| doremi 12.03.2005 16:38 |
I have always thought that above most any other Major music artist, Queen had the most affection, respect, and understanding of their fans worldwide, by consistantly writing, recording, and performing songs in foreign languages. With "Teo Torriatte", "Las Palabres De Amor", and "Tavaszi Szel Vizet Araszt" Queen showed a deep understanding and respect for each and all of their fans in various countries. It's a special thing to see a Major Rock band take and make the time and effort to learn a fan market's native language and record and perform the song in that language. While foreign markets may love British and USA acts coming to tour in their countries, they have to rock, to our English language. But for Queen, to show the ultimate class, regard, understanding...and respect of the actual ...culture...of their foreign fans is wonderful. It's not an easy thing to learn, write, record and perform in Japanese, Russian, Hungarian, Latin...whatever. And I think it shows that above all else, Queen were...and are,..a music act/artist and band of and for the people, no matter what country...and the universal language of music....which is why they have and will continue to be a sellout beloved act worldwide. And which is why their current Tour with Paul Rodgers, no matter what their fans' opinions may be about the current tour (without both Freddie & John) and the choice of Paul Rodgers to sing with them....(and yes I have my own opinions on that, that I...am not necessarily pleased with)....but I am supportive of Brian & Roger..... --that is why the tour is selling out, in every country that they add to the tour, and the demand is so high in so many countries for Queen (even with Paul Rodgers) to come to tour. Queen has always been a band about and for their fans, and I think that whatever differences of opinion we all may or may not have about Brian & Roger's current creative direction...has no bearing on how very much all of us fans want to hear and see...at least what is left of Queen....Brian and Roger on this tour. It's a time piece of the fans' heartfelt feelings to a band they love past....and present and a wonderful testament to Queen. |
| Bohardy 12.03.2005 20:14 |
Stepfordism? "...by consistantly writing, recording, and performing songs in foreign languages...With "Teo Torriatte", "Las Palabres De Amor", and "Tavaszi Szel Vizet Araszt"...". - I love your use of 'consistently' there. Three examples, one of which was a one-off live performance, of Queen singing in a foreign language does in no way signify consistency when you consider the fact that they were musically active for 2 decades, recording 15 albums and about 200 songs. Besides, Teo Torriate simply had one chorus more or less written by a translator, LPDA had 2 lines in simple Spanish, whilst TSVA simply proved that Fred had the ability to remember/read a couple of verses of Hungarian from the palm of his hand. Yes it's nice that the guys gave these nods to their foreign fans, but I think you're severely overblowing the level of effort required to do this, as well as the uniqueness of the ideas. |
| wstüssyb 12.03.2005 20:28 |
Rather then say that they sang in different languages, I say they were the first to tour to so many different places 1st like South America, and kept coming back to Japan, is why they were so popular in many countries. |
| doremi 12.03.2005 20:50 |
I ain't no Stepford! I just think it's nice that Queen did learn, record and perform in foreign languages. I don't care if it's one verse or a entire song. Most other acts don't ever make any effort, even once to do that. Again peanut gallery, let's see you do that if you are in bands. "People who thro stones....glass houses..all that." You down Queen's effort, I'd like to see the peanut gallery and most big name artists make....any effort at all on behalf of their forein audience when they tour in foreign markets/countries. I give Queen an A plus with Extra Credit for effort....and respect for the culture of their various foreign fans!! |
| Victoria 13.03.2005 03:42 |
You know, Queen is not the only band to have three or four songs out in foreign tongues. The Beatles also did this. Besame Mucho (in Spanish on the Anthology*although, yes I know that they didn't write it themselves, still they sang it), Michelle (chorus in French), Sun King (good majority in Italian *I'm pretty sure), and Across the Universe (part of the chorus either in Japanese or something Lennon made up himself) are four examples I could come up with for not entirely 100% English on lyrics in their songs. Now why would these guys do this? To gain fan status in the non-English speaking world? Over a few lines? Nah. Come on. By the time Sun King and Across the Universe came about, they were in it for the music, not fans. It was put in for artisic expression. Perhaps have you thought that maybe something from such a culture influenced the guys to use different languages. It is very definate that Yoko influenced John about utilzing Japanese. That is extremely relevant in his solo works. My final idea about how this miracle could happen is ... they felt like it. In fact, jumping back to Queen,I think Freddie felt enough like it, that he decided to go beyond mere foreign languages and made up his own, resulting in Mustapha (HOW could you forget THAT ONE in a foreign language topic!). And about many countries having Queen on such high demand is simple: good tunes is good tunes. Music is the universal language, which is precisely why everybody loves it! PS - I think you are a descendant of either Melville Cooper or Leo Tolstoy. Except ... nah. I won't say it. |
| wstüssyb 13.03.2005 05:12 |
