I have to give credit where credit is due. I proudly own Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster, but I'm not really in a rush to get Born This Way (click that link to see why). Still, I have tons of respect for her music, particularly the bits where she's clearly influenced by Queen.
... And I rock out to Telephone more than I care to admit.
Anyway. Yeah. Problematic as some of the things she's said and done may be, I still have respect (this may be my privilege talking). The entertainment industry is vicious and the public is even more so. Fucking Christ. Justin Bieber can't even cover Bohemian Rhapsody without Brian getting pestered about it. I don't like Justin Bieber, but I choose to avoid him. I don't get all fucking dramatic over a fucking song cover (Robbie Williams notwithstanding) and wish he'd die a slow and painful death.
Showing posts with label queenzone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label queenzone. Show all posts
30 March, 2011
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.
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.
07 December, 2010
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!
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!
15 August, 2010
... *blink*
Typically when I have nothing to write, but feel an intense need to post here, I look to the Queenzone forums for inspiration (which isn't a big secret). I may have found something good.
Someone posted asking for the names of Kashmira Cooke's (Freddie's sister) children. I know she has a son and daughter (did you see what I did there with the song title subtly placed in the sentence? DAMN I'M GOOD!), not that it's common knowledge, but it isn't hard to find out either.
Anyway, someone commented that Kashmira's son looks like Freddie, and another person responded in kind:
OH MY GOSH!!!!! HOW OLD IS HE? WHERE IS HE? IS HE SINGLE?????????????????????????? I MUST HAVE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I call dibs on him! EVERYONE ELSE BACK OFF!!!!!!!!
sorry.
Uhhh... right. Because that's a totally reasonable reaction. Because Freddie's whole family looks like Freddie.
The woman in front on the left is Kashmira, the older woman on the right is Freddie's mother Jer Bulsara. The guy cut off in the corner was Freddie's personal assistant (1979-1991) Peter "Phoebe" Freestone. I don't know who the rest of the people are. I'm assuming they're just Queen fans.
And that forum thread I'm referencing just goes on like that. Here's another quote from a different person:
I think he is 20-25 or something.. So that means, that if he has long hair.. HE MIGHT LOOK LIKE FREDDIE AT ART SCHOOL!!
OMG, I HAVE to kidnap this guy :D
... Moving on, then!
Right, there was a point to this wasn't there? Oh yeah! Freddie is awesome. Stalking his family is not. Even if Freddie is the coolest person who's ever lived.
Someone posted asking for the names of Kashmira Cooke's (Freddie's sister) children. I know she has a son and daughter (did you see what I did there with the song title subtly placed in the sentence? DAMN I'M GOOD!), not that it's common knowledge, but it isn't hard to find out either.
Anyway, someone commented that Kashmira's son looks like Freddie, and another person responded in kind:
OH MY GOSH!!!!! HOW OLD IS HE? WHERE IS HE? IS HE SINGLE?????????????????????????? I MUST HAVE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I call dibs on him! EVERYONE ELSE BACK OFF!!!!!!!!
sorry.
Uhhh... right. Because that's a totally reasonable reaction. Because Freddie's whole family looks like Freddie.
The woman in front on the left is Kashmira, the older woman on the right is Freddie's mother Jer Bulsara. The guy cut off in the corner was Freddie's personal assistant (1979-1991) Peter "Phoebe" Freestone. I don't know who the rest of the people are. I'm assuming they're just Queen fans.
And that forum thread I'm referencing just goes on like that. Here's another quote from a different person:
I think he is 20-25 or something.. So that means, that if he has long hair.. HE MIGHT LOOK LIKE FREDDIE AT ART SCHOOL!!
OMG, I HAVE to kidnap this guy :D
... Moving on, then!
Right, there was a point to this wasn't there? Oh yeah! Freddie is awesome. Stalking his family is not. Even if Freddie is the coolest person who's ever lived.
11 June, 2010
Holy crap! People read this now!
Before I get started, hi new followers I didn't have to ask to follow me! Your presence is appreciated!
Queenzone is a great site. I've been a member for years, sometimes participating in great discussion forums, sometimes staying away for several months because I just can't handle the stupidity like, "I say we all buy tickets to the Cosmos Rocks tour... AND THEN BURN THEM! BECAUSE PAUL RODGERS SUCKS!"
Although sometimes the stupid can be fun. I don't watch Reality TV so on occasion I just can't help but read and/or participate. My favorite so far has to be someone sincerely believing that Brian May's dislike of the track Don't Stop Me Now was because he was homophobic. ... I'm still raging about that. First off, Brian worked with Freddie for 20+ years. They've performed on stage together 704 times. That's 704 times where Freddie got all up in Brian's personal space. Secondly, let's not forget Freddie's infamous 38th birthday party (the Living On My Own video) which Brian attended... dressed as a witch. Freddie's parties tended to be really fucking gay (not meant in an insulting way).
I know homophobic people. Homophobic people would not want to be around Freddie Mercury. I know a guy who claims to have walked out at the end of a US Queen concert because Freddie was rocking the short shorts! I'm willing to entertain the possibility that Brian might be conservative about homosexuality, but he sure as shit isn't homophobic.
Anyway... Queenzone! It looks impressive and fancy, but there's a couple things that have bothered me for a long time. First, the picture galleries. Members can submit pictures of the band and the shit's not moderated. As of today, the Freddie Mercury gallery alone holds 5661 pictures... but how many of those are repeats? Not to mention, some pictures are mis-categorized.
Okay, Freddie rocking the crown and cape. I've probably seen this 50 times in the entire gallery.
Second, the site routinely experiences server crashes. My guess is it has a lot to do with people being fucking stupid about the pictures. And maybe the server itself is just crappy. Who knows? It's kind of my really geeky dream to have Richard Orchard email me and ask me to sift through all the picture galleries and moderate everything. That would be really tedious and awesome!
Queenzone is a great site. I've been a member for years, sometimes participating in great discussion forums, sometimes staying away for several months because I just can't handle the stupidity like, "I say we all buy tickets to the Cosmos Rocks tour... AND THEN BURN THEM! BECAUSE PAUL RODGERS SUCKS!"
Although sometimes the stupid can be fun. I don't watch Reality TV so on occasion I just can't help but read and/or participate. My favorite so far has to be someone sincerely believing that Brian May's dislike of the track Don't Stop Me Now was because he was homophobic. ... I'm still raging about that. First off, Brian worked with Freddie for 20+ years. They've performed on stage together 704 times. That's 704 times where Freddie got all up in Brian's personal space. Secondly, let's not forget Freddie's infamous 38th birthday party (the Living On My Own video) which Brian attended... dressed as a witch. Freddie's parties tended to be really fucking gay (not meant in an insulting way).
I know homophobic people. Homophobic people would not want to be around Freddie Mercury. I know a guy who claims to have walked out at the end of a US Queen concert because Freddie was rocking the short shorts! I'm willing to entertain the possibility that Brian might be conservative about homosexuality, but he sure as shit isn't homophobic.
Anyway... Queenzone! It looks impressive and fancy, but there's a couple things that have bothered me for a long time. First, the picture galleries. Members can submit pictures of the band and the shit's not moderated. As of today, the Freddie Mercury gallery alone holds 5661 pictures... but how many of those are repeats? Not to mention, some pictures are mis-categorized.
Okay, Freddie rocking the crown and cape. I've probably seen this 50 times in the entire gallery.
Second, the site routinely experiences server crashes. My guess is it has a lot to do with people being fucking stupid about the pictures. And maybe the server itself is just crappy. Who knows? It's kind of my really geeky dream to have Richard Orchard email me and ask me to sift through all the picture galleries and moderate everything. That would be really tedious and awesome!
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