Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Volume 328

Howdy howdy, everyone. How are you all? I hope okay.

This week, I wanted to continue my trip down memory lane. No matter what else I might have been into as a teen, I always had a soft spot for Queen. Simply put, they were a genuinely talented band that recorded plenty of quality albums and songs that are still worth listening to decades later. There are all sorts of obvious videos I could use if I am going to mention Queen, but I want to go for something that hit the charts but would be less obvious.

Radio Gaga dropped in 1984, if memory serves, which was symbolic in any of a number of ways. One was the actual Orwell novel, 1984. The story arc of this video is truly dystopian, which seems fitting. I really appreciate the mashup of a futuristic dystopia with the actually lived dystopia that the British survived as the Nazis were trying to bomb the British Islands back into the Stone Age back in WWII. There’s also some reference to a possible nuclear cataclysm. Given the zeitgeist of the early to mid 1980s, it seems fitting. And there was the reminder that radio was a force for communication and hope. Times have changed. I doubt radio has a finest hour ahead. But we seem to be living in an era with parallels to the past, including a rise in fascism, an actual fascist nation trying to bomb a neighboring European nation back to the Stone Age (thus far unsuccessfully, thankfully), and a general sense of time running out. This is a song that isn’t just nostalgic, but one that is seeking a better possible future. We could use that about now.

Keep calm and carry on.