Across the Universe (part of the chorus either in Japanese or something Lennon made up himself) I think it is some language used in India or Pakistan, or something, as I remember the Beatles wrote some stuff while they visted that Hindu or Buddist thing, As I heard those words do make sence and forgot what they ment. |
| Sebastian 13.03.2005 08:54 |
Time for another long-post of mine: > I love your use of 'consistently' there. Three examples, one of which was a one-off live performance, of Queen singing in a foreign language does in no way signify consistency when you consider the fact that they were musically active for 2 decades, recording 15 albums and about 200 songs. Totally agreed > Besides, Teo Torriate simply had one chorus more or less written by a translator Yes, although in that case it's more or less a tribute the fact that both this intro and You Take My Breath Away's were deliberately written over Japanese traditional pentatonic scale. > I say they were the first to tour to so many different places 1st like South America Earth Wind & Fire, Santana, Air Supply and probably some others had been there first. Whether they were as successful or not is another issue. It's the same overrating point as the Bo Rhap video. By that effect we can say that Jaws is the first film only because it was the first Blockbuster? > and kept coming back to Japan Neither the first nor the last. Queen's popularity in Japan is a little over-commented, they're quite popular, but not as much as you would think. > is why they were so popular in many countries. I think they were popular because they were good, more than promotion itself although of course it had a vital importance as well. > I don't care if it's one verse or a entire song. Now that's stepfordism. It is very different one verse to one entire song. It's the same when people say, for instance, that Brian "played harp". I mean, to record one chord, then in another take the other, etc until he completed the three-four second part, in my book, doesn'T count as playing an instrument. Same for those many who say Paul McCartney could play everything... if he blowed a trumpet or a flute for three secs somewhere does it make him a trumpetist/flautist? no way. Same thing here, to say "Bismilah" doesn't make Queen a band who "constantly recorded in foreign languages". Similar stereo-typed point is taken when people call Queen an "opera-rock" band, just because of twenty seconds of one song. > Most other acts don't ever make any effort, even once to do that. From the top off my head, Bryan Adams recorded his most famous song in Spanish, Bon Jovi and Scorpions did Spanish versions of some of theirs as well (Bed Of Roses, Wind Of Change), I think Sting sang in Spanish as well, Guns N' Roses did that Hungarian song as well when they went to Budapest, Agnetta & Frida from Abba recorded an entire album in Spanish... > You down Queen's effort, I'd like to see the peanut gallery and most big name artists make....any effort at all on behalf of their forein audience when they tour in foreign markets/countries. Look my paragrahp above. Besides that, I seem to remember hearing that when Elaine Paige went to China she said some words in Mandarin, when Metallica did their concert in Colombia Hetfield said "buenas noches Bogota", when Garou went to Paris he sang The City Of New Orleans in French, and so on. It's of course very nice from Queen to do stuff like the foreign words (remember Brian's short speech in Argentina before LOML), and the gimmick with the flags, but Queen weren't the only good blokes in the music. > Sun King (good majority in Italian *I'm pretty sure) Just one line, imho it doesn't count as "good majority". Another line is in Spanish, another in something else (I might be mis-rememebering) and all the other lines are in English. > and Across the Universe (part of the chorus either in Japanese or something Lennon made up himself) Definitely not Japanese at least, although John & Yoko had some songs partly in Japanese in his solo career, I remember a pointless one called "Ay Sumimasen Yoko", or the chorus went like that... something to that effect. Still, both, |
| Victoria 13.03.2005 13:37 |
Sebastian wrote: > Sun King (good majority in Italian *I'm pretty sure) Just one line, imho it doesn't count as "good majority". Another line is in Spanish, another in something else (I might be mis-rememebering) and all the other lines are in English.Op. Sorry. It was late when I wrote that. I forgot about the English lines altogether. That's mostly my fault in that I haven't listened to my Abbey Road CD in a while. I must add with it being so late, that I also completely forgot about Past Masters One. There are two songs ENTIRELY in German (or at least that's what I heard). It's two of their earlier songs. "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand" (I Want to Hold Your Hand) and "Sie Liebt Dich" (She Loves You). They were forced to do it, and as you can see, never did it again probably because the language "barrier" didn't impact their sales or ... because they didn't want to ;) |
| Bohardy 14.03.2005 08:44 |
I fully agree with everything Sebastian said. "Jai Guru Deva om", the foreign line in Across The Universe, is Sanskrit, and loosely translates as 'I give thanks to Guru Dev [he was the Maharishi's teacher], om [which is the sound used in meditation - believed to be the natural vibration of the universe]'. The foreign lines in Sun King are just cod-Spanish. Random words coupled with the odd real Spanish word, that are designed to give the overall impression of Spanish. |
| wstüssyb 14.03.2005 08:59 |
