I've been thinking so much about Queen recently and it really surprises me in a good way how much of an impact they've had on me. They were one of the first types of popular music I
ever knew in my whole life, from being about 5 years old, I used to raid my mum's CD rack and listen to allsorts, but Queen was the one that stuck really early on. I definitely had a very underdeveloped and naive understanding of them, but I was pulled in straight away. I always admired the huge harmonies (massive harmonic layers were always my fave thing in music, me and me dad have spent days sitting around trying to figure complex songs out by ear) and Brian's guitar skills. And when I was about 9 or 10, once I'd actually started to understand music more properly as a concept and an artform, and as something you enjoy for reasons bigger than how it sounds, Queen really became everything. Considering how music dominates my life now and how much I understand about it and feel familiar with it, it really strikes me as a big thing; Queen were the first band I ever obsessed over, the first band I ever thought about with deep meaning, about not just the music as a sound but as a structure and piece of work and art, how it affects us emotionally, and about the band members as people and artists. Queen were the first band I genuinely loved. QueenOnline was the first forum I ever joined, at age 11, the reason I created my first email address, the first time I ever shared my love of a band with other devotees across the globe and made friends through music. Brian was my first silly crush and the first musician I technically, personally and musically admired. Queen did so much for me as a young music enthusiast, it really makes me smile that they awoke the passion for music inside me properly and set me up to be the musician and music lover I am today. Imagine if I hadn't gone rooting through those CDs... it might never have happened.
SORRY! I could talk about Queen forever... *swoon*
xxx