Fat Bottomed Queen 31.08.2015 02:45 |
What do you think of this song? I think its awesome! I just wanted to know what all you guys thought of it. I am not really aware if this song is too liked or disliked. |
brENsKi 31.08.2015 03:22 |
it's not a bad tune at all. even if you didn't know, you could tell it was Roger's baby. despite the over-indulgence in their "new toys" - the Fairlight and Roland Vocoder, there's some nice touches. Freddie providing double-tracked harmonies for himself. Some of Roger's lyrics are very tongue-in-cheek, and must doft the cap a little toward ELO's "Your's Truly 2095". i like the instrumental version for the sampling used; Ogre (3:25-3:37 + 3:56-3:59), Going Back (3:39-3:52), Flash (4:18-4:22), (may have even heard a very distant "break free" at 0:46 - a mashup of both versions of the song would be interesting |
MercurialFreddie 31.08.2015 03:46 |
It's one of the underrated songs from The Works album. In my opinion it didn't age as it represents fears, doubts and mysteries of computer technology. There's a nice feeling to it and I've always liked the line "Living in the new world, thinking in the past...". The synth and all the effects are important in showing the contrast between human and mechanical (robotic?) world although I wouldn't mind hearing a version stripped of all the effects. If Queen were to release a duets album, such version would fit there. |
oligneisti 31.08.2015 05:29 |
It is very of its time but I do love it. It's a very funny song. |
Sebastian 31.08.2015 05:34 |
My favourite from that album. But that's, in my opinion, the worst Queen album by a country mile, so it's not that big of a compliment. |
Day dop 31.08.2015 07:35 |
I like it. |
Martin Packer 31.08.2015 09:59 |
I love it too, and I don't see it as solely a Roger track, particularly as it's co-credited to Brian. And the synth stuff absolutely belongs in there; That's part of the point - a battle between humans (normal vocals and guitar) and machines (synths and processed vocals). And I think Freddie would've been all over it. |
brENsKi 31.08.2015 10:43 |
Martin Packer wrote: I love it too, and I don't see it as solely a Roger track, particularly as it's co-credited to Brian. And the synth stuff absolutely belongs in there; That's part of the point - a battle between humans (normal vocals and guitar) and machines (synths and processed vocals). And I think Freddie would've been all over it.i think you missed my point - never said it was solely Roger's song - i said it was "his baby" - ie the idea was his also listening to "Machines" you can definitely hear where some of the ideas came from... "My Country I & II" both songs have a similar passage at 1:50 - and there are other segments of Machines that seem borrowed from My Country as for the synths - i'd have preferred a bit more an analog/digital battle in the song rather than the synths being present (more or less) from beginning to end i wasn't aware that Freddie had much involvement in the synths or the processed vocals - his were double-tracked for harmonies, but it was Roger's (i understand) that were processed through the vocoder |
master marathon runner 31.08.2015 11:35 |
Love the whole album, from a great period in their career, despite what some people say on here, radio ga ga at the vanguard of a great resurgence. |
Oscar J 31.08.2015 11:47 |
Radio Ga Ga is one of their worst songs ever. It perfectly represents all the Queen songs I dislike. |
cmsdrums 31.08.2015 12:43 |
This track really grew on me, and the lyric is quite thoughtful regarding the topic of the battle between machines and instruments; nicely worked when the real drums come in over the drum machines and the two come and go in line with the lyrics. |
Fat Bottomed Queen 31.08.2015 12:48 |
Oscar J wrote: Radio Ga Ga is one of their worst songs ever. It perfectly represents all the Queen songs I dislike.Oh, come on man! It's a classic! |
brENsKi 31.08.2015 12:53 |
British Man wrote:but lots of classics are also sh*t - the one state doesn't preclude the otherOscar J wrote: Radio Ga Ga is one of their worst songs ever. It perfectly represents all the Queen songs I dislike.Oh, come on man! It's a classic! |
master marathon runner 31.08.2015 22:22 |
.......I give up. |
luthorn 31.08.2015 22:29 |
It's always fresh, especially when played on vinyl. |
Bike It 80 31.08.2015 22:42 |
I like this song, it's nice to hear Queen trying something different on an album where they otherwise played it safe musically. It seems like after the debacle of Hot Space, they got scared of trying new things and it resulted in some of the most uninspired albums of their career. |
matt z 01.09.2015 14:57 |
