Finally finished What He Left Behind

I enjoyed parts of this book (more on that in a second), but OH MY G-D IT REALLY COULD HAVE USED A FUCKING COPYEDITOR!

Phoebe's first book about Freddie flowed pretty well, but this... This was all over the place, and spelling errors galore! I'm wondering if part of that was a sense of urgency? The Freddie Mercury box set had been recently released at that point, and maybe he wanted to give fans that extra bit of info on Freddie? I dunno.

I also feel like the first book had Phoebe and David Evans working really closely together, but What He Left Behind feels to me like they were both writing stuff and just mashed both projects together, hoping for the best. I think that's the most disappointing part for me.

However! I appreciated Phoebe's compassion for Mary after Freddie died, and his account of what went down at Garden Lodge is way more satisfying than Jim writing in Mercury And Me that she was just a heartless asshole with zero regard for anyone else. THAT SAID, Mary and Jim Beach definitely pulled some dick moves (some were "our hands are tied because legalities and red tape" and others were "yeah, I'm going to be an asshole"), but I don't think either of them set out to be dicks before Freddie's body had gone cold. I'm also trying to factor in how grief played a role, because while Mary made some decisions that are not to be given a free pass, it should be remembered that Freddie's death fucked her up, too. It's very possible that Phoebe could be being generous in trying to explain what Mary was going through, but it's just as possible that Jim's account is so negative because he and Mary probably didn't get along all that well (based on pictures where Freddie's with both Jim and Mary, I always get the impression that there was tension). This, of course, is all up in the air because none of us knows what really truly went down. Anyone can speculate anything at this point, so I think folks should keep that in mind whether they ship Jim or Mary, or even hate them both because you're convinced that the two people Freddie cared about most could only have been using and cashing in on him.

And can I just say? The reviews of What He Left Behind where people are complaining that Phoebe and David largely talk about their lives immediately post-Freddie, and how he continues to impact their lives? It's in the fucking title! So why don't you snag a copy of Phoebe's first book (it's really good!) and shut the hell up?

So there were some good parts to this book and some really good pictures, but the disorganized, unedited writing can be a bit of a turn-off. Still, my only real regret about it is that I don't have a physical copy.

What He Left Behind

I was hoping to find a physical copy of this somewhere, but no. Oh well. The Kindle app is free, and it wasn’t expensive. Still, I’m bummed I won’t get to physically add this to the book part of my collection.

Greatest Pix and an added bonus

I'm having such good luck on the Queen front lately, it's a bit ridiculous!

I got a used (pretty sure that's the only kind there is anymore) copy of Greatest Pix yesterday, and flipping through it, I found an old magazine clipping with an ad for Hot Space! Thanks previous owner!

--

Including this in my shrine has involved strategic moving of most of my ticket stubs.

The Great Pretender

I just got a package from my counterpart! She sent me the book/DVD combo of The Great Pretender! Well, the book has a bonus interview CD. I'm SO excited!!!

Audrey's note reads, "with love always! audrey mercury XOXOX"

My favorite part that just barely surpasses the AWESOME of these gifts is that I actually had to switch my books with my random stuff to fit the Great Pretender book. I can't wait to watch the DVD :-)

THANK YOU again, Audrey! You'll be getting a present soon!!!

More stuff

The other day I popped into Porter Square Books and found a copy of The Complete Illustrated Lyrics. They don't always have books about Queen, so it's special when they do (my only complaint about the store is they carry Dan Savage's book). It's nice to see samples of written lyrics that I haven't seen before - like A Winter's Tale and The Hitman. Also, the songs are all listed alphabetically rather than by album. I was initially annoyed by that, but I think it's growing on me because I could appreciate how each of Queen's albums are all different from each other.

I also finally watched Under Review: 1980-1991. I can't quite express a reason yet, but I liked 1973-1980 a lot more. Maybe because that one had a guy demonstrating some of Brian's riffs on guitar..? Maybe because it inevitably turned into The Freddie Mercury Show? I'm just saying, if they could take the time to talk about the Mr Bad Guy album - even though this series is supposed to be all about Queen, they could talk about Brian and Roger's solo projects as well. Maybe just mention that they'd done stuff on their own...

