Queen: Classic Or Dud

No-one seems to like the debut but I love it, especially the musical-about-fairies-in-three-minutes that is "My Fairy King".

― |III|||II|||I|I||| (Matt #2), Friday, September 16, 2011 4:22 AM (4 days ago) Bookmark

debut is pretty good, "Liar" is amazing

Yeah when I said no-one I actually meant "Geir Hongro"

The group's drummer is recruiting "great-looking guys"

Man, I love Freddie as much as the next guy, but I don't think he was ever "great-looking".

A curious thing, but I miss that kind of journalism where people made ridiculous, inflated, ideological claims about rock music.

As long as these claims didn't rely on cultural and musical assumptions.

i can kinda see how someone who's going to see tribute bands impersonating them running around no matter what would want to at least try to put together the best possible one for the sake of quality control or kind of managing that market themselves a little

Me on A Night At The Opera.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/9dde0bc355a9ce107a4558267e219de7/tumblr_mfth4pNOyY1raxomso3_250.gif

TOLD MY GIRL I HAD TO FORGET HER!
RATHER BUY ME A NEW CARBURETTOR!

TIE YOUR MOTHER DOWN! TIE YOUR MOTHER DOWN! TAKE YOUR LITTLE BROTHER SWIMMIN' WITH A BRICK, YEAH, THAT'S ALRIGHT!

day at the races! such a great album...

I'm so glad that Google have been archiving all the old posts to Usenet newsgroups (the earliest message archived on there, apparently, is from 1981) ... I've spent about an hour or so on it trying to research actual conversations/responses to various historic events that have happened from 1981 onwards.

Anyhow, I came across this conversation archived from 12th November 1991 (less than two weeks before Mercury's passing) in which people are speculating what's going on with regards to Mercury's health. Here's another conversation from 13th November 1991-21st November 1991 in which people eerily discuss rumours that he might have AIDS.

Also, there's this earlier conversation from 9th September 1991, where there seems to have been a rumour that Freddie had passed away - one user claims to have called Hollywood Records and spoken to a PR man about Freddie's health, another is convinced that the rumours of Freddie's death happened because the Innuendo album was full of hints that Freddie was dying (which in hindsight, he was OTM about), and that the record company were trying to intentionally capitalise on this by intentionally starting a rumour that Freddie was dying in order to boost sales of then-recent Queen reissues (which, it's fair to say, he was nowhere near OTM about) ...

Finally, there's this conversation from 1st September 1991 regarding (again) rumours that Freddie had passed away, but it's peppered with comments such as "In any recent interviews (which would almost all be with Brian May the guitar player) they claim that Freddie is fine. And that these stories are simply rumours and for us not to worry." (it's now known that Brian May was deliberately lying to the press to protect Freddie from media intrusion) and "I strongly suspect Mr Mercury is actually alive and kicking due to a photo of him in a British newspaper last week (Thursday) He looked very thin but alive."

It's weird reading all of this stuff, it has to be said.

lol @ the debate about if ted nugent is gay or not

So what's the deal has Queen always been as big as they are now, or did they experience a dip? They seem to be the most loved rock band (alongside Radiohead & the BeatLEs) amongst Rodditors today, but as a teen in the Early 2000s there couldn't have been an uncooler band to be into... sure, everyone knew their hits but they were on par with Kiss: just another shlocky classic rock band. Have they undergone a revival is this just a case of culture shock?

dud

smh at the thought of anyone ever putting Queen in the same bracket as Kiss.

I love Kiss but yeah, that's insane to me.

> tfw outsnobbed ILM

Some of Brian May's recent posts on his official website have been a bit worrying, with talk of feeling "depleted" and "battling a persistent illness" ... his most recent post mentions switching off from all media and resting in a "safe place" ... here's wishing Dr. May a speedy recovery, whatever it is.

Yeah, get well Dr. May!

Also, Queen=dud. Or at least dud beyond most of the hits (and even half of them are riff-kitsch). I was talking to a friend last night, and he was ripping on Beyonce, saying it took six songwriters or whatever to come up with [name of some song], and then he brings up fucking "Bohemian Rhapsody" and goes, "and that's just one songwriter!" And I was like, first of all, the song may be awesome but it also kind of sucks, and its lyrics suck, and even if you like it it's nothing to hold up as the epitome of anything beyond lots of different well-recorded and arranged parts in one song, and even then, most Queen albums suck (I assume), so yeah, make fun of Beyonce's musical sweatshop, fair enough, but do better than Queen as your counterpoint.

He also defended Journey. But then a few minutes later got all quiet and asked "am I the only one who doesn't like the Eagles?" And I said, "fuck no, tons of people HATE the Eagles!" And he was really relieved, saying "Phew, I thought I was the only one!"

