Ayer Muse reventaron el Palacio de los Deportes. Yo no me lo podía creer, que les vi en La Riviera y no estoy seguro de que lo vendieran todo allí, que cabe la décima parte de gente. Para celebrarlo, aunque no me gusta repetir banda, hoy os dejo una canción suya (ya hablamos en su día de Time Is Running Out).

¿Alguien ha jugado al Guitar Hero 3? Ahí está la canción con la que cerraron ayer el concierto, y todos los de esta gira de presentación de su álbum The Resistance. Knights of Cydonia, con uno de los mejores riffs que os podáis imaginar.

Cydonia es la zona de Marte donde se supone que se veía una cara gigantesca construida en plena planicie. Se hicieron trillones de teorías de la conspiración, que ni siquiera se han callado del todo al conseguir imágenes a mayor resolución. Yo os recomiendo ésta. La canción fue el tercer single del álbum Black Holes & Revelations, que habla bastante de teorías de este tipo. En realidad es uno de los temas favoritos de Muse en sus letras, sobre todo desde aquel disco…

La intro está basada en el comienzo de la música de Encuentros en la tercera fase. Además, tiene algunas partes que recuerdan a Telstar de The Tornados, pero no importa, porque aquélla era la banda del padre de Bellamy, todo queda en casa.

El videoclip, que mola horrores, tiene elementos de spaghetti western mezclado con apocalipsis futurista, tiene kung fu, pistolas láser, guiños a Matrix, el planeta de los simios, star wars… y casi cualquier cosa que os podáis imaginar.

Deeentro vídeo

Come ride with me through the veins of history
I’ll show you a God who falls asleep on the job
How can we win when fools can be kings?
Don’t waste your time or time will waste you

No one’s gonna take me alive
The time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive

No one’s gonna take me alive
The time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive

No one’s gonna take me alive
The time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive

Warning: Spoilers

Muse have a following that at times strays close to extremism and turns their concerts into something like rallies.  The band, for their part, are always keen to put on a spectacle.  Their past two albums have seemingly blurred the line between politics and entertainment, and so it’s no surprise that the three towers that are the centrepiece of Muse’s light and video show flash the chorus of the night’s opener, Uprising, from their latest offering, The Resistance;

They will not force us,

They will stop degrading us,

They will not control us,

We will be victorious.

There is something disconcerting in seeing 20,000 people call back those words and throw their arms forward in encouragement.  If Matt Bellamy, self-confessed conspiracy theorist, really so desired he would have little trouble making an impact in politics.  All it would take is a banner and a carefully chosen set-list.

It is probably for the best, therefore, that Muse are on their best behaviour at the moment.  Love, apparently, is their Resistance, and they are just as interested in playing the hits and relying on Bellamy’s rather geeky crowd-pleasing antics as making a stand.  After their tour with U2, they have not picked up any annoying habits, such as speaking at length on stage.

What can be said of Muse’s live show that isn’t already known?  Just as they were the band to fill Wembley, they are the perfect band for the O2 (apologies to the Jackson family).  The last time I was there (for Bob Dylan), it seemed impossible to fill such a cavernous space.  And yet, third row down from the top, watching Muse, it was obvious that the answer is a lot of lasers and a lot of noise.  In fact, further than that, Muse have three platforms that raise or lower the performers during the set.  They start up, descend three songs in for a well-received New Born, are up again for an even more popular Feeling Good, and later on for part of Bellamy’s symphony during the encore.

And as usual, the musicianship is the real draw, particularly drummer Dom, who – and this probably isn’t said enough – holds the group together and gives their live sound the necessary oomph, for want of a better word.  One thing you could say about these concerts, is that Muse seem happy to cut loose, especially as their hyped-up ‘homecoming’ concerts in Devon made them seem just a little wooden.

After an overcooked Unintended, there is a palpable sense of fun as they rattle through Starlight, Plug in Baby and Time is Running Out.  Nonetheless, though this would be a perfect time to leave the stage, they return to their latest ‘message’ with Unnatural Selection, before an encore including Stockholm Syndrome and a harmonica-introduced version Knights of Cydonia that is so comprehensively backed by Dom as to be practically a drum and bass remix.  All in all, a fantastic use of the venue, and another triumph for Muse.  They continue to be Britain’s best live band.

The Great British Band That Might Have Been

Having proved themselves capable of holding the attention of crowds of any size, it seems counter-intuitive to say that Muse might have been anything more.  Still, it seems unlikely that they will endure in the same way that Blur, or even Radiohead, seem likely to.

Part of the problem is that this is the X-Factor generation.  People are increasingly drawn to music as spectacle, and moreover, half the population are focussed on the television – a medium that encourages a buy and sell mentality to new music.  That has hardly helped, but bands like the Arctic Monkeys have hit on to the national consciousness quickly.  Muse have never been as loved by the critics.

I find this hard to believe.  Looking back, Muse’s discography provides an interesting historical record.  They started with the youthful, anxious Showbiz, tried heavy prog-rock on The Origin of the Symmetry, hit a more emotive chord on Absolution and have now gone on to politically and now R&B influenced rock.  Musically, they’ve tried everything, and reflected the growing sense of disenchantment with the Noughties.

But there is a sense that they have followed, rather than led the way. One of the problems with Muse is their timing.  Fans will know how long the gaps between albums have been.

Indeed, their latest, most demagogic efforts in particular have been badly-timed.  Black Holes and Revelations could have had twice the impact, had it been released in the immediate aftermath of the Iraq War, rather than in 2006.  The Resistance is the same.  Its paranoia seems more suited to the Blair era, now that the government is viewed more as incompetent than sinister, and had it been released last year, when Duffy was taking no prisoners, its R&B tinges might have been more popular.

That said, Muse are also the victims of their own success, and more specifically their focus on instantly recognisable riffs and tempo changes.  It is far easier to look forward to the guitar solo crashing in on Knights of Cydonia, than think about the call to arms.  We’re back to today’s consumerism, but also the fun the band has on stage.  Who needs seriousness, when you can be so entertaining?

It’s a bit tough to review the music proper on Journal for Plague Lovers without burrowing into the story behind it – the two are so strongly intertwined that they very nearly define one another.

The band, formed in 1986, was originally a quartet. In winter 1995, however, rhythm guitarist and lyricist Richey Edwards (famously volatile – he used a razor to carve the phrase ‘4 REAL’ into his arm after a music journalist suggested that Manic Street Preachers lacked authenticity) went missing, and hasn’t been found since. While the band remained together, and continued to write and release albums long after his disappearance, it’s with Journal, their ninth studio album, that they finally seem to be attempting to put Edwards’ memory to rest. The lyrics here are dark and literate, culled from a small portfolio of work that Edwards gave to band member Nicky Wire only a few weeks before disappearing, and the respect and passion with which the band treats the material is evident. In a sense, Journal is both a derivative of Edwards’ life and, the band hopes, a memorial to it.

It’s comforting, then, that the album works.