In other news, it's Mother's Day here. So here's a picture of some old lady!

For those who've been living under a rock, that's Jer Bulsara - Freddie's mum. So thanks, Jer, for raising my hero and allowing him to be the greatest thing ever in the whole, entire world!

Tribute picture book

I ordered what I thought was going to be just a tribute concert poster, but it's actually a book filled with pictures and quotes. It's pretty neat! There is no author, but it was published in 1993 by International Music Publications Limited, and all profits go to AIDS charities. But I bought it used, so in my case, profits go to the previous owner.



It does make me sad, though, that the entire concert isn't available to the public for some reason. The pictures are pretty fantastic, and it seems unfair for Queen Productions Ltd to not give full credit or acknowledgment where it is due.

The Amazon gift card that keeps on giving

I'm still spending away on that gift card my grandmother sent me. I've used it to buy 40 Years Of Queen, a Queen pin, and a copy of As It Began by Jacky Gunn (now Smith) and Jim Jenkins. I've looked through it real quick and it looks like there might be interesting tidbits and things. It was published in 1992, so I'm honestly not sure if I'll learn anything new, but still! This isn't the kind of thing I could find in a book store or record shop today, so definitely worth it.





I still have money left on my gift card, too. I keep spending it on this kind of stuff because I know my grandmother would be pissed if I used it on anything absolutely necessary (I don't think my electric company or landlord take Amazon gift cards anyway).

My only living treasure on this earth

Well, okay, it's not living but oh how I treasure it!!

My 40 Years Of Queen book came in! I am not ashamed to say that looking through it made me squee with delight. When I first heard of it, I had assumed it was basically the same thing as Mark Blake's book, so I wasn't terribly excited. But then Brian pimped the shit out of it and I found myself sobbing at my bank account "BUT I WAAAANT IT!!!" Yay for Christmas and Amazon giftcards!



There are posters and stickers and really cool shit in this book, and I'm tempted to buy a second copy just so I can have everything out and on my walls without feeling guilty. I can't wait to read it! I can't wait to flip the fuck out discuss it with my counterpart!

... Yeah. Next month I may have to get another copy :-P

Christmas shenanigans

I hope everyone's winter holidays were fantastic.

My grandmother sent me a $50 Amazon giftcard, so I spent some of it on 40 Years Of Queen by Harry Doherty. Its estimated delivery date is either December 30 or 31. It will be a fantastic way to ring in the new year! Cannot wait! While looking through the DVD section to find stuff to add to my general wish list, I came across this:



I've looked at this image at least a dozen times now and it still makes me do a double-take. I wonder if it's actually any good... I also put the Days Of Our Lives documentary on my wishlist. It will be the first blu-ray disc I've ever owned, and all because I want the super extra bonus stuff apparently not on the DVD. I'm such a slut for bonus features. (note to self: buy blu-ray player)

I meant to post earlier this month that I went to a friend's corporate Christmas party hosted by her boss. He had a fabulous home (read: awesome McMansion) that had me and my friends in absolute awe. I even drank some champagne. Not that I drink all that much, but sometimes it's fun for me to remember that I'm above the legal drinking age in the US and I should take advantage - especially if the party host is financially loaded! Lightweight that I am, I got halfway through my glass before I started to feel buzzed (after having eaten a full meal that included REALLY DELICIOUS salmon minutes before). I set the glass down and later went to the bar to get some soda, when what did I find but the brand of champagne being served to all the guests:



Moet et Chandon! I was beside myself with glee and had to take a picture. I have no idea what it cost in the UK in the '70's, but currently in the US, it's about $40.00 a bottle. And I'm sure the more experienced alcohol-drinking guests blew through what I'm guessing had to be something like 20-30 bottles (a very, very conservative estimate). I used to always dream about someday being an adult and buying a bottle to celebrate Freddie's birthday... It doesn't cost anything to dream, thankfully!

