As I was putting Christmas lights on our porch today, I caught myself murmuring “Las Palabras de Amor,” a song that matches this holiday season so well, with cold weather raging outside, and us huddling together in the safety of our houses and apartments, close to our family and pets, grateful for this warmth, in both literal and figurative sense of word. I feel this … Continue reading Hot Space
As we move more and more into winter, with the news being a mix of hope and desperation, and the days growing darker and shorter, I am trying to think of Christmas and New Year – that in a couple of weeks I will bring a tree into our house, and we at least have a bit of a holiday spirit in a tiny circle … Continue reading One Beautiful Christmas Day
“Innuendo” is one of the few Queen albums I knew for my entire life. I first heard this record in 1991, and it became inseparable from my coming of age. When I decided to dedicate this Tiny Essay to Freddie’s memory, I found out that my perception of “Innuendo” is split into two levels: I see these songs through the prism of my current knowledge … Continue reading Innuendo
Queen’s “A Day At The Races” (1976) was probably my greatest discovery as I plunged into the world of this magnificent band three years ago. I think that in part it happened due to the fact that I missed this album as a teenager, when I fell in love with Queen songs for the first time. And so, besides the hits, I knew nothing, and … Continue reading A Day At The Races
I thought of a project that would give me a relief from bad news and anxiety, and hopefully would entertain my friends, fellow Queen fans. It has been three years since the doors to this colorful and joyful world of Queen music opened for me, and I thought that now it is a perfect moment to write a series of essays, each of them dedicated … Continue reading Let Us Cling Together
I was planning something entirely different for this date. But the workload and general tiredness got hold of me, and I decided to keep my tradition of summing up a year with a usual playlist. And here is the first problem: of course, my birthday is in October, which means that this year did not consist entirely of pandemic and lockdowns. But however hard I … Continue reading In Search of Lost Tracks
Three years ago, somewhere around your birthday, you came into my life through the young voices, through your greatest song. I do not believe in accidents, it probably was meant to happen. Two months later I opened my first (Russian) blog page and started writing about your music – because I just needed to verbalize this overwhelming feeling. Six months later I became a follower … Continue reading For Freddie
This issue of Tiny Essays focuses on the mastership of Dr. Brian May, whose birthday we, his fans, are celebrating this week. I always wanted to write more about his tunes, his riffs, his wonderful poetry – and I think, this is a perfect occasion to talk about those songs that I never get tired of. I think that the benefit of knowing this music … Continue reading Happy B-day, Dr. May! (Tiny Essays – a special issue)
In the beginning we see the contours of bodies hidden underneath the white sheets, basking in the pale morning light. With the first sounds of Freddie’s voice, young and beautiful faces emerge from these covers, staring intensely into the audience; as the sunlight floods the stage, they get up and wander around, clinging to their sheets, as if clamping a wound on their stomachs or … Continue reading A Chance to Live
Desperate Writers 