I'll shut up about this eventually

I finally listened to the Absolute Narrative disc that came with the book (the one where Brian and Roger provide commentary). It's pretty wonderful. The tracks were cut down, because I guess there's only so much they can say per song, but it was still awesome. And informative!

For example: I learned that the rhythm guitar in Another One Bites The Dust was actually done by John! And I am a better person for knowing that. Not just a better Queen fan - better person.

I'd actually really love it if Brian and Rog provided commentary for all their studio albums. I guess a bit of the void is already filled, because I did order The Making Of A Night At The Opera. I really like documentary stuff on Queen, okay?? But I think my favorite in that category is Magic Years volume 2. Probably one of the greatest moments of my life was when I had that VHS tape on a ridiculously loud volume during the part about their fan base in Japan, and I finally found out that the music in the background during the press conference was Father To Son in a different key. ... I was 12 and my sound-enhancing equipment was the volume button on the TV. Give me a break!

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?

Ooh! Another compilation CD! Queen never releases those!

When I was ten years old, I got my first Queen CDs. Classic and News Of The World to be specific. From there, I made it my goal to collect as much merchandise as possible (I spent the first 19 years of my life in a city south of Chicago, so that task wasn't particularly easy). And despite that difficulty, I did. Hell, I even bought Greatest Hits III. And then for Christmas, I received The Platinum Collection even though I already owned all of those CDs! It was purely about expanding my collection.

As an aside, I somehow managed to find a copy of In Vision in a local record store... which was a HUGE deal because that's a Japanese import! Anywho...

I've since drawn the line. I mean, Greatest Hits - We Will Rock You is a bit much. It's the UK version of Greatest Hits with bonus tracks, I'm In Love With My Car, Under Pressure (Milton Keynes Bowl, 1982) and Tie Your Mother Down (also from Milton Keynes Bowl, 1982). I mean, I get that it was a promotional thing for the musical, but still... I'm not about to spend something close to $20 for something I both already own and will have no need to listen to.

And Stone Cold Classics... What the hell?! Anyway, when Absolute Greatest got released, I was determined to not buy it. It just screamed, "waste of money!" But then I checked out the Queen Online Store for kicks and it was like I was a brand new fan again!

I had to. I just had to order this!

It was the damn book that got me. It cost almost $70 but I have it to spare this one time. I probably won't be uploading either CDs onto my iPod, but my CD collection could use something new.

Oh, if Brian May or Roger Taylor happen across this: Can you get to work on Greatest Video Hits 3?