Sara Collantes: George Harrison - THE QUIET BEATLE

England, 1962: Four hairy boys, who came from the humblest outskirts of Liverpool, released their first smash hit “Love me do”. This refreshing new sound was really well accepted and their music embraced by youngsters all over the world. They were simple yet catchy songs. People really loved them anyway and they knew it. That was the key to their success.

“When I met them it was love at first sight. It wasn’t that they were great singers or great performers or great songwriters. It was that they had enormous charisma, and they were the kind of 

people that you actually felt better being with." George Martin, The Beatles' producer.

At the age of 13 George Harrison was no more than a young skinny English boy, no different from other kids his age. But George had a guitar. His first guitar, which his mother had bought for him after he recovered from a severe flu, cost £3, a huge economic effort for the family after WWII. He was obsessed with R’n’R, especially with Elvis, and he tried to practice and learn as much as he could.

George met Paul McCartney at the school bus and the latter introduced him to John Lennon, as they needed a good guitarist for The Quarrymen, the germ of The Beatles. Despite the skepticism and reluctance shown by John for George to join the band, as he was the youngest, he demonstrated his value as the lead guitarist beyond any expectation. He even turned out to be more skilled than John himself. So the seed of the Beatles had been already planted.

A few years later, in the wake of their monumental success, the different personalities in the band were perfectly distinguished. They were like the four corners of a square. They didn't interfere with each other, but the four of them worked as a whole. John Lennon liked to attract attention; he was outgoing and a bit cantankerous. Paul McCartney was kind of a romantic and egocentric Casanova. Ringo Starr was charismatic and fun to be with. And George Harrison was a mysterious, introverted man with an exceptional taste in music.  

George didn’t have the magnetic and powerful personality of Paul and John (or their baffling egos) nor was he as extroverted and friendly as Ringo. But he had a fascinating and intense character and naturally accepted his condition as the underdog of the band. Lennon and McCartney held the reins (of the band) as they were the most talented and prolific while Harrison was the overshadowed one. The writing talent of the Paul-John duet eclipsed George's, who wasn’t that bad anyway. He only wanted to play good songs which Paul and John gave him.

Some people called Harrison the “quiet Beatle”, although, as Tom Petty said, “he never stopped talking”, and that was part of his appeal. What made him really different is that he didn’t enjoy fame and fortune as much as the others. George started then to feel an indescribable attraction for both Indian culture and its spirituality, whose influence changed him forever. George visited India many times, thus establishing a friendship with Ravi Shankar, who taught him to play the sitar. This mystical way of living wasn’t compatible with George’s life in the material world, not for long at least.

Little by little, George began discovering his hidden talent and started to improve his songwriting skills, while borrowing Indian sounds and concepts from oriental philosophy in his songs. But it wasn’t that easy to include them in an album when Paul and John penned one hit after another. Nevertheless, those compositions became better and better, as good as the others, or even stood out on their own.

The Fab Four finally split up in 1970 but none of them regretted the decision. The overwhelming pressure and growing tension within the band were simply too much to put up with. George once said that he sought for success, not fame. He started then a quiet life away from stardom, but not away from music, since in 1971 he published his first solo album, “All things must pass”, featuring all the songs never recorded with the band. It was praised all over the world, and “My sweet lord”, the jewel of the album, is considered a masterpiece.

George Harrison passed away in 2001 because of a lung cancer. But he died a great artist shining in his own right; he wasn’t just an ex-Beatle anymore. He was, in fact, not just one of the Beatles but their actual soul, the best musician, the true innovator and, quite sadly, frequently underestimated. People used to say that he was the Beatle who had changed the most and that’s because that’s just what life meant to him: change. However, there’s something that will never change: the eternal sunshine of his sincere smile.

I can’t finish without recommending a wonderful documentary directed by Martin Scorsese, “Living in the material World”, which portrays the life of George Harrison both as a Beatle and as an ordinary yet passionate man. It was premiered in 2011 on the tenth anniversary of George’s death. If you like The Beatles as much as I do, you can’t miss it!!    

