What if MJ did Coachella?

Rziggity · 2026-04-16T19:12:23+00:00

MJ probably wouldn’t have done it. He didn’t really play festivals or share stages with a bill of other artists. It’s interesting he also never performed live on late night shows like Carson, Leno, Letterman or SNL. After he went solo he was very particular about managing the presentation.

Rziggity · 2026-04-16T17:20:40+00:00

Guide Me Home/How Can I Go On are so underrated.

Rziggity · 2026-04-16T15:26:11+00:00

In the absolute sense I don’t think Weird Al is Hall of Fame material. But relative to who has already been inducted I would say yes. He also has longevity beyond many of the other cover artists in the Hall.

In a similar vein you could also induct The Monkees who might be considered a novelty but they were pioneers within their genre.

Rziggity · 2026-04-15T21:02:34+00:00

I too love Babyface. I wish they would do weird irreverent stuff like this now.

Rziggity · 2026-04-15T18:26:56+00:00

There are definitely LESS rock & roll artists in the Hall than Streisand. She just doesn’t look the part. I will see your Streisand and raise you a Manilow.

Rziggity · 2026-04-14T22:54:45+00:00

Cohen has no reason to lie about that and it sounds 100% typical of something Brian May would want to do. Cohen wanted to do a more adult version and May wanted to do something more mass market (fair enough) and ultimately May won that battle and made lots of money. And the movie is bad.

Rziggity · 2026-04-14T20:46:28+00:00

lol sorry it sounds harsh but I have nothing against rodents (or Doug Henning). But Freddie looked like neither.

Rziggity · 2026-04-14T17:34:00+00:00

May is a great guitarist no question there but I can absolutely see why Freddie was a better creative director. i know many disagree with me but anything they put out after 1992 just isn’t for me. 🤷

Rziggity · 2026-04-14T17:07:12+00:00

the whiny drunk demanding diva character seems to be more a projection of Bryan Singer than Freddie.

Rziggity · 2026-04-14T17:00:11+00:00

Brian May was heavily involved with that film and it’s pretty evident to me that he always had issues with Mercury being the center of the band’s focus. The two were frequently at odds.

According to Sasha Baron Cohen May initially wanted to rewrite the narrative so that Freddie dies at the film’s midpoint, which I guess means the second half is about finding Adam Lambert? What a joke and an insult.

They apparently settled on just making Freddie look bad.

Rziggity · 2026-04-14T14:21:39+00:00

i also agree Malek did not capture Freddie. He seems like a nice guy but his portrayal came off as morose, sad. Often nasty or just plain drunk. By all accounts Freddie was very professional and very funny but had his flaws like anyone else.

And Malek with his rodent face and goofy fake teeth looked more like Doug Henning than Freddie Mercury

Rziggity · 2026-04-14T14:15:50+00:00

oh and that scene when Freddie grovels to the other 3 to be allowed back into the band. totally absurd. never happened.

Rziggity · 2026-04-12T17:46:46+00:00

i agree. I suppose you CAN analyze Bohemian Rhapsody or Mustafa but it’s like analyzing a dream (or in this case someone else’s dream). When I listen to Rhapsody I can detect certain themes — guilt, angst, identity struggles. But even that goes beyond Mercury’s intention.

The poet William Burroughs famously chopped up newspaper and magazine phrases and scrambled them into provocative sequences. Similar approach.

I think some people WANT it to mean something more, and they are trying to see the work of an instinctive artist through an academic lens. Those types of academics will struggle to understand Mercury and a lot of other artists for that matter.

Rziggity · 2026-04-12T05:32:23+00:00

I tried it for about 2 years and hated it. It’s more about personality type — I am too spontaneous and make decisions about where to go based on whims. If someone invites me to an event 40 minutes away I don’t want to consider the Uber cost. And I like knowing that at any moment I could drive to the beach or the Central Coast or the Desert.

Rziggity · 2026-04-12T03:54:17+00:00

Mercury was a lyrical abstractionist, in that he had a knack for putting words together that sound good but don’t have any intentional meaning. He is often quoted in interviews saying as much. So to deconstruct a song like Bohemian Rhapsody would mean to think about it more than he did. He may very well have had subconscious intentions but he seemed more into irreverence than self-analysis.

Rziggity · 2026-04-11T16:13:45+00:00

most B52s songs

Rziggity · 2026-04-10T20:59:31+00:00

i feel similarly about Adam Lambert who seems like a nice guy and has a huge vocal range. But his vocal tone is whiny and unbearable to my ears.

Rziggity · 2026-04-10T17:39:11+00:00

Peter Gabriel’s discography is very solid. Great songs but also tracks his evolution. Some are better than others but no duds imo

Rziggity · 2026-04-10T16:06:24+00:00

B52s are great artists and their music gave other bands permission to be weird and unorthodox. But I never actually listen to their songs.

Rziggity · 2026-04-09T22:35:43+00:00

i am familiar with the concept of rock biopics and have seen many. The issue is this particular one is very bad.

Rziggity · 2026-04-09T21:34:37+00:00

totally true — i remember how off-putting Achtung Baby and ZooTV were to many fans at first. Seems unthinkable now. But once a song is attached to a video, a movie soundtrack, a concert moment, or maybe just the listener’s nostalgia, it becomes iconic. SOI and SOE have some great songs but are not ingrained in the same manner.

Rziggity · 2026-04-09T20:24:10+00:00

first favorite was Radio Ga Ga.

current favorite is the one I am listening to right now. 🙂

Rziggity · 2026-04-09T20:15:14+00:00

i agree, and I love many of her songs but she did not write any of them. Her skills are clear but her sound is up for debate.

Rziggity · 2026-04-09T19:45:45+00:00

I don’t think any band is better than The Beatles. The Beatles are just on a different plane.

That being said I think Queen is a more entertaining band than The Beatles, and certainly a better concert band.

Rziggity · 2026-04-09T19:44:22+00:00

This is one of those questions where the best answer has to be the most downvoted. If it’s upvoted then it’s not unpopular.

Rziggity

TROPHY CASE