"What would K be doing in 2010" courtesy of 1993

So, thanks to Facebook I've been able to connect to all of my high school friends in Germany and beyond. One of my old classmates from Mannheim, R, posted a scan of an article that our school newspaper published in which satirical futures were created for the senior class. Here's what mine read:

Quit her job for the National Enquirer, moved to London, and became the agent for the band "Queen Junior." Although successful, she still sells Indian jewelry on Piccadilly Circus.

I don't know who Queen Junior is, but I imagine it was the spin-off of Queen, a band I had had a lifelong obsession with. During the horrible grunge phase, I completely rebelled by being into glam artists like Suede, classic Queen, and Bowie. And, just like today, I still have a fascination with celebrity gossip. I can't help but read that blurb and think "gosh, I haven't really changed at all". Actually, I'm kind of proud of that little blurb...satire or no. -K

All the Guys in the Audience Want to Be Him, and All The Girls Want To…

I don’t think that there is anything left for me to see at a Foo Fighters show. This was the biggest and most impressive, with the craziest audience.

The stage looked kind of spare compared to their last tour, but there was a long walkway that led to a round covered smaller stage in the middle of the floor of the arena. Mid-way through the show, the cover came off of the smaller stage and the band moved there for a set of about five acoustic songs. They were joined on that stage by some of the musicians that played on the acoustic tour including Pat Smear. Every effort was made to acknowledge and play to everyone in the audience, including the people in the nosebleed sections, and the crowd went wild.

They played for two and a half hours, which led me to wonder if Taylor Hawkins is human. He is absolutely amazing! While the crowd loves Dave (girls were wearing Mrs Dave Grohl shirts next to me) I thought it was Taylor’s night.

The setlist covered all of the highlights, including a lot of stuff from the first record. The most amazing part of the night was when Dave mentioned they wanted to do something special since they were in London and just then two people starting to walk out to the stage. When I saw the silhouette I knew who it was instantly. Brian May and Roger Taylor from Queen joined them and they performed 39 from A Night at the Opera. Not only did we get to see these two legendary performers, but we got to witness Dave and Taylor gushing all over them, they are such huge fans.

As I left the arena, I realized it has been ten years since I saw them perform in Huntsville, Alabama at Big Spring Jam in front of a crowd that might have been as big as one section of seats in the huge O2 Arena. Seeing them at the height of their fame last night in a country that adores them was a nice note to end on. As they say in the UK, well done!

At the end of the night, Dave said to the audience, "I wish I could make out with each and every one of ya". Okay, so maybe there IS something left to see. --J

Life in Cartoon Motion - Unfortunate

If one had lapsed into a coma in 1990, missing the announcement of Freddie Mercury’s passing, and awakened in 2007, one might hear a Mika song on the radio and think that maybe Freddie had launched a solo career or Brian May had left Queen. The voice is spooky at times it is so dead on. Like K, I loved his single Grace Kelly, what a fun song.

I was on a business trip last week, feeling a lot of pressure at work and facing another birthday away from home. So on Tuesday I picked up the Mika CD to distract me. This CD is all over the place from songs sounding like they came out of a Gilbert and Sullivan production to human rights issues. The most obvious Queen rip-off or tribute is a song called Big Girl (You Are Beautiful). I was thinking Fat Bottomed Girls the whole time I listened to it from the a capella beginning. This song also reminded me of one of the most quotable people I have ever met in my life. We used to work together and R, an openly gay man and I were out at the mall one night after work shortly after I had met him. A very handsome man passed us arm in arm with a very large woman. He stated as if it were fact across the board, “If you ever see a good looking man like that with a heavy woman… gay”. I tried to argue the point with him but he would have none of it. Listening to this Mika song I didn’t believe for a minute that he was into big girls.

Besides Grace Kelly, there are a few upbeat songs like Ring Ring but not enough to recommend purchasing this CD. It just made me listen to Queen the whole plane ride home. --J

The Black Parade - J's Take

I’ve given The Black Parade more than a few listens and while I like the album, there aren’t any songs that really jump out at me like some of the songs on Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. What I guess I would say about the new album is that if you are already a fan, you’ll like it, but I don’t imagine there will be a rush of converts. The one song I would remove from the album is Cancer. I agree with whoever in the band felt it was too literal. I am also kind of puzzled by the “album of the year” comments from some critics. Why is this album being taken so seriously when Three Cheers was not? On the way to a show this weekend, K and I were listening for Queen’s A Night at the Opera, a noted influence of The Black Parade. Listening to that album from start to finish, I really would say that My Chemical Romance is the closest modern day band carrying the torch for Queen. That’s a good thing. –J