> I say they were the first to tour to so many different places 1st like South America Earth Wind & Fire, Santana, Air Supply and probably some others had been there first. Whether they were as successful or not is another issue. It's the same overrating point as the Bo Rhap video. By that effect we can say that Jaws is the first film only because it was the first Blockbuster? Queen were the 1st to make a tour of it, like I said, other bands did 1-4 shows, Yes other bands were there 1st, Queen on the other hand made a mini tour in different countries, where earth wind & fire, air supply just did a few shows in brazil,a big difference bewteen tour and a few shows.The the thing about Japan is also true, that Queen came back for practically every tour, where when you read about other bands they come every other tour, well pre 90's it was that case. |
| Hitman 14.03.2005 09:52 |
SUN KING - Beatles Ah... Here come the sun king Here come the sun king Everybody's laughing Everybody's happy Here come the sun king "Cuando para mucho mi amore de feliche carathon Mundo paparazzi mi amore cheap caferi parasol Cuesto abrigado tanta mucho que canite carousel" AND YOU CALL THAT ITALIAN? :P the only italian words are "paparazzi" that is not just italian as you know and "amore"...well....so...there's nothing in my language here that makes sense. there is more "italian" in Galileo MAgnificooooo!..oh mamma mia mamma mia...mamma mia let me go! bye bye friends |
| doremi 14.03.2005 12:35 |
OK so maybe Queen weren't the ONLY artist to ever court their foreign fans with writing, recording, and performing in foreign languages, but a ton of artists that tour Internationally don't give a flying F**k at all and still only sing in English. I still think it was a genuine and sweet (and no I'm not naive...a good business) gesture, and I applaud them for doing so. Ans I still think it shows respect for their foreign fans' cultures. And I know that I have read that Brian specifically is quite touched, by how touched Queen's latin fans are with "Las Palabras De Amor", and you know when Brian says something, especially about his personal feelings....he means it!!!! |
| Victoria 14.03.2005 16:16 |
Ok. I apologized the first time. I thought I read somewhere that it was Italian YEARS AGO anyhow. Give a girl a break. I wasn't 100% sure anyhow. I didn't say "This is definately Italian". Sheesh. Anyhow... see you all somewhere else on the forum. :) |
| Sebastian 14.03.2005 20:52 |
> Queen were the 1st to make a tour of it Queen's "tour" was 10 concerts. Not a very big deal. I might be wrong but I think Air Supply's was a little bigger (not so much, but still it was a tour). > The the thing about Japan is also true, that Queen came back for practically every tour Really? Let's see, after theirfirst visit to Japan in 1975 there were the following tours: late '75 (anato) - didn't come early '76 (anato) - came late '76 (anato+)- didn't come early '77 (adatr)- didn't come late '77 (notw)- didn't come early '78 (notw)- didn't come late '78 (jazz)- didn't come early '79 (live killers) - came late '79 (crazy) - didn't come summer '80 (game) - didn't come late '80 (flash) - didn't come early '81 (flash) came for five gigs only autumn '81 (gluttons) - didn't come spring '82 (hot dpace) - didn't come late '82 (hot space) - came for just six gigs autumn '84 (works) - didn't come spring '85 (works) - came for just six concerts summer '86 (magic) - didn't come So I don't think they came back "practically every tour" |
| wstüssyb 14.03.2005 22:42 |
late '75 (anato) - didn't come early '76 (anato) - came late '76 (anato+)- didn't come early '77 (adatr)- didn't come late '77 (notw)- didn't come early '78 (notw)- didn't come late '78 (jazz)- didn't come early '79 (live killers) - came late '79 (crazy) - didn't come summer '80 (game) - didn't come late '80 (flash) - didn't come early '81 (flash) came for five gigs only autumn '81 (gluttons) - didn't come spring '82 (hot dpace) - didn't come late '82 (hot space) - came for just six gigs autumn '84 (works) - didn't come spring '85 (works) - came for just six concerts summer '86 (magic) - didn't come Why are you confusing tour legs with tours? im pretty sure they came for ANATO,ADATR,NOTW,JAZZ,GAME,HOTSPACE,WORKS tours, they came once per each tour, meaning they came once per cycle. On the other hand you are talking about tour legs, that would be pretty lame if they went there for each leg would'nt it? be a waste of money to come more then once per tour. late '82 (hot space) - came for just six gigs autumn '84 (works) - didn't come spring '85 (works) - came for just six concerts which is a lot, how many UK hot space dates were there? not even 3 =) |
| doremi 15.03.2005 14:18 |
|)3NN!5 ™<br><font size=1>Sacret</font> wrote: Well what I appreciate is that Freddie most of the times says some words in the langauge of the people he visits at the concerts. Like in Munich '79 Alles Klar? and in Sao Paulo and Tokyo asswel. I think that's a great piont.Glad someone gives Queen some credit where it's due! That's what I've been saying all along here. It just shows respect and regard and hey..it's good for Queen's PR and business to ingratiate themselves to and for the cultures of each country Queen toured in. Hell even Donald Trump has said that as a businessman, he studies the cultures of the nations he travels to, to do business in and with..so as always to ingratiate and never to offend the cultures. I read in one of Trump's books the FIRST thing he learned is to...never shake hands with anyone in Japan...It shows gross disrespect and presumptuousness on our part to be in THEIR country but greet them with our USA custom. First thing he learned was to..bow.. to everyone in Japan when greeting them and to speak their language. |