Thanks a lot, dear Sara! I mean, this post came totally unexpected, which makes it even more pleasing.

And then they were only two. First it had been John who was shot to death. Then, when George died of cancer, I felt so devastated. I had always deemed him the biggest musical talent within the greatest band that ever was. It is true that he often had this kind of aloof, rather mysterious personality punctuated by his love of Hinduism. But he was indeed a great human being and his beautiful songs will stay with us forever.

Like Sara, I cannot but wholeheartedly recommend Scorsese's (a staunch Beatle fan himself) extraordinary film "Living in the Material World", which, luckily enough, is available in its entirety on YouTube (in original version, subtitled in Spanish)

Sara Collantes: Bob Dylan's "Hurricane"

What’s music for? What’s its aim? Does it have a particular purpose? Can a single song change someone’s life? Many people would say that music is only there for our amusement and for the sheer pleasure of listening to it. Music itself is filled with emotions and feelings but when good lyrics are added the meaning is perfectly conveyed.

A legendary duet: Dylan & Baez

During the 60s and 70s a new wave of singer-songwriters made social problems and contemporary events known through their music. Those songs dealt with the current social situation of the time. They had a strong content of civil disobedience and were characterized by their political and social commitment. Those are the bases of the so-called protest song. It presented common issues such as women’s and civil rights, politics, or the anti-war movement. Its messages of non-conformity were spread by the likes of John Lennon, Joan Baez, Cat Stevens, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, The Clash, Bob Marley, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Bob Dylan as well as many other less renowned. They are some of the best exponents of this kind of music, which came to a climax in the Woodstock Festival in the summer of 1969. Woodstock quickly became the symbol of a young generation of Americans who were weary of politics and war and claiming for peace and love as a way of life while showing their rejection of the “Establishment”.

This opportunity of giving a voice to those who didn’t have one was seized by Bob Dylan many times but particularly, on one very specific occasion, in 1975. Some songs simply tell us a story and while others become part of history.

“Here comes the story of the Hurricane …”

Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was a black American boxer who, accused of the triple murder of white people in 1966, was imprisoned for 19 years. Almost ten years later, during the mid-70s, Bob Dylan read The Sixteenth Round, the autobiography Carter had written in prison, in which he claimed his condition of a wrongly convicted innocent man. After visiting him in Rahway State Prison, Dylan started writing the song “Hurricane”, where the unfair story of Carter is told, and organizing benefit concerts in order to raise money and help him pay his lawyers’ fees. 

Dylan meets "the Hurricane"

After the release of the song in 1976, the case came to light and Carter had a second chance of proving his innocence on a new trial. But once again he was found guilty. Both trials were a bit obscure and misleading and in the subsequent years a huge controversy emerged both over the case and the song. The two trials, full of irregularities and racial prejudice by a jury consisting only of white people, were based on the testimony of two burglars who later on retracted their allegations. Thanks to the song, Carter’s case was known worldwide, aired in all newscasts. And so it was how black people took to the streets to denounce this gross injustice and how important leaders of the black community gave their support to the former boxer.

Finally, in 1985, Rubin Carter was freed and all charges against him were dismissed by a Federal Judge, who said that the punishment was “based on racism rather than reason”. After his release he worked as director of the AIDWC (Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted) for twelve years. Hurricane died last Sunday 20th April at the age of 76.

So, is music useful? Of course it is! Not only is it nourishment for the soul and a pleasure for the ears, but also a way of knowledge and possibly the most powerful way of communication. Music is indeed one of the most influential factors in the creation of a culture. There’s no need for it to be so specific or direct as Dylan’s “Hurricane”, but it is always great when a song gives us food for thought. Zack de la Rocha, the lead singer of Rage Against the Machine, once said, quote: “Music has the power to cross borders, to break military sieges and to establish real dialogue”.

You can’t touch music, but music sometimes can touch you.

Another fantastic post, so thanks a lot, dear Sara! Hurricane is not my fave Dylan song but it’s great anyway, isn’t it? I do love its committed lyrics and I can only say that I’m really proud of the way the blog looks right now.

You know, I’d been thinking of writing something myself , and it’s only coincidence that it also deals with Mr Dylan - yet in a completely different light.

