Pompous songs

Bohemian Rhapsody...

What a load of self indulgent rubbish that track really is, yet it seems to enjoy a level of protection from any criticism.

Except from me that is ;)

The track is alright, but I grew up warped on all kinds of progressive rock. I don't remember the track being considered anything special until Wayne's World came out. That scene was epic enough that it revived the song and made it a legend.
 
I guess the dividing line is whether the style and appearance is for the person doing it, or for everyone else. Pompous is someone broadcasting their self-importance, grandiose is awe inspiring. I don't know. Sometimes both.
 
I think pomposity appears when things start to become forced or contrived - if locked in with an honest musical effort, over-the-top grandiosity or style can work perfectly without being pompous, pretentious, or arrogant. Queen is an example of a band that I feel had great style particularly in the early years - they could go over the top visually but it just worked and came off as honest / not pompous

Edit: Maybe honesty is not the best word since there is a skill in presenting over the top style, and styles that don't work are not necessarily a negative personal reflection as the word pompous suggests - Queen did it very well - perhaps others like Rick Wakeman are/were just not quite as skilled or adept at that type of presentation. It's also not consistent as some band have it and then lose it.
 
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Pompous
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Grandiose:
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Is that correct? :D
To me these both work as they are both examples of presenting something new or rarely used in a fresh way - the bow was new and exciting in the way JP initially did it (the theremin also) - it's become a cliché later but for those of us that experienced it when it first appeared, it was a totally cool thing. IMO both of these are not pompous - even grandiose is not the right word imo - hard to describe - it's pure style, bombastic cool. If I had to pick something I considered toward the pompous end of the spectrum from these 2 bands I guess I'd choose the following picture and perhaps this vid. For the picture, I guess it's Robert Plant's 'look how rich I am to own this airplane' pose that seems pompous to me, and in the vid, here's VH performing late in the mk1 era where I think DLR got a bit too far over the top live imo but still hard to say pompous with EVH close by making it all legitimate with his awesome guitar playing - DLR knows this effect well as evidenced by his choice of guitarists enlisted to keep it a bit real during his solo career after.



Great Rock and Roll = being as pompous as possible without coming across as pompous ? maybe?
 
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80's pop/rock music in general was full of Pomp. The hair, the clothes, the production, the stage antics. Pure excess and attitude.
 
80's pop/rock music in general was full of Pomp. The hair, the clothes, the production, the stage antics. Pure excess and attitude.
Yeah but it also produced a lot of the best stuff ever recorded. Pompous or self indulgence was really more of a 70s thing.
 
The classical British definition of pompous implies an elevated level of seriousness

Cambridge Dictionary: Too serious and full of importance: “He's a pompous old prig who's totally incapable of taking a joke”

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Performing shirtless on stage is not serious at all 😆
 

Someone needs to start a Go Fund Me and get Phil a shirt. ;)


I love Genesis <= Duke, and love the vibe in this concert but I just can't stomach watching Phil Collins walking around with no shirt pompously thinking fans will automatically like it - perhaps should be forgiven since he's also drumming, but good grief put on something to cover up those pits when ya come out front eh!

 
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