Mark Blake's book

With a giant sigh of relief, I have finally finished Is This The Real Life? And just in time for 40 Years Of Queen!

I really enjoyed Mark's book, but it was sobering to read that someone the author referred to was quoted as saying that John Deacon looked like he had become a rock star by accident, and that he probably wanted to be done with music since The Works. On one hand, I'm thinking "How on earth could anyone not want to be one quarter of Queen??" On the other, I can totally see that. The music business is indeed, a right pain in the ass. And to badly quote Elton John in an interview from The Magic Years: "You are more or less public property." I wouldn't be able to handle that either.

So John, if you happen across this by accident: Thanks for sticking with it. Your contributions to music have not been lost on me - particularly Spread Your Wings.

My only complaints about the book are that my copy had some typos and small things the proofreaders missed. Apart from that, I really loved how thorough it was and that it didn't focus too much on Freddie, as books about Queen do too often. It wasn't something I used to pay attention to all that much before since I'm such a huge Freddie fan, but as I was reading about how Brian, Roger and John became interested in music and their childhoods in general, it occurred to me that I really have no fucking clue who those guys are and where they came from. I should see about changing that...

But yeah, apart from the typos I highly recommend this book! Depending on the textual content of this 40 Years Of Queen book, Mark Blake's might be worth buying if you haven't already. And even if this upcoming thing completely upstages it, there's no harm in adding it to your collection for the sake of having a bigger collection if it's financially feasible ;-)

Days Of Our Lives

I got word that Days Of Our Lives will be premiering in the US on June 27, 8pm (20:00) EST. I'm really excited to tune in but I'm also impatient, so I caught both parts on Youtube (the poster was extraordinarily gracious).

Being a Freddie fan, I actually really like that it wasn't essentially The Freddie Mercury Show. But I would have liked to see more archived interviews with John (by the way, the dust jacket on the book by Mark Blake doesn't even fucking mention him. WTF, Mark??!!). Although I'm willing to bet that he didn't really do a lot of interviews. Sad. I won't spoil anything, but there was a small part where a bunch of fans were singing Killer Queen and it reminded me that Queen fans were my first community... or at least a sense of not being totally alone (a mixture of pre-teen angst and being queer and growing up in the Midwest). Granted, I don't like a lot of them and as a result, I come off as a sanctimonious prick, but the first ones I met on OIQFC still make me smile, even if I haven't talked to many of them in years. Good times!

What was really strange, after I finished the last part of the documentary, I turned on my favorite radio station just in time for A Kind Of Magic to start playing! It was weird and awesome!

Peter "Ratty" Hince has a book publishing in October this year. I'm not sure if I'll buy it (right away), but it's pretty exciting. Also, I caught Thomas Crane's performance of Radio Ga Ga a couple days ago, and I laughed so hard when one of the judges was surprised that Thomas was doing "something phallic" with the mic. Because Freddie Mercury would NEVER have done such a thing!









Maybe those are all just coincidences...

Oh shit (00:14).

Poetry and art and stuff

I got an email this morning from Eminor Publishing telling me about a collection of poems and art called Thomas Kent - An Art Book by Eliza Witte. It's dedicated to Freddie, which I'm assuming is the reason it was emailed to me, and the cover of the book is the door to the gate of Garden Lodge. From what few pieces I've seen on Amazon, it looks pretty fantastic.

Although I must say that my favorite poet is Rachel K Zall. For real. Check her out. When she's not being a kickass poet, she's being a kickass advocate for the Boston trans community. And she also got me into The Mountain Goats!

Support the (good) arts! If you don't, you get shit like:



and this fucking awful mess!

I very strongly encourage folks to email me anything they think I'd be interested in (it's a really wide range, try me!) or if you might want to discuss stuff one-on-one, etc. Despite how I may come across, I'm really nice and enjoy interacting with people - especially other Queen fans!