I guess you guys might have seen an advert for ING which is being shown on television these days. It features the legendary singer-songwriter in London in the mid-60s and at the end of the commercial you can hear the familiar tune of arguably Dylan’s most iconic song, “Like a Rolling Stone”. Actually, the scene where Bob does the funny, nutty play on words is part of a famous 2005 Martin Scorsese documentary called “No Direction Home” (in fact, a well-known phrase among Dylan’s fans, as it is is part of the lyrics of “Like a Rolling Stone”, which you can read here)

The thing is this campaign, designed with the consent of Mr Bob Dylan (once, as Sara mentions above, the archetypical anti-establishment singer-songwriter) has caused quite a stir among his followers here in Spain, so much so that many of Dylan’s staunch fans have bitterly criticized, to say the least, his approval for allowing the popular Dutch bank to use both the funny scene and his most famous song in order to promote the corporation’s image in Spain. The slogan reads like this (let me translate it into English to kind of “honour” Mr Dylan):

TO THOSE WHO RECONSIDER THINGS. We broke ties, we broke the ground. We improved everyone’s conditions. We created the new banking. We have turned 15. It’s only the beginning. ING Direct. PEOPLE IN PROGRESS.

A rather witty, intelligent message, ain’t it?

Well, some of you guys could know this is not the first time that Mr Robert Zimmerman, who’ll turn 73 in barely a month, has sort of “sold his soul” for the “easy buck”, as it were. Back in 2004, Bob briefly yet strangely appeared in an ad for American lingerie company Victoria’s Secret featuring supermodel Adriana Lima to the tune of his 1997 song “Love Sick”.

More recently, barely three months ago, the iconic American singer infamously used his public image - and own voice! - to shoot another commercial which was aired during the celebration of possibly the most popular sports event in the USA, the Superbowl. There was huge commotion across the Atlantic as this campaign triggered wide criticism among his home fans too, especially since Dylan was advertising a car make, Chrysler, which is now in foreign hands, namely Italian motor giant FIAT.

When I saw the ING advert, I myself thought: Poor old devil, Dylan’s succumbed for good to the charms of mindless, greedy capitalism. Long gone are those days back in the 60s when he used to write the lyrics below in his fantastic 1963 song “Masters of war", where he heavily panned both the US government and military, financed by big banking corporations during the Cold War:

Let me ask you one question / Is your money that good? / Will it buy you forgiveness? / Do you think that it could?

But Dylan is complex and multi-layered, both musically and as a public figure, as you will find if you read an interesting article by American libertarian magazine Reason.com on this link, dealing with the controversy around his recent endorsement of Chrysler. Incidentally, “Hurricane” is mentioned too.

I couldn't agree more: whatever the reason, music certainly touches people, as Sara says above. And advertisers know, don't they!

Sara Collantes - London: Concrete, glass and flesh

What could I say about London that hasn’t already been said? How can I, in barely 600 words, live up to a city that gave me so much in such a short time?

It gave me the freedom which comes from anonymity, you know, to walk throughout the city as if it were mine. I felt at home every moment of every day while walking down its famous streets and parks: St. James’s Park, Camden Town, Covent Garden, Bishop’s Park or the Soho at night. I was exposed to lots of culture, since London is known worldwide for being a paradise for people who love art, history, theatre, music and cinema. Its cultural offer is simply endless (and often free): The British Museum, The Natural History Museum, The National Gallery, The Victoria & Albert Museum, etc. And the most important thing, it gave me a new point of view from a more open mind.

London had never been one of those cities I was looking forward to visiting before I die, but over a year ago, the chance of going suddenly showed up. A friend of mine was there doing an internship as part of his University doctorate in Neurobiology. Héctor, that’s his name, was having a really hard time as he was there all alone, away from his family and friends, and he didn’t stop telling me how amazing the city was. So I didn’t think about it twice and two weeks later we, my boyfriend and me, were there, in the big city.

