Monday, September 5, 2011

Mercury is rising!

Freddie Mercury would have been 65 today, had his fabulous career as the front singer and founder of the avant-garde rock super group Queen not been cut short by the ravages of the AIDS epidemic in 1991.

I remember the first time I heard a Queen album. I was on holidays visiting at an older cousin's house.  Her husband pulled out a new album: A Night at the Opera and insisted we all had to listen to it.  He then put the song Bohemian Rhapsody on his stereo and life was never the same again!  It was so different from any kind of rock music I had ever heard before.  I wasn't sure if I should take it seriously or not.  But I couldn't deny the artistry of it. Freddie Mercury's soaring operatic vocals, the crazy but touchingly delivered lyrics, the band's powerful electric guitar solos, the symphonic background -- all converged to create a mastery of sound which was joyfully exhuberant and mind boggling in its originality.  That night, cold sober at the age of 14 -- I had my mind blown! Queen's a Night at the Opera and the later A Day at the Races became two of my most favourite albums in my rather extensive record collection.

Now please forgive me, but I can't help thinking that Saturday Night Live's Mike Myers and Dana Carvey had the best interpretation of Bohemian Rhapsody in the crazy movie Wayne's World  (1992) 



Are you still there?  I really hope so, because I have a real treat for any Richard Armitage fans that didn't run away screaming after that last video. :)

I would like to use this opportunity to listen to more Queen tunes and look at fanvids of Richard Armitage. ;)


Good Old Fashioned Loverboy / by CatChester66
 


This vidder must be a big fan of Queen too!  Here are three of her slideshow vids set to Queen songs.


This is the song that was used in the fantastic tribute by Google, which luckily alerted me to this special day.


 Don't Stop Me Now / by angieklong


If Youtube doesn't work for you, here is a link to the same video on Vimeo.


This song is a staple anthem at hockey games to get the crowd going.
Just looking at pictures of RA gets me going! ;)

We Will Rock You / by angieklong

Watch this video on Vimeo.

Here is Liisakee's version of that song! (Update added thanks to Fanny/Iz4blue)



This is another favourite song.  It is very well suited to Gerry and Harry's relationship, don't you think?

 You're My Best Friend / by angieklong

Here is a link to the same video on Vimeo.

I am very glad somebody made an RA fanvid to this song, or I would have had to because it is my all-time favourite Queen song!  I spent many teenaged hours in front of a mirror singing into my hairbrush along to the words of this song!


Somebody to Love / by austen2gaskell



I am sure I probably missed some good videos out there.  Please let me know and I will update this.

King or Queen, Freddie Mercury deserves all the honour he can receive for his fabulous contribution to Rock music.

20 comments:

angieklong said...

I am so glad I discovered I could use Queen songs to my heart's content at YT.Freddy was just amazingly talented. What a voice and what showmanship!

I think I have done four in all with Queen and likely will do more down the road. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," perhaps?

Thanks for spotlighting these, Phylly1 :D

CDoart said...

Thank you, Phylly. I love Queen songs. They marked very special moments in my life. (I unfortunately had a very silent post here, thanks to the big G, but I imagined all the great music and enjoyed your post none the less ;o)

Phylly3 said...

Wow! Four songs! I can't find the link to that last one. Is it on Vimeo perhaps? Could you provide the link pretty please? Thanks for your lovely vids and for dropping by to comment Angie!

Phylly3 said...

@CDoart - Oh bummer! I am so sorry those songs were blocked for you. Thanks for telling me though. When I have time I will check to see if I can replace some of the Youtube vids with Vimeo ones (if possible).
You must have a great imagination! :)

Anonymous said...

The vid artists just get better and better!

And Queen! Blush to admit - last actor crush was in the TV Highlander series - Queen provided the music. It was great! (no stranger to actor crushes - no apologies and no blushes.) :D

fitzg

Phylly3 said...

@fitzg -- I didn't see the tv series but I remember the movie with Sean Connery. Here is a video of that movie with the Queen song: Who Wants to Live Forever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYOE_b4aYD0&feature=related
Thanks for reminding me.

Anonymous said...

It's so good to remember Queen music! I discovered them when I was a teenager, too. Love the grandiloquence, theatricality, unforgettable melodies, lyrics, Freddie's vocals.
I didn't know these RA fanvids, thank you!
(Angie, great job as always!)
Fabi

Phylly3 said...

Hi Fabi!
What a perfect word to describe Queen -- grandiloquence! But in a GOOD way! Glad I could show you these videos. :)

Fanny/iz4blue said...

Bummer mobile syndication!! Lovely post Phyllys & very happily surprised even more tomorrow as I will DL those fanvids ASAP :)) Thank You!!

Traxy said...

Am I the only one who doesn't go all gaga over Freddie Mercury? He's always struck me as kind of creepy. A very talented artist, sure, but slimy at the same time. Have had that feeling since I was a child and saw him on TV. Prefer just listening to Queen rather than watching them. ;) So many classic songs!

Phylly3 said...

@iz4blue- Welcome back. You must be a Queen fan then. Thanks for the compliment!
@Traxy - You could go Radio Ga Ga for him (no visuals)LOL! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBUr1pSWTVI&feature=related
But seriously, he probably needed some dental work done, there was something a bit off around the mouth. Plus his flamboyance would not be attractive to everyone. However I did really appreciate his singing, playing and especially songwriting skills. That said, his eyes were very compelling! :)

Anonymous said...

Just found this link! How could I have missed it before??

Thanks Phylly3 for putting them together & thanks to Angie & austen2gaskell for the vids.

I love Queen :-)

Cheers

Beachbaby

CDoart said...

Thank you, Phylly !!!!!
The Vimeo video links work fine and I very much enjoy every single one of it. Thank you, you are great!!!

Fanny/iz4blue said...

@Phyllys look what I remembered:

http://youtu.be/QeHSlYMGfIY

Freddy i think became a bit iconic for letting it all out whichever way you want to look at that people could identify with that emotion.
And yes a lot of that was obviously uncomfortable LOL

Fanny/iz4blue said...

Oops lets try again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeHSlYMGfIY

Phylly3 said...

@Fanny-- Thanks for that link! I knew there was at least one I was missing. I love that one. (Going to have to add it...)
Any more out there?

Anonymous said...

@beachbaby, what/where is austen2gaskell?

Intrigued,

fitzg

Phylly3 said...

@fitzg -- Beachbaby is referring to the last video I posted "Somebody to Love" which was done by a vidder named austen2gaskell. :)

jazzbaby1 said...

Wow, I'm so glad you pointed me over here! LOL, love the vids and the song selections...great job, everybody!

Phylly3 said...

@jazzbaby1 - Thanks! Glad you liked it! We RA fans do have a lot in common even besides RA! :)