Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Queen - "Get Down, Make Love" (the song remains the same)

I'm still not the biggest Queen fan, yet I saw "Bohemian Rhapsody" again this weekend.  This time it was the "sing along" version at the Naro.  The previous time I took the opportunity to introduce you to Laibach, and this time I'll introduce the freaky side of Freddie Mercury that the movie hinted at but did not dwell on.

Everyone has heard of Nine Inch Nails (NiN) now, but when "Pretty Hate Machine" came out in 1990, it was revolutionary -- the first of industrial music that went mainstream and was accessible while still being menacing.  It sounds dated now, overtaken by the genre it helped create but in 1990 it was amazing.  Being a super collector, I got the "Sin" CD single  not long after the LP came out.  Aside from the three different version of "Sin" was the B-side of Queen's "Get Down, Make Love", from their 1977 LP "News of the World".  Not being a fan I never had this LP, and thus had never heard the song -- you certainly won't hear it on classic rock radio.

I was immediately struck by the NiN version and it was in high-rotation during many a 1990s party.  While it clearly sounded like NiN, it had an extra dimension that many of their songs did not.  Turns out, that's the Queen contribution (and Al Jourgensen/Ministry too!).

And as crazy, raw, dungeon-esque as the NiN version is... it's all there in the Queen version too, albeit with a sparser, non-synth instrumentation.  It's still pounding, steamy, and intimidating.  It's also the type of song that few performers could can pull off without sounding like a hollow parody of a rawk song.  Led Zeppelin (there are obvious similarities to "Whole Lotta Love"), Prince, maybe a few others... and Trent Reznor.

If you want to take a detour from the uplifting, Live Aid elements of the film and focus on BDSM elements they hinted at, then listen to both versions of "Get Down, Make Love". 

Queen - "Get Down, Make Love"
NiN - "Get Down, Make Love"


If we see the film again I'll have to blog about "Stone Cold Crazy", and although it's cool that Metallica covered it I'm sad to say I don't love it.  If we see it a fourth time, then I've got nothing.

Bonus link (just in case the BDSM link was not clear): 

NiN - "Sin"

(somehow this video snuck through the Youtube censors)





Thursday, January 10, 2019

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Maps" (forgotten song)

Early this morning I was driving and head a song on 96X I had not heard before.  I Shazam'd it and discovered it was "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  I half-recognized the band name, but then I was out of pocket all day and didn't get a chance to investigate until now. 

I now find out this song came out in 2003!  How did I not know about this song / band until some 15+ years later?!

The best way I can describe it is if The Cribs had a female lead singer.  But checking the date, the first LP by The Cribs came out in 2004, so I suppose they sound like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  A quick google search reveals articles with titles like "How The Yeah Yeahs' 'Maps' Helped Change the Way We View the Relationship Between Pop and Indie", "The MTV Movie Awards' Best Musical Moments", and "Karen O – ‘Maps’ video tears were real".   I've got to work my way through their discography now to discover if all their songs rawk like this one does... right after I stop listening to "Maps" on repeat.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Maps" (official video, 2004 MTV Movie Awards).