Thursday, August 25, 2011

Bohemian Rhapsody

“It's one of those songs which has such a fantasy feel about it. I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and then make up their own minds as to what it says to them. "Bohemian Rhapsody" didn't just come out of thin air. I did a bit of research although it was tongue-in-cheek and mock opera. Why not?”
- Freddie Mercury

The first time this song by Queen caught my ears, it went unnoticed.

Until, I watched the season finale of Glee Season 1. This song was performed in a musical by the group Vocal Adrenaline in the finals of a competition. It was a memorable performance, mostly, as this ran concurrently with flashes of scenes from the final episode, revolving around the main characters. Most notable was one scene where a female character screams away in labour pains, while coupled with the “Bismillah! NO! We will not let you go” part of the song. It sent shivers down my spine the first time I watched it!

I have since listened to the song probably a hundred times at least! This song definitely sits somewhere on my top 5 favourite songs of all time.

What is so special about this song? I think it is a bold experimentation and successful mash up of various (and highly specialised) musical styles. I have not come across a piece as diverse and entertaining as this in popular English music. Most speculate that this song has strong ties to Freddie Mercury's personal issues particularly his battle with AIDS. With this in mind, the song creates in my mind, varying emotional states, while taking one through (probably intended) feelings of sadness, regret, fear, anger and finally acceptance of the inevitable end. However, many decades later, this song is still open for speculation as Queen never really clarified it's lyrical significance or it's specific relation to Freddie Mercury.

This song is also a great example of how strongly music can influence with the way we think and feel.

A capella intro (0.00 – 0:49)
A curious invitation to “be open”, probably to prepare a listener to the rest of the song. At this point, the song makes little sense. Some might even be bored at first.

Ballad (0:49 – 2:36)
An emotional piece expressed in a duet between the piano and vocals. A sad account by the song writer crying out his sadness and regret to “his mother,” making it known that it is time to leave and that he is afraid.

Guitar solo (2:36 – 3:03)
A refreshing interlude.

Opera (3:03 – 4:07)
A rather odd addition to to the piece, it is an amusing play of seemingly nonsensical words. But it gradually builds up emotions (as if the person in reference gathers strength and courage, against the odds) towards the end of it. In how many other instances has anyone successfully made a smooth transition from opera to rock?!

Heavy metal (4:07 – 4:56)
This is my favourite part of the piece! It appears to release a lot of the anger and pain left in a man's soul. I'm no fan of heavy metal. But this part always gets me high, so much so that if I closed my eyes, I can very easily picture myself dressed up a rocker (black suit and lots of eye liner) jumping around and performing this bit on stage! Yeah....shocking (and fictional!).

Outro (4:56 – 5:55)
A soothing end, that seems to conclude with some sort of closure with acceptance of facts.




Queen is a band that has surpassed greatness and now remains on an immortal throne in the music world. This was a band that was not afraid to challenge conventional musical styles or venture out of their comfort zones. Few bands shared the same success that Queen did in their lifetime. If you need more evidence of this, look no further than video clips of past Queen concerts and the oceans of fans who surrounded them! That was the result when the musical genius of 4 great men - Freddie Mercury, Brain May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon - came together.

Queen Lives On.

1 comment:

  1. And the surprises keep coming with u! Shu in leaner and heavy eye liner! Wud love to see that!

    ReplyDelete

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