It was a gloomy Tuesday but it seemed to me like all was glittering when I went out of Picadilly Circus tube station. Everything there is big and intense but at the same time absolutely accessible and unpretentious. There’s a perfect blend of the highest office towers with the simplicity of some old buildings. A really good example is the Globe, a reconstruction of the 16th-century theatre where most of Shakespeare’s works were played, whose next-door “neighbour” is the Tate Modern, a former power station turned into the most visited gallery of modern art in the world.

Find me if you can!

Now, you should juggle what the day can offer you with its astonishing nightlife. I mean, when you’re in this enchanting city with your perfect partner and one of your best friends, time just flies. We went to every rock bar we could afford or we found on our way, regardless of whether they were big and popular or tiny and filthy, until we lost the track of time - and missed the last tube as well! But the second floor of a double-decker at 4 in the morning is great fun.

Brian May live!

London is the city par excellence. Not only does it have its own life, which runs giddily through its veins, whether narrow streets or big avenues, but it’s this life which also trapped me and I didn’t even notice. London is a blend of cultures and races, a labyrinth of concrete, glass and flesh but I didn’t want to find the way out. It didn’t win my heart at first sight but little by little: every sip of my pint, every step I took in a park and every “sorry” I got from a stranger, tied me to the city inevitably. Everything is possible in London, even seeing Brian May in concert in St. Pancras’ railway station - like it wasn't important at all!

It is ironic how people always highlight London’s vast proportions and infinite possibilities but then we all get amazed for its quiet and cozy isolated, places, and eventually, end up falling in love with it.

I want to finish this post with some beautiful words stolen from a book by Peter Ackroyd called “London: The Biography”: “London goes beyond any boundary or convention. It contains every wish or word ever spoken, every action or gesture ever made, every harsh or noble statement ever expressed. It is illimitable. It is Infinite London”.

Sara, congrats on a fantastic post! It's really written from the heart, and I can see how much enjoyed London.

Tell you what, guys. Samuel Johnson used to say "When a man (sic) is tired of London, he's tired of life". The things is I went to the British capital a few times in a row in the early / mid 80s, so eventually I kind of grew tired of it myself. I mean, don't get me wrong, how can anyone deny there's so much to do and see there? So many instantly recognizable landmarks (do I need to write a legend under each photo?!) to visit. But still I thought enough was enough and I should know other equally interesting places in the UK. Besides, I daresay I've never been that keen on huge cities, and the usually chaotic traffic, the "hustle and bustle", made London somewhat less appealing.

I  know someone else in the class has also visited this "wonder"ful city, so will you post your own comments about it, now that we're dealing with the subject of "Wonders of the world"?

Sara Collantes - My favourite scene: In the Name of the Father (1993)

I've chosen a scene of my favourite film ever because, in my opinion, it is one of the most decisive points of the story. To understand the scene, we need to know a few things about the plot and the true events which the film is based on.

The director, Jim Sheridan (My left foot, The Boxer) is known for dealing in his films with the turbulent history of The Troubles, the conflict which took place in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and England between the 60s and the 90s. However, the problems between catholics and protestants go a long way back.

The film is a screen adaptation of the book “Proved Innocent” by Gerry Conlon, who was wrongly convicted by the British police. Between the period 1974-1989, during the hardest years of the conflict, the police, thanks to a new law called Prevention of Terrorism Act, were allowed to hold prisoners, suspected of belonging to a terrorist group, especially the IRA, regardless of whether the police had evidence or not. Gerry and three of his friends (known as “The Guildford Four”) were accused, tortured and convicted of blowing up a pub where a British military party was taking place. His father was also accused and kept in custody alongside Gerry.

In my favourite scene, the harrowing death of Gerry's father, Giuseppe, is shown. Up to this point, we can compare the completely different attitude of the father and his son; Giuseppe is the honest, hard-working man who is certain about his innocence and in the hope of being released. Gerry, however, suffers from self-pity, despair and arrogance at first, but we can see how he changes and matures throughout the film. 

This scene always brings me a tear to my eye and a lump in my throat because of the fabulous acting, the moving moment and the Celtic music playing in the background.

The whole film is a real tribute to life, justice and freedom.

Sara Collantes: DREAM THEATER's SCENES FROM A MEMORY

I don’t know yet how my brother managed to wangle all those ripped CDs and tapes that I still have in my room. He used to borrow original CDs and vinyls from some friends and then record them on tapes, thus making up a huge collection. Mountains of CDs of completely different styles, from Iron Maiden to Mike Oldfield, from Children of Bodom to Barricada, started to pile up and we would spend hours and hours listening to all of them. We used to photocopy entire booklets and I learned lots of lyrics by heart, which helped me with my weak English back then.

The first time an album by Dream Theater fell into my hands was one of those recorded tapes but I didn’t even know it, as the tape wasn’t labelled at all; no name, no title, not even a single mark. So I gave it a go. “Close your eyes and begin to relax …” 

What was that? I was absolutely astonished after my first shot; it left me so stunned that I only could do one thing: listen to it again. And then once again. I’d never listened to something like that, strange and complicated but at the same time catchy and fascinating. That was my first approach to the, to my mind, one of the best concept albums to date: Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory.

For the metal “pagans”, let me dress the scene for you. Dream Theater is one of the earliest progressive metal bands and, since his foundation in 1985, the most prominent and influential in the field. They have as many staunch followers as bitter detractors; one loves them or hates them at once, there’s no happy medium. They have been voted as the best in the whole world playing their respective instruments, especially John Petrucci, who strums his guitar at the speed of light, John Myung’s extremely efficient job on the bass guitar, and my favorite, the imposing presence of Mike Portnoy on the drums.

Left to right: Myung, Petrucci, LaBrie, Rudess & (the sorely missed) Portnoy

In the late July 2012, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory was voted as the number one all-time progressive album in a poll conducted by Rolling Stone. (Wikipedia quote)

Metropolis Pt.2 is the sequel to Metropolis Pt1: The Miracle and the Sleeper, the fifth track of their 1992 album Images and Words. However, this second part was conceived in its entirety as a concept album which deals with an outstanding storyline. It revolves around the story of the murder of a young girl back in 1928. This girl, Victoria, is reincarnated in a man named Nicholas, who has the strange feeling of knowing her and attends a regression hypnotherapy session to explore his own mind. I don`t believe in reincarnation or life after death. Nevertheless, both the music and the lyrics involve you perfectly and I like the album unconditionally. This is arguably the most famous track of the album, The Spirit Carries on, performed live in 2009:

When one first holds the box and sees the cover one knows straightaway that one is in front of something truly special. It has a brilliant lyrical content; the plot is confusing and dense yet interesting, and so well written that it’s worth spending 77 minutes of your life listening really carefully to it. This is not an album that you can listen to as background music or shuffled, but from the very first to the last second. The tracks aren’t separated but conceived as a coherent whole, instead of small bits. You’d better make use of your five senses, sit down with the booklet in your hands and relish the sound.

The five virtuosos during a live performance

DT push their own technical abilities to the limit. I remember thinking “How many arms and legs do these guys have?” Not only does the music fit the lyrics but it also highlights them enormously. There are some recurring melodies throughout the record which give it continuity and fluidity. The music is sometimes beautiful, soft and moving, whereas others there are powerful samples of the most elaborate thrash and progressive metal. It is a perfect blend of their hardest, most intense songs with their softest ones. 

I simply love how some melodies slightly appear and then subtly fade away, whereas others are just vigorously spread out showing all their musical delirium. Atonic, irregular rhythms are played along with shocking odd melodies, jazzy chords, samplers and lovely ballads which give the album a touch of eccentricity and also its distinguishing hallmark. Every instrument can always be clearly heard but hearing all of them together, this is perfection.

I had the chance to see them play live twice. The first time was unforgettable for me, as I was so hooked on their music that I didn't listen to anything else the weeks before the concert, which took place in Madrid in 2007. More than five thousand people were there packing the venue and I've only felt more squeezed during a Metallica gig in 2012. It was absolutely memorable: they nailed every single song and created a special atmosphere. The whole concert was projected on video screens and the acoustics of the place was impeccable.