Is This The Real Life? and Freddie Vs. Michael Jackson

That book by Mark Blake got a fairly decent review. I've still not gotten very far, but I'm loving what I've read so far!

I think my favorite part of the review:

Is This The Real Life is recommended for serious Queen fans, people interested in the machinations of the music industry at the highest level, and anyone discovering the band's music for the first time.If you happen to be one of THOSE daring souls, you're in for an amazing, gripping, rude and sometimes ridiculous journey.

Queen is dead.
Long live Queen.

So which one is it? Do you want Queen to live, or should they officially disband because Freddie died? Well? WELL?!



I'm pretty sure if Brian and Roger did call it quits after the release of No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young), people would be whining that they've not done anything when they very easily could. "They could get a bass player and lead vocalist! I'd love to see them on stage again!" etc.

And yeah, Queen + Paul Rodgers was different. Different, however, doesn't necessarily mean worse.

Speaking of, there's a thread on Queenzone pitting Freddie against Michael Jackson.

As I clarified in my response, I'm not what anyone would consider a Michael Jackson fan, but I appreciate his music and the influence he's had on his fans. I love Freddie dearly, but I don't think Freddie's made a crowd lose their shit just by snapping his fingers.

And as it turns out, the News section of the site where I had replied didn't show that the thread was started with a link so my comment, while I still stand by it, was grossly misdirected.

Dude...

I'd like to think I'm very open-minded about Queen covers, despite being a bit of a snob. I poked around on Brian's Soapbox because, well, yeah. He posted a really interesting link to Secret Sessions where this week(?) people are taking Queen songs and making them their own. I haven't heard them all yet, but I'm listening to I Am A Camera's take on White Queen for the second time because I'm in love.

For real, I am swooning here. And at the same time I'm really sad. No doubt this will hit Queenzone and some of the members will be frothing with rage for no real reason. There are some really awesome cover versions out there (and some that are not so much. ... YMMV) and as long as the singer sounds nothing like Freddie, or the guitar sounds nothing like the Red Special, or - G-d for-fucking-bid - it sounds different in some other way, it's going to get brushed off because it's WRONG! Doesn't matter if it's actually good, it's just fucking WRONG!

I've posted about this before, as it's obviously something that gets under my skin, but I think as long as this whole, "Queen is the only band allowed to do Queen!" bullshit is still going, I'm allowed to complain.

In other news, I'm currently reading Is This The Real Life? The Untold Story Of Queen by Mark Blake, and I'm pretty impressed so far. Kids, support your local, independent book stores!



I also ordered a copy of the second edition of Queen Live: A Concert Documentary by Greg Brooks. At this point I'm not entirely sure why. I have the first edition, which is full of errors, but it's in fairly okay condition (the tears on the cover caused by my brother notwithstanding). Who knows? Maybe some day (one day. DID YOU SEE WHAT I DID THERE?!?!) I'll be glad to have both editions.

And finally, since Japan is in dire need, consider donating any money you can spare. Japan was where Queen got their jump-start in 1974, and it's always been one of Freddie's favorite places in the world. So there!

Queen in Mojo Magazine

I was informed a couple days back, via Queen on Facebook, that Queen are kind of a big deal in the January 2011 issue of Mojo Magazine. Normally, I wouldn't go out of my way to get a magazine just because it mentions Queen. But tonight I was in Harvard Square waiting to meet a friend (yes, I have quite a few of those) for an unrelated adventure, but I decided to poke around Out Of Town News, which has magazines and newspapers from pretty much all over, to keep warm. Anyway, I found the magazine and decided to buy it ($11.99 seems ridiculous).

From late September to the date of my last post, I've re-read Peter Freestone's book and Jim Hutton's book in succession. I love Freddie, but that kind of feels like too much, especially as I was reading on November 24th and December 1st. Basically what I'm saying is I'm not sure when I'll be able to get myself to read this article as I need to recharge that battery. It could be tomorrow, next week, whatever. I've managed to look through the pictures, though, and they're quite fabulous!

