Through the Veins of History…
It was way back in 2001. Kazaa had picked up where Napster left off. I would often go through our family’s library of 200-some tracks on our high-capacity Dell computer. This was a dwarf compared to anybody’s library now. It was like a semi crash course in Rock ‘n’ Roll and, also, somewhat of an index to my dad’s musical history. He acquired a lot of songs reminiscent of his childhood and young adulthood. At one point, he showed me a certain piece called Telstar by the Tornadoes, which was a 1962 #1 hit written in honor of a communications satellite launched that same year.
My dad recalled how futuristic and “space-age” Telstar sounded at the time. Nine-year-old Dad would listen to it on his radio in awe at the otherworldly distortion behind the instruments and the rocket-like sounds at the beginning and end of the song. (However, the harp in the verses is really what did it for him.) The song, although pretty and melodious, sounds a bit cheesy by today’s standards, especially with the unwelcome “aaah’s” at the last chorus. Indeed, we found a lot of humor in those.
As it turns out, Telstar, or maybe The Tornadoes more specifically, have held a bit more significance for me than just this important song of my father’s childhood. Believe it or not, The Tornadoes’ rhythm guitarist, George Bellamy, had a son, which, I’m sure you’ve guessed, is Matthew Bellamy. Matthew Bellamy, which I’m sure the five-some people who read my blog know is the frontman to my favorite band Muse.
When I found this out, things started to make sense. Without a doubt, one can hear how much of a tribute Knights of Cydonia is to Telstar- the galloping rhythm, the chords in the verses, and even the lead guitar have some pretty strong resemblance to its predecessor. Although this is the kind of thing that might come off as a tad tedious for some people, I find it to be a rather remarkable discovery. Truly, a great coincidence for me and worth celebrating.
