29 June, 2014

This is why they're right when other countries say that the USA is stupid

I ordered a copy of The Freddie Mercury Album and the Wembley Roadie Cube box set. I'm very excited to add these to my collection - especially The Freddie Mercury Album because I've wanted it since I was in grade 6 (age 12). And I came across an Amazon review that blew my mind. Everything that's wrong with it can be summed up in the title, but I'll post the whole thing anyway. The title is, " Sacrilege. Not for true Freddy fans." ... Can you see where this is headed?

(I removed the user's info, but I will say they are from the US.)

If you're a Queen fan and you'd like to sample some of Freddy's solo work, then this might be a good buy. But if you're a true Freddy fan, then you'll be appalled at how they butchered his compositions in the re-mixing room.

In a weak attempt to bridge the gap between Queen's heavy rock sound and Freddy's gay style (I say "gay" meaning "happy"), the mixing engineers have slaughtered these pieces. The original versions, as released in Freddy's "Mr. Bad Guy", were just fine the way they were. Sure, some sounded like they could be the background to the Richard Simmons Workout Challenge, but true Freddy fans like it that way. *I* like it that way. If I want to hear something heavy, I'll pop in "Night at the Opera". I don't need some presumptuous mixing engineer adding heavy reverb on the drums, stupid house-techno beats and distorted guitars.

The worst is the absolute murder of the song "Mr. Bad Guy", originally a fully orchestrated piece, now reduced to some stupid "star search" sounding tripe with a whiny guitar soloing overtop everything.

What's next? Will some video engineer edit out all of Freddy's flamboyant concert outfits and digitally superimpose a bunch of tattoos and body piercing?

C'mon Atlantic (or whatever label was responsible for this travesty), give us some credit. Give FREDDY some credit. He liked it the way it was, and WE liked it the way it was.

Now pardon me whilst I throw this rubbish in the can, put on my leotard and listen to "Mr. Bad Guy" the way the artist intended it. Heavy on the gay. Party on.

The response I posted was, "If you were a "true" Freddie Mercury fan, you'd be able to spell his name correctly." If I tried to break it down any further in the comments, I'd probably get a reprimand from Amazon. Good thing I have a blog!

This person is a fucking dipshit. First, they're trying to push the "true" fan bullshit and acting all sanctimonious when they can't even spell Freddie's name. Second, I'm pretty sure it's common knowledge that the tracks on the album are remixes. Since it was released after Freddie died and all... And why the hell are they comparing remixes of Freddie's solo work to any bit of the Queen catalog?! And early Queen at that! Two different entities and different musical directions according to latest trends even before these remixes were made! So NO FUCKING SHIT THEY SOUND DIFFERENT! And the expectation that they should sound almost completely alike is laughable. Every member of Queen made significant contributions. Queen was never Freddie and his backing band! Hence why even Freddie did solo stuff, because why would he need to if he was already totally in charge of Queen? For fuck sake, he wasn't that arrogant!

"I don't like these remixes because they don't sound like the originals or exactly like anything Queen did in the 70's." ... I don't think I've ever wanted to hit another Queen fan with a phone book so badly...

Okay, rant over!

I'm not expecting to like all the tracks on The Freddie Mercury Album, but it will be really nice to cross it off my list of things I still need! And the Wembley box set seems like it would be exciting! So here's hoping!

07 June, 2014

Gunpowder Gelatine with Bikini Whale and Pretendica

I went to a really fun show at Johnny D's last night. Boston finally got more reasonable with their late-night public transportation, so I was able to stick around for the whole thing instead of having to leave after Gunpowder Gelatine's set.

I put myself in my usual spot right in front of the stage, which is always risky because it's on the dance floor, I can't always balance so well, and drunk people who want to dance are notorious for having zero spacial awareness. I get knocked into at least once every gig. But this time - I don't know if there was some sort of conference or written agreement or something - not only did I not get knocked into, I also got a small personal bubble!

What was also really nice was Gunpowder Gelatine's Queen medley. It was put together really well and kept me on my toes :-) I didn't even try to get pictures of them because I always manage to suck at it, but I'm counting on my acquaintance John (hi, John!) to upload some of the videos he took to make up for that.

I also ran into this dude again! I didn't recognize him without the fake mustache! Maybe someday I'll be able to remember his name!


I asked him if he wanted me to take a better picture, but he said this one was fine.

I also had the pleasure of meeting someone who's sure they're a bigger Queen fan than me and Allison (bass player for Gunpowder Gelatine, for those just tuning in). I showed them that picture of me and Brian May (I downloaded it to my phone) to indicate that I accept their challenge! It's their move now!

Also playing last night was Pretendica - a Pretenders/Elastica tribute - and Bikini Whale - a B-52s tribute. Both were a lot of fun and amazing, but my disdain for the song Love Shack hasn't wavered (retail-related incident involving a broken CD system playing that song over 10 times in my six-hour shift... which was spent at the register directly under one of the ceiling speakers). And it was amusing watching people on the dance floor from a booth in the corner. Some of them were legit dancing, and others... probably should have been cut off about two beers ago...

The only downside to the evening was having to pay $6 for a rum and Coke. I don't tend to drink at bars, so maybe that's a reasonable price, but still! If there was going to be a damper in my evening, I'm glad that was it!