Contract negotiations or renegtiations at the moment coincides with 'Queen' appearing on one of the USA's biggest TV shows, reminding everyone that they exist as a brand and have a great back-catalogue. Coincidence? A good business move but hardly endearing to the old fanbase (as usual). But life goes on...
MercuryArts · Member since
I didn't think it sucked, performance wise. That Lambert kid, who I never saw or heard of before this sings quite well. Someone mentioned he has that Galilleo look. Yes, he absolutely does. As well as an early Elvis look about him. I can't say this will hurt or tarnish the Queen legacy. Hell, I'm a huge Queen fan & I knew nothing about it. I don't watch that show.Having just watched it, I'm not concerned in any way, goor or bad. That 3 minutes of airtime promoted them better than anything Hollywood Records did for TCR. Anyway, I'd rather see Brian & Roger up there playing the music than some so-so house band. It is good PR for the name Queen especially since it's on US national tv. I doubt most people watching give a damn about whether they appear on the show or not. My question is, was the audience really cheering that loud when B & R appeared half way through the first verse? Or was there an applause sign flashing over the audience's head? Also, I tried to view the Kiss performance but it has already been removed.
Sheer Brass Neck · Member since
Queen slogged around for years trying to get a deal. They are arguably the second most famous band (in most territories) in the world. Playing shit with karaoke contestants, regardless of exposure, is embarrassing, contradictory and hypocritical to what Queen were (1971-1991) and what they stood for. Brian May, my musical hero, is a brand manager who should be in sales as he's got nothing to do with music for the past number of years. That Idol stuff is pathetic.
doxonrox · Member since
I have no problem with "Queen" looking for exposure - all artists should strive for it without compromising their art.
MY problem with these two old farts calling themselves "Queen" is that they are being epic hypocrites. And unfortunately, this reflects on the legacy of the band instead of on the individual greedy sellouts that are perpetrating this travesty.
Brian is spitting on American Idol and reality shows out of one side of his mouth, and kissing their asses on the other. Which is it, Doc? Are these shows hurting music - your supposed life blood and passion - or is the money associated with them just that much more important than your "values"?
And Rog the "rebel". Hahahaha. That's a rich laugh. Your Valentine hit nail on the head with his hypocritical song lyrics. Yeah, Murdoch is a prick - unless he's lining your pockets. Then you can't wait for your next chance to be his whore.
So here we are... we have repeatedly been slapped in the face with Brian and Roger's money grab, and we have continually looked past it because the music of yesteryear really meant something to us. And now it has come to the point for me and others where we cannot tolerate being lied to anymore. Whether it is their statements or their lyrics, at some point you have to stand for something. You can't have it both ways without sacrificing your personal integrity and the integrity of your art.
I'm fine with standing for massive popularity and big bucks. Just be a man about it, state it, and live it. Freddie did, and I had no problem with that. "The bigger the better - in everything!" That's great, as long as I know what you stand for.
Just don't lie to me. STAND FOR SOMETHING!
Daniel Nester · Member since
Three things I noticed regarding Bri and Rog at the Finale --
Unlike every other act, Queen were not introduced as "Queen" by either the host Ryan Seacrest, or one of the Idol-people; rather, they simply performed. Maybe that was a flub--it was live TV--but I liked how it came off nonetheless. It came off as just two musicians from the band that made WATC classic playing along to a song that, more than likely, was going to be sung on Idol anyway, at least at some point. It's that kind of show.
Adam Lambert can sing his ass off.
People enjoyed the performance.
john bodega · Member since
[QUOTE]
[b]doxonrox wrote: [/b]
I have no problem with "Queen" looking for exposure - all artists should strive for it without compromising their art.
MY problem with these two old farts calling themselves "Queen" is that they are being epic hypocrites. And unfortunately, this reflects on the legacy of the band instead of on the individual greedy sellouts that are perpetrating this travesty.
Brian is spitting on American Idol and reality shows out of one side of his mouth, and kissing their asses on the other. Which is it, Doc? Are these shows hurting music - your supposed life blood and passion - or is the money associated with them just that much more important than your "values"?
And Rog the "rebel". Hahahaha. That's a rich laugh. Your Valentine hit nail on the head with his hypocritical song lyrics. Yeah, Murdoch is a prick - unless he's lining your pockets. Then you can't wait for your next chance to be his whore.
So here we are... we have repeatedly been slapped in the face with Brian and Roger's money grab, and we have continually looked past it because the music of yesteryear really meant something to us. And now it has come to the point for me and others where we cannot tolerate being lied to anymore. Whether it is their statements or their lyrics, at some point you have to stand for something. You can't have it both ways without sacrificing your personal integrity and the integrity of your art.
I'm fine with standing for massive popularity and big bucks. Just be a man about it, state it, and live it. Freddie did, and I had no problem with that. "The bigger the better - in everything!" That's great, as long as I know what you stand for.
Just don't lie to me. STAND FOR SOMETHING!
[/QUOTE]
You've got a point I suppose, but using Brian as an example; when was the last time he 'spat' on Idol? I only remember him doing that a few years ago... [/QUOTE] [/QUOTE]True, he is guilty of a huge flip-flop in his feelings on the show, but at the same time - how many times has he actually changed his mind?[/QUOTE] [/QUOTE]It could be that he has reached the (possibly misguided) opinion that Idol is a means to an end and that it's okay to dabble in it sometimes.[/QUOTE] [/QUOTE] [/QUOTE]If he changes his mind again, I'd be worried! :) Until then I can't really accuse him of standing for nothing, because fuck it... he's a human being and if he wants to change his mind once or twice then one can't really deny him that.[/QUOTE] [/QUOTE] [/QUOTE]There was that issue of the roadside ads in the UK, he was big enough to grudgingly own up to Queen having had stuff advertised on them. Give him time, he might have something to say about Idol... he has something to say about everything else so far.[/QUOTE]
Saif · Member since
[QUOTE]
[b]Daniel Nester wrote: [/b]
Three things I noticed regarding Bri and Rog at the Finale --
Unlike every other act, Queen were not introduced as "Queen" by either the host Ryan Seacrest, or one of the Idol-people; rather, they simply performed. Maybe that was a flub--it was live TV--but I liked how it came off nonetheless. It came off as just two musicians from the band that made WATC classic playing along to a song that, more than likely, was going to be sung on Idol anyway, at least at some point. It's that kind of show.
Adam Lambert can sing his ass off.
People enjoyed the performance.
[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I liked that they weren't formally introduced because they don't really need an introduction. Anyone interested who has watched the previous seasons of American Idol or anyone even a bit interested in rock music would instantly recognize Queen and Brian May.
Sebastian · Member since
Btw: how long before Brian and Roger claim Adam Lambert was Freddie's favourite singer?
Yara · Member since
A little off note: There have been - and this one is no exception - so many great and interesting threads on Queenzone. Plus, whether there's agreement or disagreement, it's all being discussed in general with respect and thoughtfulness. I'd like also to point out that the sharing board has been a real delight and I have been having easy access to concerts I had never heard before.
To sum up: it's an honor to be to be part of this website. It's an honor because of many of you people: Holly2003, YourValentine, Pittrek, Zebonka, Sebastian, Mr. Mercury, Mr. Jingles, *Goodco*, Saif, Marial-B, AspiringPhilosophe, It's a Hard Life, Joxer, Beautifulsoup, Lisser and many others.
I'd like to thank you all for being kind to me despite all my many errors in English and lenghty messages. :op
--------------------------
On note: I don't know much about what's going on. I'm not really well aware of what's American Idol and I'm at a loss on this discussion.
I'd just like to make a passing remark: the lad, Adam Lambert, for all I could watch and see, seems to be a talented guy and I hope we'll get to listen to him more often. He's still young and has a lot of time to improve as a musician.
As for Brian and Roger, my own personal opinion is that, at this point, they maybe should be thankful for having the chance to play with a young talented lad an anthem composed by their legendary bandmate in a show which is apparently watched by hundreds of thousands of people. I sorely miss Freddie these times, because he was much more clear about his views on the music business: he did make a point of not wanting to turn Queen into a conoisseurs' thing - he wanted it to be marketable, commercial and entertaining - or "disposable pop", as he said in a most interesting interview.
Brian and Rog do send some dubious messages. On the one hand, they're full in the mainstream. On the other hand, they go on criticizing the state of affairs. I'd like to make a little remark on this:
One of the problems nowadays, and I think it happens to other bands as well, is that the very idea of "going against the grain" or "being against the system" in some way has become a commodity, a marketable fashionable and, sometimes, presumably higher idea about how the world should be. I think it's a bit problematic in the sense that record labels and artists DO know that this kind of discourse sells - and they hammer on it and pass on the illusion that they're in some way contradicting anything by recording their music.
[i]Even if American Idol is all that bad, which I don't know whether it is[/i], I'd really like to bring up, when it comes to marketing issues, [b]that Queen broke an U.N sanction by doing Sun City just for the sake of money[/b]. This is, to my mind, far worse than featuring in American Idol: I stand for what I said and I do think that they did right on playing at Sun City as an entertaining harmless amusing act - what I don't support is wanting to have both ways: selling the "rebellion" and marketing what goes against any kind of real efforts to change society.
Freddie was honest. Maybe all too honesty. He just said[i]: I don't want to change the world[/i]. He wanted to entertain and to make people have a good time: and that's why, among many other things, to bring up another thread, I [b][i]think Jazz[/i][/b] is such an amazing recording - it's about just that: having fun and enjoying the music without trying to make it a matter of cultural clash or politics.
Whenever people tried to single out Queen as a "quality act" as opposed to what was "commercial", Freddie had something to say to them: "in your face" declarations about his views on music business and his relation to material things; telling the audience during the concert that he was annoyed by people charging Queen with going commercial by doing "disco music": he'd downplay it and remember that it was all entertainment and, as he said, a "bloody recording".
My humble opinion on all this is: Brian and Roger haven't amount to anything without Freddie Mercury. Anything. They are zero, they haven't done anything relevant ever since. So I [b]think it's maybe the time of being coherent, putting aside this "holier than thou" attitude" and being thankful for having the chance to present Queen's music for hundreds of thousands of people, whether the channel which allows it is Murdoch, Sun City, MEGA SUPER Corporation X or a state-subsidized TV station supported by taxpayers' money and which nobody watches and is forced into people's tvs, as it happens so often with what's the so-called "quality music". [/b]As long as they keep in mind that they're entertainers and whatever relevance they have is due to the wonders (I'm not being ironic) of the market, which allows people to listen to whatever the hell they want, I'm fine. :op
It's my own, very personal and, as often, "shared-by-no-one" view. :)) A view from someone who's been dealing with "serious music" (:op) for years. I guess you either go my way - that is, accept being the ordinary person: being disrespected, treated like garbage, swalling late salary payments and having to work, study and perform to make a living once I chose to deal with a kind of music no one wants to listen to but that makes me happy and satisfied on a personal level - or you go Queen's way. I'm fine with my way: it makes me happy and I'm thankful for the few people who get interested in this kind of music and allow me to go on doing what I like. I'm happy to have a job while so many talented people are unfairly deprived of it. I'm just lucky.
Getting all the benefits from a hugely successful mainstream band while trying to be out there as the musical bakhnin's of the world do come across as hypocritical, I think; though, as always, I'm willing to change my mind on these and give the guys the benefit of the doubt: maybe there are pieces of the big picture which I'm just missing, after all.
I think Adam Lambert doesn't have anything to do with all this, from what I've seen: he's a talented guy who, maybe, if he dedicates himself to music and to improve his skills, may amount to much more than Brian and Roger have managed to ever since Queen disbanded.
SORRY AGAIN for the lengthy message, folks. Thanks for everthing and for the wonderful discussion.
I wish you all a wonderful friday! Weekend is coming!
P.S: Nice to read Daniel Nester again! I liked our fiery discussions. :op
PieterMC · Member since
So everybody liked it then?
Dan C. · Member since
Not THIS fat bastard!
e-man · Member since
[QUOTE]
[b]Sebastian wrote: [/b]
Btw: how long before Brian and Roger claim Adam Lambert was Freddie's favourite singer?[/QUOTE]
hahahah...spot on mate
for the record; I'm pretty sure Paul Rodgers was one of Freddie's favourites - at least in the early 70s
Sebastian · Member since
It's ironic, then, that Freddie's early record collection (according to an account found in 'The Early Years') included Beatles, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Liza Minelli, The Who and David Bowie. Not a single Free record there... so, was he a singer Freddie admired? Quite likely, since most people who listen to Paul's voice are mesmerised by it; but, was he his favourite? No; one of his top acts? No.
Erin · Member since
I just don't get why y'all don't want [url=http://www.blueblood.net/gallery/adam-lambert/adam-lambert-cheeks-5188.jpg]this man[/url] as Queen's new lead singer. ;-)
Holly2003 · Member since
[QUOTE]
[b]Sebastian wrote: [/b]
It's ironic, then, that Freddie's early record collection (according to an account found in 'The Early Years') included Beatles, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Liza Minelli, The Who and David Bowie. Not a single Free record there... so, was he a singer Freddie admired? Quite likely, since most people who listen to Paul's voice are mesmerised by it; but, was he his favourite? No; one of his top acts? No.
[/QUOTE]
Are you suggesting that Fred only listened to six artists/groups? Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. I'm inclined to believe Brian and Roger when they say Fred admired Paul Rodgers. After all, who after listening to All Right now or Wishing Well can say the man's not a great singer? I don't think Rodgers was ever a great influence on Fred though.