And a bit of random hilarity: Today's post on Cake Wrecks showed a tragic cake with Freddie's face on it.



I feel so bad for whoever had to pay for that. This is why I'm hesitant to get a Queen tattoo.

Reality TV's got nothin' on Freddie Mercury

I just finished reading Mercury And Me and my brain instantly started racing and wouldn't let up until about four in the morning.

When I first ventured onto Queenzone's forums, I remember hearing really horrible things about Jim's book and his overall character. Apparently, Jim Hutton was only after Freddie's money seeing as how Freddie left him 500,000GBP and "that still wasn't enough for him" because he wrote a book and made a bit of money. Then cut to years later where Phoebe Freestone, who also inherited 500,000GBP, also wrote a book. But not one of those Bastard Queen Fans attacked Phoebe and I have a theory about why that may be. It may not be very good seeing as how I thought of it in the early hours of the morning, but nonetheless...

Sorry to spoil it, but near the end of Jim's book, he claims that Mary Austin treated him, Phoebe and Joe Fanelli like shit after Freddie died. Phoebe ended his book at Freddie's funeral so there's nothing written from his perspective on this and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want to talk about it at this point. A lot of Bastard Queen Fans immediately come to Mary's defense at the suggestion that she wasn't a nice person because she inherited the bulk of Freddie's estate as well as Garden Lodge. Legally speaking, she was within her rights to ask the three men to leave, since Freddie hadn't put it in writing that they could stay at the house for as long as they wanted. But if what Jim's written is true, her way of going about it was in really poor taste. And the BQFs further argue that Mary knew Freddie first before he was famous, and so obviously the love between her and Freddie was greater than what was between Freddie and Jim.

I'm going to derail for a second. The love between Freddie and Mary was real. The love between Freddie and Jim was real. Both loves were different and unique to each person. Neither was greater, less than, valid or invalid. Just different. To take a quote from one of my favorite articles on polyamory: "Don't think of the contents of your heart the way you think of the contents of your wallet; it doesn't work like that."

[I'm not suggesting Freddie was poly, I'm just trying to illustrate a point!]

And for the record, Jim stated in his book that Freddie didn't see any point to leaving him Garden Lodge since Jim was HIV-positive and that shit was pretty much still a death sentence, so what good is leaving someone an estate when they could be dead within a number or months or years? And according to Phoebe, Freddie had wanted Garden Lodge to be a family home. And since Mary had one child(?) at that point...

Now, my theory! Phoebe didn't rip on Mary, so his book is cool. Jim Hutton did, so his book is a crime against everything good and decent in this world. Since Mary was Freddie's girlfriend for six years at the very beginning of Queen, she apparently must be a saint who could do absolutely no wrong or some such bullshit. And since Jim Hutton didn't get Garden Lodge and he wrote a book where he made Mary out to look like a dick, BQFs retaliate by calling him a dick. Which is a very mature thing to do.

Further, it could be argued that Mary's less than pleasant attitude toward Jim was due to the fact that Freddie and Jim had a romance that she could never have with Freddie. Freddie was gay, and while he did love her, they didn't have that connection that Freddie would have with Jim or any of Freddie's other relationships. Freddie never wore a ring for Mary like he did Jim Hutton, he never referred to her as his wife in the company of friends as he referred to Jim as his husband. I'm pretty sure if they were both alive and well, they'd be legally married. If he'd married Mary, it would pretty much be a lie. So for all we know, Mary could have treated all of Freddie's male lovers and gay friends with disdain. They were together for, what? Six years? It has to really suck that in all that time, the man she loved deeply wasn't and couldn't be truly happy with her. And then for the next 16 years she got to watch from the sidelines while he came into his own, partied a lot, fucked a bunch of guys, and eventually settled into a monogamous domestic life while she occasionally assumed the role as his beard so the press didn't flip out over him shacking up with a man.

I can see where that would be like a slap in the face. But at the same time...

Unless Mary ever comes across this and decides to put the record straight, I'm going to chalk it up to sour grapes.

