A Kind of Magic

        I had the crappiest day at work that I've had in quite some time, just various things that were stressful in all sorts of ways; it included an confrontation with a rude, mouthy client who, through some miscommunication thought she could still be in my group.  She  felt free to FULLY express her anger about it to me in detail right before today's session, which was totally awesome.....  In the aforementioned group today; (women's anger management to be exact; ironic!), we talked about different stress management strategies.  I had already planned to cover this topic 2 weeks ago; and by the time group started this morning, I already knew that I would need to draw upon these skills today.  And, so I did.
        So, when I'm having a really bad day; I like to totally geek out and watch Queen videos, or at least listen to their music.  Most people who know me know that I absolutely love this band (especially the poor souls I went to high school with; when I was in my "I have to know Everything about Queen" phase).  I started loving this band after Wayne's World came out, which featured "Bohemian Rhapsody" on the soundtrack.  I actually hated the song when I first heard it; I remember sitting through the better part of the video on MTV when I first saw it, just waiting for the credits to see who the hell came up with that ridiculous, way too long song.
        After hearing it 50 more times or so (it was ALL over the radio back then), I ended up loving them, and collecting all their albums.  Discovering new videos, new songs filled me with glee in my middle and high school years.  I remember watching various videos with my BFF, or with my Dad as a kid.  The best day ever was when Dad brought home some new speakers; and we tested out the base by playing "Another One Bites the Dust" as LOUD as we could for full effect; it was awesome.  I'm sure the neighbors were not thrilled, but we were.
       Their music is incredible; it's crafted to epic proportions, and it spans so many different styles.  And the band was fronted by one of the most charismatic, amazing showmen that the music world has ever known.  I just think Freddie Mercury was the ultimate rock star, and I love to watch him sing; he brought such an enthusiasm and over the top energy to each performance.  I was re-watching their Live Aid performance earlier tonight; each time I watch it, I am blown away by his command of a packed audience of 72,000 people in Wembley Stadium.  As they performed "Radio Ga Ga", the camera panned to this great shot of the crowd, and you can see everyone clapping their hands and moving their arms in unison; like in the music video for that song.  Later in the set, you can clearly hear them singing along with the chorus of "We Will Rock You"; it's amazing; I can't even imagine what that must have felt like.   Did Freddie Mercury know he was kind of a big deal??
        So that's it really, I realized tonight that re-connecting with the music of my favorite band of all time is the ultimate cure for a crappy day.  Watching and listening to Queen brings me back to my happy giddiness of my youth, and I am very happy for that.

A Kind of Magic; which features songs from the Highlander soundtrack.