I don't really feel like asking anything right now, but I would like to say that it's really fantastic that you guys are doing this. I'm sure this thread will bring lots of joy to dozens (or, hopefully, hundreds) of people.
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Welcome Sheldon, (or are you young Sheldon...lol),
Thanks so much for your support. When you do have a question, don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks so much for your support. When you do have a question, don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks Sheldon. This COULD be a spectator sport, though chime i at any time.
Hi Thor and Lee....and Welcome to Lee!
It's great to have the opportunity to talk to you both. I have a question that may have got a bit lost on the last thread.....so here goes: Freddie once said in an interview that he was petrified of being alone. It was a snippet of an interview and he didn't elaborate. I'm curious whether you got that impression with him, or whether you'd have any ideas as to what this was about. I always thought creative people have to be alone to create, lol. That said, he also said in an early interview that he locked himself away to write.
Thanks! :-)
It's great to have the opportunity to talk to you both. I have a question that may have got a bit lost on the last thread.....so here goes: Freddie once said in an interview that he was petrified of being alone. It was a snippet of an interview and he didn't elaborate. I'm curious whether you got that impression with him, or whether you'd have any ideas as to what this was about. I always thought creative people have to be alone to create, lol. That said, he also said in an early interview that he locked himself away to write.
Thanks! :-)
I have a question, it's a bit silly.
Did you ever visit Karaoke bars with Freddie and did he ever sing in them? Were they even a thing then?
Did you ever visit Karaoke bars with Freddie and did he ever sing in them? Were they even a thing then?
SmokyQuartz.
Hi, and thanks for the question.
It's my opinion that petrified is a strong word, but if he actually said it I guess it was in his vocabulary. There wasn't that much of an opportunity for him to be completely alone, so solitude might have been cherished from time to time. Perhaps, in this interview, he was referring to having that number one person in his life, as in a significant other. I don't doubt that his childhood was filled with lonely moments, as he was away at school, and not around his family as much as most people are through their childhood. I'm confident that a situation like that can make you more aware of those around you throughout your life.
Hi, and thanks for the question.
It's my opinion that petrified is a strong word, but if he actually said it I guess it was in his vocabulary. There wasn't that much of an opportunity for him to be completely alone, so solitude might have been cherished from time to time. Perhaps, in this interview, he was referring to having that number one person in his life, as in a significant other. I don't doubt that his childhood was filled with lonely moments, as he was away at school, and not around his family as much as most people are through their childhood. I'm confident that a situation like that can make you more aware of those around you throughout your life.
Hey miraclesteinway,
Oh no, Freddie would never want to do karaoke. In New York, he wanted to be a "musician named Fred." His voice would have betrayed him in that endeavor.
Oh no, Freddie would never want to do karaoke. In New York, he wanted to be a "musician named Fred." His voice would have betrayed him in that endeavor.
Thor.......could you JUST imagine had Freddie done that? What a hoot. I DO think that was a great question. Keep em coming MiracleSteinway,
Imagine him doing a 30's standard or something?
Imagine him doing a 30's standard or something?
That would have been fun for sure, but it would not have been Freddie at all. He never sang for or with his friends when he was off-stage.
Thanks Lee for your response, petrified is a strong word and I'm going on memory, but as I recall, Freddie wasn't saying it with strong emotion, rather it seemed to be just used descriptively, for emphasis.
The interview is on You Tube somewhere and if I ever come across it again I'll link you to it. :-)
The interview is on You Tube somewhere and if I ever come across it again I'll link you to it. :-)
I'm so glad you are both here. I have a couple of questions, but I'll get to them later. In the meantime, Lee, you must post a picture of you in the fruit hat!
I'd love to have heard him do a '30's standard, and in fact had he still been here today, that's something I could picture him delving in to, like Annie Lennox did recently (well, 5 years ago). Of course, I can't remember a time when Freddie wasn't famous, and in the UK there was no chance that he wouldn't be recognised a few times while out and about so it's funny to me that in NYC he wanted to be "a musician named Fred" - but then I do remember on some of the documentaries it was said that he could be more anonymous there. I could imagine Freddie standing up in a Karaoke bar and someone going "hey, that sounds a bit like.... oh...."
Did he ever talk about music with you? I mean in terms of the creative process of making the music, or was his friendship with you more detached from his work? There are things I'd love to ask him - like how exactly did he think a rock band would get away with a 19th Century Viennese pastiche called "The Millionaire Waltz" and for it to actually not just work, but be totally excellent! Did he talk about the influences on his music? Did he ever mention about the process behind say, Seaside Rendezvous, March of the Black Queen, or the original version of Love of My Life? Those would be the things I'd want to talk about with him, to sit in a room with two pianos and have a little jam and he could sing whilst talking through some of his compositions. I'd love to know exactly how he worked out his vocal harmonisations - some of it is incredibly complicated, and even more so when one considers he had little or no formal training, and certainly not in species counterpoint (unless he read through numerous books on the subject, which given most of the first four albums, I wouldn't be surprised if he did a little research....)
Also, in interviews, he talked a lot about Mr Bad Guy, the LP I mean, and how good it was going to be. Of course it wasn't a commercial success and although it contains some strokes of genius (the Mr Bad Guy track itself is beautiful), it's probably not overall his best work. Did he talk about the album with you, before or after its release and did he ever mention what he thought of it as a piece of work?
I'm kind of drivelling, but when I think about Freddie, I can't help but absolutely geek out over the way his music is composed, and be bewildered by exactly where it came from within him. I mean, it's fun to read about the parties and some of the antics....
Finally, for now anyway, as I see it Freddie was a genius - his creativity that he displayed particularly on the early albums was off the scale. Did he realise he was a genius? I don't really take any quips or off-the-cuff remarks from his interviews as being all that serious (the things like "I always knew I was a star and now the rest of the world seems to agree"). Or was he just Fred?
Did he ever talk about music with you? I mean in terms of the creative process of making the music, or was his friendship with you more detached from his work? There are things I'd love to ask him - like how exactly did he think a rock band would get away with a 19th Century Viennese pastiche called "The Millionaire Waltz" and for it to actually not just work, but be totally excellent! Did he talk about the influences on his music? Did he ever mention about the process behind say, Seaside Rendezvous, March of the Black Queen, or the original version of Love of My Life? Those would be the things I'd want to talk about with him, to sit in a room with two pianos and have a little jam and he could sing whilst talking through some of his compositions. I'd love to know exactly how he worked out his vocal harmonisations - some of it is incredibly complicated, and even more so when one considers he had little or no formal training, and certainly not in species counterpoint (unless he read through numerous books on the subject, which given most of the first four albums, I wouldn't be surprised if he did a little research....)
Also, in interviews, he talked a lot about Mr Bad Guy, the LP I mean, and how good it was going to be. Of course it wasn't a commercial success and although it contains some strokes of genius (the Mr Bad Guy track itself is beautiful), it's probably not overall his best work. Did he talk about the album with you, before or after its release and did he ever mention what he thought of it as a piece of work?
I'm kind of drivelling, but when I think about Freddie, I can't help but absolutely geek out over the way his music is composed, and be bewildered by exactly where it came from within him. I mean, it's fun to read about the parties and some of the antics....
Finally, for now anyway, as I see it Freddie was a genius - his creativity that he displayed particularly on the early albums was off the scale. Did he realise he was a genius? I don't really take any quips or off-the-cuff remarks from his interviews as being all that serious (the things like "I always knew I was a star and now the rest of the world seems to agree"). Or was he just Fred?
SmokyQuartz
That would be great.
Thor
That comment about Freddie is an understatement. Other than an occasional vocal ease to clear his thought or a smattering of something he might have been working on with Ms. Caballe, or something, he NEVER broke into song as I recall.
That would be great.
Thor
That comment about Freddie is an understatement. Other than an occasional vocal ease to clear his thought or a smattering of something he might have been working on with Ms. Caballe, or something, he NEVER broke into song as I recall.
MiracleSteinway.
It's clear you are a musician. I don't remember the last time I heard someone use "counterpoint" (at which I was AMAZING, LOL) in a sentence. My degrees are in the Performing Arts, with an emphasis on Music. Advanced Theory gave me a run for my money, but I completely loved Counterpoint Class. I think that's because it's based on theorems, like Geometry vs Algebra. I aced Geometry but Algebra, yuck. That being said, having spent as much time as I did in Music classes, and appreciating what a genius Freddie was at what he did, I would NEVER embark on a discussion that would in any way question his choices. I DID often have a "How the hell did you come up with that" feeling about his work. I have in the past googled the questions you have.......the Bohemian Rhapsody story is very interesting.
It's clear you are a musician. I don't remember the last time I heard someone use "counterpoint" (at which I was AMAZING, LOL) in a sentence. My degrees are in the Performing Arts, with an emphasis on Music. Advanced Theory gave me a run for my money, but I completely loved Counterpoint Class. I think that's because it's based on theorems, like Geometry vs Algebra. I aced Geometry but Algebra, yuck. That being said, having spent as much time as I did in Music classes, and appreciating what a genius Freddie was at what he did, I would NEVER embark on a discussion that would in any way question his choices. I DID often have a "How the hell did you come up with that" feeling about his work. I have in the past googled the questions you have.......the Bohemian Rhapsody story is very interesting.
- oh I wasn't questioning his choices at all, I just wondered how he came up with what he came up with. My guess is that throughout his youth he put his favourite music on repeat until he worked out every part - or it just went into his brain by osmosis. I can imagine him sitting at the piano trying to work out exactly what was going on in his favourite records. God knows I did that with Queen albums in my teenage years (and still didn't find everything). I suppose his influences were quite complicated, and I hazard a guess that his time in India must have influenced him in at least some way.
I am a musician yes, I've just finished recording the 6 partitas of Bach for a small label in Italy, and I'm playing third Rachmaninoff concerto with my local symphony at easter, but I've very little patience when it comes to sitting down to compose (something I'd like to change) despite being able to sit for hours in piano practice mode.
What's your instrument Lee?
I am a musician yes, I've just finished recording the 6 partitas of Bach for a small label in Italy, and I'm playing third Rachmaninoff concerto with my local symphony at easter, but I've very little patience when it comes to sitting down to compose (something I'd like to change) despite being able to sit for hours in piano practice mode.
What's your instrument Lee?