My second time was in 2011 at the Sonisphere festival but my expectations weren't as high as the first time. This was due, principally, to the leaving of Mike Portnoy, who for me was the most charismatic member of the band and because I was also looking forward to seeing Iron Maiden, who were going to play immediately after Dream Theater. On this occasion the concert was in broad daylight, which reduced the excitement, and the set list didn’t seem right to me. Although, as usual, they played accurately, it didn't feel the same.

“Scenes from a Memory” is, without a doubt, the artistic peak of the band, in which they show an astonishing creativity and flawless execution. Nothing is missing. A perfect circle. A true masterpiece.

Sara knows how much I have longed for this post, since I'm also very fond of this fantastic band myself, though I admit I only come second (at least here in Salamanca!) after my son, David, who literally owns every single CD and DVD there is of Dream Theater - and I'm not exaggerating! 

Like Sara, I've been lucky enough to watch them live in Madrid - twice actually, and on both occasions with David -, and I must emphasize their immense talent, as they play their set list with such beauty and precision. 

They have produced many great songs both live and in the studio for over 25 years, but if I had to choose one for this post, that would definitely be the glorious, 14-minute long "Trial of Tears", in fact the longest song of their 1997 album "Falling into Infinity" - not necessarily the band's best or most commercially successful album to date. But to me Trial always sounds so so big, especially when rendered in front of an audience, as you can see on this clip I've selected from "Live at Budokan" (2004). I just love everything: the psychedelic intro, Myung and Portnoy's mind-blowing rhythmical cushion - so sad indeed that the latter quit the band 3 years ago - and Rudess & Petrucci's accurate solos, not forgetting Mr Labrie's high-pitch"screams" and versatile voice while singing some beautiful lyrics: "I may have wasted all those years. They're not worth their time in tears. I may have spent too long in darkness, in the warmth of my fears". How about that for some past modal verbs in "prog(ressive) rock" music, ha ha! Enjoy! I'm positive at least Sara - and indeed David from Holland - will - a lot!

Sara Collantes: Gustav Klimt - NUDA VERITAS

The painter in 1912

Klimt has never been one of my favorite painters; in fact he isn’t in my top five, whose first place has been a never-ending fight for years between Caravaggio and Turner. However, I have to admit that his work is absolutely lovely and completely original. Nowadays his works seem to be very accessible, easily acceptable, and and it’s us women who tend to experiment a magical, inexplicable connection with his paintings at once.

Today, when one first sees a painting by Klimt one might think that it is nice on purpose, made to please, but the eyes and minds of the Viennese in 1890 were not as used as ours to seeing such sensual and, on occasions, explicit sex gestures. He was accused of being provocative and sometimes even “sexually perverted and pornographic”.

Palas, 1898

Klimt belongs to neither the 19th nor the 20th century; however, he knew how to combine challenges and unite both historicism and symbolism, as well as naturalism and abstraction, in one single painting. He lived between the academicism of Makart and the unstoppable advance of the expressionism of Kokoschka and Egon Schiele. Therefore, we can’t classify him into a specific style. But in a time and place where a breakthrough of originality had been asked, Klimt was the answer.

He once said (quote) about his own art: 

“I have never painted a self-portrait. I am less interested in myself as a subject for a painting than I am in other people, above all women… There is nothing special about me. I am a painter who paints day after day from morning to night … Whoever wants to know something about me … ought to look carefully at my pictures.”

The Kiss, 1908

Klimt adored women; they were his main theme above all others. He surrendered himself to the feminine symbolism to depict the hypocritical Viennese society. Women were claiming for new positions on both an ideological and cultural level, always overshadowed by their wealthy bourgeois husbands. The female body was the main subject of his paintings, and he explored the sensuality of feminine beauty, from the kindest joy of pure love to the arrogant power of the “femme fatale”.