Musically, there’s a comfortably homey sort of mac-and-cheese quality to things; it’s solid Brit-rock with a sharp, nostalgic whiff of the 90s. Edwards’ lyrics, however, are crumbled bacon, rich and heavy and keeping things far more tasty than they have any right to be. Not to say that the music itself is bad per se – just that it’s often not, by its own merits, buoyant enough to support a few stanzas of dead weight and still keep its head above water (cf. Muse’s Black Holes and Revelations). With Edwards’ help, though, the album often noses its way into quality. Opening track “Peeled Apples,” is a good example of this; superficially, it’s your standard-issue mosh-pit anthem, floating pleasantly atop a scowling, grimy, radio-ready bass line. But as a track, it’s propelled by words (“riderless horses on Chomsky’s Camelot / bruises on my hands from digging my nails out / a series of images against you and me / trespass your torment if you are who you want to be”), and the intrigue of those words keeps the track afloat. So too does “Jackie Collins Existential Question Time,” which has all the hallmarks of a great single, but, as we’re slammin’ out the air guitar, slyly asks us “if a married man / a married man fucks a Catholic / and his wife dies without knowing / does it make him unfaithful, people?” – which is just the sort of thing I like to think about when I’m half-conscious and puttering along in morning traffic. The interplay of pleasant and prickly here is like cinnamon toast spiked with habañeros.

Manic Street Preachers’ “She Bathed Herself In A Bath of Bleach,” from Journal for Plague Lovers.

There are a solid handful of standout tracks – the aforementioned “Jackie Collins” is one, as is hard-rocking “She Bathed Herself in a Bath of Bleach,” which sounds as though it might cause nearby hotel rooms to spontaneously wreck themselves. Acoustic track “Facing Page: Top Left” also works quite well, a delicately orchestrated criticism of Western beauty culture that has vocalist James Dean Bradfield deftly sputtering its refrain as a single uninterrupted string of syllables (“thisbeautiadippineophobia!”). But perhaps the high point of the album, musically and thematically, is the closing track, “William’s Last Words,” a peaceful, melancholy sigh of a song that can’t help but strike the listener as Edwards’ own gentle goodbye (“leave me, go Jesus, I love you / yeah, I love you / just let me go / I even love the devil / but yes, he did me harm / don’t keep me any longer / ‘cos I’m really tired / I’d love to go to sleep / and wake up happy”).

Journal for Plague Lovers, musically, is a bit of a chimera: catchy Brit-pop for the depressed literati, a sort of love child of Damon Albarn and Craig Finn. As an experience, though, it’s a little harder to quantify. There’s a great deal of genuine pathos, sometimes leavened by the pop music on which it rests, sometimes amplified; one gets the impression that the album was made as much for the band themselves as for the audience. The mad swings between glistening, cynical rock and honest, uncoiled emotion paint a fascinating picture of a group that has spent the greater part of its career living in the shadow of a missing friend. A sense of purpose washes over the album, bare and honest in its softer moments, while in others marked only by a sharp jab of the quill. Some might perceive the album’s whole concept as a sort of emotional exploitation, but it’s hard to be cynical when Manic Street Preachers sound so fully committed, so naked, and so, well, real. I imagine Edwards would be satisfied.

- DF

This music video was disappointing… but it’s still fine. Not as spectacularly abstract, like other Muse videos, but still okay. And they’re all fucking sexy, so there. (L)

If I can’t be the best I am until I’m with you, and I will never be with you, then I will never fully be myself. Revelation#96

I can’t imagine all the people that you know
And the places that you go
When the lights are turned down low
And I don’t understand
All the things you’ve seen
But I’m slipping in between
You and your big… dreams
It’s always you and my big dreams

My Konstantine

I’ll post something real later… but for now, have some good music.

Cheers,

Wanda

PS: all you people looking at my blog really like Emily Browning. She’s hawt, so it’s all good. x

I’m pretty sure I had seen it before, but I watched this video today and it kind of meant a little more this time around. [by the way, if you haven't killed an afternoon, or two. or three. or six. on TED you're missing out on life.] But Robinson’s explanation of what modern education does describes me in a horrifyingly accurate way. I decided today that writing could, *potentially,* be a good way for me to do some creativity calisthenics now and then.

I haven’t decided what I want this blog to be primarily dedicated to, but I’m thinking it’ll probably just end up a hodgepodge of thoughts on various subjects. I guess we’ll see. But, at any rate:

here’s to good ol’ blogging.

It’s not so much that Muse’s Matt – sorry, Matthew – Bellamy is a D-class lyricist, per se; plenty of lousy writers write good music. It’s not even the bombastic theatricality; Queen, Kate Bush… hell, even Rammstein know how to make that work. No, what makes The Resistance such a hard sell is that Bellamy and Muse seem to have no idea how ridiculous their music is.

Granted, this is not news. It was this same quality that gave us a handful of giggles listening to 2006’s Black Holes and Revelations, though, by whatever voodoo, that album took the band’s tragic self-seriousness and twisted it into a kind of comic performance art. That most of the album also was a heck of a lot of fun was almost secondary – it worked.

Unfortunately, The Resistance falls prey to Bellamy’s worst musical instincts. Where Black Holes overcame subpar lyrics with catchy melodies and some hilariously brash instrumentation, The Resistance offers only occasional such bursts of inspiration. It’s in these moments that the band is at its “Hysteria”-level best, and tracks such as “Unnatural Selection” and “MK Ultra” successfully flirt with the operatic without succumbing to it. Sadly, these moments are too few and far between, and much of the rest of the album flounders under the band’s hamfisted self-absorption. The stunningly misguided faux-Queen ballad “United States of Eurasia / Collateral Damage” is ground zero here, an painfully constipated conglomerate of every bad idea the band’s ever had, a kind of trashy Euro-unity anthem that speaks in nothing but cliché ambiguities and winds up making such little sense that it’s hardly more than a punchline.

Muse’s “United States of Eurasia / Collateral Damage,” from The Resistance.

And there’s the rub.

These guys are dead serious about what they do. They actually believe that they’re sending a message, and that’s where the whole thing comes crashing down. When Matt Bellamy croons and howls “these wars, they can’t be won / and do you want them to go on and on and on / why split these States when there can be ONLY ONE?” there’s not the slightest trace of a smile. You can almost see the band, glistening with sweat under the searing stage lights, gazing out over their admiring audience, knowing that they’ve just changed the world for the better.

Okay, so maybe music is fundamentally self-absorbed. But, most of the time, it’s self-absorbed in such a way that it’s palatable. Example: We write songs in the first person singular, speaking mostly in ‘I’s or ‘you’s or the occasional ‘we’. By this we create the illusion of conversation. This is a good thing. It makes the music personal, and the listener more willing to forgive an author’s cheesier sentiments. When Bellamy sings “I thought I was a fool for no-one / ooh, baby I’m a fool for you / you are the Queen of the Superficial / how long before you tell the truth?” on “Supermassive Black Hole”, it’s corny, but, even if only within the strata of pop music’s decades-thick layer cake du fromage, it works.

On The Resistance, however, Bellamy often adopts the same irritatingly smug “us vs. them” outlook that makes political rallies so universally appreciated. As a result, the much of the album feels like a rambling, fist-pumping tirade to an imaginary, or at least immaterial, crowd of like-minded wingnuts. In this context, the band’s lyrical shortcomings are even more obvious – tenuous grasp of flow and mechanics aside, there’s simply no poignancy here, just a litany of shallow, tepidly-linked catchphrases railing against unidentified evil (“’interchanging mind control / come, let the revolution take its toll / if you could flick a switch and open your third eye / you’d see that we should never be afraid to die” – “Uprising”). The Flaming Lips, on 2006’s “The W.A.N.D. (The Will Always Negates Defeat),” knew enough to get that if you’re going to bitch about the mysterious Them, it only makes sense to give some hint of who They might be, or else you’re just screaming pointlessly into the night. Unfortunately for Muse, there’s a lot of screaming pointlessly into the night going on here.

