July 12, 2007

Another One Sights the Dust

Forget So or Empty Glass or Radio K.A.O.S.—my new favorite solo follow-up project belongs to ex-Queen guitarist Brian May, who just finished his thesis for the PhD in astrophysics he abandoned in 1974 to pursue international rock stardom. May's work concerns interplanetary dust clouds—you can find some of his pre-"Fat Bottomed Girls" research here—and, according to the Times, his thesis demonstrates, for the first time, that dust clouds in our own solar system move in the same direction as the planets. Gaudeamus igitur juvenes dum sumus!

By the way, Brian's blog is a lot of fun.

1 comment:

jodru said...

Yes, it is good news for all of us diehard Queen fans who know Brian as the uber-geek who built his own guitar with his dear old dad and left off his studies in astrophysics, just as Roger left his in dentistry, and Freddie abandoned his clothing stall in Kensington.

That being said, Brian's first solo effort, 'Back to the Light', is a really wonderful album.

And not to be missed is the EP he cut with Eddie Van Halen in 1983. I'm sure the thesis is rivetting and all. It is heartening to know that dust clouds hew to the pattern of the planets, but it's not quite as fun as hearing Brian and Eddie shred over a Japanese cartoon theme.