Several years ago during a conversation with my father, he commented about how much he enjoyed the film, "Bohemian Rhapsody."
This came as a great surprise to me; neither of my parents had ever really expressed any interest in popular music that was prevalent in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Like most people in their generation, their music tastes developed earlier in their lives, and after college, never really developed further.
Once, after going to one of their pops concerts that the local symphony performed each month, my mom asked me if I knew who Rod Stewart was, as he had spent the evening crooning to the audience, accompanied by the DSO. "Sure, I know him," I responded to my mom's question, relating that one could not help growing up in the 70s and 80s without having heard his hits.
I was not particularly a fan of Mr Stewart, but I am a fan of Queen.
Hence the curiosity about how my father enjoyed the film so much. One of the first records I bought was News of the World, an album that leads off with two of the most recognizable songs in the, erm, world.
Timing has a lot to do with it, but 7 year olds are pretty impressionable. The whole school was pretty much spent stomping and clapping to "We Will Rock You," and for any and all sporting events, whether it be local soccer league for the under-8s, or any collegiate or professional event, regardless of the sport, we (sometimes just one person, sometimes many) would launch into a rousing chorus of "We Are the Champions."
And my father hated that record. At the time, I was carefully spending my small pocket allowance on only really important things. Playing a record on the home stereo system meant that everyone in the household had to listen, including my father, who always had something negative to say about it.
A few years later, "Another One Bites the Dust," was released, and my father disliked that song even more. Meanwhile, all of us finishing up 5th and 6th grade had a new thing to shout on the playground.
My music tastes continued developing as I got more exposure to various genres, and suddenly, David Bowie produced a single with Queen. Mr. Bowie was another musician that had already captured my interest, but a couple of years later, his album "Let's Dance," really had everyone in junior high talking.
Then, a few years later, came Live Aid. I actually took my final exam in drivers education on that Saturday morning. Everyone sat that exam with jitters about the test, and all the while were thinking about the concert being shown on live TV. I was rolling tape the whole time, and as soon as I finished the test, raced home (on my bike) and parked myself in front of the family television to watch history.
I got home in time to catch, among others, the performance by Queen, and by David Bowie.
I still get goose bumps when thinking about that day.
By this time, my music tastes were pretty diverse, and pretty well documented. While I was no longer avidly listening to Queen, they were never too far off my radar. They did the soundtrack for Highlander, a film I really enjoyed, particularly for the music.
Suddenly, I was in college, and spent my share of time sitting around listening to music with my friends. Once people started living off campus, we regularly gathered at someone's house, to listen to music, drink beer, and stare at MTV.
In November 1991, a few of us were at a friend's house when the broadcast was interrupted. Freddie Mercury had died.
I felt devastated, and the emotions were flowing as I jumped out of my seat, not knowing what to do.
Several friends were also there, one of which jumped up with me. Apparently, as I was reminded a couple of days later by another friend who was also present (and had found the incident slightly humorous, just the way it played out) I turned to the guy and shouted, "Sit down, you ain't no Queen fan!"
That is probably the first time in my life I used improper grammar, and for the life of me still do not know why I lashed out at the guy.
I choose to think that it was simply because I was overwhelmed with grief; a great performer had died ahead of his time. And he had had such an influence on the music I had been listening to over the past 15 years.
Recently, Pablo shared access to his film library, and as I scrolled through the selection, I saw "Bohemian Rhapsody" and flagged it as something I would like to watch during the next weekend.
When the movie first came out, I did not feel inclined to rush off and see it. Instead, I figured I would just check it out once the time was right. I knew it had won some awards, and had received positive reviews, not least of all from my father.
So, I watched the film, and was disappointed.
I liked the casting, once I got over the fact that the guy from Midsomer Murders played Brian May. The overall story was fine, as movie plots go.
What bugged me, however, was the artistic license used in the film. I know that this is a bit unfair on my part, especially as I generally support such use in various works.
I think I was a little too persnickety when it came to the sequence of events in the film, and this really hindered my appreciation for the film. The music (no surprise) was great, and I have to think that had I never heard of the band or its music before, I would have enjoyed the film a lot more.
But, just as it is totally acceptable that I have my own opinion about the film, I respect that the movie makers simply made a movie, and a pretty good one at that.
With that, I am going to go ride my bicycle (because I want to). No Pressure.
see you out there
Bryan
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