Over the Flop. Queen’s Album Hot Space (1982) and the Sways of Disappointment
This article reflects different dimensions of the attribution of the term “flop” using the example of Queen’s album Hot Space (1982). Hot Space is one of Queen’s least successful albums, and it is still controversial today due to its funk and disco orientation, which is perceived as a break in style...
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| Vydáno v: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/transposition, |
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| Hlavní autor: | |
| Médium: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Jazyk: | Anglais |
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Transposition
2022
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| Témata: | |
| On-line přístup: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Shrnutí: | This article reflects different dimensions of the attribution of the term “flop” using the example of Queen’s album Hot Space (1982). Hot Space is one of Queen’s least successful albums, and it is still controversial today due to its funk and disco orientation, which is perceived as a break in style, even by many Queen supporters.“Over the Flop” uses Hot Space as an incentive to touch on fundamental questions of our aesthetic judgement, in particular regarding the notion of a flop and the multiple layers involved in this judgement. This article will examine aesthetic, stylistic, and social layers, manifest both in the juxtaposition of rock versus funk/disco and the conflicts that arose from Freddie Mercury’s persona, in particular from his sexuality and its implications.This article concludes that the responsibility for the demise of Hot Space lies not only in the simultaneity of these aspects, but also in the interaction between the different, controversial layers. The interaction delivers a message which seems to be unsuitable with rock. This article concludes that labeling Hot Space as flop is not justified and suggests that it is a “hit in distress”. |
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