What makes a band legendary? What gives them that edge that makes their music last a lifetime? After seeing the new movie, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, I think I know why.

The movie itself was the story of the 1970s band Queen and their rise to power in the music industry. There was something different about them than other popular musicians at that time, even some musicians now: their breakage of formulas and their many experiments with music and genres. They took inspiration from many musicians and bands from the past and tried many different styles of popular music.

Queen didn’t follow a structure when making songs so the songs would sell. Instead, they tried different structures that they thought were better. For example, the song “Bohemian Rhapsody” was vastly different than anything else at that time period. It was so different that Queen’s record studio refused to put it out as a single, and the band decided to leave the studio because of it. The song has chimes, opera singing, gongs, and no real meaning behind it, not to mention it is six minutes long. But that was the amazing thing about Queen. They made music they believed in, music that would touch the audience, not music that was mediocre but would sell.

Queen also tried to make music that would involve the audience. When “We Will Rock You” starts to play, the air fills with the tremendous beat of two foot stamps and a clap. That beat could be considered as iconic as the pledge of allegiance. Something like that was never truly done before, and nothing quite like it has been done since. Like record studios in the 70’s, modern day studios seem to want more and more formulaic music produced. It seems to be working, since more and more similar music is played today. This includes music with similar beats, structure, message, and voices. There is little variety and little passion behind the songs that are played on the radio today.

That’s why Queen is a legendary band, they didn’t care about what any producers or managers wanted. They made songs that they were passionate about, songs that would be timeless and rock the world.