francis

Dude, it’s you who doesn’t understand what I’m writing. You miss the nuances. Pay attention when I speak. I specifically mentioned Queen from 1974 because it’s from 1975 ONWARD that they began their golden and/or commercial path, with "Bohemian Rhapsody" and everything else. Then don’t talk about years you didn’t live as if you were there yourself, or based on your grandma’s stories. Italy is not a good barometer for the popularity of world music; it often elevated pure garbage in the charts. Don’t think the Beatles were that famous in our country, quite the contrary. In the '60s, nobody gave a crap about Jimi Hendrix in Italy, nobody cared about Led Zep, and Pink Floyd even less... in the early '70s, the only foreign music that did well in Italy was prog (of garbage, N.D.F.), so I’m right. We only had Beatlemania in Italy with Duran Duran, and 10 years later with Take That: let me remind you that we live in the country where "pop" is synonymous with Max Pezzali and "rock" is synonymous with Ligabue. Queen had what I would dare to call "generational" success in Italy in the very early '90s, and it was still greater than what the Beatles had in our country. But outside of Italy, the Beatles and Queen were institutions of a whole different magnitude. We are the ones with charts infested by festivalbar compilations, not England. In England, it’s Paul Weller who makes the charts, if you catch my drift.

The Queen made a strong impact in 1991, when Freddie Mercury died. I repeat that, iconographically, they are more popular than the Beatles: for a long series of reasons, their countless hits are known in every corner of the world (in South America, for instance, the fame of Queen is enormous), their evergreens are staples still played on the radio... there's no shortage of choice among all the successful songs they’ve produced since "A Night At The Opera." As for their live dimension, that’s another story. Queen concerts were like World Cup finals, while Beatles shows were filled with screaming girls. The image of Mercury raising his crown in front of 250,000 people (Knewborh, Wembley, Rio de Janeiro, Budapest) automatically elevates him to myth status.
Of course, we could debate the real quality of their music for years: but even in their lesser albums (Jazz, Hot Space, The Miracle), there are pop tracks of excellent quality. They may not have been as elegant as XTC or as transgressive as the Rolling Stones, but in popular culture the "Queen" brand has left a lasting impression, especially because they spanned three decades. The Beatles were a stunning meteor, more cultural than musical, which ultimately lasted 5-6 intensely brilliant years. Iconographically, Queen stands higher, or at least on the same level.

I wasn't talking about Elisa, but about Meg. Meg. MEG. M-E-G, the one from 99 Posse. Who is now playing at being the Italian Bjork. Just to clarify, I've hardly ever been able to stand Bjork.

P.P.S. And anyway, when "Sheer Heart Attack" by Queen was released in 1974, MTV didn't exist... only "Top Of The Pops" did: and in Italy, no one knew them, the charts were dominated by Nicola Di Bari and Homo Sapiens.

Dude, you’re absolutely right. Of course, Mansun, Belle & Sebastian, Smiths, Thrills, Charlotte Hatherley, The Streets, The Libertines, Morrissey, and Pulp are constant presences in the TRL charts. Come on, caprùn!
PS. And I don’t understand this hate towards those who enjoy airtime on TV and radio... if "Smells Like Teen Spirit" hadn’t been in heavy rotation in 1991, this site might not even exist now. There, I said it.

But am I the only one who finds Bellamy's falsetto irritating and pretentious? And am I the only one who notices that technically he isn't that great?

Yes, yes, right, in the mine... them and their fans. Nonsense about valkyries, vikings, warriors, and absolutely vomit-inducing machismo.

Good, brilliant... but often I just can't stand them. Impossible to listen to in broad daylight.

Does anyone remember that video that airs at night on MTV of those damn hippies playing tambourines and congas dressed up as Native Americans?

Just so you know, the one about Jeff Buckley is my pride and joy ;)