Tag: "Queen"

A US Presidential election, Summer Olympics mania (London’s calling—again!), Rihanna’s film debut (in Battleship, out May 18) and the possible end of the world. Those are a few of the things I won’t be looking forward to in the coming year. Fortunately, music will offer enough thrills to distract us from all that we’d rather forget. Here’s what’s topping my 2012 anticipation list:

1. Madonna makes fiftysomething fabulous all over again. Although I’m curious to hear what Madonna does with Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. on the final cut of “Gimme All Your Luvin’” when the single is released the last week of January, that’s not the main reason I’m excited about her upcoming twelfth studio album (due in late March), her first since turning fifty in 2008.  “Masterpiece,” a new song featured in the Madonna-directed W.E. (which goes into wide release on February 3, two days before her Super Bowl XLVI performance) and her reunion with her Ray of Light producer William Orbit, is an achingly beautiful ballad that recalls the best of ’90s Madonna while gently proving that she can still create pop magic all on her own.

2. Madonna vs. Elton John vs. Mary J. Blige vs. Chris Cornell vs. Glenn Close (!) at the Golden Globes. Too bad the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has disqualified Madonna’s “Masterpiece” from competition at the February 27 Oscars. Why? Because it’s the second song featured during the closing credits, and eligible songs must either be in the body of the film, or the tune that plays when the credits start to roll. Oscar’s loss. The January 15 Golden Globes showdown featuring five monsters of pop, rock and soul and acting will be just as star-studded—and as tough to call—as George Clooney vs. Brad Pitt vs. Leonardo DiCaprio vs. Ryan Gosling in Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama.

Continue reading ‘Sound And Vision: 10 Things to Look Forward to in 2012 (Featuring Soundgarden, the Stone Roses and Freddie Mercury — Alive Again!)’

• Biebs giving teenage girls everywhere a reason to want to become President of the United States.
• People expecting a documentary about Queen Elizabeth are going to be so disappointed.
• Chris Martin is really fitting into his role as the anti-Gallagher.
• Sorry to all those hoping for more hipster drama.
• Remember when we’d have to wait what seemed like eons for the next Radiohead release? Those were the days.
• Wait, so that wasn’t Florence Welch dressed up as Katy Perry hosting SNL? We’re so confused.
• You’ll forgive us if we don’t hold our breath for X Factor‘s chances for yet another season.
• It’ll be like American Idiot, but with less obnoxious pop-punk anthems.

• Not sure about the rest of you, but the end of Napster just makes us feel old.
• Sorry Taylor, the GRAMMY Nazi says no GRAMMYs for you.
• BRUCE! We are so pumped for next year’s SXSW now.
• All the people expecting to see a documentary about the planet Mercury are going to be so disappointed.
• Apparently, it isn’t a music festival without some Stone Roses.
• We can totally see Madonna being that annoying neighbor who has loud sex at 3 in the morning.
• If it doesn’t have hair explosions, it isn’t Gaga enough.
• Beyoncé, you’re missing out on the best excuse to the absolute delight that is eating ice cream with hot chili sauce.

• Three cheers for The Country Evangelists. Wait, that isn’t their name? What a waste.
• Blake must be devastated right now.
• Ironic that a band kind of named after royalty would be the one to speak for the people.
• If Biebs actually goes on Maury and gets out of this fatherhood claim, we think he should do the dance. You know,that dance.
• Liam’s just dangling the Oasis fruit in front of everybody.
• Nicola Roberts probably figured out it’s not a good idea to get into a fight with Madonna after seeing what she did to those poor hydrangeas.
• Consider us genuinely excited to see what 50 Cent can do when he puts his mind to it.
• Time to hunt YouTube for clips of this.

Last Monday, as we celebrated Halloween, MTV gave out their second annual O Awards. MTV’s newest and definitely most unique awards show aired on a couple of different Web sites, as opposed to TV. This aspect of the show was fitting, as the MTV O Awards are all about our favorite Internet fads, celebrities and technology. Most of the categories still have to do with music, but they’re based on how we view and consume this music due to new technology, the internet and social networking sites like Twitter. Celebrities even performed and presented nominees via live feeds from various locations. It was a great way to embrace all of the positive effects that technology has on music. Here are some of our favorite parts and winners from the night!

Everyone loves a good cover song. But when YouTube popped up and gave anyone the ability to post renditions of songs by their favorite artists, there were bound to be ten horrible versions for every good one. Luckily, there are some gems that are so great, they make us forget about rest. Marc Martel won the Best Fan Cover Award when he won us over with his rendition of Queen‘s “Somebody To Love” for the band’s own competition. As soon as he starts to sing the first line, you know it’s going to be incredible. While no one can compare to Freddie Mercury, the resemblance in Marc’s voice is undeniable and the award was definitely deserved.

There are plenty of components that make up an outstanding rock band. From a great guitar sound, to a killer bass line, there is so much rock greatness out there to grab your attention. But what makes a great rock vocalist? What kind of singer can produce a sound that shapes a generation and even other singers to come? And most of all, what does it to take to have a voice that flat-out ROCKS? Well, lets look at a few of the most well-known, respected voices in rock history.

Freddie Mercury, Queen‘s phenomenal frontman, is one of the rock voices that has always impressed me. The texture of his voice, his low growl, and the ease that he would glide from one vocal register to another are all truly remarkable. Unlike many rock singers, Freddie Mercury had an incredibly versatile voice which was raw and ferocious, while still being incredibly melodic and listenable to a wide array of music fans. His voice was  huge part of what made Queen such a huge success, as well as the reason why they’ll continue to be an important piece of rock history.

Continue reading ‘Vocal Points: What Makes A Great Rock Voice?’

• Whoever turned back the clock to 1993 needs to step up and own it.
• We can already see Bob Dylan rolling over in his thankfully not-yet-occupied grave.
• So much mind-boggling news from Queen. Not sure what to be the most excited/dismayed about.
• Is it just us or did Russell Simmons just compare himself to Mohammad Ali?
• All the old people will tell you this is the most embarrassing thing to happen to you.
• Part II of Arctic Monkeys’ trip into white trash biker gang culture.
• We feel like dressing up as Nicki Minaj would be much scarier than the other things higher on this list.
• Not quite the best thing to say about your remixing abilities, but then again, it’s Justice.
• All you metalcore fans can start drooling. The rest of us will shrug our shoulders.

• Here’s something to help you get excited about the 2012 Summer Olympics. You know, besides synchronized swimming.
• Ooh, random FOX News anchor burn. That’s gotta sting, Adam Levine.
• Our bad. Apparently, it’s Chris Martin who’s gonna be making “Yeah, That Was It, Bitches”.
• Karma retaliates against Axl Rose with full force and hilarity.
• As if Ray Bans weren’t hipster enough, enter: Johnny Marr.
• Looks like Bon Iver and ?uestlove are starting their very own Occupy Rolling Stone. Except people care even less about this one.
• We will admit, remixing heavily autotuned vocals layed over heavy club noises seems kind of redundant.
• If only Kanye would have named his clothing line GOOD Clothes, then we wouldn’t have to struggle so much for their meaning.

• Finally, scientific proof that Freddie Mercury is irresistible.
• So much for Radiohead returning to its anti-establishment roots.
• Forgive us if we’re not so keen on a day filled to the brim with Flaming Lips. Get some chapstick, seriously.
• Just more proof you don’t need to know how to make music in order to make music.
• A whole new meaning to blacking out on Christmas.
• Nicola’s probably hoping fans won’t have a worse reaction to listening to it.
• Being forced to listen to “Smooth Criminal” for 3 days straight sounds like a fair punishment to us.
• Uh oh. We take back everything bad we’ve ever said about Liam. Ever. Even the stuff we didn’t say out loud. Please don’t sue us.