Medicine Hygieia, 1901

Judith, 1901

Many artists had tried to express the beauty of romance. Klimt captured the power of romantic love in his worldwide known painting “The Kiss”, which is a celebration of pleasure, joy and life. But “his” women aren’t always so tender as the one in The Kiss. They are also fascinating, irresistible sorceresses who provoke an inevitable attraction. Such unbelievable strength lies in Palas Athenea, Danae or Hygieia. They look at us saucily, insolently, trying to rouse the spectator. In my opinion, the proudest, most shameless of these women is one hanging in my room, Judith. She’s the paradigm of the femme fatale, even in the Biblical story in which she beheads Holofernes in order to save the Jewish people. But in this case, the painting loses its Biblical meaning on behalf of the woman’s seductive power. She’s delightfully vicious, charmingly sinful and fascinatingly perverse. Klimt demonstrated here the undeniable erotic superiority of women.

There’s a movie I haven’t seen it yet but it’s in my list of must-see films, based on Klimt’s life and featuring one of my favorite actors, John Malkovich.

Let me end up saying that Klimt is a delightful painter who devoted his entire life to women, so we in return should give him some of this love back.

Sara Collantes: GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

While I am writing this, the last vinyl I bought, “Greatest Hits II” by Queen, keeps spinning and playing loudly. I have to stand up every four songs to turn the volume down but, you know, that’s the magic of vinyls.

On a day like today in 1991 Freddie Mercury, the frontman, main composer, lead singer and the heart and soul of Queen, died because of a bronchopneumonia brought on by AIDS.

I was only 8 when Freddie passed away and little did I know at the time about R ‘n’ R; however, what I do remember clearly is listening to lots of rock bands such as Deep Purple, Dire Straits and, above all, Queen. All of them used to play on my father’s car radio or at home while doing the weekly cleaning of the house on Sundays. It’s a kind of the soundtrack of my early days. Many years later I rediscovered the band and I’ve been absolutely hooked since then.

It’s undeniable that he was unique and a great performer, but it’s not as simple as that. Away beyond just being a musical artist, not merely a singer, he was widely known for his strength, magnetism and thrilling performances on stage. He was a really shy man and famous for his scarce interviews but as a performer he was like a burst of energy, an explosion of good feelings, a mixture of powerful vocals and a flamboyant attitude.

The worldwide known soprano, Montserrat Caballé, with whom Freddie recorded an album, said: “His technique was astonishing. His phrasing was subtle, delicate and sweet or energetic and slamming. He was able to find the right colouring or expressive nuance for each word”. Considering the source of this statement I believe it is a huge compliment.

In his last years he was seriously ill although nobody knew except his closest friends and band mates. During those years they penned some of the saddest songs ever written, such as “The show must go on”. I’ve always believed it was his final farewell. 

“The show must go on

The show must go on

I'll face it with a grin

I'm never giving in”

Last February I was in London with my boyfriend visiting a friend when we had the opportunity to see Brian May in concert. He played a small gig at St. Pancras Station to raise money as part of a campaign by an organization called “Save Tigers Now”. It was only 30 minutes long and most of the songs were covers from other bands but the last one he played was “A crazy little thing called love”. I was excited, absolutely delighted to see him perform so I cried out of sheer happiness to be there. Now I just wonder what it would have been like with Freddie himself on stage.

At least we have all inherited his amazing songs and memorable live performances. They are the long-lasting legacy he left us. Freddie died but his songs will never do.

Thanks Sara! I almost forgot it was Freddie's death anniversary, which is unforgivable being myself a lifelong fan of the band (and Freddie indeed!). I sometimes can't believe what a major crush I had on them as a rock-oriented teenager in secondary school. I would spend all day long listening to their songs, learning their lyrics by heart (I guess it helped my English a lot at the time!) and finding out as much as I could about the band's members' personal lives. Then I must admit I sort of almost hated Queen when in 1980 they released "Hot Space", their tenth studio album, which I found so so naff and tacky! (and still do today, I just can't help it however much I love their music!). 

I mean, I was a staunch follower of their classic albums, you know, "Queen II","A Night at the Opera" and stuff, and I admit I was even more outraged to watch their provocative, humorous clip of "I want to break free", featuring good old Freddie and the rest of the band in women's gear, with the lead singer infamously dressed as a moustached housewife doing the hoover. "These are not my Queen, no way!", I thought then. From that moment on I stubbornly kept listening to their classic albums - the earlier the better - and only when they recorded "A kind of Magic" and above all, "Innuendo" did I agree to listen to their new productions.

