The cacophonies of "Killer Queen," "We are the Champions" and "Bicycle Race" come to mind.
That said, they have an occasional quality song, like "We Will Rock You" and "Fat Bottomed Girls."
I always found many of their songs to be in the "novelty song" category to be honest. I am not saying all of their songs are bad but I don't get why they are so over hyped either.
shareDidn't the UK vote them as their favorite band ever? If I'm gonna reach for a UK band it'll be something like Priest, Zeppelin, Nazareth, Beatles, Paradise Lost, Seventh Angel, My Dying Bride, Budgie or Pink Floyd.
My title blurb was a little harsh (I was shooting for amusement); I should've said I can't stand several of their popular songs.
I can say this, though, and it's a compliment: They don't sound like anyone else.
I would go with all the bands you mentioned and add Iron Maiden.
They don't sound like anyone else but that is also because who else writes songs like "I like to ride my bicycle"?
The Stones too; I forgot them.
sharewho else writes songs like "I like to ride my bicycle"?
My Dying Bride: Official favorite band of the UK.
^ I wanna live in that universe tbh ^
So, if you’re going to express Righteous Indignation over English bands that the Brits passed over in favor of Queen, you might want to show a bit more actual, you know, KNOWLEDGE of British bands you might also have named on your list of contenders for Best Brit Band Ever. F’rinstance:
The Clash
The Sex Pistols
Traffic
Cream
The Kinks
Pink Floyd
The Moody Blues
The Yardbirds
AC/DC (Scotland is part of the Commonwealth)
U2 (ditto Ireland)
Fleetwood Mac (either the Peter Greene or Mellow incarnations)
John Mayall and the Blues Breakers
And arguably The Jimi Hendrix Experience
And yet, no mention of Dire Straits.
shareI can't stand Queen either, as a matter of fact, I can't stand most of The Beatles, Queen, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and scum like that. Yes they were great for the time but now look lame as fuck. Madonna is the greatest of them all, sorry to say. Elton John sucks too.
shareSome songs stand the test of time though, like "Kings and Queens" and "Welcome to the Machine."
shareMaddona's musical prowess superior to all those you just mentioned? Yeah that argument holds weight
shareit does actually, her songs are equally popular and iconic, she wrote them herself, and she had a good solid 20 years of good music making, how many did The Beatles have? 5? Also, every artist today plagiarizes Madonna, the way music is put out, with every album being a 'concept' that requires an individual image change and new sound comes directly from Madonna. She is what we see everywhere we look, not The Beatles. Not even Michael Jackson. The canon is determined by what artist influences culture and other artists the most. By that metric, Madonna is the most influential artist of all time because everyone making music today, even male artists, are a version of Madonna.
shareMadonna was good at marketing herself but the music from her was more a product of the various producers she brought in to shape her music. She was shrewd, but not a great talent as she pretty much simply heard a up and coming sound and then got a producer often the same producer that was responsible for the new sound and had them make her album. While not as bad as the normal manufactured pop groups of the time she is not up to the level of a real musician and is capable of playing any instrument to the level that you or anyone else would listen to her. She a singer that happens to write lyrics.
shareI saw the flick today...I enjoyed it a lot...!
shareI'm not going to take away the fact that Madonna kept herself relevant for a long period of time through marketing savvy and the ability to adopt the sounds that were happening around her, but the Beatles have had infinitely more musical influence on pop music
shareI thought that. Madonna a band? who knew?
shareYou know its easy to make fun of Maddona but in the context of pop music she was the real deal and her songs had actual meaning behind them.
shareDavid Bowie trumps them all. His many phases throughout the 70's and 80's were truly unique and unforgettable. Not many artists can change their image and style and still go on to be a pop icon. He's revered by Madonna and his peers, it saddens me to say there'll never be another Bowie.
share“and scum like that”
Why do you always have to be so overly negative about everything? You don’t like those artists’ music so that makes them scum? What the fuck? You’re pretty much always talking about the things you dislike like they’re worse than fucking cancer and that is why you’re so goddamn annoying you stupid troll.
Madonna was great for about 5 years rest of her stuff is lamer than all the other bands you mentioned, unfortunately your amazing statement hasn't seemed to have changed the world's view on what they like. You might want to go crawl back under your rock and listen to your Madonna because it seems most of the world wants to listen to everything else.
shareI'm an old metal head and was a huge fan of Queen in my younger days. Check out songs like Shear Heart Attack, Dragon Attack, Stone Cold Crazy, Fight From the Inside, Brighton Rock, Sweet Lady, No More of that Jazz, and Tenement Funster. Of course I am more prone to listen to Sabath, Zep. or Maiden but there is quite a bit of Queen that tears ass. I listened to them so much that I even like lots of their less aggressive stuff too.