Journey also well worth defending FYI

I'd rather listen to Journey instead of Queen, no question

Brian's spoken recently about suffering from depression, I'm guessing that's what he's referring to

Also, Queen rule. Especially Sheer Heart Attack and Day At The Races.

I mean, Beyonce rules too.

Queen is great. However, the fast version of "We Will Rock You" feels wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ekm6WtKwQos

Assuming they are defensible at all, I refuse to believe that Queen or Journey, let alone the Eagles, are "good" beyond their hits. I guess I like Stone Cold crazy, that wasn't a hit right?

Queen are better than just their hits, at least in the 70s. One of the great album-track bands of all time. Not even sure what you mean by Bohemian "may be awesome but it sucks" Rhapsody either. Unless you're actually Dave Marsh from 1979 quantum leap'd onto 2016 ILM, in which case, that's a hell of a story.

Not the biggest Queen fan, but after a dozen years on ILM like to think I know better then to go onto a thread of such a band and put down their entire output. Treading very lightly on the American Music Club thread as well.

Ha, I mostly meant it as a joke. It's a classic or dud thread! I love the idea that anyone can go into a thread and just say "dud." There's always something to like, even with Queen.

xpost I mean I think much of the pleasure of it transcends "good" or "bad." Kinda kitsch, but still seriously rocks, but still can't take it seriously, but still fun. Like a good novelty song, imo. I know I've heard a couple of their albums, but I've never had anything really jump out at me, except some proto metal-esque riffing in maybe Queen II? They just kind of make me feel a little queasy. Too much and yet not enough. Certainly they have their place.

this raised my interest in Queen enough to listen to the In The Studio with Redbeard Interview on "The Game"

and was O_o at not knowing Michael Jackson persuaded them to release Bites the Dust as a single (+ WBLS may've played a role somewhere that July/August)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USXDH5ag4lI

If I was alive in the 70s I'd probably hate Queen as much as I hate Beyonce. Pretty much the same thing if you think about it. Obvious, stupid music.

music kills enjoyment
*dead*

a band can still be "classic" even if they never release a good album

I like Journey's hits a lot more than Queen's

1st Journey album is fuckin rad

I'd rather listen to Journey instead of Queen, no question

― Οὖτις, Friday, October 28, 2016 4:18 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

belongs in the GTFO Hall of Fame it does

Assuming they are defensible at all, I refuse to believe that Queen or Journey, let alone the Eagles, are "good" beyond their hits.

man whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

I'm not big on Queen I (though "Keep Yourself Alive" and "Liar" are good), but Queen II is fantastic almost front to back, as is Sheer Heart Attack and Night at the Opera. you shoulda seen how we were geeking out in the Queen poll about deep cuts.

I'd rather listen to Journey instead of Queen, no question

― Οὖτις, Friday, October 28, 2016 4:18 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

belongs in the GTFO Hall of Fame it does

― Neanderthal, Friday, October 28, 2016 10:31 PM (twenty minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

shit I even silently sided w/ shakey over being callus on the RIP of Anna Nicole but this is just blatent bad taste

There's excellent deep cuts on pretty much all of Queen's studio albums, and a lot of singles that didn't even make it onto either Greatest Hits or Greatest Hits II.

Yeah, I'll give them another shot (for the record: Queen is not dud, they are silly, but so is a lot of music.) It's tough, because like a handful of bands Queen is not really about "hits," as such, but AOR monoliths (a la Zeppelin). Maybe because those monoliths are so, well, monolithic, that explains why I've never been able to get into them as an album act? When you have "Bohemian Rhapsody" on an album, it tends to overshadow things. (That's probably why it's at the end.) Anyway, I know I saw the "Night at the Opera" classic albums doc, which means I've heard a few deep cuts for sure, but looking at the track list I think I recognize (beside "Best Friend" ) "Car" and "39." Will relisten next week. Looks like I even own the records! I recall liking Queen II (which is all deep cuts?) and Sheer Heart Attack.

My opinions about Queen are well documented here: why did rock critics hate Queen so much in the 1970s/80s? for those who care

duke, i deeply care but it's not the destination; it's the Journey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIcdj4UH9u0

(No comment on Queen, someone just forwarded me this trove. I've yet to make it though any of them! Earth Wind and Fire one was particularly rough.)

wow, thanks for introducing me to shittyflute

like a primary school recorder class meets the Portsmouth Sinfonia.

Probably the Queen song I hate the most:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BmL_HZdqbg

'We Are The Champions'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e61lGbGeu8

http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/queen-news-of-the-world-40th-anniversary-5-disc-super-deluxe-edition/

Also - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOZuIV2FZTc

Interesting that this one is getting the anniversary treatment.

Would much rather have deluxe overdose editions of day at the races and sheer heart attack