We won’t even get into the band’s systemic bastardization of classical music (ripped off and repackaged for the masses!), as it’s a known quantity and if you’re still listening to Muse by this point you’ve probably already come to grips with it.

That said (as much as “That” may have been), the album is not a total abortion. There’s some fun to be had here, rocking-out to be done, giggles to be giggled, etc. Rather, it feels as though the band’s more frustrating historical tendencies are beginning to catch up with them. In some ways The Resistance is, then, a quintessential Muse album. Perhaps it’s just that the quintessence of Muse is not be quite as great as anyone, including the band, would like to think.

- DF

I struggle to find a word to sum up the music that is unique to Muse. Their 50% classical, 50% rock, 50% brit pop style gives them a sound that is 150% pure Awesome. “Origin of Symmetry”, Muse’s second album, considered their defining work to date and one of my personal favourite albums, combined heavy, uniquely bass-driven tracks overlaid with stellar guitar solos, stratospheric vocals, and Rachmaninov-inspired piano motifs. Building upon this was their 2003 album “Absolution”, which upped the ante with heavy, guitar-lead passages which many have tried to replicate but none have been able to copy. With “Black Holes and Revelations” in 2006, Muse cemented themselves as one of the all-time great British bands and one of the best live acts in the world, with hits such as “Supermassive Black Hole” and the Epic “Knights of Cydonia”.

And so, with a sad song here and a sad song there, we arrive at Muse’s fifth studio album, “The Resistance”. Needless to say, it’s a rather drab affair.

No, drab’s not the word I’m looking for, it’s… utterly breathtaking.

The album is such a mix of old and new, of traditional and modern, of classical and rock, that’s it’s hard to believe it all would work. Yet somehow, amazingly, it does. The songs are constantly changing pace and tone inside of themselves, and holding them all together is no mean feat.

The album starts straight in with the lead single, “Uprising”, the video of which seems to imply that the world has been taken over by giant teddy bears… but anyway. Bass driven, anyone who finds the likes of Supermassive Black Hole entertaining should get a kick out of it. Following this, we’re out of the first uprising and into the “Resistance” itself, and then onwards into “Undisclosed desires”. It is here that the more classical elements of the album become apparent, with the string section being used heavily throughout the song in various electronic disguises. These classical elements are further alluded to in “United States of Eurasia” and its piano outro, “Collateral Damage”. Eurasia begins as a soft piano led melody, before morphing into something completely unique, mixing elements of Japanese music style with more traditional sounds, which have a distinct feel of Queen about them. Collateral Damage is a romantic styled piano piece, which flows effortlessly into the next song, “Guiding Light”. Thumping on the drums before moving again into the strings and the guitar, the tune has a definite feel of victory about it, and again the guitar solo in the middle of the tune sounds like something right out of the pages of Brian May’s notebook.

“Unnatural Selection” starts off on the Organ, but it’s intro is deceptive. It quickly builds into something not unlike Newborn, before pulling right back, halving the tempo, and moving into a slow groove, with a jazzy guitar solo before moving off again into “MK Ultra”, quite possibly my favourite song on the album. A Plug in baby-esque intro and riff serve to power the song along at a great pace and chromatic vocals give the song depth and mystery. Next comes “My Heart Belongs to you”, and the song’s French sound and lyrics give rise to it’s other title, “Mon Cœur S’ouvre À Ta Voix”. The song’s ending is particularly impressive and endearing, with a vaudivillian clarinet outro, and the lyrics work beautifully throughout. Again, pace and momentum change halfway through the song with the language, giving greater feel to the music.

So, after 8 songs of rock, what way to end? Muse show that they are not ones to conform to the sterotypes, and thus begins something rather unique. As we reach the climax of the album, we enter a three part classical symphony: The Exogenesis.  Describing it would take a review in itself, suffice to say, it’s a fantastic, fantastic way to end this album, something so completely different it fits perfectly.  The piano in the third movement requires special mention. Utterly fantastic.

And so the album draws to a close, delivering all I’d expected it to and then some. Maybe not as defining as Origin of Symmetry, but none the less shows that Muse still have a lot of song left in them.

The Resistance is here.

I love Muse, but I only like “The Resistance,” the latest LP from the paranoid and synth-y Brit rockers.

Here’s the breakdown: Lead single “Uprising” is a quality tune, but sounds exactly like something off of “Absolution” or “Black Holes.” It’s the same old, same old, when really they should be leading with a ferocious new approach.

Tracks 2 and 3, “Resistance” and “Undisclosed Desires” are exceptionally amazing and other positive adjectives too! The album truly begins here with a good chemistry of classic Muse sounds and additional synths, while exploding with 80’s rhythms. Another favorite, Track 8’s “I Belong To You” is definitely way more complex than normal Muse fare. Pianos are everywhere with a steady hand-clappable beat served on the side. There’s a sweet, almost theatrical breakdown in the middle that segues back into the upbeat clappin’ and stompin’.

“I Belong To You” is the perfect precursor for Muse’s three-part symphony which begins immediately after: “Exogenesis: Part 1 (Overture)”, “Part 2 (Cross-Pollination)”, and “Part 3 (Redemption)”.  The symphony tracks are definitely commendable, but the liklihood of listening to this album start to finish is rather diminished. And that’s not even adding in the fact that tracks 5-7 fall off the face of the earth leaving a gaping hole in the album’s flow.

My high expectations of “The Resistance” + said gaping hole = like. I like the new Muse record. Though they definitely tried new things with the symphony tracks, “Undisclosed,” and “I Belong To You,” the rest of the record play out just like the last few Muse albums: predictable and safe, but solid. I almost would’ve prefered an entire symphony album. Now that would be ballsy!

Have we heard all that Muse has to offer after just 5 albums? I’m leaning towards ‘yes.’ But this album is still worth the 10 bones.

En que momento de crisis económica y emocional, vine a escribir este post, pero precisamente por eso escribo amiguitos imaginarios que nos leen, porque solo así me puedo desahogar, pero bueno, a lo que nos truje.

Sin duda valió la pena mi espera por el The Resistance. Un álbum uber-hypeado y potencialmente hermoso que lo hará ir de aquí para allá a un ritmo incomprensible.

Esta es la Opus Magna del grupo. Un disco complejo de a madres. Lo que escuché, ya no es el sonido todo espacial del Black Holes and Revelations, aunque mantiene esa esencia en algunos tracks, o los bajitos ingenioso del Micro Cuts o Sunburn. Tampoco agitarán las melenas al compas de canciones que se parezcan a Assassin, Stockholm Syndrome o el solo de guitarra de Knights of Cydonia. Lo más cercano lo encontrarán en Unnatural Selection.

Si encontrarán las letras con mensajes politicoides. Con la crítica al sistema a todo lo que da. Los tecladitos melancólicos como de Bliss o Ruled By Secrecy. Encontrarán una mezcla potente de sonidos, que resultarán indescifrables para sus oidos, para que después se olviden de ello y simplemente se dejen llevar por el ritmo. Lo que escucharán es surrealismo puro.

