number 10: queen.
so last week i shot interview clips for a new VH1
special on ‘the 100 greatest artists of all time.’
they emailed me a big old list and had me fill
out a ballot with my top 10.
then i got to go in, be on camera
and nerd out on my top 25.
you have to understand, when i was a kid…
i DREAMED about shit like this.
if a show had existed then where you talk about
why your favorite bands were your favorite bands,
i would have wiped the flaky puff crumbs off my sweatpants,
put down the dungeons & dragons handbook,
marched my heavy-set ass out of the basement to wherever they
were filming and gotten my dork on!
in short… even though the list VH1 sent had some
glaring omissions (the pretenders, the pixies, ray charles),
the experience was still, pretty much, the highlight of my 2010.
i wanted to share my list with you.
but decided to chunk it out into installments.
and post it every few days or so…
starting with 10.. moving to 1.
obviously 1 is the highest. duh.
ok…
so, the band in my 10th spot…..
QUEEN
- first off: THE SONGS.
they have an ENDLESS stream of amazing songs…
all of which sound like they were beamed in from mars.
- brian may = total legend.
he built a guitar with his dad from a fireplace mantle
and played it for his entire career. if that wasn’t rad enough,
the TONE of said guitar is the aural equivalent of triumphant,
orgasmic angels singing.
-the bass player, john deacon, wrote ‘another one bites the dust’…
THE BASS PLAYER!
- freddie mercury wore short shorts. had badger teeth. and was balding
and made all of that look EFFORTLESSLY COOL!
- roger taylor, the drummer, not only wrote ‘radio gaga,’ but he also
hit all the background vocal high notes live.
- queen’s live shows were a huge spectacle… the epitome of showmanship.
and to their credit, they were able to pull it off while still remaining inclusive.
when you watch queen play, you never feel like an outsider.
you never feel like you are watching people who you wish you could be.
for all of the bombast of their music, and the over blown-ness of freddie
mercury’s on stage persona, you always feel like you are watching people
whose job it is to elevate you. to make you feel like you are a part of
something amazing… not on the outside of it.
and to me, that’s what great music’s all about.
May 14th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
I have to agree with everything you said about Queen. What I loved most about them was that they really knew what it meant to be a band. It was never about one person; they all contributed and it gave their records such a great texture. I miss them.
May 14th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Man, if QUEEN is your number 10… I can’t wait to see who else is on your list!
I love Queen so much. Their music shaped so much of my teenage years; they still affect me today! Queen’s discography was one of the best investments I ever made (along with Led Zeppelin).
May 14th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Queen shares my iPod with the great Matt Nathanson. But I STILL wonder how Freddie made his look cool, and yet he was magic.
May 15th, 2010 at 4:59 am
…right on Matt and not to mention, Freddie could sing! Hearing his voice live above all was a memory not to forget.
May 15th, 2010 at 5:58 am
Great Choice! But you didn’t comment on Freddie Mercury’s VOICE! It was a force of nature, don’t you think? Since his death, It seems to me that the numerous amazing guest lead singers Queen has performed with struggle to match his wide, multi - octave range, vocal agility, speed, precision and strength. It’s one if those voices I didn’t appreciate until it was gone and I heard others try to replace him. In all the Queen tribute performances I’ve heard I’d have to admit only one guest singer, George Michael (of all people), kept up with Freddie’s original and maybe even made it better - when he sang live on (Can Anybody Find Me) Somebody To Love. I did not know that about Brian May’s guitar, amazing. If Queen is your number 10, I can’t wait to hear who is #1.
May 15th, 2010 at 8:38 am
When are you going on tour?!
May 18th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
This feels like very easy to understand fun music school for those of us that could never imagining answering the question you were asked! Thanks matt it was enlightening I could listen for hours. I have to say that with the killer body you now sport it is very very hard to think of you of a heavy set child, but I love love love the description anyways with the dungeons and dragons and all! God bless dreams really do come true!
keep dreaming! we all love watching you live your dreams out loud!
May 18th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
oh and just so you know I was the skinniest kid around! I got made fun of for it and they sang me some song on the playground “bonny mulroney” any how having had a child and actually having gained some weight on a terrible medication last fall which is finally coming off. I have seen both sides of the coin to some degree and I actually have grown to fully appreciate the beauty of my body and all peoples bodies in all sizes and shapes. Why am i writing this on your blog? one last note which I am sure neither makes it better or worse, ryan seacrest was a chubby shild.
June 2nd, 2010 at 2:07 pm
i LOVE queen. number one favorite band.
June 21st, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Ohhh My! Thanks for twanging my brain with Queen… Now I can’t get his voice out of my head! My God… Freddie Mercury is a legend for all the right reasons…When I hear Queens’ music play, I am absolutely humbled with the greatness of his voice #10??? ahhhh thats not right! But the competition is fierce..; and since Matt is a “professional” in the business I guess I can get over it! Okay, Matt what number are you?