It is often assumed that Freddie Mercury, the frontman for the hugely popular rock group, Queen, lived a life of hedonistic exuberance. There are countless pictures of Mercury out at clubs in his flamboyant costumes, drinking and having fun. This reputation as a party animal led journalist Matthew Horton to state that, “The Fredster lived his 45 years like a man possessed – a man possessed by the spirit of reckless, balls-out excess” (Horton). So to claim that this same man was actually immensely influenced by religion and had deep concerns about society may seem like a stretch. However, despite his ostentatious image, Freddie Mercury deliberately composed his songs to highlight his early childhood experiences with Zoroastrianism and strong …show more content…
The enigmatic classic, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is one that features this connection. Speaking about the song, Mercury stated, "People still ask me what Bohemian Rhapsody is all about, and I say I don't know. I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and then decide for themselves what it means to them" (Bulsara). Ostensibly, the lyrics seem to be about Mercury’s bisexuality; Mercury was known to date both males and females. However, a deeper examination of the lyrics reveals Mercury’s inner strife with religion. When Mercury sings, “Is this the real life. Is this just fantasy. Caught in landslide. No escape from reality,” he is referring to his loneliness and melancholy, the disappointment with reality that he cannot elude (Mercury). Then, Mercury urges the listeners to, “Open your eyes, look up to skies and see” (Mercury) Here, Mercury seems to be referring to God. For him, the confusion of reality can be cleared up by looking to God for answers. The song also features Mercury’s repentance for his past deeds. At one point, Mercury sings, “Mama, ooh, Didn't mean to make you cry,” clearly highlighting his remorse for losing touch with the religion of his youth (Mercury). Mary Austin, Mercury’s former partner, remarked that, after his coming-out, Mercury was satisfied; however, his body ached all the time due to the guilt he felt …show more content…
Mercury spent his youth during the tumultuous 60s and 70s, surrounded by social and political rumblings. It was difficult to ignore the protests and riots that filled the news broadcasts. A war was raging in Vietnam and presidents were being assassinated. In the midst of all this, a counter-culture movement was gaining momentum that would begin to demand more tolerance towards human sexuality, women’s rights, gay liberation, and diverse subcultures. When Queen began to gain widespread popularity in the 70s, the band’s ornate style and vivacious music often hid the concerns of Mercury. Being bisexual, Mercury was forced to live in the shadows, unable to freely live his life. This secret life led many to doubt Mercury’s concerns about society. When Mercury died of complications due to AIDS, the autoimmune disease, many people criticized Mercury for not donating to AIDS charities before dying (Sky, 183-185). However, according to Mary Austin, Mercury donated millions to AIDS charities before his death, and was very involved with AIDS activism (Sky, 183-185). People close to Mercury describe him as a generous man who preached kindness to
George Gershwin is one of the greatest influences to American music in the 20th century. His compositions can be found throughout the entertainment world, ranging from Broadway to motion pictures. Though he had a short career, George Gershwin's music continues to bring inspiration and delight almost sixty years later.
Poetry can sometimes allow one to explore the unknown. However, in some works of poetry, one can realise that some known ideas or values remain relevant to current society. This is certainly applicable to T.S. Eliot’s poems, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Rhapsody on a Windy Night. Eliot’s manipulation of poetic techniques in both these poems allows the responder to realise that some ideas prevail in both modern and post-modern society. These poems explore the unknown phenomena of the obscurity regarding the purpose and meaning of life. This unknown phenomena causes the persona in both texts to resort to a sense of isolation or alienation. Eliot uses poetic techniques such as metaphors and personification to convey his ideas.
Eunice Kathleen Waymon born February 21, 1933. She was the sixth of eight children born to John - an entertainer turned family man - and Mary Kate - who became a church minister - a poor southern black family that lived in Tryon, North Carolina.
Whitney Houston is a superstar. She works with a lot of people who struggle with additive behaviors. This social exposure has been difficult for her to handle. From media reports, Ms. Houston appears to be very stressed over family matters. She reports that she had a tumultuous marriage; suffering through many years of infidelity and public scandals in addition to the drug and alcohol arrests of her husband. Additionally, Whitney has been embroiled in another legal battle with her father for failure to settle a $100 million debt she owed his company (Whitney Houston, 2011).
Abbey Road is heralded as one of the greatest rock ‘n roll albums ever. It grinds with hard rock and sways with soft guitar. The variety of the tracks provides something for everyone. It was created in 1969 at the famous Abbey Road studios. George Martin and Geoff Emerick, who had produced many other Beatles’ albums, contributed to this work. This album is one of the more famous albums of the Beatles, who are one of the most popular bands ever. Almost every piece of this album, even the cover, is art works in themselves.
If you are part of society, I think it is safe to make the assumption you are familiar
Symphony number nine in D minor, Op.125, the "Choral" is the outstanding piece accompanied with a vocal chorus. Beethoven began concentrated work on the piece in 1822. It occupied him throughout 1823, and he completed it in February 1824. The first performance took place at the Karntnertor Theater in Vienna on May 7, 1824. The deaf composer stood on stage beating time and turning the pages of his score, but the real conducting was done by Michael Umlauf. The first American performance was given on May 20, 1846 by the New York Philharmonic under George Loder. Its performance can never be an ordinary event, just another concert, it is something special because the feeling you get inside when you hear
One of the popular artists at that time was the Beatles, and they were able to influence the younger generation of that time with their music. “…rock music is the devil’s masterpiece for enslaving his own children. By the grace of God, let’s keep him from using it as a tool to weaken the children of God so that they are powerless to win this generation to Christ” (Denisoff 1975: 393). Around the 1970’s New York City was battling with a heroin widespread, there were a lot of addicts on the streets. The homicide level had increased about four times as it is of
George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is one of those timeless classics that is instantly recognizable to many people’s ears today, even ninety years after it was first introduced to the world. It is a piece that has found its way into contemporary movies and advertisements, making it likely as recognizable as Chopin’s Funeral March or Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. But unlike these two pieces of iconic classical music, Rhapsody in Blue “resists classification.”1 In it are elements of classical music, blues and jazz, making it at once “Gershwin’s most famous piece” but also “possibly his least understood composition.”2 Indeed, while Rhapsody became a popular hit in the
German composer and pianist, Ludwig van Beethoven, was born December 1770 and spent most of his life in Vienna, Austria. His first teacher was his alcoholic father, who worked as a musician at the Court of Bonn. Teaching him day and night, Ludwig suffered from his father's harsh and erratic behavior. For a time, he and his father played at the Church. As his father's alcoholism increased, Ludwig became the main musician.
Ludwig van Beethoven was, and remains today, an influential figure in the history of classical music. Perhaps no other composer in history wrote music of such inspiring power and expressiveness. His influence on the last 150 years of music is unequalled.
With its evolving and unique sound, “Bohemian Rhapsody” by the British band Queen may be one of the strangest, most inspired and least-understood songs in the history of rock. Released on October 31, 1975 in the album A Night at the Opera, “Bohemian Rhapsody” became very popular, staying at the top of the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks and by the end of January, had more than a million copies sold. Freddie Mercury, the sole writer of this song, never disclosed the song’s official meaning, but Brian May, the lead guitarist of the band, believes it is about his struggles in life and how he tried to get past society’s standards, for the lyrics progress through the central character’s understanding of the situations portrayed in the song. Nonetheless,
In early 1970 the band Queen was formed. Freddie Mercury on vocals, Brian May on guitar, Roger Taylor on drums and Mike Gross on bass. They had known each other for years. All living in the town of Kensington in Britain, sometimes even living together. Brian and Roger belonged to a band called Smile, and Freddie was a very talented vocalsit playing for the band Ibex. They decided to join forces, to better themselves, and their chances of obtaining fame and fortune. After a few months with only a few gigs Mike Gross left the band. He was replaced by Barry Mitchell, who only played a few gigs with them. After a few short months they were looking for their third bass player. Roger, was at a party one night and was
One of the most influential groups of the 20th Century—the Beatles revolutionized rock and roll into what we know it as today. Not only were they great musicians, they wrote and composed each of their songs. The band proved to be popular and exciting causing mass hysteria at each of their public performances. The “Fab Four’s” talent was so great that the phenomenon was termed “Beatlemania” in Britain and eventually erupted in the United States being called the British Invasion of the Beatles (Britannica Online, 2005).
Some of the most well known composers came to be in the in the classical music period. Ludwig van Beethoven was one of the composers, along with other greats of the time like Haydn and Mozart, which helped to create a new type of music. This new music had full rich sounds created by the new construction of the symphony orchestra.