DreamTheaterForums.org Dream Theater Fan Site
General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: KevShmev on September 04, 2010, 08:04:17 AM
-
Listened to this from start to finish last night for the first time in a while, and I was reminded that it is definitely Muse's best record to date. Every song is great. There are no weak spots, and I refuse to trust the opinion of anyone who says otherwise. :biggrin:
-
Agreed!
It's controversial, but agreed. Also their bravest. Supermassive Black Hole - christ!
-
I don't consider every song amazing - Invincible, Assassin and Exo-Politics are kinda meh in my opinion - but it really is a strong album that contains several of my favourite songs by Muse.
-
It was one of those cd's that I played, thought that they were stretching themselves (I like when bands do that) but with every listen it grew on me to the point I found myself playing it a few times a week. I love albums that grow on you.
-
I've never been able to resonate with this album. It's just lifeless. Still better that Resistance.
-
Poor mans OOS in my opinion (although that has a couple of duds too)
-
I don't consider every song amazing - Invincible, Assassin and Exo-Politics are kinda meh in my opinion - but it really is a strong album that contains several of my favourite songs by Muse.
"Take a Bow" and "Map of the Problematique" are probably my two favorite Muse songs. :)
It was one of those cd's that I played, thought that they were stretching themselves (I like when bands do that) but with every listen it grew on me to the point I found myself playing it a few times a week. I love albums that grow on you.
Same here. For me, this is one of those albums that I can turn on just to hear "Take a Bow," and before I know it, I have listened to the whole thing. :coolio
Poor mans OOS in my opinion (although that has a couple of duds too)
Lies.
:biggrin:
Honestly, OoS comes in a close second for me in the Muse canon. :hat
-
You're right, there really isn't a bad song on Black Holes. There are also no bad songs on Absolution and Origin of Symmetry, and the songs on those two albums are just better than those on BH.
But BH&R is an awesome album nonetheless.
-
It's a very good album, but I still rank it 4th out of their 5 albums (Showbiz taking the bottom spot). Some really great songs, but a couple of real duds as well, like Invincible and to a lesser extent Starlight.
-
Listened to this from start to finish last night for the first time in a while, and I was reminded that it is definitely Muse's best record to date. Every song is great. There are no weak spots, and I refuse to trust the opinion of anyone who says otherwise. :biggrin:
While I love the album, my favorite Muse album in fact, Invincible is definitely a weak spot.
-
Just like I have with all Muse, I enjoy it and see that it's good but I can't imagine ever loving it.
-
I'm not a huge fan of the album, probably my least favourite Muse record. Though strangely I seem to be the only one who likes Invincible.
-
Just like I have with all Muse, I enjoy it and see that it's good but I can't imagine ever loving it.
This, except I do love Origin of Symmetry. I like a few tracks off the others, but that's it. Admittedly I enjoy BH&R less than Resistance.
-
Yeah apart from Guiding Light (possibly Muse's worst song :lol) The Resistance is awesome.
-
I'm not a huge fan of the album, probably my least favourite Muse record. Though strangely I seem to be the only one who likes Invincible.
Invincible is a very good song. "Guiding Light" on the other hand....
-
I like a few songs, but overall I dont like it muc tbh. I prefer Resistance
-
I'm not a huge fan of the album, probably my least favourite Muse record. Though strangely I seem to be the only one who likes Invincible.
Invincible is a very good song. "Guiding Light" on the other hand....
Yeah, I love Invincible. It's got a lot of spirit to it. Wonderful little song.
Guiding Light, on the other hand, I'm a bit ambivalent about. When I'm in the mood, I dig it, but it's a bit of a comedown after the fantastic USE.
Origin, I think, is fairly mid-range. There are lots of good songs, but there's not much variety. Not in the same league as Absolution or Black Holes. Origin sounds like a slew of brilliant rock songs. (And New Born, especially, is truly... astonishing!) They don't quite have the extra spice of A/BHR.
-
Good album. Not great, but good. Certainly far better than Resistance.
-
I agree with your point about OoS, Rob. The quality of the songs is mostly really excellent, but the lack of any real variety is why it's only my second favourite Muse album and Absolution is my number one. :)
-
Never heard this album, or very much of this band. I should probably remedy that.
-
I was big on them a few years ago, then I discovered bands like PT and Opeth and they have since kind of faded into the background for me. They, along with Dream Theater, were more of a stepping stone into the more experimental/prog stuff.
-
Never heard this album, or very much of this band. I should probably remedy that.
:omg:
Absolution and Black Holes work well as intro albums. After you listen to those, go get Origin of Symmetry.
-
I liked about half of this album. In particular, I really liked Supermassive and Problematique. Despite not liking the album overall, I think you kind of have to respect the band for really stretching out and going in a ton of different directions.
The intro and outro are both terrible though, IMO. I could swear nothing happens in either song.
-
You mean Knights of Cydonia and Take a Bow? What is wrong with you?
-
Take a Bow is a boring buildup that goes nowhere at all; Knights of Cydonia is an annoying vocal harmony effect, followed by an annoying drum beat, followed by some fairly good heavy guitar which can't save the song on its own. In other words, especially considering it's apparently a six minute epic, almost nothing happens there either. And the lyrics in both are just empty, oh so rebellious pomp rock drivel. Both songs came across to me as all theatrics and no substance. It's like they were solely written so that crowds at their concerts can punch their fists in the air and scream along with them and feel as though they're raging against authority.
-
I liked about half of this album. In particular, I really liked Supermassive and Problematique. Despite not liking the album overall, I think you kind of have to respect the band for really stretching out and going in a ton of different directions.
The intro and outro are both terrible though, IMO. I could swear nothing happens in either song.
I agree with you. Take a Bow is a decent opener, but KOC is terrible. I've never understood what everyone likes about it
-
Take a Bow is a boring buildup that goes nowhere at all; Knights of Cydonia is an annoying vocal harmony effect, followed by an annoying drum beat, followed by some fairly good heavy guitar which can't save the song on its own. In other words, especially considering it's apparently a six minute epic, almost nothing happens there either. And the lyrics in both are just empty, oh so rebellious pomp rock drivel. Both songs came across to me as all theatrics and no substance. It's like they were solely written so that crowds at their concerts can punch their fists in the air and scream along with them and feel as though they're raging against authority.
That's because you're describing exactly what the album is. After the initial blast-off, Black Holes and Revelations is a frictionless ride float through zero-gravity, at least until everything comes crashing down at the end of Cydonia.
-
I like a fair few of the songs in the middle, and wouldn't call the others terrible by any stretch. I'm not the biggest fan of very theatrical rock, but Muse pulls it off well a lot of the time because they (or perhaps Bellamy, don't know if he does all the writing) are/is pretty decent songwriter/s.
But those two tracks feel more like incomplete sketches of songs than fully realised songs to me, like the band were only really interested in completing them to the extent that they could create the effect I described above.
-
BH&R is my favorite Muse record. This forum seems to have fallen out of love with the band since The Resistance came out. At the very least, we don't talk about them as much as I remember in the past.
-
Well, that's because The Resistance blows. I think The Resistance ruined The Incident for me, since they both came out on the same day and Resistance was just such crap I couldn't separate from The Incident. Fuck The Resistance.
Also, BH&R is third, Absolution>Origins of Symmetry>Black Holes and Revelations>Showbiz>Resistance
-
The day The Resistance and The Incident came out was one of the most disappointing days of my musical life. I still kind of care about what PT do in the future, though, whereas I'm pretty much done with Muse.
-
Take a Bow is a boring buildup that goes nowhere at all; Knights of Cydonia is an annoying vocal harmony effect, followed by an annoying drum beat, followed by some fairly good heavy guitar which can't save the song on its own. In other words, especially considering it's apparently a six minute epic, almost nothing happens there either. And the lyrics in both are just empty, oh so rebellious pomp rock drivel. Both songs came across to me as all theatrics and no substance. It's like they were solely written so that crowds at their concerts can punch their fists in the air and scream along with them and feel as though they're raging against authority.
That is all true, but I think you've got to give KoC a bit more credit than that. The buildup to that heavy riff is actually surprisingly good (for someone that doesn't like Muse) and some of the stuff they've got going on in the background of the riff is actually very interesting. And the riff itself is, along with Plug In Baby, one of the few riffs I'd cite of Muse's that I'd actually say I really enjoyed. But I do agree that it doesn't really justify it's length. (inb4 that's what she said)
-
One thing I'll never understand is how someone can love one Muse album and literally hate another. NONE OF THEM ARE THAT DIFFERENT. I'm just glad I'm not so outrageously picky and pedantic that it happens to me.
And anyway The Resistance is amazing, slightly better than BH&R in my opinion. But I disagree that the forum has fallen out of love with them, there's just less discussion because everyone has heard of them now. A couple of years ago was when they were breaking through in the US (they've been massive here in the UK since OoS first came out) so people got excited about them, but now most people know them so there's less to discuss.
-
One thing I'll never understand is how someone can love one Muse album and literally hate another. NONE OF THEM ARE THAT DIFFERENT. I'm just glad I'm not so outrageously picky and pedantic that it happens to me.
Ohhh, I dunno! Undisclosed Desires is nigh-on R&B. Absolution sounds very classical in places, whereas Resistance is more eighties synthy... with the massive blowout of Exogenesis at the end. The song-writing's fairly consistent, but they do jump through the styles quite a lot. Also if you keep in mind that before Black Holes there was only, say, Absolution and Origin. Showbiz for the dedicated fans. It kinds of gets the "replacement scrappy" effect. Whenever you make a change, some of the fanbase will go "ooh! that's nifty" and others will go "HERESY. ARRRRRGH. BRING BACK ORIGIN." Muse have got a very broken base. Also, not an especially clever base. Have you been to muse.mu or muselive.com? There are some bright people sprinkled in, but some are pretty obtuse. Very reactionist, as well. I saw a bunch of them having a go at Warner for the quality of their self-produced album, recorded in a home studio with no external input.
That said, back to the music, they're more different flavours. When Muse bring in synths, they don't go all out Gorillaz, they just produce a good rock song with a Timbaland (or whatever!) pulse. Different flavours. Just 'cause I like Cheese & Onion crisps doesn't mean I'm gonna be a fan of, say, Barbecue, which is a horrible flavour of crisps and should never have happened.
I understand it. I've always seen Muse as one of the bolder bands - they do a lot of experimentation, all considered, and they're bound to alienate people. I remember being appalled when Supermassive Black Hole was released. Like, genuinely a little bit irate. I'd not listened to Muse since... well, not in about two years, so it was a bit of a surprise to have them tap me on the shoulder and say "Coo-ee!" in the form of this... dirty, electro-dance thing. Didn't like it at all. Then I kept on hearing it on the radio and ended up falling in love with it, a bit. That's actually what turned me from a one-time casual listener into a proper fan. Wonderful song. Blah blah blah, me me me, there's a point in here somewhere. I dunno. I'm not surprised that they're alienated. That's the moral, I guess.
I don't think any of their albums are any less than great, though. The Resistance is a collection of very good songs. Showbiz opens with Sunburn! Then goes into Muscle Museum! Plus, Falling Down and Unintended. Brilliant music. The other three are more or less classic. For me, The Resistance was a comedown, but then Black Holes is one of my very favourite albums - it was more or less going to be.
-
Ohhh, I dunno! Undisclosed Desires is nigh-on R&B. Absolution sounds very classical in places, whereas Resistance is more eighties synthy...
What? :lol I get the impression you're basing these descriptions on one song each (Butterflies & Hurricanes and Uprising). You're absolutely right that Muse have a ton of variety, but they always have done with the possible exception of OoS which was a bit more straightforward stylistically, and they are like that on each and every album. Each album has a couple of rockers, at least one song more classical in nature, one or two ballads, one or two pop songs.
Obviously everyone is going to prefer some albums over others, that's not what I'm referring to. I'm referring to comments along the lines of "Black Holes was incredible but The Resistance is the biggest shitfest ever" (nothing specific in this thread, but it's the kind of comment you hear occasionally). Considering how similar the two albums are in so many regards, the breadth of this difference is what astonishes me and leads me to feel like the two albums are not being judged by the same criteria.
EDIT: Oh and I don't really get the UD=RnB thing (my brother said it as well). Sure the drum beat is somewhat lifted from that style of music, but I've honestly never heard an RnB song that sounds like UD. Although if there are any I'd love someone to point them out because I don't really have any RnB in my music collection but UD is one of my favourite Muse songs!
-
Good album. Not great, but good. Certainly far better than Resistance.
I agree with Sigz.
-
One thing I'll never understand is how someone can love one Muse album and literally hate another. NONE OF THEM ARE THAT DIFFERENT. I'm just glad I'm not so outrageously picky and pedantic that it happens to me.
There weren't songs like "Supermassive Blackhole" on Absolution.
But, for me, Muse's last two records just seem to be completely lacking the kind of energy or hard-edge I like for in music. That's it, really.
-
Muse is too inconsistent in song quality for me to rank a CD next to another. Example look at The Resistance.
Uprising - Decent song. Kinda overplayed. But not a bad song.
Resistance - Very good song, fun and powerful.
Undisclosed Desires - Shit sandwich.
Eurasia - Love this song. The Collateral Damage bit seems unnecessary.
Guiding Light - Love this one as well.
Unnatural Selection - Great song.
MK Ultra - See Uprising.
I Belong To You - Eh... pass
Exogenesis - God tier. One of my top 10 songs ever.
Most Muse CDs would get a similar review. So I don't think I could ever say one is better than an other.
-
And the lyrics in both are just empty, oh so rebellious pomp rock drivel.
WELCOME TO MUSE HERE'S YOUR COPY OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES 101. Seriously, if you're just complaining about those two songs being rebellious and whatnot, I think you need to look at the lyrics for the other four albums and see what's apparently been under your nose this whole time.
The thing about "Take a Bow" is that it is basically a very long crescendo. It achieves in five minutes what bands like Symphony X would try to do in 20 minutes. Its a very epic way to start the album, though I like it better as a closer, like on HAARP. I'm not really sure how you people don't like Knights.
@Arriich: the difference between BH&R and The Resistance is that BH didn't really have a bad song. The Resistance had Guiding Light, combined with a lot of subpar tracks and only a few great ones. I'd listen to any song off BH before most songs off of The Resistance.
-
And the lyrics in both are just empty, oh so rebellious pomp rock drivel.
WELCOME TO MUSE HERE'S YOUR COPY OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES 101. Seriously, if you're just complaining about those two songs being rebellious and whatnot, I think you need to look at the lyrics for the other four albums and see what's apparently been under your nose this whole time.
I'm fully aware most of their lyrics are like that. They're a band that has at times sat on the border of being chucked from my collection altogether for that reason, among others. But it's infinitely more irritating in those two songs because there's nothing to redeem them or distract me from it. Rather than taking something I normally wouldn't like and managing to make a good song out of it, as they often do, those two songs parade the qualities I don't like with what seems no attempt to make a good song.
And I already said more or less all of this in my last post in this thread.
-
Out of all the things I dislike about Muse-- especially their last two records-- the lyrics have never bothered me at all. I get that there's kinda an anti-authority vibe going on, but it's so harmless and poppy that, really, who cares?
Or am I missing something?
-
Listened to this from start to finish last night for the first time in a while, and I was reminded that it is definitely Muse's best record to date. Every song is great. There are no weak spots, and I refuse to trust the opinion of anyone who says otherwise. :biggrin:
While I love the album, my favorite Muse album in fact, Invincible is definitely a weak spot.
"Invincible" is great, although I can see why some might not like the somewhat cheesy vibe of a ballad-type song like that.
Though strangely I seem to be the only one who likes Invincible.
Did you miss the first post of the thread where I said that every song on BH&R is great? :p
Origin, I think, is fairly mid-range. There are lots of good songs, but there's not much variety. Not in the same league as Absolution or Black Holes. Origin sounds like a slew of brilliant rock songs. (And New Born, especially, is truly... astonishing!) They don't quite have the extra spice of A/BHR.
Not much variety? I totally disagree. It has the usual rockers, some great laid back mellow tunes, and I can't think of any other songs they have done that are like "Space Dementia" and "Darkshines." When it comes to the variety factor alone, OoS tops them all, IMO. :)
@Arriich: the difference between BH&R and The Resistance is that BH didn't really have a bad song. The Resistance had Guiding Light, combined with a lot of subpar tracks and only a few great ones. I'd listen to any song off BH before most songs off of The Resistance.
Agreed, for the most part. I think The Resistance really only has two subpar songs ("Guiding Light" and "MK Ultra"), but I think you pretty much nailed it. "I Belong to You" is still all kinds of awesome, though. :tup :tup
-
Out of all the things I dislike about Muse-- especially their last two records-- the lyrics have never bothered me at all. I get that there's kinda an anti-authority vibe going on, but it's so harmless and poppy that, really, who cares?
Or am I missing something?
Their way of doing it often comes across to me as one-dimensional and put on. But you're right, despite the album themes and all that, I don't think they're the type of band where you're supposed to look much further than the surface. They're a band making music more on the fun side rather than trying to make serious statements. Which is why, like Queen, as long as I feel the songs are good, I try to enjoy it for what it is.
-
I agree with Ariich..........I think The Resistance is an awesome record.
-
There weren't songs like "Supermassive Blackhole" on Absolution.
I don't understand what point you're making here. ???
@Arriich: the difference between BH&R and The Resistance is that BH didn't really have a bad song. The Resistance had Guiding Light, combined with a lot of subpar tracks and only a few great ones. I'd listen to any song off BH before most songs off of The Resistance.
Guiding Light is indeed pretty bad, but BH&R had Invincible which isn't far off. And I disagree about subpar tracks; to me aside from the 'bad' song from each album The Resistance is much stronger, and might have been in my top 2 Muse albums had it not been for GL. :lol
But anyway that's exactly my point, each album has stronger songs and weaker ones, heavier ones and poppier ones, etc. Which is why I understand why some people will prefer different albums. For example Absolution is one of my all-time favourites, but I find BH&R weaker in comparison (and The Resistance a slightly step back up again), but that doesn't mean I hate it and rant about Muse being rubbish these days. The amount of overreaction I saw when both BH&R and Resistance came out was pretty hilarious.
-
For my money, the only subpar songs from the three-album run of OoS, Abs. and BH&R were "Sing for Absolution" and "The Small Print." And neither was bad; they were just far below the level of every other song from those three records.
-
For my money, the only subpar songs from the three-album run of OoS, Abs. and BH&R were "Sing for Absolution" and "The Small Print." And neither was bad; they were just far below the level of every other song from those three records.
I really like TSP and Sing for Absolution is one of my favourites. :lol
Ah well, each to their own.
-
I agree on The Small Print, and I'd add Thoughts of a Dying Atheist, but I quite like Sing for Absolution.
Although I think it's their strongest album, I don't care so much for OoS after Screenager. The songs aren't crap or anything, they just gradually start to head into more average territory.
-
Origin, I think, is fairly mid-range. There are lots of good songs, but there's not much variety. Not in the same league as Absolution or Black Holes. Origin sounds like a slew of brilliant rock songs. (And New Born, especially, is truly... astonishing!) They don't quite have the extra spice of A/BHR.
Not much variety? I totally disagree. It has the usual rockers, some great laid back mellow tunes, and I can't think of any other songs they have done that are like "Space Dementia" and "Darkshines." When it comes to the variety factor alone, OoS tops them all, IMO. :)
Maybe I'm just more susceptible to superficial changes. I'm blinded by the aesthetic. To me, between Apocalypse Please, Time is Running Out, Endlessly and Stockholm Syndrome, Absolution demonstrates more versatility than the whole of Origin. BHAR takes it to the next level. City of Delusion, Supermassive Black Hole and Knights of Cydonia have got very distinct flavours.
Origin's more... they're all fairly heavy rockers, augmented with an ambitious serving of classical piano. There's a bit of a spanish thing towards the end of the album - Screenager & Darkshines, etc. - but I think it's more uniform in its colour. I'd put New Born, Bliss, Hyper Music, Plug-in Baby, Micro Cuts and possibly Citizen Erased into about the same box, and that's half the album. But again, I could just be finding myself blinded by the fairly superficial "ooh, this one has a fuzzy bassline, lovely" variety of production from Absolution onwards. Origin has a lot of different approaches to songwriting, and various structures. Actually, structurally it's one of the more ambitious, which is something I quite like about it. Being a mid-range Muse album is no bad thing, in my book.
Ohhh, I dunno! Undisclosed Desires is nigh-on R&B. Absolution sounds very classical in places, whereas Resistance is more eighties synthy...
What? :lol I get the impression you're basing these descriptions on one song each (Butterflies & Hurricanes and Uprising). You're absolutely right that Muse have a ton of variety, but they always have done with the possible exception of OoS which was a bit more straightforward stylistically, and they are like that on each and every album. Each album has a couple of rockers, at least one song more classical in nature, one or two ballads, one or two pop songs.
I've kinda covered my attitude to it above with versatility, easily amused, etc., but Absolutionwise, I'd argue that Apocalypse Please, Ruled by Secrecy and Blackout are fairly heavily classically influenced, whereas Interlude is, natch, Adagio for Strings.
Obviously everyone is going to prefer some albums over others, that's not what I'm referring to. I'm referring to comments along the lines of "Black Holes was incredible but The Resistance is the biggest shitfest ever" (nothing specific in this thread, but it's the kind of comment you hear occasionally). Considering how similar the two albums are in so many regards, the breadth of this difference is what astonishes me and leads me to feel like the two albums are not being judged by the same criteria.
I think that's a fairly common symptom of fandom, mind. I do think Muse have got a particularly atrocious fanbase, but yeah, I'd agree with that. I think part of it is getting their hopes up. The new one's always the Scrappy that ruined it all and raped their uncle and didn't have enough guitar solos or a nineteen minute sequel to New Born and it ran over their cat and it was probably deliberate, too, if only Warner stopped meddling blah blah blah moan moan moan.
I may have spent too much time reading news comments on Muselive.
EDIT: Oh and I don't really get the UD=RnB thing (my brother said it as well). Sure the drum beat is somewhat lifted from that style of music, but I've honestly never heard an RnB song that sounds like UD. Although if there are any I'd love someone to point them out because I don't really have any RnB in my music collection but UD is one of my favourite Muse songs!
Ahhh, disagree! I think that it shares a lot more with R&B than any other genre. