Queen!

To me "We Will Rock You" is so minimally produced that it's nihilistic. Just "stomp stomp clap" ad nauseam, no variation. There are Philip Glass songs with more going on than that. And "We Are the Champions" is slower than a funeral dirge. Overexposure doesn't help when I'd already think it a bad song otherwise. (Same goes for "Don't Stop Believin'." I would find that a piece of crap even if it weren't every-freaking-where I go.)

A latecomer to Queen. Yesterday I finally worked my way back to the first album and was blown away. I had already read all the biographies on Queen.. And the dozens of theories about the arc of their music.. Somehow I had expected that first CD to be weak.. I had read about how they kind of considered the music on the first album to be "old" by the time it came out. But listening to that first album, and then to Queen II was a revelation. The fact that the Rolling Stone and so many others never saw their genius early on is telling. They truly were their own genre.

Let's be honest here, Rolling Stone has never been good at predicting who will be big. They hated Led Zeppelin.

The thing I've always liked about Bohemian Rhapsody is that it feels like a bit sized rock opera that both tells a complete story and goes through a number of musical styles on the way.

The Who did it first:

I think it's supposed to be minimalist. It's about someone clawing his way to the top even though it makes him look like a bloody fool to the narrator. The stomp stomp clap reduces the whole thing down to its basest element.

My favorites would be Killer Queen and Keep Yourself Alive, though I haven't got a solid grip on what Keep Yourself Alive means.

I like the more epic ones better, such as Innuendo or Bohemian Rhapsody. From the less known ones, there is also The Prophet's Song.

Speaking of the less known ones, there's "The March of the Black Queen", "Great King Rat", and "Liar".

I think it means that you should keep yourself alive.

Anyway, my favorite Queen song is "'39". And, together with "You're My Best Friend" as its A-side, it makes up half of one of the greatest 45 RPM records ever produced.

For the record, the song is about a spaceship crew who, in a time where Earth is in danger of becoming uninhabitable, searches the stars to find a new planet where people can live. Unfortunately, due to time dilation, they end up being gone for 100 years, even though only a year has passed for the crew members. The singer in the song returns home to look for his lover, only to find out from her daughter (or granddaughter, not sure there) that she has been dead for a long time. It's rather heartbreaking.

edited 23rd Mar '15 1:15:03 PM by Odd1

I love "The Prophet's Song". I have their first two greatest hits albums. I haven't listened to all the songs, but I've liked what I've heard.

My second favorite band behind the almighty Rush! Freddie is my favorite singer of all time, sensational voice, and all the band members are very talented. "The Show Must Go On" is a contender for my favorite song of ALL time, what an epic piece!

But the problem with Queen is that they had a lot of songs I don't like. I'm not a fan of their vaudville experiments, such as "Seaside Rendezvous", "Good Company", "Bring Back That Leroy Brown", and the atrocious "Don't Try Suicide" I also really don't like a lot of Hot Space songs ("Staying Power", "Cool Cat", "Calling All Girls", though I do like quite a few songs from it, i'm a big fan of "Under Pressure" of course and also like "Back Chat", "Dancer" and a couple other songs) and "Delilah" is so bad. The inconsistency keeps them from being my favorite band.

Their first two albums are so under-rated. Lots of great prog rock ("Father To Son", "Liar", "The March of the Black Queen") and heavy metal ("Son and Daughter", "Modern Times Rock N Roll")

Recently I realized that Queen is my favorite band.

Mostly because while I have many, many songs I like, it's usually just one or two songs from a band/artist (for instance, I absolutely love Castle on the Hill, but don't care about any other songs by Ed Sheeran), but with Queen there are about a dozen songs I like.

My favorite Queen song is actually Don't Stop Me Now. People look at me funny when I say that. XP

This is the vid that introduced me to that song.

You may very well appreciate this...

Personal Favorites: Keep Yourself Alive, Don't Stop Me Now, Keep Yourself Alive, Seven Seas of Rhye, Bohemian Rhapsody, Brighton Rock, Fat Bottomed Girls, Under Pressure

edited 11th Aug '17 1:44:40 PM by Troper_Walrus

[Sorry, new accounts cannot post external links.]

• sigh* OK. I'm hoping my probationary period is over soon, so I don't have to do this...

But I want you all to trust me on something. You're gonna think I'm nuts. Just do me a favor and try it out.

Bohemian Rhapsody is one of those "Do Not Cover Unless Your Name Is Freddie Mercury AND IT'S NOT" songs for me... but I found one that's really, really good and innovative as hell.

Like I said, don't kill me, okay?

Hit up YT and look up "pentatonix bohemian rhapsody". They killed it (in a good way). Most interesting use of a megahorn I've ever seen...

This one?

It took me a few listens to get to where I liked that cover but I've warmed to it.