Es un tracklist magistral. Una Uprising que continúa lo iniciado por Exo-Politics en el BHR, una United States Of Euresia, que me recuerda demasiado a  Queen con un solo de piano al final de la canción que les sacará las lágrimas y una épica Exogenesis, dividida en tres partes y que pretende resumir de manera monumental los tres principales motores del álbum: el romance, la crítica sistema y nosotros mismos.

Les regalo un par de rolas que me hubiera encantado haber escuchado hace un par de meses para dedicárselos a una persona muy especial. Muy tarde para ello ahora.

Undisclosed Desires

Exogenesis Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)

Y para levantarles un poco mas el ánimo con un sonido menos melancólico que la dos anteriores también les dejo esta

Unnatural Selection

Dense un rol por esta reseña que ha sido la que mas me ha gustado de todas la que he leído. Disfrutenlo

We are all ODST.

I am really enjoying the Muse release, “The Resistance”.

I thought “Uprising” was a great song, but when I first heard the whole album I thought ehh a bit spotty.

What’s with Queen impersonation on “The United States of Eurasia”  ?

- I get the Orwell reference but that song seemed bit over the top.

Well after a few more listens, it’s growing on me. I am stoked to see them Live.

I caught them in Portland on the “Black Holes and Revelations” tour, that was an amazing show.

here are some of their Posters including the Muse 2009 Resistance UK tour.

