You may not be familiar with the names Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, and Farrokh Bulsara. Perhaps you know Farrokh Bulsara better by his stage name, Freddie Mercury. But
if you have listened to radio, watched television, or been to the
movies, it is a safe bet you have heard music that was created by the
band also known as Queen. Since 1970, Queen has been creating music
and rocking stadiums. It is one of the few bands that continued to tour
with its original lineup until the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991.
That same year John Deacon would perform limited engagements with the
band and eventually retire. May and Taylor continue to tour and have
featured guests artists on recordings as well as concert tours.
Queen is known for the harmonies that are created by layering tracks of Mercury, Taylor, and May singing different parts.
The highest charting examples of doing this were the recordings of
"Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Somebody to Love". (Reaching #9 and #13 on Billboard's Hot 100
chart, respectively) Somewhat ironic that one of these songs mentions
beelzebub and the other is a plea to God. While both use the layering
technique to simulate choirs, the choral affect stylistically is
dramatically different from one song to the next. "Bohemian Rhapsody"
from the 1975 album A Night At The Opera attempts to reproduce
the sound of an English choir, while "Somebody To Love" opts for the
sound of a Gospel choir due much to the influence of Aretha Franklin on
the band. We'll let you judge as to whether Queen was able to achieve
the affect of 100 voices as we spin this week's song. Here is May,
Taylor, Deacon, and Bulsara, better known as Queen with "Somebody To
Love"
It
would be very easy for this Musical Note to turn into a thesis on the
debate regarding homosexuality. It is doubtful, however, that a simple
blog about the cultural impact of music and its relationship to walking
in The Way would go very far in changing the landscape of such a
debate. We do not shy away from the fact that the Bible calls
homosexuality a sin. We also acknowledge that the Bible has much to
say regarding heterosexual sin. We encourage you to search the
scriptures for yourself. If you are immersed in any kind of sexual sin,
God's forgiveness awaits. His love is never ceasing and He sent Jesus
to die for those sins as well as the other sins in my life as well as
your life. 'Nuff said.
It
is difficult to go through a day without the word "love" mentioned in
your universe. Perhaps you hear a song about it on the radio. Maybe
you engage in conversation with someone regarding the topic of "love".
When you attend a church it is easy to hear the word "love" bandied
about. The challenge for us many times is to put into practical
application the lessons derived from the Bible regarding love. By
putting the Biblical patterns to use, it is not too difficult for us to
find somebody to love. All we have to do is open our eyes. This was
Jesus' mission on the earth. He demonstrated love, by serving. He
demonstrated love by finding out the needs of others and then fulfilling
those needs. He demonstrated love by sacrifice. As we read the Gospel
accounts of His life, we see that His purpose was to serve. He served
each of us in the ultimate capacity by bearing our sins dying in our
place in the most horrific manner known to man. He met the needs of
those around Him, both the physical and the spiritual. He then
challenged us to do the same. He actively demonstrated His love for
everyone He encountered by serving them. In a very familiar passage,
Jesus effectively communicates the rationale for service by consolidating the ten commandments down into two:
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” - Matthew 22:36-40 (for context please read all of chapter 22)
Most
folks would interpret Queen's song as the search for finding that one
true love. That is the easy way to look at this song. It is much more
difficult when we realize that everyone we meet is somebody we can
love. Difficult because we have to surrender ourselves to their
needs...difficult but not impossible...so start the chant now and make
the decision to serve...
find me somebody to love...
find me somebody to love...
find me somebody to love...
Here's a song to encourage just that:
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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