But overall, yeah. The book was nothing like I'd been lead to believe. I actually liked it quite a bit. Lots of BQFs made it sound like Jim would write, "And now I'll tell you all, in unrelenting detail, the freaky shit Freddie and I did in bed! By the time you're done reading this, you'll never look at the following household appliances the same way ever again!"

Oh, and I'm pretty sure if Jim hadn't written his book, a ton of BQFs would flood the forums whining, "Why didn't Jim ever talk about his life with Freddie? That would have been so cool to have further insight!" If you don't want to know a damn thing about Freddie outside of his career, don't read anything that delves into his personal life. And if you do read it, remember that you chose to go down that road. If you can't handle that Freddie did cocaine, or that he had anonymous sexual encounters with men, or that his kitchen cabinets were colored Oxblood, then don't fucking read the damn books by Phoebe or Jim!

Mercury And Me

I love when stuff I order arrives long before the estimated delivery date. According to Amazon, I was supposed to get Mercury And Me by Jim Hutton somewhere between December 6th and December 17th. So you can imagine my joy that it arrived today :-)




Obviously, I haven't read it yet, but there are three sets of photos. Even if some of them can also be found in Phoebe's book, but that isn't the point.

After Jim Hutton died, I had my reservations about ordering it. I think at one point, a used copy cost $60something plus shipping. So I waited until recently when it would be less than $30.

I love Queen and Freddie a lot, but as a man who doesn't make a whole lot of money (but is shockingly careful with what he has) it isn't often that I'll spend a huge amount on a used item.

Absolute dork

You guys! My package from the Queen Online store finally arrived yesterday! I haven't listened to the CDs yet (aside from a couple seconds of disc one to make sure it would play), but I am really loving the picture book.





You know... looking at that picture of John and Roger sitting like that, I'm beginning to understand why a lot of people assumed the entire band was gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Reviewing my collection, part one

Because you're desperate to know what I think of my stuff...

I think I'll start with Queen Live: A Concert Documentary by Greg Brooks. This is the first edition, so there are plenty of errors, but it is informative. I think I got this when I was 12 years old..? I became protective of it immediately because shortly after opening it on Christmas, my brother decided to be an asshole and hide it from me. His cute, harmless prank resulted in damage that has since been fixed with scotch tape. So I went through a short phase where I took it to school with me because I was so scared of it being completely destroyed before I could read it. Well, I think I almost got in trouble the first couple times my teachers saw Freddie all rocking the eye liner and looking all seductive and shit. But once they realized it was Freddie Mercury, they seemed to cool down - as long as I could focus on my school work and resist the temptation to get distracted by the book I really cared about.

Thank you, Queenpedia!

Despite the errors, I really do enjoy this book. It's chock full of geeky information and pictures. Plus I'm pretty sure this and the second edition are out of print, so that makes it even more special.

And then there's The New Visual Documentary by Ken Dean. Really, the only selling point for me is the pictures. Having owned and read Greg Brooks first, you could see it in the writing that he really fucking loves and cares about Queen. Ken Dean, however, sort of read like he was obligated to write his book. He didn't refer to any of the band members by their first names, even! Not that that's a requirement, but it added to the coldness.

The UK single jacket for Fat Bottomed Girls with the naked woman riding a bicycle and a pair of red panties painted over her ass apparently, "reeked of cheap gimmickery." ... Ken Dean's words, not mine. Maybe he's right. Maybe he's wrong. But after so many pages of disconnected writing, this sudden emergence of opinion felt like a slap in the face as I read it. This book is also out of print.

And then there's Freddie Mercury: An Intimate Memoir By The Man Who Knew Him Best by Peter Freestone with David Evans. Sadly, this book was accidentally left behind in Illinois, but it remains one of my favorites despite my not having read it for years. I could be remembering it incorrectly, but I don't recall it being too personal (read: I love Freddie and all, but I don't need to know what specifically he did in the bedroom), but it was close enough that I could pretty easily picture Freddie hanging out in his house and stuff, y'know?