see more MUSE Posters here

Muse Poster 2009 Resistance UK Tour

~~~~~

Muse Poster Black Holes and Revelations

xx

You know, it wasn’t until their fourth album that I really started paying attention to Muse. What changed? I realised there was more of a sense of fun about their music than I’d thought (which is not to say that it wasn’t there before, just that I didn’t notice). And a sense of fun is vital for a band like Muse, because their music would be unbearably bombastic if they didn’t make it with such glee.

Their fifth album, ‘The Resistance’ is a fine example of this. Matt Bellamy’s soaring vocals reach ever more absurd heights; the music is full of grandiose, even orchestral, flourishes… Yet it feels like there’s a smile and a wink from the band in there, too.

‘Uprising’ gets the album off to a fine start, with its bouncing drum-beat, and anthemic chorus of “They will not control us / We will be victorious” (fighting back is one of the key themes of the lyrics, as the album’s title suggests). The track ‘Resistance’ sounds almost like the Muse equivalent of a song from a West End show (in a  good way!). And, just when you think you’ve heard everything the album has to throw at you, along comes ‘I Belong To You’, a piano-led number with a middle section in French and a spot of jaunty clarinet towards the end. Then there’s ‘Exogenesis’, the three-part symphony (that’s the only word for it) that closes the album. This takes time to get into but left me thinking I’d absolutely love to hear it live.

These ideas about ‘Exogenesis’ could apply quite well to the album as a whole. I’d say that ‘The Resistance’ is not quite on a par with ‘Black Holes and Revelations’, but give it a few listens and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Precisamente el otro día me preguntaba un compañero de fatigas universitarias y esporádico colaborador del blog por el último álbum de Muse. Pero antes de brindarle cualquier tipo de comentario, me sinceré con él y confesé que todavía no lo había escuchado entero.  Pues bien, lo que entonces afirmé fue lo mismo que escribiré a continuación después de haberlo oído del principio al fin, de cabo a rabo: me quedo con Black Holes and Revelations. Y eso que la idea de los británicos era buena, apostar  una vez más por ese estilo a medio camino entre el Rock alternativo más contemporáneo y el progresivo más setentero. De hecho, con The Resistance han pretendido ir un paso más allá, es decir, si el sonido de la banda ya se caracterizaba  por sus aires épicos, en esta ocasión, aún más, hasta el punto de coquetear con el sinfonismo clásico en ciertas canciones.

De manera que, a pesar de los tres años que separan los lanzamientos de Black Holes and Revelations y su sucesor, y de sus diferencias, los padres de las criaturas han tenido el valor de mantenerse en su sitio y de resistir el empuje de las modas de turno, tal y como sugiere la traducción del título que encabeza esta entrada.

El quinto trabajo de estudio en la discografía de Muse fue producido por ellos mismos y publicado el pasado 14 de septiembre. Por cierto, 11 pistas componen su listado… 9 si agrupamos las tres partes de Exogenesis: Symphony bajo el mismo nombre. Y todas ellas, salvo esta última, compuestas por el líder y voz del grupo Matthew Bellamy. Abre filas Uprising, que es además el primer single; una canción que encajaría en cualquier otro álbum de los ingleses sin mayor complicación. De cerca la siguen, literalmente, Resistance y Undisclosed Desires, logrando que el nivel de intensidad no decaiga lo más mínimo, y en especial la primera de ellas. Tras un borrón en foma de United States of Eurasia difícil de explicar, recuperamos el pulso del disco con Guiding Light, una vez más Muse en estado puro. Unnatural Selection y MK Ultra continúan con la labor justo hasta donde comienza el piano de I Belong to You, la puerta que da al final del disco, al más puro estilo música clásica.

Quizás con el paso de los años este broche sea calificado como genialidad, pero por ahora resulta extraño, la nota más discordante. Habrá que esperar si se trata del inicio de una nueva era en Muse o la resistencia se mantiene imperturbable.

1. Uprising

Gemessen an der Größe meines Plattenschranks gibt es auf diesem Blog sehr wenig über Musik zu lesen. Aber letzte Woche ist wieder ein Album herausgekommen, dass es absolut verdient, an dieser Stelle belobhudelt zu werden. Auch wenn Tamara und Simon da anderer Meinung sind…

Die Rede ist vom neuen Muse-Album “The Resistance”. Zu Muse sei zunächst einmal gesagt: Die Stimme des Sängers Matt Bellamy polarisiert sehr stark, und wenn jemand sich dieses “Gejaule” nicht antun kann ist das absolut legitim. Wenn man sich daran gewöhnt hat und den Gesang mag (so wie ich) eröffnet sich hier in 54 Minuten ein ganzes Universum.

Muse waren schon immer großartig, und bereits beim Vorgängeralbum “Black Holes And Revelations” habe ich beim Erscheinen gedacht “Jetzt haben sie ihr Opus Magnum erschaffen”. Von wegen!

Das neue Album beginnt mit einem kompakten Shuffle-Ohrwurm, der ersten Single “Uprising” (übrigens mit sehr nettem Video, siehe unten). Schon hier gibt es Muse-typische bombastische Harmonien. Nach dem überaus starken Titeltrack kommt eine ganz besondere Perle: “Undisclosed Desires”. Getragen von einem Samplebeat und Pizz-Strings à la “Die Another Day” (Madonna) in viel besser ist dieser Song ein Hybrid aus elektronischen Spielereien und Ballade, und diese abenteuerliche Mischung funktioniert unglaublich gut.

Das seichte Intro von “United States Of Eurasia” gibt nur kurz Zeit zum Durchatmen, bevor ein Queen-Chor den Song nach vorne treibt und ein Klavier/Streicherthema in irgendeiner variierten Phrygisch-Dur-Tonleiter die Kinnlade des unvorbereiteten Hörers vor lauter Schönheit zu Boden fallen lässt. Noch im selben Lied wird dann die Nocturne op.9 von Chopin verwurstelt, total gut!

Es folgen drei weitere, überdurchschnittlich gute Titel, die sich wiederum durch großartige Harmonien und klasse Refrains auszeichnen, bevor ein ganz besonderer Track kommt: “I Belong To You (+Mon Coeur S’Ouvre A Ta Voix)”, Ein grooviger Klaviersong (ja, so was kanns geben^^). Eigentlich sollte man ein astreines Liebeslied erwarten, stattdessen hört man eine groteske Liebeslied-Parodie mit herrlicher Selbstironie. Der auf französisch gesungene Mittelteil stammt ursprünglich aus Camille Saint-Saëns’ Oper Samson und Delilah, und spätestens beim darauf folgenden Klarinettensolo sollte der letzte kapiert haben, wie dieses Lied aufzufassen ist. Herrlich lächerlich!!

Wenn im Vorfeld über die neue Muse-Platte berichtet wurde, gab es immer Verweise auf ein viertelstündiges Orchesterwerk. Aufgeteilt in 3 Tracks, schließt die Exogenisis Symphony das Album ab. Hier brauchten selbst meine Prog-erprobten Ohren ein paar Durchläufe, bevor ich das Werk begriffen hatte. Seitdem denke ich, dass das frenetische Lob mancher Amazon-Rezensenten auf diese Suite absolut gerechtfertigt ist, es handelt sich wirklich um das allerbeste Orchester/Band-Werk dass sich in meinem Plattenschrank befindet.

Dank meinem Hang zu Special Editions habe ich auch die dazugehörige Bonus-DVD, die den Aufnahmeprozess der einzelnen Tracks dokumentiert. Für Musiker interessant, und sicher eine der besseren Bonus-DVDs in meiner Sammlung.

Fazit: Ich habe “The Resistance” mit hohen Erwartungen gekauft, die dann um Längen übertroffen wurden! Definitiv neben der neuen Dream Theater eine der besten Scheiben des Jahres, und ich glaube, dass dieses Album das Potenzial hat, später als einer DER Klassiker des Jahrzehnts angesehen zu werden.

Ach ja, und über das extrem gut gemachte Cover-Artwork habe ich jetzt kein einziges Wort verloren…

Hoy ha llegado a mi poder, el último disco de Muse, titulado “The Resistance”, que ya he podido escuchar un par de veces. He de reconocer que antes de hacerlo, he leído unas cuantas opiniones por la Red (cosa que nunca se debe hacer), de gente que ya lo tenía en su poder desde hace días, y como viene siendo habitual, las opiniones sobre Bellamy y los suyos, es muy diversa. Desde quien los pone a parir, hasta quien cree haber encontrado un disco sinfónico tal y como el propio grupo aseguraba en una entrevista previa.

Antes de dar mi opinión sobre el mismo, prefiero introducir como viene siendo habitual en nuestro blog, unas breves pinceladas del grupo, para aquellos lectores que no hayan oído hablar nunca de este grupo.

Muse es una banda inglesa, formada por un trío. Su cabeza visible es Matther Bellamy,  del que siempre me ha parecido muy curioso su ingles indescifrable con el que habla, que no con el que canta, Dominic Howard a la batería y Chris Wolstenholme al bajo. Aunque no menos cierto es, que tanto Bellamy como Chris, alternan diferentes instrumentos. Se les cataloga normalmente como rock alternativo, aunque muchos temas suyos, escapan de esta definición.

Son una banda atípica en muchos aspectos. Les gusta innovar en cada uno de sus discos, y eso produce reacciones encontradas. Desde quien los admira por intentar siempre ir más allá, hasta quien no acaba de digerir esa música, muchas veces tan alejada de los cánones comerciales imperantes hoy en día. Si a esto les unimos, unos conciertos como el propio Chris comentaba, muy pasionales, la mezcla está servida. Esto es Muse.

