No, it isn't :) My favorite Queen song is The Show Must Go On. My URL is a reference to the first fic I wrote, which was based around The Prophet's Song.
I was having friends over and put Queen for some music, (safe to say we weren’t all that sober that day,) and the music video of It’s A Hard Life played on the telly, my guy friend who knew nothing about Queen said it was like a weird wedding between Freddie and Brian 💀
It reminds me of when I first got into Queen and Maycury after watching a simple gig of theirs and noticing the chemistry of Brian and Freddie.. I still recall the feeling of surprise when I googled their relationship and saw they apparently hated each other 😭 I really don’t know how that narrative started, do you have an idea or breakdown?
First things first: I love how Brian was the only band member who was on board with Freddie's insane video concept, lmao. You can see it in the photos from that day, too. Brian's all smiley. Roger and John look like two middle schoolers forced to pose for their mother on the first day of school. But I digress.
—
The misconceptions about Freddie and Brian's relationship are one of the biggest mysteries in the fandom, I think. It doesn't make any sense to me. It never did. I had the exact same experience as you. One of my first introductions to Queen was the Live Aid performance. After watching that, I was intrigued by Freddie and Brian's dynamic. They seemed really close to me right off the bat. Then I went online and found out that they... hated each other??? That Brian is actually a secret homophobe??? (Source: Trust Me Bro!)
I'm not sure how or when it started. Some of it may be due to the age-old 'The Lead Singer and Guitarist Must Have Beef' cliché that seems to haunt classic rock spaces. But, digging deeper, I think most of it stems from the fact that a lot of Queen "fans" just... hate Brian. They think he's annoying or unlikable (for reasons that I genuinely don't understand), and so they don't want Freddie (who, in their eyes, was flawless) to have been close with him.
What do you think is the saddest Queen or Brian song? (Sorry for the gloomy vibes, I just saw your most recent post and got curious 😭)
The saddest Queen song (with Freddie) has to be Mother Love. It has to be. Freddie's final high note is breathtaking and heartbreaking. It just pierces you. And the whole song is tinged with this... clinging. That's the only way I can describe it. Freddie's clinging to life. Clinging to music. And Brian, as he sings the last verse, clings to the memory of Freddie by evoking the rise and fall of his voice.
It kills me.
Brian has written many devastating songs, but I think Another World might actually be the worst of them. It's just this incredibly wistful sadness that resonates deeply with me. It's not raw grief. It's something that's even harder to process—the what if. It's him mourning a life that he never had and knows he never will have.
Do you remember the first ever maycury thing that made you think there's definitely something deeper going on here
Oooh, I think it was the Love of My Life performances. Finding out that Brian has been performing that song for Freddie for 30+ years. More specifically, I watched the 1992 Chile performance and couldn't get past how raw it was. He clearly didn't want to be there, didn't want to sing the song; he couldn't even say Freddie's name. But he pulled through. The grief, the love, the devotion. Yeah.... I haven't looked back since, I fear.
The slightly longer answer is: Yes. But not in the way you might think. I'm not a religious person by any means, and I don't believe in any sort of biblical afterlife.
The even longer answer is: Yes. I believe that there is life after death. Life continues as long as love does. The people who love and remember and grieve us make certain that we live forever. It sounds cheesy, but the 'afterlife' that I believe in is the one that we create for our loved ones when we refuse to let them go. Death isn't the end. Love has always defied it. And I think that's beautiful.
I’m sorry but have you seen that clip of Brian on Science Friday and the woman interviewing him brought up her favourite song which just so happened to be Dont Stop Me Now, we see Brian’s live reaction on camera and he sort of flinches after hearing it and it’s probably nothing but I just find it hilarious 😭
It was posted on March 7 I believe and here’s the link to a youtube short if you haven’t seen it yet :))
I don't know if he flinches. But, to me, it certainly looks like he's thinking, "Oh. Dear. That one? Really? Okay."
And then he shares a funny anecdote about Freddie, which... I might be reading into it a bit, but it might be a way of distracting himself from how he actually feels about the song, you know? Every time he talks about the song at length, he always mentions how he doesn't like it much because of... the Cursed Reasons we all know.
No, you're completely right to feel angry. I understand I sounded deluded and acerbic even when I prefaced it by saying I'm coming from a genuine place. I still stand by that because I sent that ask precisely to see a different perspective. I said I so badly want to see them solidly together and they have done a magnificent job doing that until I saw the film. So my whole belief of that has been marred ever since. You pointing out that they were all written badly is correct but I guess every time I see someone's perception about Freddie be deeply influenced by what they saw in the film (even if it's been emphasized that it is not meant to be a documentary) makes me furious and I despise everyone that made that shitshow and was disappointment naturally with the queen members (I know that includes John but Brian said he wasn't as immersed in the process). No matter how badly written they all were, it was Freddie's character that was uniquely tainted. But I have been so enraged by this whole movie that I saw their as a betrayal to him and his memory when it's just a bad movie. Again, I said I asked, to gain an understanding and you gave it. I appreciate that. You might be side eyeing me for folding but I was honest about my intention to discuss this.
I really appreciate this follow-up, anon. Thank you <3
I understand being angry at how the movie portrayed Freddie and how audiences have responded to it. I, too, get pissed off whenever my mom suggests that Freddie was difficult to work with, and I think it's really important that we all try to counter that narrative.
I think the movie is dogshit. I think it leaned too heavily into the representation of Freddie that can be found in the British tabloid press. It's important to remember that Freddie's character has been misrepresented before BoRhap, and while the movie certainly didn't help, his character would've been continuously misrepresented regardless, simply because he was a successful gay man. Ultimately, this is not Brian and Roger's fault. But it's so much easier to be angry at them than to be angry at the systems that actually made this film a reality.
I also think it's really important, especially during times like these, to direct our anger at the right targets. Do not take this out on the men who loved and protected Freddie when no one else did. Instead, tear the dystopian world of Hollywood to shreds. Discredit homophobic media outlets that push these narratives about Freddie because bigotry makes them richer. Remember who the real villains are.
Asking this genuinely with no ill intent and not a ploy to anger you as I am still a fan of Roger and Brian but do you think there is no reason for anyone to question their loyalty to and regard for Freddie when they green lit and became executive producers of a movie that completely painted a dearly departed friend as a egomaniacal, inconsiderate, extremely hedonistic asshole that he isn't while they came out being portrayed like angels? You have to be honest there's something a little wrong with that. Everyone that knew him personally that bothered to speak about the movie said they mischaracterized Freddie completely in the film. I don't want them to have portrayed Freddie as an angel, in fact I would've been appreciative if they showed his honest misgivings but they just made this one dimensional character with a voice of a god and a head filled with nothing but debauchery. I so badly want Queen to be a solid unit but this divided the fandom for good reason. It's not something easy to reconcile even if we're still fans.
Okay, first things first. I don't like the movie, and I haven't watched it in years. I also haven't really talked about it on this blog, so here's my take:
All of the band members are written poorly in it. They're all incredibly one-dimensional. In my opinion, Freddie is actually given the most depth since he's the main focus of the film. He's presented as an abrasive, inspirational, and deeply lonely man. Your criticism of how he's presented is valid, though. His negative sides are definitely exaggerated for dramatic effect... because this is a Hollywood Film (derogatory).
Roger is a hot-headed ladies' man who's snarky sometimes. That's it.
John has like... Three lines... and he could be replaced with a cardboard cutout. No one would notice tbh.
Brian is soft-spoken and makes heart eyes at Freddie. That's his entire character.
Like??? THEY'RE ALL WRITTEN TERRIBLY. The other band members come across as accessories to Freddie, and that also allows the narrative to be so easily interpreted as "Freddie was a tyrant and the other three were angels." No. Actually, the truth is that the narrative does Freddie a disservice by flattening him and his lifelong friends into maddeningly uninteresting caricatures of themselves.
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Now, with that out of the way, I have to be completely honest with you. I think it's deeply unserious and messed up to question Roger and Brian's loyalty/love for Freddie over this fuckass movie. It's crucial that we try to separate fact from fiction here.
Fact: Roger and Brian (and John, who also greenlit this movie btw) knew Freddie for 20 years. They lived with him. They toured the world with him. They supported him as he found himself as a gay man in a deeply homophobic era. They rallied around him when he was diagnosed with AIDS. They were his escape and his second family while he was actively dying.
Fiction: Well, um, I—actually, I think they might've secretly hated him because..., uh, the movie that... the movie that they had no real control over made Freddie look less than favorable.
I'm sorry, anon. But I'm not gonna pretend that this isn't what you sound like. It sounds like you're devaluing some of the most important and enduring friendships in Freddie's life because you didn't like a movie. Because that's exactly what you're doing. And to me it's so insanely unserious.
You didn't know Freddie. Who the hell are you to question how close his actual friends and bandmates were to him?
One of the lines in the very original production of We Will Rock You is "That's beautiful Galileo [Freddie], you're beautiful" from Scaramouche [Brian]. And that plus knowing that Galileo was gonna call everyone 'Darling' in the very early drafts made me literally throw my glasses off - no real question i just thought that it was at least, discussion worthy as there seems to be a LOT of repressed feelings that come out in that show; including the infamous WWTLF scene with "i found something to live for, you" being one of the predecessing lines.
Oh my God. That first line...
The man who said, "Orion, the most beautiful constellation in the sky, would suit Freddie perfectly."
The man who took this photo of Freddie:
.... yEAH. That tracks.
The more I hear about this musical, the more insane I become. I first thought the reincarnation thing was gimmicky, but it does seem like they put some thought into it. AND GOD.
