Out of the office
I've been negligent in my blog the last few days. Mostly because there hasn't been anything I've wanted to write. There's been a lot I've wanted to say, but just not here. However, I am now over my moody phase but must announce that I may not be around much in the next week. It being Triduum beginning today (for you non Christian types, that's Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday) and Easter on Sunday, many family events will be going on. Then we're leaving for vacation on Monday for a few days in Dearborn to visit the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village (think I got it right that time). Bottom line is I won't have much time for blogging. I will post pictures when I get back though and will check into some of my absolute fave blogs from time to time.
In other news, most of you know Queen appeared on AI Tuesday. And some of you know that I FUCKING MISSED IT! Yes, I properly programmed the VCR to tape it at the correct time. However, I neglected to change the time on the VCR to daylight savings time. So it started recording after the show ended. I could say I was incredibly pissed, but I was so annoyed at that moment about so many other things, I couldn't get any more aggrevated. The Wife was suprised I didn't go off the deep end.
However, I did watch it last night. I must say, I was not terribly impressed. I did get a chuckle out of the gray haired dude trying to kick over a mike stand and not being able to. Wimp. Of the three performances I saw, We Will Rock You sucked. Fat Bottomed Girls was an abortion. And Somebody to Love was almost passable, but had no passion whatsoever. They reminded me of the real reason I hate those kind of shows: pop singers cannot sing rock and roll. They always end up sounding like lounge singers.
Basically, if you're going to sing rock and roll, you can't over sing it. This isn't opera where you need a lot of vibrato in your voice. This isn't high school where you need to do vocal gymnastics to impress all the girls. Rock and roll is about putting FEELING into the songs, whether that feeling is anger, sadness, passion, loss, whatever. It's not about putting lots of notes within a measure. Freddie excelled at this. He knew when to hold back, and when to let out all the stops. What most musicians never learn is how to do what the song needs. If a song only needs a few notes for a solo, only put those few notes in, not cram it full of blistering leads. If a song needs a quiet, understated vocal, then you do that, even if you have a 4 octave range.
Call me a musical snob if you like (I certainly feel that way sometimes) but self indulgence when it comes to music makes me crazy. The best musicians know when go crazy and when to stand back. These AI punks don't have a clue.
I'll get off my high horse now.
In other news, most of you know Queen appeared on AI Tuesday. And some of you know that I FUCKING MISSED IT! Yes, I properly programmed the VCR to tape it at the correct time. However, I neglected to change the time on the VCR to daylight savings time. So it started recording after the show ended. I could say I was incredibly pissed, but I was so annoyed at that moment about so many other things, I couldn't get any more aggrevated. The Wife was suprised I didn't go off the deep end.
However, I did watch it last night. I must say, I was not terribly impressed. I did get a chuckle out of the gray haired dude trying to kick over a mike stand and not being able to. Wimp. Of the three performances I saw, We Will Rock You sucked. Fat Bottomed Girls was an abortion. And Somebody to Love was almost passable, but had no passion whatsoever. They reminded me of the real reason I hate those kind of shows: pop singers cannot sing rock and roll. They always end up sounding like lounge singers.
Basically, if you're going to sing rock and roll, you can't over sing it. This isn't opera where you need a lot of vibrato in your voice. This isn't high school where you need to do vocal gymnastics to impress all the girls. Rock and roll is about putting FEELING into the songs, whether that feeling is anger, sadness, passion, loss, whatever. It's not about putting lots of notes within a measure. Freddie excelled at this. He knew when to hold back, and when to let out all the stops. What most musicians never learn is how to do what the song needs. If a song only needs a few notes for a solo, only put those few notes in, not cram it full of blistering leads. If a song needs a quiet, understated vocal, then you do that, even if you have a 4 octave range.
Call me a musical snob if you like (I certainly feel that way sometimes) but self indulgence when it comes to music makes me crazy. The best musicians know when go crazy and when to stand back. These AI punks don't have a clue.
I'll get off my high horse now.
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