Van a ser teloneros de U2, y han asegurado, que su próxima gira, va a ser la más espectacular de cuantas han realizado. De momento sus fans, han respondido mucho mejor que en la anterior, ya que la venta va a muy buen ritmo.

Muy acertadamente, en la página web de Radio3, hay colgado un pequeño catalogo de 10 canciones que debes escuchar para conocer Muse, que está muy bien. Aquí os dejo el link muy útil para los no iniciados en su música.

Starlight, Knights of Cydonia, Stockholm Syndrome, o Hysteria, aparecen en esta lista, que como ya he comentado, me parece muy acertada.

Ya centrándonos en su último disco, decir, que no me ha desagradado. Me faltan escuchas, para atrapar esos detalles que al principio siempre se escapan, pero por ejemplo su single actual Uprising es más de lo mismo, aunque no por ello deja de gustarme y creo que sirve de lanzadera, para atrapar a los indecisos, al ser el tema más comercial. United States of Eurasia estoy de acuerdo con la mayoría de las críticas que ven algún toque de Queen, al igual que en otros temas como Resistance. Sus cuatro últimos temas, Belong to you, y la trilogía de Exogenesis (Video solo de la parte I),  son sin duda el toque experimental que siempre les gusta introducir en sus discos, y me parecen bastante acertados los toques de piano al mas puro estilo clásico, entremezclados con la voz y sonido más acostumbrados de Muse. La verdad que de momento, no me llegan tanto, como pudo se Knights of Cydonia de su anterior disco, canción épica por excelencia para mi gusto, aunque sus ritmos son totalmente antagónicos. De un ritmo ascendente y totalmente envolvente de Knights of Cydonia, a temas más tranquilos con base de piano de su trilogía y con el toque melodramático que siempre pone Bellamy con su voz. En cualquier caso, me parece bastante buenos.

Aquí, os dejo el nuevo disco de “The Resistance“, para descargar pinchando sobre la carátula. (Nota)

Y el anterior “Black Holes and Revelations“, por si alguno, le ha picado el gusanillo de conocerlos un poco más.

Ya para acabar, os dejo el video de Knights of Cydonia de su anterior disco. Es famosa esta canción, entre otras cosas, por ser una piedra de toque, bastante dura,  para los amantes del Guitar Hero. Os dejo una actuación en directo, con la introducción de harmónica, de un clásico del western de Ennio Morricone.

Muse releases its fifth studio album The Resistance on September 15

PREVIEW: DOWNLOAD Muse’s “United States of Eurasia” MP3
WE GIVE IT: 12/20 Watts

With three years’ worth of buildup behind the release of their new album, The Resistance, Muse undoubtedly faced a number of questions. Would they continue to tinker with their progressive/alternative rock sound, as they had on their previous album Black Holes and Revelations? What musical directions would they pursue? And would they be able to top themselves?

On The Resistance, Muse answer all of our questions. The problem is that, more often than not, they’re not the answers we’re looking for. The album is respectable in its scope and ambition, but the band’s uneven execution of its goals ultimately leaves listeners wanting more.

That’s certainly not the case during the album’s opening stretch. The first four tracks showcase Muse successfully experimenting with a variety of new influences. After an epic, haunting buildup, the title track delivers a beautiful melody over a beat that wouldn’t sound out of place at a dance club.

At the same time, it’s hard to listen to “United States of Eurasia” and not think it sounds like Queen (even down to the Freddie Mercury-esque vocal harmonies). These tracks clearly have their sonic differences, but the band segues between them so effortlessly that you can’t help but marvel.

Oh, if only The Resistance had been a four-track EP …

From here on out, the album is very much a hit-or-miss effort, and most of the time, it misses. A number of different problems arise which prevent the album from reaching its true potential.

On “Guiding Light,” the affliction is pale self-imitation, as the band essentially rips off its own song “Invincible,” from Black Holes.  But just two songs later, on “MK Ultra,” Muse serve up a song with no clear direction whatsoever, exploring everything from generic post-punk to hard rocking pentatonic riffs to, well … a generic form of its own sound.

But the album’s biggest disappointment comes on the closing, three-part track, “Exogenesis: Symphony.” Easily the most hyped part of the album, its mediocrity is all the more apparent. It’s not a terrible composition, and there are some excellent tidbits now and then. But in general, it feels bland, unoriginal and forced.

To its credit, though, “Exogenesis” strikes an interesting parallel to the rest of The Resistance: it’s an acceptable effort, but Muse have clearly taken their experimentation to a level they can’t fully sustain just yet.

– Dan Kaplan

The Resistance, the newest release from Muse, is one of the year's most anticipated albums.

Muse’s fifth studio album, “The Resistance,” is probably one of their best yet. A follow-up to 2006’s Black Holes and Revelations, The Resistance has been named one of the most anticipated rock albums of the year. The band themselves describe “The Resistance” as a “symphonic” album.

The British trio has been popular for some time in the U.K., but more recently shot to stardom in the U.S. after “Twilight” creator Stephanie Meyer credited their music as her inspiration while writing the books.

In May of last year, Muse reportedly started writing material for the new album, but told fans not to expect a new album too soon. Almost a year and a half later, “The Resistance” is being welcomed with open arms. When the band uploaded 30-second clips of the new songs on their website three weeks ago, fans began crying for more.

“The Resistance” was produced by the band and mixed by Mark Stent. Stent comes highly recommended as one of the best in the business, having worked with the likes of Björk, Depeche Mode, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Marilyn Manson, Dave Matthews, No Doubt, Linkin Park, U2, Britney Spears and many other musical talents.

Muse wanted “The Resistance” to be “unconventional,” even considering a similar digital release to that of Radiohead’s “In Rainbows.” The album is certainly that–unconventional. It opens with the dance-worthy beats of the first single, “Uprising,” sweeping listeners into a fairytale-esque world of falsetto and vibrato.

“The Resistance” ends with one of the most notable tracks on the new album, “Exogenesis,” a three-part piece which required over 40 musicians during the recording process. Frontman Matthew Bellamy described the piece as “more of a symphony than a song” which he has worked on sporadically for many years.

A Muse album through and through, “The Resistance” pushes the limits of music. Each song is a sweet symphony of sound worthy of praise.

You might like this artist if you like Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Placebo, Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys or Kaiser Chiefs.

Download this: “United States Of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)”

Track listing:
1. Uprising
2. Resistance
3. Undisclosed Desires
4. United States of Eurasia
5. Guiding Light
6. Unnatural Selection
7. MK Ultra
8. I Belong to You
9. Exogenesis: Symphony Part I (Overture)
10. Exogenesis: Symphony Part II (Cross Pollination)
11. Exogenesis: Symphony Part III (Redemption)

Track 2: Starlight:

A friend of mine handed “Black Holes and Revelations” to me back in 2006 as a gift. It was a couple months before I even listened once. They did not sink in at first. One day while I was painting G’s and my bedroom though it sunk in. I listened to it over and over for hours and hours. I have concluded that Muse is addictive, and particularly good for listening to during long arduous tasks. They keep the blood flowing, and I particularly enjoy “Black Holes and Revelations”. Perhaps you will too?

Here are my 5 favorites from the album, with “Starlight” being my favorite.

Track 1: Take A Bow
http://www.imeem.com/pedro-zappa/music/4EdnF8ME/muse-take-a-bow/

Track 2: Starlight
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqmie

Track 3: Supermassive Black Hole
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1ghtg

Track 4: Map of the Problematique
http://www.imeem.com/people/DhEPtb1/music/RxyvpqUn/muse-map-of-the-problematique/

Track 11: Knights of Cydonia
http://www.imeem.com/people/8wiusB/music/S-7tsTqv/muse-knights-of-cydonia/

Click here for other album suggestions!

Click here for more info on Muse – “Black Holes and Revelations”.

The MP3 album may be purchased here:

Muse - Black Holes and Revelations

This is the big-one folks, it’s been highly anticipated for the past month, eagerly hunted for in countless sites; links scoured, devoured, files corrupted, songs mis-spelled, missing altogether. And, finally, after so many long weeks, ‘Highly Evolved’ has managed to get its grubby hands on “The Resistance” by pioneers ‘Muse’. We thought we’d make it up to everyone by making sure our missed Joint Review last Sunday was followed by an exceptional masterpiece. I have to admit, this time our roles might be reversed as my counterpart takes the opposition and I take the for, in this He-Man:

“BATTLE… FOR… THE UNIVERSE!”

"The Resistance" - 'Muse'

Officially, it isn’t a first for ‘Highly Evolved’s’ Joint Reviews, where we’ve had a really strong disagreement on a band. The last time we had a ‘minor difference’ of opinion was back a few months ago when my partner thought he’d harmlessly mention an album called “Further Complications” by an insufferable man called ‘Jarvis Cocker’. Such was the beginning of the end, and so the debate continues. We have accepted this ‘minor difference’ of opinion as simply a ‘minor difference’ in musical-tastes, despite the general commonalities we both share. Some weeks ago, my counterpart, Michael Hodder, approached me and we’d struck up the usual conversation:

“… So, any music news lately?” I’d ask inquisitively, childishly.

Of course there was music news, there’s always music news, but: “… ‘Muse’ is set to release their new album “The Resistance” in September…”

“Oh, are they now?” I’d scanned my memory; that’s right, ‘Muse’, some experimental-indie band, not too shabby.

“… Yeah, but from their singles, I don’t think it’s going to turn out too well – I don’t think you’ll like it, but it’ll give us both an opportunity to…” – and sorry if I quote this directly, my friend, but it’s hilarious – “… ‘bagg-the-shit-out-of-them.”

A smile overwhelmed my face: so, fresh meat, then?

The weeks followed, we’d maintained a steady flow of reviews, still no sign of an early-leak on part with ‘Muse’, and I’d decided to wait until the full release of the album before I made any rash, pre-judgemental views on the album from its singles. Just this week, we came into possession of the album’s entirety, and after a solid three-hours of listening, with four full play-throughs, we met as usual, on the field.

“… The first half of the album is like listening to ‘Queen’, while the orchestral-overture is a mixture between ‘Sigur Ros’ and ‘Beethoven’, and I know they’re not great metaphors – you either liked it or you hated it,” he’d started.

“… Well, as for the ‘Queen’ sound-alike, to be honest, I really only heard it in two tracks, whereas I thought the orchestral-overtures weren’t anything particularly special. I enjoyed “Exogenesis Symphony Pt 3″, and I was delighted with “Undisclosed Desires”, but it’s what I’d expect from ‘Muse’, and the album was overall pleasant. I’d probably give it a 4.5-outta-5,” I’d splurged; a verbal-vomit.

“Hmm… That’s interesting. I’d probably give it a 4, when it comes down to it,” he’d replied.

And that was that. Friday came and went, and here we are…

‘Muse’ has been one of those rare indie/experimental-pioneers, like my favourites, ‘The Killers’, who have unequivocally pushed any and all boundaries when it comes to musical composition. Competition between indie bands is fiercely underestimated, though it appears primarily as a ‘mongrel-genre’, willing to accept any and all bands who might share likeness to the settlers of its original incarnation, bands with only a hint of experimental, alternative or rock, went unchallenged as they poisoned its ranks. Bands like ‘The Killers’ made a name for themselves with band-specific indicators, like key-and-tempo shifts, in their music, whereas ‘Muse’ made damn-well sure they were individual by including the elements of metal, experimental – and although not overly prominent – punk.

Over-strung guitar/bass and power-percussion combined with standardised-rhythms and vocalisation make the basis for ‘Muse’, and while lyrically “The Resistance” doesn’t contain much epic-notable material, ‘Muse’ remains up there with the best of them. There’s not much here which ‘Muse’ fans will find different from their past albums “Black Holes And Revelations”, or “Origins Of Symmetry”. ‘Muse’ were playing with some interesting elements in “OOS”, which come through more prominently in “The Resistance”, less-so in “BHAR” – I felt that “OOS” had some interesting experimental flaunts which were overshadowed by the heavy metal aspect of their music – at times, there would be perfect thirty-second-sublime moments where everything came together, and because of this ephemeral nature, they disappeared and were swallowed up in a tidal wave of noise.

Personally, I think ‘Muse’ has found a balance between soft and loud in “The Resistance” where they were otherwise at full-bore consistently throughout. “OOS” countered this extremity by juxtaposing it’s metal/experimental with soft/delicate. I know my counterpart is a lover of heavy just as he is of experimental, and on a subliminal level, this could be the underlying reason for his – and I wouldn’t say ‘dislike’ – more ‘hesitant’ judgement overall of “The Resistance“. That, and ‘Muse’s’ uncanny likeness to ‘Queen’, appearing in such cases as tracks: “United States Of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)”, and “Guiding Light”. When I mention ‘Queen’, it’s the over-flaunt of guitar – which I personally don’t mind – and the girlish-high vocalisation that has been stereotypically ‘Freddie Mercury’s’ ever since his early passing.

Thematically, the album makes a number of lyrical references to ‘1984′ , ‘George Orwell’s’ infamous totalitarian novel depicting fascism and dictatorship at its most extreme. Personally, we both enjoyed this novel a great deal, and it’s inclusion within the album on a whole works well with the idea of ‘resistance’. Tracks are appropriately titled, so it seems a lot of effort went into the construction of the album. With eleven mind-blowing tracks averaging at the five-minute-mark, the album goes for about a wholesome-hour, and this over-generous quantity makes for some fantastic listening.

And because I feel that this is an exceptional album, there remain a number of tracks which I would like to go through in greater detail. Though the album has it’s wholesome-half of typical ‘Muse’, it does contain the “critically acclaimed” three-track-triplet ‘Exogenesis Symphony’ which differs from the whole.

“The Resistance” opens with the appropriately-titled track “Uprising”, and you can expect to find the usual ‘Muse’ elements, with rock/experimental/indie guitar, typical percussion, and accompanying lyrics. It sets the scene, but it isn’t overly interesting.

“Resistance” follows, and this is where the fun begins. It opens with the drone/ambient hum of a distant, whining organ, and is kin to ‘The Dead Sea’s’ melodramatic ambience which floods the atmosphere with secondhand emotion. Piano erupts into full force, together with the ratta-tatt-tatt of drum: it’s easy to imagine the running of feet, or the assembly of an army, with these sounds, and the lyrics:

“Is our secret safe tonight, and are we out of sight, or will our world come tumbling down?*”

For those of you who are familiar with the premise of ‘1984′, the lyrics resonate strongly with the key-characters which the story revolves around, like:

“… love is our resistance…”

“Undisclosed Desires” is my personal favourite track, and that’s because it has this emphatic, infectious opening beat, together with sticatto-violin. When we approach the chorus, the percussion shifts and takes the odd-numbered beats. The vocals are the key here, they keep it all together, together with these delectable lyrics:

“I want to reconcile the values in your heart, I want to recognise your beauty’s not just a mask, I want to exorcise the demons from your past, I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart.*”

“United States Of Eurasia” is replete with ‘Queen’ overtures, and it’s like a combination of “We Are The Champions” and “Bohemian Rhapsody”. I personally love the facelift ‘Muse’ gives to my ‘Queen’ favourites, but for some, it’s too much. Not only does it have that “Freddie Mercury” sound to it, but it has the same high-pitched-electric-guitar as well. It’s up to you whether or not you think the song is a replica, but I’ll stay neutral in this argument. “Guiding Light” follows this same routine, less-so in the vocalisation, more-so in the guitar. It has that same 1-123-1 chorus-buildup ‘Queen’ used to build crescendo.

Onto ‘Exogenesis Symphony’, and it’s a three-part song. “Exogenesis Symphony Pt 1: Overture” has the elements that I think ‘Muse’ have neglected throughout their musical-career, it is a shining example for how they can be just as successful in this line of music as they can in the heavy. Personally, I don’t think too much of “… Pt 1: Overture” because it’s like listening to a reject-Hellboy trailor, with its ambient-violins and all. When the percussion explodes and ‘Muse’ finally appears, the high-pitched moan of “Matthew Bellamy’s” vocals is sublime, but it’s not enough to hold “… Pt 1: Overture” together.

“… Pt 2: Cross-Pollination“ sees a beginning with “The Resistance’s” consistent use of piano – it’s a bit melodramatic, with the ambience, and it isn’t much of a fitting track itself. Overall, symbolically, I suppose, it represents ‘flitting pollen’. Again, when ‘Muse’ does finally appear, it’s the vocalisation which is soy-perb.

And finally, “… Pt 3: Redemption” sees a sombre, softer beginning of piano. Like my counterpart said, ‘Exogenesis Symphony’ is like listening to a combination of ‘Sigur Ros’ and ‘Beethoven‘. We saw the ‘Sigur Ros’ influence prior with the mixture of instrumentation, but “… Pt 3: Redemption” sees an uncanny resemblance to ‘Beethoven’s’ “Moonlight Sonata”, and maybe that’s because it’s set like a waltz. A fitting end to a fine album.