One of the better songs on the album. It's a shame they just played the intro live. The song's got some good buildup. I guess that's why they didn't play it. It keeps climbing. And the selfperpetuatingparapahumandanarianised line. |
Apocalipsis_Darko 01.09.2015 18:33 |
I think is influenced by Metropolis and Blade Runner. |
The King Of Rhye 01.09.2015 19:02 |
I always thought it was a highlight of The Works myself. |
Arnaldo "Ogre-" Silveira 01.09.2015 21:55 |
Fantastic song. One of my all time favourites. In 1984 it was really cool to mix synth pop and hard rock. Not many did it and nobody did it as fine as Queen. Brian and Roger's collaborations were the best back then. They should retry it (hint hint). Cheers, Ogre- |
brENsKi 02.09.2015 08:53 |
Arnaldo "Ogre-" Silveira wrote:Fantastic song. One of my all time favourites. In 1984 it was really cool to mix synth pop and hard rock. Not many did it and nobody did it as fine as Queen.other bands didn't synth pop/hard rock better than queen???? of course they did - the 80s was littered with rock bands who fused synth pop with rock as well and better than queen. Rush, Toto, Asia, Van Halen, Yes, Steve Winwood, Chicago, Cars, the Who and Genesis (whose 80s pop i personally hate) |
Estranged 02.09.2015 12:49 |
Wow, Radio GaGa, one of their worst songs ever? Yeah sure. I know hardcores like to criticize well known songs but I fail to see what's so awful in this song. I personally love it, one of the few good songs on The Works alongside Hard Life and Machines, indeed. |
Sebastian 02.09.2015 12:57 |
It's not about being a hipster. Some people genuinely don't care for it. It certainly represents a lot of what people tend to criticise about 1980's Queen: the abuse of arpeggiator, the reliance on drum machines, the synth overload, the lack of a killer solo (instead it's got that basic thing with the slide), the bubble-gum-pop chorus... I can see why quite a few people could love it, and why quite a few people could hate it, without its popularity and commercial success being necessarily a factor. |
brENsKi 02.09.2015 13:10 |
^exactly. and exactly the same reason i personally hate genesis' 80s "pap". whereas the ohter bands i mentioned; Rush, Toto, Asia, Van Halen, Yes, Steve Winwood, Chicago, Cars, the Who all did something interesting - using synths to compliment their ("new" pop) music, rather swallow it whole |
mooghead 02.09.2015 14:18 |
As Roger says in the video commentary when it starts... 'Ah.. the sound of the 80's'. The song is a great sentiment, even more so these days, but it has aged BADLY due to it sounding just so 'synthetic'. The best thing about it is the bass, John did a stellar job there. |
Arnaldo "Ogre-" Silveira 02.09.2015 20:50 |
Brensky, I see your point, but please mind that I mentioned "hard" rock and "synth pop", not pop with synths. I do not recall the bands you mention playing hard rock mixed with synth pop, the musical genre, sometimes also referred to as technopop. If that is the case, I might stand corrected. As for now, I still believe that Queen did the mix of hard rock with synth pop better than ayone else at that point. Cheers, Ogre- |
Oscar J 03.09.2015 07:44 |
Oh, so Van Halen is a pop band now? |
*goodco* 03.09.2015 10:46 |
Oscar J wrote: Oh, so Van Halen is a pop band now?If you reread it, that isn't what he said. Listen to 5150, OU812, and For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.....their melodic use of synths was superb, fit so well with their easier stuff, as well as their heavier side. So much better than Q. |
brENsKi 03.09.2015 12:28 |
Arnaldo "Ogre-" Silveira wrote: Brensky, I see your point, but please mind that I mentioned "hard" rock and "synth pop", not pop with synths. I do not recall the bands you mention playing hard rock mixed with synth pop, the musical genre, sometimes also referred to as technopop. If that is the case, I might stand corrected. As for now, I still believe that Queen did the mix of hard rock with synth pop better than ayone else at that point. Cheers, Ogre-there is no "hard rock" on any of queens 80s' synth-based output. the bands i mentioned produced harder and (better( synth-based rock at that time (imo) |
Arnaldo "Ogre-" Silveira 03.09.2015 16:30 |
Hi, Brenski. I agree with the second part of your last post. It seems that our only different view after all is that I see hard rock elements in Machines and you don't. Cheers, Ogre- |
Oscar J 03.09.2015 20:01 |
*goodco* wrote:Breaks suggested Van Halen. Ogre said "Brensky, I see your point, but please mind that I mentioned "hard" rock and "synth pop", not pop with synths."Oscar J wrote: Oh, so Van Halen is a pop band now?If you reread it, that isn't what he said. What am I missing? |