Back in the 70's (when I was less than 10) you couldn't always find the mean guitar riffs like May would sneak in on you. Back then you had fewer option when it came to "hard" music. You know when Foreigner is one of the hardest bands around then you are a thirsty listener (and yes, a few Foreigner songs rocked)
I know what you mean: A friend of mine is a huge Queen fan and he brought over a couple of their CDs years ago to prove how heavy & rockin' they could be. So, yeah, I understand that you have to go beyond the silly pop tunes like "Killer Queen" and "Bicycle Race" to get to the good stuff. It's a good point.
shareThe thing about Queen is how unique they are. Freddie Mercury is more of a flamboyant, performance artist (like Lady Gaga nowadays) who just happens to have a powerful rock voice when he chooses to unleash it. And he's juxtaposed into this rock band. Where normally, (by himself) he could have become sort of a novelty act (because the world wouldn't have known what to do with his flamboyance)....But the band amp'd everything up several decibels. And, they gave him credibility--and a chance to reach people and be heard. And once you take those amazing and unique riffs from May....and pair it with the energy and power of Mercury's voice.....mix in some creative song writing and power anthems.....you get a perfect storm called Queen. They never pretended to rival The Stones....The Beatles, etc. They were simply true to themselves. Besides.....when you hear Brian May crush those distorted, crunchy riffs on that homemade guitar of his, there really is nothing else quite like it on the planet....to this day. Turn it up to 10 and I promise, they will rock you.
shareI imagine that you know that Gaga took her name from a Queen song, Radio Gaga.
The very first time that I heard Queen, on vinyl that I’d bought on the advice of a friend whose musical taste I respected, my thought was, “I wish I could but stock in these guys, because they are going to be GALLACTIC huge.”
Yes, they indulged themselves. They wrote songs like Bicycle Races and Killer Queen and songs that resonated of the 30s and 40s; and The Beatles wrote stuff like Maxwell’s Silver Hammer. Queen also wrote Tie Your Mother Down, Sweet Lady, Now I’m Here, The Prophet’s Song, The 7 Seas of Rye and, not for nothing, Bohemian Rhapsody, to name a few; AND, in the tradition of Jimi Hendrix, did a complete reinterpretation of their national anthem that was artistic, respectful and completely sensational.
PS Replicant, have you heard their live version of We Will Rock You, on the album, Queen Live Killers? It completely reinvents then song. It’s transformed from Madrigal Chant to Nut-Busting Supernova Climax. They open their set with it. Toward the end of the concert, they reprise We Will Rock You in its traditional rendering, as lead-in to We Are The Champions; but the set opener, where Rock You is set free to soar as a stand-alone piece and crack open the sky, is a revelation. I hope that you enjoy it.
Play it freaking loud.
"and crack open the sky"
Awesome. Well said!
The first time I heard of Queen was when a kid in my elementary school class brought in his brother's vinyl copy of News of the World. I was blown away by the cover art...that freaky robot. Then, I heard the music. Revelation is right. I don't listen to Queen often....but stereos just don't crank loud ENOUGH to enjoy the full power of Brian May's riffs. And Freddie......is fearless.
I'll definitely check out that live version of We Will Rock You. There's something extra cool about the second verse of that song, when you hear that faint sound of distortion brewing...as May gets closer to his amp and gets ready to bring the thunder.
@replicant
Freddie actually was responsible for writing many of their heaviest songs in the early days:
Great King Rat
Liar
Ogre Battle
Flick of the Wrist
Death On Two Legs
Get Down Make Love
Let Me Entertain You
All four were great musicians but in recent years they've been deified by people who really don't understand music to begin with. People who would otherwise be listening to modern top 40, and probably only like the music of Queen because the media told them to.
shareWell, I can't stand YOU. So fuck off.
Too bad for you, OP.
shareNever really liked Queen either. Their stuff is just campy, to me.
shareTry listening to their stuff they don't play on the radio.
shareI have and I even say them in concert, many years ago (It was a good concert). I don't hate them, they just don't do it for me. I attribute the campy-ness to Freddy's singing style. It's like a caricature. Too dramatic, over the top and forced. Great musicians, though.
shareIt's like a caricature. Too dramatic, over the top and forced. Great musicians, though.