Did Anyone Even Know That Roger Taylor Had Put Out A Single?

That it came out last November? And that it is better than anything on that absolute crap Queen + Paul Rogers travesty? Huh.


What's that? Hearing him makes you want to hear some old Queen? And whatever I do, don't show any of that Paul rogers sh*t? Ah, I like you; you have good taste. For you then:





There you go, my lovelies. All for you.

The Muppets Do Bohemian Rhapsody

Need I say more?

Queen + Amanda Palmer

Think about it. The potential that pairing would have.

OK, I admit it. The whole Paul Rogers thing, how much I don't like it. It sticks in my craw. So much potential, ruined by the whole... pedestrian-ness of his lyrics and melodies. Can Amanda sing like, or as good as, Freddie? Don't think so, don't care. She'd bring the personality, the feeling that Queen has leaped into the unknown, that they are playing without a net, and with another very strong personality. Did I mention personality? I submit Amanda's new video as my closing argument:

Queen's "The Cosmos Rocks": Yes It Does, But This CD Does Not.

I did not have high hopes for the new Queen/Paul Rogers release, but tried to go into it with an open mind.

I find it to be boring, for diehard fans only. There are glimpses of the greatness from time to time, especially when we hear Brian May's guitar roar to life, but that glimpse is immediately mitigated by Paul Rogers' inane lyrics. Gone is Freddie Mercury's genre-hopping that energized the band, in its place is a bluesy bar band approach. The whole affair is closer to Bad Company at its most pedestrian.

I offer these sample lyrics:

Call me if you need my love
Call me if you need my love
Call me if you need my love
Call me if you need my love

I met her in her neighborhood
I was just passing through
One look was all it took yeah
One look or two

Call me if you need my love
Call me if you need my love
Call me if you need my love
Call me if you need my love

here's one more:

Once I loved a butterfly
don't wonder how- don't ask me why
But I believed what I'd been told
"All things that glitter can't be gold"

OK, I can't help cite one more:

Surf's up
School's out
I got a criminal urge to
TWIST AND SHOUT!!!!!!

Oh, man. Blarg. I'd go see them live, though. If they promised to only play 3-4 new songs...

New Queen Out This Fall- What To Think?

I'm torn. On October 28, Queen will release a new disc with Paul Rogers filling in for the late Freddie Mercury. By all accounts, the tour with Paul singing was a success, but I just can't shake the feeling that Paul Rogers is such a different voice (and personality) than Freddie's that I can't see it working out. I hope I'm wrong, because that Brian May is a hell of a guitar player.

The name of the album/CD/digital download is "The Cosmos Rocks". Here's a listing of some of the tracks, via Billboard:

The group has already debuted several of the new songs at shows and on TV, including first single "C-lebrity," which features vocals from Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, and "Say It's Not True," written in honor of Nelson Mandela's 46664 AIDS initiative.

The 14-track "The Cosmos Rocks" will also feature "Cosmos Rockin'," "Time To Shine," "Still Burnin'," "Small," "Warboys," "We Believe," "Call Me," "Voodoo," "Some Things That Glitter," "Through the Night" and "Surf's Up ... School's Out!"

"I think it touches a lot of emotions," Rodgers told Billboard.com recently of the album. "Every song is different from every other song, but I do think there is a very powerful emotional content in every song. I'm a great believer in variety in music, and so are the other guys."

It's the first set of new material since 1995. At least nowhere in the article did it mention the dreaded "return to form". I mean, how could it be?