Summarising: ‘Muse’ has finally left their comfort zone and is making music that is making controversy – and controversy means hype, hype means business, and business means money. I have thoroughly enjoyed the album overall, it has a general mix of old-and-new, with less emphasis on re-discovery and more emphasis on exploration. I can’t say it’s flawless, but I can say that it deserves a 4.5-outta-5.

Absolutely fantastic, well-worth a buy.

Until when,

The Enantiomorphic God

Muse's 2003 album, Absolution.

I was walking through the book store the other day, and the band Muse just happened to stream through the headphones.  If you have never listened to Muse, though you probably have heard either “Time Is Running Out” or “Starlight,” I strongly suggest you check out some of their songs on iTunes.  Both Absolution and Black Holes and Revelations are phenomenal collections of music.  The song that shuffled onto my iPod was off 2003’s Absolution titled “Thoughts of a Dying Atheist.”

The song really struck a note with me, because within the last year, I have openly identified myself as an atheist.  I will spare you the reasons for my allegiance with the “sinners,”  because I think I’ll make a detailed post about my thoughts on religion another day.  Anyway, the song touches on a topic that not many people ever really think about.  Hell, I’m an atheist, and I’ve never thought of what one thinks about when they die.

The song’s protagonist is an atheist on his death bed, and we are allowed to experience the final thoughts of this particular atheist.  Check out the lyrics:

Eerie whispers
trapped beneath my pillow
won’t let me sleep
your memories

and I know you’re in this room
I’m sure I heard you sigh
Floating in between
where our worlds collide

scares the hell out of me
and the end is all I can see
and it scares the hell out of me
and the end is all I can see

and I know the moment’s near
and there’s nothing you can do
look through a faithless eye
are you afraid to die?

it scares the hell out of me
and the end is all I can see
and it scares the hell out of me
and the end is all I can see

It scares the hell out of me
and the end is all I can see
and it scares the hell out of me
and the end is all I can see

Interesting, right?

Flog Out – Gotoffs

Dom, Matt and Chris of Muse

I need a permanent concert buddy.

It was so easy in high school, a period when I had the freedom and the kindred friends to be a crazed music fan. There was no shortage of concert buddies.  We all liked the same silly stupid bands.

As I got older and moved around, my core friends, who evolved with me in musical tastes, became geographically separated. This was a major blow to my concert life. While most of my dear friends from afar understand my unusual band choices, most of my dear friends close at hand have never heard of them.

Because of this, it feels like I drag companions to concerts. Coax, cajole, bribe, beg, or promise any number of services (G-rated). I knew I was a whore for music but I never thought I’d actually have to work up to the title. Or render myself bankrupt.

That was the exact scenario one day years ago when Muse played a gig in San Antonio. I had the $15 tickets way in advance because I’d been a fan since their Origin of Symmetry days. No one else knew who the hell they were.

My first concert buddy bailed so I accosted another concert buddy to go.

Muse? Is this one of your kooky British bands?

Yes, they’re British but they’re not kooky. Well, not too much.

So they probably have a lot of those spooky guitars that you love. Has anyone else even heard of them?

In San Antonio, probably not. But that’s even more reason to go. Intimate setting. You’ll like it, trust me.

And who’s the opening act? Razorlight?

Okay, that’s another British band, but I’m not there for them. They’re not important. I have to see Muse.

Honestly, how do you hear about these bands?

I’m a wizard. Are you coming or not?

You do know that it’s pouring out, right?

Please? Drinks are on me.

Oh, alright. It’s a free ticket.

Muse - best live band

I’ll never forget that show. It was a small venue with maybe a hundred people or so. Yet in that small setting of mostly unwitting spectators, this little trio from Teignmouth, England, launched one of the most explosive sets I had ever seen. And in 13 songs with no encore, Muse won everyone over.

Fast forward two years later. Muse is all over the airwaves with their internationally successful Black Holes and Revelations. They were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, they sold out Madison Square Garden, and they earned a slot at the annual Austin City Limits Festival.

Without fail I was there, cheering them on in a sea of thousands. It was summertime in Texas, and we’d waited close to two hours in primo spots for them to come onstage. But no matter. Muse will never disappoint.

With just three lads, they are an assault of arpeggiated guitars, pulsating basslines, and thunderous beats. Matt Bellamy shines on the moody piano pieces, and his beautiful voice is proof enough for me of the divine.

A Muse concert set is an interminable blitz of hard rock, classical music, progressive rock, and futuristic weird themes of space invasions, conspiracies, and revolutions. Very little band chatter goes on in between songs at their shows, meaning the resultant experience is two straight hours of sweaty, carnal, ebullient pleasure.

I don’t hesitate to say that Muse is the best band I’ve ever seen live. Skeptical? Go see them live.

What of my original Muse concert buddy? He became a huge fan. So while I might not have ready-made musical comrades close by, I do enjoy seeing recruits drink the kool-aid and join me on the dark side.

…

The best news I’ve heard all day: the long-waited Muse album is out on September 15. Titled The Resistance, the album’s first single is here in its entirety, with an option to buy on iTunes.

Of course, I purchased it already and have had it on a loop for the last 24 hours. Now I need to spam all my potential concert buddies with the news and the link. Just to prepare them for the tour dates…

 

Far away
This ship is taking me far away
Far away from the memories
Of the people who care if I live or die

Starlight
I will be chasing the starlight
Until the end of my life
I don’t know if it’s worth it anymore

Hold you in my arms
I just wanted to hold
You in my arms

My life
You electrify my life
Let’s conspire to re-ignite
All the souls that would die just to feel alive

But I’ll never let you go
If you promised not to fade away
Never fade away

Our hopes and expectations
Black holes and revelations
Our hopes and expectations
Black holes and revelations

Hold you in my arms
I just wanted to hold
You in my arms

Far away
This ship is taking me far away
Far away from the memories
Of the people who care if I live or die

And I’ll never let you go
If you promise not to fade away
Never fade away

Our hopes and expectations
Black holes and revelations
Our hopes and expectations
Black holes and revelations

Hold you in my arms
I just wanted to hold
You in my arms
I just wanted to hold

Tal vez no lo sepan, aunque por la extrema velocidad con que se corren los chismes, noticias y Heichman en el acto sexual hoy día, lo mas seguro es que sí.

Ahora resulta que Muse, va a hacer una versión especial de I belong To You del nuevo álbum para la puta saga mierdera de Twilight. Lo cagado, es que hace unos días estuve a punto de hacer un post para hablar sobre esa rolita justamente, porque me parece que junto con Unnatural Selection y Exogenesis (las tres partes que la componen), son lo mejor de todo el disco.

La idea me dejó pensando. ¿Realmente estoy decepcionado por este hecho?

Creo que no. Matt Bellamy y compañía se han ganado el derecho de hacer lo que les venga en gana. Su trabajo lo dice todo. Pero muy en el fondo si me siento mal, principalmente, porque la saga escrita por Stephenie Meyer me parece lo mas superficial y pobre culturalmente hablando, que le ha pasado a lo que mi profesor de la universidad le llamaría, y con justa razón, literatura de secretaria, desde Paulo Coelho (ojo no estoy comparando los estilos y géneros en los que se desempeñan ambos escritores, que no tiene nada que ver el uno con el otro, simplemente estoy diciendo que tienen el mismo nivel de cultura) 

Cuando vi a escena (la única que he visto, de hecho) en la que los interesantísimos e imponentes personajes de aquella maravilla cinematográfica llamada Twilight, juegan un emocionante y realista partido de biesbol con Supermassive Black Hole de fondo y unos efectos de lo mas insulsos y chaquetos, me pareció ver un supositorio del tamaño del Halcón Milenario desgarrando el esfínter anal del Black Holes and Revelations de forma tan cruel, que hasta Hitler hubiera llorado de la conmoción.

Pero, como dije antes, no importa. Muse se ha ganado el derecho de hacer con su música lo que guste y desee sin que sus fans se lo podamos reprochar.

Les dejo I belong To You de The Resistance. para se conmuevan con la voz de Matt Bellamy.

Y de paso también les dejó la entrevista en la que Matt Bellamy habla acerca del asunto. Cosrtesía de Le Wookie on Paiki y The Ampersand