Dog blog 9 - time travel

Time travel

If you could, would you go back in time? Where to? When? Would you take anything with you? Knowledge? A flask of tea? Or would you just go back to have a look?

There's some very interesting ethical questions about time travel. Assuming you could, would it be justifiable to disturb the timeline? Would stopping a tyrant like Hitler, for example, be defensible? Doing that might save millions of lives. But it would also pull the rug from under the various Human Rights Conventions and ideas about liberty and control on state power that sprung up in direct reaction to Hitler's reign.

A tough one. And here's another: if you could disturb the timeline and create a mini-multiverse with two possibilities, would your choice to go back in time and create a different timeline have any moral value anyway? On the basis that the original result would still have taken place in one universe? At best, would your choice be morally neutral?

Maybe that's not how time works (I'm a Dog, Jim, not a theoretical physicist). And all that's really far too much thinky-think for a Dog.

Where I'd go

If scientists made a time machine and put in a seat in it for Dogs - and let us stick our heads out of the window - I'd love to go back to the old Wembley Stadium, on 13th July 1985. At 6.43pm (British Summer Time).

And watch this band come on one minute later to do their set:

Above: the master at work.

The Beatles

I was born in the 1970s, so by the time I was getting interested in music, the Beatles were long disbanded (in band terms). I keep meaning to look into the story of the Lennon/McCartney feud, and whether it was as bad as all that. But I keep getting distracted by the thought of being taken out for a walk and chasing a ball. And philosophy and stuff like that.

I asked my friend Mr Google, who knows about these things. He told me that apparently Paul and John did play together in the 1970s, but that they didn't meet up that much.

So no Beatles for me. Only on records.

Queen

But I did have Queen. And I loved the albums they made in the 1970s. Especially News of the World, which has 3 of my favourites on it (and not well known Queen songs): who needs you, sleeping on the sidewalk (great blues guitar soloing by Brian May) and, it's late.

Queen were fun (although they took their music very seriously) and really good musicians. They were fans of the Beatles too, and you can hear that in their music, especially in the harmonies. Compare for example Killer Queen on Queen's Sheer Heart Attack album, with John Lennon's I'm only sleeping on the Beatles's Revolver Album.

In fact, I'll do it for you. Here's Freddie:

And here's John:

Puppy dog obsession

The Dog, and many other Dogs (and humans too) have great affection for Queen. They are my Beatles. I was obsessed with them in my pup days. Particularly with Brian May who inspired me to learn guitar. He always comes across as a very level headed and gentle person, unaffected by his fame. The sort of person you could really enjoy a cup of tea and a chat with. And a beer of course.

The Red Special

Brian May's guitar is called "the Red Special". I particularly like it because he made it with his dad, and that always reminds me of my dad too.

Here's how bad my Queen and Brian May obsession is (and I've not checked this with Mr Google - this is all in my Dog brain): Brian May's Red Special guitar is made from a mahogany fireplace and uses an old knitting needle for the tremolo arm (known in the post-Eddie Van Halen era as the "whammy bar"). Brian and his dad designed the RS especially to feed back, and you can hear that in a lot of Brian's playing. The RS was typically played (I believe) in the old days through a Fox phase pedal, with treble boost, through a Vox AC 30 Amp. And Brian uses a sixpence coin as a plectrum.

Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud

Brian also has a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College London, which he started before Queen took off, and completed finally in 2008. Interestingly, it was the first PhD to be submitted to Imperial College after it broke away from the University of London and became a university in its own right.

Sorry - am I boring you? I can go on and on about Brian. No?!?! How nice of you to say so. Here's some more then.

Hammer to fall

Brian May also wrote my favourite Queen song Hammer to Fall which at one point last year I was listening to every day on my way into work, and on the way home. I reckon I've listened to it well over a 1000 times during my long Dog's life.

I do like other music. Alan Menken's songs for one, which guest star in Dog Blog 8 - how much do you need to know. But I am obsessed with Hammer to fall.

The main version I listen to is on The Works album. Which also has it's a hard life (well worth listening to). I'm not such a fan of the reworked version on the Queen Greatest hits albums. Brian's guitar solo in the original Hammer is much heavier.

The version of the song I'm going to share with you is a Queen/Paul Rodgers version. That's quite controversial for a Queen fan. But I love what the boys are doing - and I love this take on the song. You can also hear the Burns pickups at work as Brian lets the Red Special feedback just before the song breaks into the heavy rock part:

Anyway, that's probably quite enough Brian May obsessing for you for one day.

Freddie

I would also like to go on and on about Freddie Mercury, who was an absolute legend and true Dog Hero. I'll save that delight for another Dog Blog. But just before I go for my afternoon walk and chase some rabbits, I'd recommend this nice documentary to you on Freddie's life:

Fab. And, finally, if you ever want a pick-me-up, listen to Queen's One Vision. If you're not even moderately energised by the start, there's something wrong with you. Seriously.

Here's Freddie at work in his famous yellow jacket (designed by Zandra Rhodes):

Right. Rabbit chasing time now... .