God Save the Queen

I grew up only listening to classical music, and opera. I come from a very musical family, my dad, brother, and I all play violin, and my mom plays the flute. It wasn’t until the seventh grade that I heard rock ‘n roll for the first time. I went to see the movie, “Wayne’s World” with a friend of mine, and although I really didn’t understand much of the movie because I had never seen Saturday Night Live before, the soundtrack caught my attention. It was during that iconic scene where Wayne and Garth climb into that tiny car wiith their friends that I heard the song, “Bohemian Rhapsody” for the first time; I was captivated. My brother and I spent the next week or so sitting by the radio, taping bits and pieces of that song until we finally captured the whole thing. That summer, we were in Taiwan where we bought every single bootleged and pirated copy of every Queen album we could find.

Their music became a huge inspiration for me because of how they blended classical elements with full on rock ‘n roll, but it wasn’t until I reached high school that I began to have access to guitars and recording equipment. After my first try at college, I ultimately went on to record three album, performing numerous shows over a six-year period. You can hear Queen’s influence in my last record In particular. My career as a performer, and my dreams of success were all at once intoxicating, and perilous. But since my injury, I’ve really begun to wonder; is fame itself really a good thing? It seems today, with the advent of social media, and its power to transform a person’s life from relative obscurity, to Youtube ubiquity overnight, fame cuts both ways.

But what is fame really worth? I have come to believe that it is a tool like any other tool, and it all comes down to how you use. However, of greater importance is the substance behind a person’s notoriety. Physical beauty, talent, education, intelligence, are all highly valued in our society, and they ares some of the common reasons as to why a person garners attention. But the definition of success in this life is not simply what you do, and how many people see you do it; No, instead, I believe that real achievements and accomplishments in this life are measured by our relationships. Looking at a person’s family and friends will tell you much of what you need to know about that person. I know dozens of brilliant, and talented people who are full of substance and style, each one worthy of 15 minutes in the spotlight, but I’m not sure it would be a good thing for them as people. Whether it’s the music industry, or acting in TV or movies, it all reminds me of a huge game of King of the Hill; each person scrambling, and climbing over each other to try to get to the top. I’m just no longer certain that it’s all that great up there…

The lead singer of Queen was quite a tragic figure. By the end of his life Freddie had people all over the world who loved and worshiped him, but most of those people really didn’t know him as a person. He revealed in many interviews, especially towards the end of his life that he felt his fame had tainted him. He felt that it had become quite impossible for anyone in the world to ever truly know him, because his stage persona had overtaken him as a person. I can’t imagine how incredibly isolating that must’ve felt, to be known by all, and understood by none. 

“You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man. And that is the most bitter type of loneliness, success has brought me world idolisation and millions of pounds. But it’s prevented me from having the one thing we all need: A loving, ongoing relationship.” -Freddie Mercury

1 year ago  /  0 notes  /