I was back in the old days - long ago
When we were kids, when we were young
Things seemed so perfect - you know?
The days were endless, we were crazy - we were young
The sun was always shinin' - we just lived for fun
Sometimes it seems like lately - I just don't know
The rest of my life's been - just a show.
Those were the days of our lives
The bad things in life were so few
Those days are all gone now but one thing is true -
When I look and I find I still love you.
You can't turn back the clock, you can't turn back the tide
Ain't that a shame?
I'd like to go back one time on a roller coaster ride
When life was just a game
No use sitting and thinkin' on what you did
When you can lay back and enjoy it through your kids
Sometimes it seems like lately I just don't know
Better sit back and go - with the flow
Cos these are the days of our lives
They've flown in the swiftness of time
These days are all gone now but some things remain
When I look and I find - no change
Those were the days of our lives yeah
The bad things in life were so few
Those days are all gone now but one thing's still true
When I look and I find, I still love you,
I still love you.
(Lyrics from lyrics007.com, though they can be found in many places online.)
Thank you for reading. Now, on to comments!
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In an achingly beautiful diary by exmearden, occams hatchet sums it up quite well. Please read the diary and the comments if you haven't already. You'll be glad you did.
From JanF:
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My picks:
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How blue armadillo picked a dKos handle. :)
Take a moment to read JanF's Top of the Morning comment! :)
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2 The ER gave my sister Tylenol by FishOutofWater - 151
3 My clever "handle" is my real name... by Julie Gulden - 149
4 Heh. by wmtriallawyer - 131
5 I am an Experimental Psychologist by BFSkinner - 127
6 50 plus Biden by nyceve - 124
7 Oh dear FOoW by gchaucer2 - 105
8 This by Thomas Merton - 97
9 when you are in your 60's it by Julie Gulden - 96
10 I didn't know enough. by FishOutofWater - 90
11 Hi, dog. Well. I am not a by blue jersey mom - 84
12 Where Did CityLightsLover Come From? by CityLightsLover - 75
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14 Easy - my name and I have always had by SallyCat - 73
15 To Common Sense Mainer by khloemi - 72
16 I get asked a lot by droogie6655321 - 71
17 ((((((((((((((((((((exme arden))))))))))))))))))) by Chacounne - 71
18 Dear heart by gchaucer2 - 70
19 Gutsy given how low your by Something the Dog Said - 70
20 Lighting a candle for your sister. by noweasels - 69
21 Thank You for Reality-Based smackdown nt by roubs - 67
22 As a college history professor by HPrefugee - 65
23 Guns and Butter 2.0 by cskendrick - 64
24 "They are experts on horse racing", my horses'ass by bamabikeguy - 63
25 The media coverage here of the China trip ... by missLotus - 63
26 Outrage sells. by Niniane - 63
27 "Dance to the Music" by Only Needs a Beat - 62
28 There are 7/11 workers in Japan and they make it by lindalrs - 61
29 President Obama is a community organizer. by marabout40 - 60
30 With no tap water, we are by Overseas - 60
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1 Tip Jar by gchaucer2 - 514
2 Tip Jar by KevinNYC - 459
3 Tip Jar by blackwaterdog - 440
4 Tip Jar by exmearden - 372
5 Tip Jar by mftalbot - 369
6 Tip Jar by nyceve - 362
7 Tips? Flames? by Something the Dog Said - 293
8 Tip Jar by Overseas - 244
9 Tip Jar by Drdemocrat - 173
10 Australia has just led where the US Senate by RLMiller - 170
11 not much of a diary, but by exmearden - 165
12 The ER gave my sister Tylenol by FishOutofWater - 151
13 My clever "handle" is my real name... by Julie Gulden - 149
14 This diary is a part of the EcoJustice series: by RLMiller - 139
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18 Tip Jar by math4barack - 120
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21 Oh dear FOoW by gchaucer2 - 105
22 Tip Jar by aaraujo - 99
23 This by Thomas Merton - 97
24 Tip Jar by devtob - 97
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28 Hi, dog. Well. I am not a by blue jersey mom - 84
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