Rocking for Al as excellently portrayed in today's Star
Back. Just like that. Two hours and a bit ago I was in Toronto and now I am not. Intercity highways are the business:
- Here is the question: Queen - yea or nay? The concert was good value. I realized along with the elder brothers that our Queen existed from 1973 to 1978 or so. The extended occupation with 80's pop Queen was a bit wearying but there was enough of the 70s metalesque Queen to satisfy. This morning, under sunny sky scrapers, I bought Queen II, their 1974 version of Led Zep's Houses of the Holy with its own take on the world of orcs and other LOTR-y-ness, at Sams on Yonge to honour my early teens properly. The role of Paul Rodgers, of Free and Bad Company, playing the role of Not Freddy was well done. He was on the stage 2/3s of the time with a tape of the late Fred doing half of "Bohemian Rhapsody." At moments Rogers was like the dream of David Brent to be Paul Rogers fronting Queen in a reunion tour. But it was good as an expression of both pre-punk and 80s pop.
- What else is going on? I have a sense that my NCAA picks are all wrong but I think I am one with all of North American manhood on that one.
- Ze life sometimes provides somethings which better than trying to make up ze jokes.
- Cambridge Suites in Toronto is a good place. It has all the things I like in a slightly more than cheapest place to crash. It actually has different little spaces so it is cheaper to put two brothers in one suite than getting two hotels rooms. It has a fridge and a bar fridge - one for my beer which is good and costs and honest price and one for their overly prices corn sugar buzz water. It is well located near C'est What (where I ate a burger with the meat of two mammals) and what other places people might like to go in Toronto. It is also a skip off the Don Valley Parkway, the parkway through the Valley of the Don, which makes it slightly like not being downtown in a bigger city.
Comments
Cool Girl - March 17, 2006 3:55 pm
Look, I dig Queen as much as the next guy.
But my birthday is tomorrow and my b/friend bought me the DVD AC/DC LIVE "Stiff Upper Lip"
I am aswooning.
Phil - March 17, 2006 4:01 pm
Queen yea! Although, like yourself I prefer the earlier stuff. However, it is always dangerous to be in the car with me when the guitar riff at the end of We Will Rock You starts up--flailing air guitar and strangled voice approximations of the sounds--even if I'm driving.
Chris Taylor - March 17, 2006 4:07 pm
Dude where are you getting this notion that "Queen" and "metal" intersect at some point. Where is the headbanging? Where are the horns?
Chris Taylor - March 17, 2006 4:17 pm
Oh and where's my finder's fee for C'est What? =)
Alan - March 17, 2006 4:30 pm
Queen II, baby, Queen II:<blockquote class="smalltext"><i>Now once upon a time<br>
An old man told me a fable<br>
When the piper is gone<br>
And the soup is cold on your table<br>
And if the black crow flies<br>
To find a new destination<br>
That is the sign<p>
Come tonight<br>
Come to the ogre site<br>
Come to the ogre battle fight<p>
He gives a great big cry<br>
And he can swallow up the ocean<br>
With a mighty tongue he catches flies<br>
And the palm of his hand incredible size<br>
One great big eye has a focus in your direction<br>
Now the battle is on<br>
Yeah yeah yeah!<p>
Come tonight<br>
Come to the ogre sight<br>
Come to the ogre battle fight<p>
Ah ah ah ah ah<br>
The ogre men are still inside<br>
The two way mirror mountain<br>
Gotta keep down<br>
Right out of sight<br>
You can't see in but they can see out<br>
Keep a look out<br>
The ogre men are coming out<br>
From the two way mirror mountain<br>
They're running up behind<br>
And they're coming all about<br>
Can't go east 'cause you gotta go south<p>
Ogre men are going home<br>
The great big fight is over<br>
Bugle blow let trumpet cry<br>
Ogre battle lives for ever more<br>
You can come along<br>
You can come along<br>
Come to ogre battle</i></blockquote>I also offer you "Seven Seas of Rhye". I trust you can find a place in your heart to exchange this musical nugget for the headbanger with your heads up for the bung-holing ale-head.
ry - March 17, 2006 4:58 pm
Speaking of LOTR crossovers. A LOTR play, with music, is opening in Toronto soon. It was profiled on NPR today. Described as Cirque de Soliel meets Shakespear. Any takers?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5285362
If it's any good, maybe an event for the Gen X Nation to congregate and PILLAGE!, ooops, go for a nice drink?
gr - March 17, 2006 6:32 pm
Wait, but what about Queen and David Bowie's 'under pressure'? I love that tune!
Hey, who is the lead singer? Freddy Mercury is deceased and probably doing other things.
Alan - March 17, 2006 7:32 pm
That would be the aforementioned Paul Rodgers of Free and Bad Company.
cm - March 18, 2006 9:02 am
"Under Pressure" brings back memories of playing spin the bottle in a neighbour's basement. Just wish I could remember who I kissed. Or maybe it's best I can't.
I'm glad to hear Cambridge Suites is nice, as I'll be staying at their Halifax location in August.
A co-worker (I am, alas, working again) brought Bad Company's greatest hits to work the other day. Who knew they had enough hits for an entire album?
gr - March 18, 2006 11:48 am
CM, I think they said it best themselves, back in what, 1970 something? "Bad company, till the day I die...." Um, I wasn't aware they had any other tunes.
I saw a funny cartoon once, a drawing of one of my favorite performers Iggy Pop, shirtless and long haired per-usual, captioned "Iggy Grandpop". The guy is in terrific shape, but I mean, how old are these guys? Is it better to do the Freddy Mercury, Jimi Hendrix, spontaneously combusting drummer thing, or is it better for those hard living rockers to join gyms and wear anti-wrinkle face cream? Uncharted territory, really. I dunno, but somehow the everlasting 'youth' of some bands feels weird compared to these Delta and Chicago Blues guys, like BB King, isn't he 80 or something? I think BB still does over 200 performances a year, and for those guys it feels right and I love it and respect them, but....is Queen better left in our memories?
gr - March 18, 2006 11:49 am
Hey CM, gotta wonder, what is it you do anyway? 9-5 that is.
cm - March 18, 2006 1:49 pm
GR, I'm a pseudo-geek working towards a pocket protector of my own. Right now I'm working as Fulfillment Manager in the insurance division of one of the banks. I'm not quite sure what that is, exactly, as I've only been there a week (well, three days, gotta ease into the work thing gradually). It's a mat leave position and honestly, I'm not sure I want it. Meanwhile I'm waiting on an offer for a permanent, more technical position as Team Lead doing document coding.
Wouldn't joining a gym and wearing anti-wrinkle face cream mean you are no longer a hard-living rocker?
gr - March 18, 2006 2:22 pm
See, cm, you get my point. Is a clean living, healthy rocker a contradiction in terms? Whereas Blues legends never for stood for youth, and their faces tell an honest story. Therefore, perhaps Queen and the Stones and the rest should have retired to selling insurance or shoes.
As for your work, all that means nothing to me, but sounds very impressive.
ry - March 18, 2006 10:47 pm
Here's a question.
Which is worse: a pop Queen making the Metropolis tribute album(all we hear is, radio gaga, radio googoo(stupid wrist crossing dance moves infront of face)), or Plant(of Led Zeplin) going off and forming the Honey Drippers and making a rockabilly Elvis-ish album(a littel thing called love, uh-huh, a funny little thing called love(lip curl))?
Alan - March 19, 2006 7:20 am
I say the first as at least Plant in his earliest teen recordings made music not unlike the Honey Dippers. I bought that non-Zep best of set he put out a few years ago and it is very instructive in that regard.