16 December, 2010

There are other Queen songs, y'know...

(My brother used to tell me this on a daily basis when we were growing up)

I finally read that article in Mojo. I didn't think I'd learn anything, but I did! I've known for a while how Freddie got Ibex to change their name to Wreckage, but that's probably not my favorite gem anymore. Freddie used to annoy the shit out of his housemates by strumming Pinball Wizard on an acoustic over and over.

While flipping through, there's an interview with Cee Lo Green where he says, "Play Bohemian Rhapsody for these kids today. Show them the possibilities." and it got me thinking...

Bohemian Rhapsody annoys me a little bit, which is interesting since that was the song that got me started on Queen in the first place. But it's frustrating that this song is considered the be-all, end-all of music. I'm pretty sure some of you are thinking, "Zander, you weren't even alive in the 70's. You can't possibly know what you're talking about." but having been raised on classic rock I can certainly appreciate it's majesty and raising of the bar.

It's a great song, really, truly. But I think putting this song on a pedestal is ridiculous. For one thing, Queen have written hundreds of songs just between 1970 and 1991. In 20+ years and 15 studio albums it seems stupid to ignore the rest of the genius. What about The Prophet's Song? What about the entirety of Queen II? Innuendo? Queen are not one-hit-wonders so can we please as a culture get the hell over this single 5:55 track??

Second, no other band or musician seems to be allowed to write and record their own epic tracks without being accused of ripping off Queen. I've touched on this in previous posts, but to tear Green Day apart over Jesus Of Suburbia or My Chemical Romance for Welcome To The Black Parade is disgusting. Next, people will be freaking out over GF Handel's The Messiah for "trying to sound like Bohemian Rhapsody."

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