Hi i wondered if you could further explain your reasons for the listed queen/brian may songs being queer-coded (a couple of days ago) please? (as someone who also agrees with you lol) :D
Sorry, it's taken me a while to get to this ask. I'm very busy with work and TV-related brainrot at the moment.
Some Day, One Day
To me, this song has similar vibes to Another World and Wilderness. It's so full of longing—a specific and yet vague kind of longing. You don't get a good impression of what the narrator yearns for, but it does feel romantic. It's also tinged with both hope and wistfulness, which is what gives it a queer-coded feel (at least to me): a longing for something that might be, but which is also impossible in the current world/time.
So still the cloud it hangs
Over us and we're alone
But someday, one day
We'll come home.
There's this place that the narrator wants to go, but he can't get there. For reasons outside of his control. The idea of home is also interesting here because it's represented as a place where one can be a queen (aside from the slang meaning of the word, which we all know; queen may also represent something heightened and powerful, yet unattainable).
Fat Bottomed Girls
Brian wrote this song about groupies, specifically male groupies. Some people say he wrote it about both men and women, which I guess is true, but he keeps emphasizing that this was actually written with Freddie in mind. So. The men are more important here imo. This is basically a gay anthem in disguise. I also just... love the implication that Brian paid attention to Freddie's taste in men (enough to want to write a song about it). You know. Just regular Straight Guy Things™.
Dreamer's Ball
I don't have a long explanation for this one. The vibes are just veeeeery queer. Very. It feels like something Freddie himself might have written. It's very dreamy and, again, there's the longing for the unattainable.
Save Me
What can I say? Brian wrote this song about a relationship between two men. That alone makes it queer. But that's not what makes me crazy. I regularly lose it over the fact that this song is, in many ways, an extension of Freddie and Brian's dynamic (see also: Bijou), which in itself was/is queer in some ways—not because it was romantic. But because the deep emotional understanding that clearly existed between them is something of an upset to normative masculinity. Men are taught not to invest themselves in their friends' emotional and sexual lives beyond the 'acceptable' lurid comments. Brian said, 'Someone broke your heart? You're having terrible, detached sex? That is now MY problem. Hold on, lemme write you something, so you (AND I, TOO) can cope <3'
Dancer (lowkey but still relevant)
I include this because it was written around the same time as Body Language, a song Freddie wrote about his experiences at gay clubs. Brian has very infamously said that this made him feel 'roped out' — excluded. And there's a part of me that wonders if Dancer is, in a way, Brian's version of Body Language? I mean, this song is also about the clubbing experience.
But it details the very specific experience of feeling alone at a party, wanting something (specifically sex) you know you can't have, and, again... dreams (in the ending with the words, 'Good morning, this is your wake-up call.') So, like, is this the song that Brian wrote in response to his feeling of exclusion? Is this song actually about wanting to be at a gay club??? I don't have any ''evidence'' for this, so it's all theory. But it is interesting.
Bijou
I've talked about this one here, and won't get Into it here, too, because this post is already a mile long. But, basically, I interpret this song as Brian and Freddie writing about their closeness following the breakdown of Brian's marriage and during Freddie's illness.
I'm Scared
Yeah. No need to explain this one.
Wilderness
Similar to Some Day, One Day, this song deals with the feelings of longing for something that is out of reach. This one is less hopeful, though. It's full of despair, actually. It details the feeling of having lost one's way. Also, this bit:
Love is an open secret
Healing and hiding
And wondering and weeping
Waiting for someone to find
And open the door...
It just... Yeah. I don't think I need to spell it out.
Another World
This is one I've also talked about at length many times before. I'll make this short: I interpret it the song as Brian lamenting the fact that there could be another world out there, in which he might have lived a totally different life and been with someone he never felt safe enough to love in his current life.
Another you wakes up with another me
For that's the way we've come to be
In another world.
In another world, we can show we care
You can be sure I'm waiting there
In another world.
It might be one of the saddest songs that Brian has ever written, actually. And that's saying A LOT.
Anyway. I just wrote a novel. Hope all of it makes sense <3
hmmm, it could be one guy but more than one "date" in "i'm scared". the guy must have done more than just mere taunting as depicted in the song, that renders brian, of all people, to write one whole diss track about him (the guy who was afraid that "death on two legs" was a little extreme and edited "i go crazy" to be a non-diss track). i've always wondered what he did
i read your list of brian's queer-coded song and thought, "wow, lots of freddie-coded songs there" 😂
I've said this before, and I'll say it again. I don't really understand why people act as if this song is vague. It's not.
"You swallow me whole," "You're nothing but a sinner," "I'm just a toy." These are not complex, abstract metaphors. They're very clearly alluding to sex.
I'm sorry, but I have to point out that if Brian had followed up with, "You're just a bad, bad girl," no one would be confused about the dynamic at play here. No one.
All of this to say that I've always interpreted this song as a fairly straightforward diss track that Brian wrote about a man he had sex with. To me, it's not that complicated.
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