Actually, Sara has sent me the link to the video of a relatively late song by Queen, from their 1989 album The Miracle called "Breakthru". I guess it is a perfect example of the band juggled the old style (the operatic feel of the intro - those great voices!) with a more modern, late 80s sound. Enjoy:

Freddie's sad untimely death was a huge, devastating blow to me. It's amazing how time flies, I can't believe twenty-two long years have gone by. I just wish I could have seen them perform live just the one time, but it wasn't to be. Dear Freddie, may you rest in peace wherever you are ...

Sara Collantes: The Sagrada Familia (Barcelona)

“My client is not in a hurry”. That’s what Gaudí used to say when he was asked about the completion of the Sagrada Familia, the worldwide known cathedral of Barcelona and indeed the most important of his works.

La Pedrera

When Gaudí took charge of the project he was only 30. It was one of his first assignments and the largest no doubt. Antoni Gaudí was an extraordinary man, a deeply religious visionary, as well as a truly lover of nature. In fact, it is something easily noticeable in all of his works, such as El Capricho in Comillas, with thousands of sunflowers on its façade; Casa Milá, also known as La Pedrera, with sinuous and organic lines; or Casa Batlló, with its bone-shaped windows. His works were inspired by nature.

The construction of the Sagrada Familia stands on three main pillars: Firstly, original geometric shapes such as the parabolic arch or hyperboloid structures. Secondly, an organic, naturalistic style. And last but not the least important, religion.

The awesome main façade

The position of some of the structures like the entrances or domes is directly related to the holy hierarchy. The usual floor for Catholic churches is a Latin cross: the apsis or “head” faces east and the main entrance or “feet” faces west. Therefore, it has the same form as a human being, in this case Christ. The head would be the apse facing the east and also the holiest part of a church. Likewise, the feet would be the entrance and the profane place in a church. That is why the holy water is located in this place.

The cathedral on the inside

However, the Sagrada familia does not have this kind of plan. Gaudí planned the three different entrances on the basis of chapters of the Bible. As a result, the Nativity façade faces east, dawn that is; the Passion façade faces west, dusk, and the Glory façade, yet to be completed, will face south to the sea.

Numbers are absolutely necessary in the interpretation of religious architecture. They make plenty of references to the Bible in a Catholic church. When the Sagrada Familia is finished, it will have 18 towers, 12 of which will be thin 112-metre-high spires which symbolize the Apostles. There will be another 4 on each façade, eight of which are already standing. The ones on the Nativity façade are dedicated to Matthias, Jude, Simon and Barnabas while those on the Passion façade are dedicated to James, Thomas, Philip and Bartholomew. Over the apse there will be a 130-metre-high dome dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

It will also have four 135-metre-high towers dedicated to the Evangelists, which have a direct correspondence on the inside. There are four pillars which support a dome, each one symbolizing one Evangelist: Luke, a bull; Matthew, a winged man; John, an eagle and Mark, a lion.

John's pillar

That dome will be supported by these four pillars, which will be the highest of the whole 170-metre-high temple and dedicated, of course, to Christ.

Nowadays, both architects and art designers are working on the drawings Gaudí left, although it is not enough. They are using the latest software, such as one used by NASA engineers, to design fitting structures that support the weight and the height of the domes and spires. 

The Sagrada familia is being built thanks to the donations of thousands of people and institutions as well as to a percentage of entrance tickets. So it is worth paying the ticket so as to help complete the cathedral just the way Gaudí wanted.


Thanks a lot, Sara, this post is really enlightening ad you took some fantastic photos of the Cathedral. Now, you sent me two YouTube videos: the first shows what the Sagrada familia might look like when it's completed (who knows when!)

The second is an interesting interview (subtitled in English) with Professor Mark Burry, from RMIT University in Australia, which is helping with the completion of Gaudi's famous Basilica.

Surely many of you guys have been to Barcelona and would like to share your own views on the, to my mind, somewhat overambitious work being done to Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece.