The title of this text is a quote from one of Queen’s greatest songs, “Radio Gaga.”
Today (I wrote this text on the 30th of August, 2025), I was humming this text to myself while walking, rucking, and doing street photography. While writing a text about the Queen band, I often recall one of my posts from the past. I wrote there that I have problems with Queen’s songs due to their popularity. I think I heard them too many times (“Radio Gaga” is not an exception) to cherish them. After all, from what I remember, I received their “Greatest Hits” album in 1994, when I was nine years old. When I got it, I was listening to this CD in the same way (I suppose) that young Freddie Mercury listened to the radio through his teenage nights.
I remember playing the CD on repeat, singing along to every song, and feeling a sense of joy, empowerment, and freedom that I had never experienced before.
Or, perhaps, I could only compare it to the way I was dancing to Michael Jackson’s albums (“Thriller” and “Bad”) while being a few years old. I asked my parents to shut the door of our living room, turn on the vinyl of one of the albums mentioned above, and then, voila, I could dance for a long time. All these things are among the most fantastic memories from my childhood. I would like to express my gratitude to my beloved parents for everything they have done for me, not only during my childhood years, but throughout my entire lifetime. Undoubtedly, not only I, but also millions of other fans, Queen’s music made us feel like we could fly.
I would say that, in general, broadly defined art often makes me feel like I could fly.
I think I already wrote a post, “I needed something to fly.” Undoubtedly, I need not only Queen’s music, but also street photography to fly in my imagination. Also, writing makes me feel I am high above the Earth, floating in space, dreaming about other worlds. Paradoxically, rucking, which involves walking with a heavy rucksack (my personal record is 37.5 kg [83 lbs.]), helps me to soar in my imagination. How is it possible? After all, rucking is grounding. Feeling a heavy weight on one’s back and shoulders is something that makes one want to lie down on the ground, put off the burden, and rest. Still, rucking made me a robust human, both mentally and physically. That’s why it helped my mind and imagination soar, as I tried to reach the genius of Freddie Mercury or Michael Jackson.
