Members awfulcase Posted May 23, 2007 Members Share Posted May 23, 2007 ...I came across this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPUpxIBkcjM I love that song! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members randombastage Posted May 23, 2007 Members Share Posted May 23, 2007 Excellent considering pop music has died and then become a rancid carcass on the side of the road...He is trying to be more than just a "little bit Freddy" though, if he could sing those notes without going to falsetto he would be Freddy! I found myself wish Queen had done that song so I could hear it done right... Still it's very fresh and much much better than any Brittany-Aguilera-almost-needs-a-shave CloneBoy-AprilLasagne song I've ever heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chipmcdonald Posted May 23, 2007 Members Share Posted May 23, 2007 Erm, "not Freddy or Queen like" IMO There are production things going on that's akin to some Queen things, but the music and singing are not. I could imagine ways to make it sound more Queen like (more elaborate/florid melody, counter-point to the melody, more expansive arrangement of the verse, mixing-up the rhythmic note values of the singing, contrasting note values on the chorus, more ornamentation on the piano part, 1/8 note rests placed in "curious" places here and there, more sustained notes in the vocal, stronger vibrato (of course), chest voice high notes, more elaborate vocal delivery, ... I'll stop. Doesn't mean this is bad, I like it, but it's not a Queen thing IMO save some of the production (upfront/dry/squashed/breathy vocal over piano, contrast to distant layered/washy chorus; fey vocal delivery; quarter note "You're My Best Friend" piano bit). It sort of wants to allude to "You're My Best Friend". The cheeky Freddy reference IS a Freddy like thing, though. Man...No, I want to say more positive stuff, but Queen/Freddy Mercury was a really completely different thing. We should have appreciated Jeff Buckley more when he was around, and Chris Cornell while he's still on the planet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members awfulcase Posted May 23, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 23, 2007 Well it's just a super catchy pop song, that's all. I checked out some of his other stuff, and I can't say I like it, but I can't get THAT song out of my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted May 23, 2007 Members Share Posted May 23, 2007 I hear all sorts of Freddy bits in this - little melodic turns, phrasings, even pronunciations. If it came on the radio and I was only half listening I know I'd say at some point - wow! Freddy! Where ya been, kid? Not so much that it's a ripoff at all - just a major influence. Singers that sound like other singers to some degree don't bother me at all - it's always been that way. The guy from Muse is sometimes a dead-on imitation of Tom York; Ed Harcourt sometimes sounds like a reincarnation of Jeff Buckley; Harry Connick Jr channels Sinatra at times...but they're all valid artists on their own merits IMHO. nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hard Truth Posted May 23, 2007 Members Share Posted May 23, 2007 Randombastage wrote "pop music has died and then become a rancid carcass on the side of the road." Pop music remains popular and will always be popular. Otherwise it isn't pop music. BTW I don't like the song, but then I never liked Queen either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members randombastage Posted May 23, 2007 Members Share Posted May 23, 2007 Pop music remains popular and will always be popular. Otherwise it isn't pop music.... Fair enough, it was a rant though, not a thesis. I guess I should have said a majority of people have killed most pop music because what they made popular reminds me of fresh road kill...you drive by listening to it twitch and wail in a vain attempt to cling to life but you don't bother to stop and help because it's never going to survive the wounds it took when it was run over by the clone factory delivery truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted May 23, 2007 Members Share Posted May 23, 2007 I couldn't make it through the chorus... ... then, again, I never liked Queen, anyhow. That said, it's refreshing to hear someone (who's not an American) singing "British." (And if he is an American, he's a lot more convincing than the Buzzcocks-wannabes around here.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boosh Posted May 23, 2007 Members Share Posted May 23, 2007 He is British,... and he's a nice guy. He wrote this when the label told him to write some music instead of the {censored}e he was producing for them.He got so pissed that he made this song,... to piss the label off,...he thought it would get them even angrier at him but he was wrong,... it became a hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted May 23, 2007 Members Share Posted May 23, 2007 Yeah, I didn't mean in any way to suggest that the song's without merit or unenjoyable by others! In fact, I was on my way back here just to make sure that it wasn't an effort of someone involved here... I was definitely making my comment with the imperious disregard for the artists' and craftspeople's sensitivities one typically reserves for those who have already "made it" and are therefore presumed to be "big enough" and "tough enough" to withstand the small-minded criticisms of us nobodies out here in cyberville. (Us little people... we're always trying to tear the giants down. ) I think I'm just a little grumpy today, anyhow... I've seen the signs. I guess I should head over to some politics BBs and argue with the cryptofascists and neo-cons for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cry Logic Posted May 24, 2007 Members Share Posted May 24, 2007 Oh no.... I can't stand this song. A pale imitation of Queen. They're thrashing this on local radio here. I was a Queen fan until I saw them live and realised they couldn't replicate the studio sound. These daze they'd probably use samples/loops and I'd be really impressed........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cry Logic Posted May 24, 2007 Members Share Posted May 24, 2007 I was definitely making my comment with the imperious disregard for the artists' and craftspeople's sensitivities one typically reserves for those who have already "made it" and are therefore presumed to be "big enough" and "tough enough" to withstand the small-minded criticisms of us nobodies out here in cyberville. (Us little people... we're always trying to tear the giants down. ) Hey .. they don't have to big or tough for you to do that. As listeners/consumers we have every right to dismiss an artists whole career in a nanosecond if we so desire.... no matter who they are. It's our musical tatste and we can express it in any way we see fit.... Of course the converse is also true. As artists/performers we have to bear the consequences of others dismissing our work as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tedster Posted May 24, 2007 Members Share Posted May 24, 2007 The guy definitely listened to Freddie Mercury ...that was the first thing I thought when I heard this song. When he adds the power on his voice...the "so I tried a little Freddie"...it was right there. Dead on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tedster Posted May 24, 2007 Members Share Posted May 24, 2007 Oh no.... I can't stand this song. A pale imitation of Queen. They're thrashing this on local radio here. I was a Queen fan until I saw them live and realised they couldn't replicate the studio sound. These daze they'd probably use samples/loops and I'd be really impressed........ There's room for music at all sorts of levels...take a guy with just his voice and an acoustic guitar. Add another vocalist and perhaps a bass player. Gig like that for a while. Then open it up to a power trio. Then add the whole shmear...backup singers, horn section, orchestra...{censored}, why not a whole choir? To some degree, the excitement of a live performance makes up for not having "everything there". But, therein also lies creativity; what creative ways can one atone for lacking elements...string section, choir...whatever, and still make the song kick ass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 The guy definitely listened to Freddie Mercury ...that was the first thing I thought when I heard this song. When he adds the power on his voice...the "so I tried a little Freddie"...it was right there. Dead on. I agree - that's exactly what I thought when I listened, and I hadn't read beyond the first post in the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tedster Posted May 24, 2007 Members Share Posted May 24, 2007 Just another thought on Fretwizz's post... IMHO, mind you... A song is a song. Melody and lyrics, by definition. Not chords, riffs, tempo...or other arrangement. Those latter three are what one uses to enhance a song. But listen to standards over the years...take, for example "How High The Moon". Listen to Les Paul and Mary Ford do it. Listen to Sarah Vaughan. Listen to Ella Fitzgerald. Same song, different arrangements. Heck, both Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan probably did it with several different bands each, and each using different arrangements. For a more recent example...how about "Layla". I've heard no less than probably four totally different arrangements of the tune...all done by Clapton! So, when one hears a band noted for studio acrobatics perform live, and some of the studio stuff is gone...you're just hearing the tune in the raw. Granted, in a lot of cases, the arrangement makes the song...and, of course "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a prime example. But, a good song will stand up to just about any arrangement...no matter how spare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cry Logic Posted May 24, 2007 Members Share Posted May 24, 2007 "Just another thought on Fretwizz's post............So, when one hears a band noted for studio acrobatics perform live, and some of the studio stuff is gone...you're just hearing the tune in the raw......" Yeah .. I see where you're coming from.Actually I'm probably a lot more forgiving now than I was in my younger years.But let's face it...we all write off certain performers in the blink of an eyeif we don't like their music.If you don't like it ... you don't like it...end of story ... no matter if the artist in question put their heart and soul into the work ...sweated blood,paid their dues etc etc etc .... I'm tryin to remember when Queen came to Australia...must've been around '79/'80. There was a story going 'round that the record company put on a reception when they arrived in Perth, complete with a Queen tribute band and all.The way I heard it, the tribute band did a perfect cover of BohemianRhapsody, complete with harmonies etc etc ....when Queen couldn't actually do that themselves...they were using backing tapes. As I said... it's just a story I heard.....It all seems a bit weird in this age of samplers & loops etc etc,but back then it was a big deal. Today I couldn't care less how a band achieves their sound.Samples, loops, midi, turntables, rapping, singing, playing whatever.......But I'm still hyper critical and ready to pounce if it doesn't come up to scratch. (Pun intended) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted May 24, 2007 Members Share Posted May 24, 2007 I DO kind of find it distressing how many young bands sound like they've been busting their backside trying to sound like iconic bands from the last 20 or 30 years. One of my young pals has a pretty good band with really solid songs but they're so steeped in the late 70s/early 80s Joy Div/Buzzcocks/Magazine thing that they sound like more than a couple other bands including one they sound way too much like that's apparently been selling a lot of product in the UK and is increasingly well known. A mutual friend put on this other band's latest CD and I was floored by how much it sounded like our buddy's band. Or vice versa... Anyhow, it's pretty too bad because these guys really have solid songs but their immersion in this zeitgeist of adulation for past bands has drawn them into sounding just like other bands that are already more famous and that, at least to my jaded ear, already sound very uncomfortably, at times, like their inspirations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chipmcdonald Posted May 25, 2007 Members Share Posted May 25, 2007 The way I heard it, the tribute band did a perfect cover of BohemianRhapsody, complete with harmonies etc etc ....when Queen couldn't actually do that themselves...they were using backing tapes. They used backing tapes for the layered choral part. They went offstage, it wasn't a ruse. A tribute band could not do a "perfect" cover of that live, unless it was a particularly large tribute band. 4 vocals are not going to do the recording justice; whether Queen could have done it is rhetorical, they did it in the first place. I've got a ton of Queen bootlegs from various periods, and Freddy Mercury's singing was excellent; as was Brian May's and Roger Taylor's. The harmonies were spot on. Where is this tribute band who has a singer that can not only nail Mercury's singing? I've heard a number, and they all are lacking that I've heard. But I'm still hyper critical and ready to pounce if it doesn't come up to scratch. (Pun intended) Queen's vocal ability is not a place to pounce, IMO..... .. and of course, it was Queen that wrote/invented the style this thread is talking about.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted May 25, 2007 Members Share Posted May 25, 2007 cryptofascists Is that what they call a closet socialist these days? Guess it is. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptofascist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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