luthorn 03.09.2015 23:24 |
brENsKi wrote:Amen! and, hence the reason Queen lost the USA.Arnaldo "Ogre-" Silveira wrote: Brensky, I see your point, but please mind that I mentioned "hard" rock and "synth pop", not pop with synths. I do not recall the bands you mention playing hard rock mixed with synth pop, the musical genre, sometimes also referred to as technopop. If that is the case, I might stand corrected. As for now, I still believe that Queen did the mix of hard rock with synth pop better than ayone else at that point. Cheers, Ogre-there is no "hard rock" on any of queens 80s' synth-based output. the bands i mentioned produced harder and (better( synth-based rock at that time (imo) |
cmsdrums 04.09.2015 03:00 |
brENsKi wrote:Not that "harder" in any way compares to 'better', but there's an argument that 'Tear It Up', 'Hammer To Fall', 'Gimme The Prize' could be classed as 'hard rock'.Arnaldo "Ogre-" Silveira wrote: Brensky, I see your point, but please mind that I mentioned "hard" rock and "synth pop", not pop with synths. I do not recall the bands you mention playing hard rock mixed with synth pop, the musical genre, sometimes also referred to as technopop. If that is the case, I might stand corrected. As for now, I still believe that Queen did the mix of hard rock with synth pop better than ayone else at that point. Cheers, Ogre-there is no "hard rock" on any of queens 80s' synth-based output. the bands i mentioned produced harder and (better( synth-based rock at that time (imo) If however you mean they didn't fall into a trap of churning out any of the formulaic and sterotypical US based hard rock of the time, then you're right, they didn't. They would have been quite capable of working with someone with Bruce Fairbairn or Bob Rock and releasing something akin to Aerosmith, Journey, Asia, Foreigner etc which would have probably sold handsomely in the US, but even in these mid 80s years when they lost a lot of their direction, that direction still didn't see them writing songs like, or copying the sound of, any other band. |
Oscar J 04.09.2015 10:54 |
" there's an argument that 'Tear It Up', 'Hammer To Fall', 'Gimme The Prize' could be classed as 'hard rock'. " Except that there's no synths in those songs. |
cmsdrums 04.09.2015 11:00 |
Oscar J wrote: " there's an argument that 'Tear It Up', 'Hammer To Fall', 'Gimme The Prize' could be classed as 'hard rock'. " Except that there's no synths in those songs.Sorry - I thought we were just talking generally about that 'era' when they moved to synths (though HTF does feature a Fairlight synth?) |
Oscar J 04.09.2015 12:23 |
You're probably right. No prominent use of synths would probably be a better way to put it. :) |
badboybez 04.09.2015 12:57 |
Fucking mint when played loud!! |
matt z 04.09.2015 18:38 |
I love RADIO GAGA for all the reasons described above. It WAS pretty much a demo bit of sarcasm turned into a kind of indictment of the era. All the simple stuff and arpeggiation kinda lent to the tone ofthe song. Even if it wasn't intended it's still catchy and funny It also would probably never work with a guitar solo. ... that said. ..Brian could really surprise you |
bucsateflon 14.07.2019 07:47 |
The addition to the 2019 tour brings this song to highlight great song, great guitar work |
Dim 14.07.2019 10:28 |
Radio gagatis a great song, genuine orchestration, beautiful melody and fine production. Machines was another great example that Queen could do progressive things mixed with old elements. Lyrical is weak. Hammerr to fall great rocker! I wish one day some fans realise that Queen was never a rock band. Then they understand and appreciate every album and twist Queen music has. |
maths15 14.07.2019 12:40 |
Reminds me of playing my Spectrum. |
bucsateflon 14.07.2019 13:28 |
Dim wrote: I wish one day some fans realise that Queen was never a rock band. Then they understand and appreciate every album and twist Queen music has.What a stupid thing to say or to think, when the whole basis of Queen is rock & roll. and live they were 100% rock act. Even this song has loads of guitar sounds, so that a spectrum music comparison does not fit. |
Golden Salmon 14.07.2019 18:44 |
Just curious: is it confirmed that Roger does the machine voice part? |
mooghead 14.07.2019 19:09 |
No one was thinking that in the first place?! |
bucsateflon 16.07.2019 17:46 |
This song really got stuck in my head, here you go: hope it gets stuck in your little brains |
Thrill Yeti 16.07.2019 19:04 |
I think it's shit. |
Stick 16.07.2019 22:28 |
Always loved that song and the lyrics. One of my favorites! |
Queen Fan MS 17.07.2019 05:47 |
Machines (or back to humans) song may have been included in this tour set list in preparation for their gig at Microsoft annual event in Vegas on 17th July (or not. just my wild guess) as the song suits the event. I found this link at QOL site. link |
dysan 17.07.2019 07:46 |
I kind of like it. If the album was a bit longer it might have been a good opener to make it more of a concept album like the The Works tour hinted at. |
dysan 17.07.2019 07:50 |
Check the similarities with the song Machines by Sailor from 1978. It even sounds the same. I was born from a 'Triple X' computerised machine Although my daddy, he was just another 'lazermatic' beam They used to tell me funny stories About creatures they call people - long ago They even told me they had made us - don't you know Machines, machines, machines, machines, machines Who needs flesh - and who needs blood? We need people like a stick in the mud We've got brains - and we've got speed We're in the making of the ultimate breed No more slaving and scraping to people it's over (over) Machines, machines, machines, machines Last night I was fixing up this beautiful machine But as she started up she turned around looking like a dream I used to think that all this falling in love Was just for people - but oh no She made me fuse a printed a circuit - don't you know Machines, machines, machines, machines, machines Who needs flesh - and who needs blood? We need people like a stick in the mud We've got brains - and we've got speed We're in the making of the ultimate breed No more slaving and scraping to people it's over (over) Machines, machines, machines, machines I really dig the groovy shape of your transistors I only wish you hadn't so many resistors One two three four You've got all that I adore You make me feel so proud to be a machine Machines, machines, machines, machines, machines Who needs flesh - and who needs blood? We need people like a stick in the mud We've got brains - and we've got speed We're in the making of the ultimate breed No more slaving and scraping to people it's over (over) Machines, machines, machines, machines, machines Who needs flesh - and who needs blood? We need people like a stick in the mud We've got brains - and we've got speed We're in the making of the ultimate breed Machines, machines, machines, machines, machines |
Queen Fan MS 17.07.2019 10:11 |
Neat lyrics. I like it. thanks for sharing it. |
Holly2003 17.07.2019 10:17 |
ELO wrote an album (Time) that is based in large part on the idea of blurring the line between machines and humans. Before that, many science fiction writers had done the same thing. Taylor & May are both SF fans. |
dysan 17.07.2019 15:28 |
It's almost like people in bands are one trick ponies. |
tomchristie22 18.07.2019 09:28 |
How odd that they've added this to the setlist recently. They dropped It's Late and Spread Your Wings very promptly in 2017 - I presumed because those are songs of lesser popularity. Now they add Machines, which is probably one of their single least well-known/liked recordings. Weird. |
stevelondon20 28.07.2019 10:37 |
@maths15 - My C64 too! |
The Fairy King 28.07.2019 20:49 |
I think it's very impressive they did it live (mostly). Adam nails it, despite it being a bitch to sing. The 3D model of Freddie's limited edition bust (you know, that very expensive ugly thing none of us can truly afford) is really embarrassing. I think they felt it was kinda actual with the shit going on in the tech world with big data, algorithms and machine learning. Also i bet they looked at the latest Muse offering + tour, albeit Muse doing a way better job at capturing the zeitgeist and the 80's revival thing that's been going on since Stranger Things started. That tour is visually stunning and eons more theatrical than Queen ever were live. |
Holly2003 28.07.2019 21:09 |
Looks more like Lord Lucan than Freddie. |
bucsateflon 29.07.2019 07:37 |
Machines works perfectly with radio gaga, they should've done it live since 1984 |
Vocal harmony 29.07.2019 13:58 |
Holly2003 wrote: Looks more like Lord Lucan than Freddie.Ha ha yeah. One of the music weekly rags in the 80's called him Lord Lucan of Mercury a couple of times! |
matt z 01.08.2019 00:27 |
Been looking for that Sailor song on YouTube today. Only found it on an import CD on Amazon. Such is the life of a person who doesn't subscribe to music....prefers physical copies |
matt z 01.08.2019 00:30 |
Ah. Found one. link |
bucsateflon 02.08.2019 07:01 |
we need multitracks for this masterpiece too |
dysan 02.08.2019 07:29 |
matt z wrote: Ah. Found one. linkYeah sorry I would've posted a link if I could find one. Sadly I own all the first 4 Sailor albums on 3 formats each. I went through a 'phase'. |