Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody Video

Just a short post today- got a lot on my plate. Here is the first in a series of rock videos and live clips I'll be posting of various Guided By Voices influences and/or stuff that rocks. And first up to bat is the always kick ass video to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, one of the very first modern promotional music video clips.

1975's Bohemian Rhapsody, very much in the prog rock mode of its day, anticipated GBV/Bob epics like Christian Animation Torch Carriers, Conqueror Of The Moon and Secret Star. With their tempo changes and wild shifts in tone, these multi-part songs feel more like a journey through the chapters of a story than most conventional rock songs. And apparently a big influence for the track was the Beatles classic A Day In The Life, quite possibly the first rock song of this kind.

Thematically and lyrically, the song is also in league with youth anthems like My Generation and Smells Like Teen Spirit and shares literary parallels with A Clockwork Orange, The Stranger, and Catcher In The Rye. Dark and powerful stuff!

And what more can be said about the power of Freddies Mercury's singing and Brian May's guitar? The vocal and guitar harmonies are lush and tingle-inducing. And when the rock kicks in, Bohemian Rhapsody rocks hard!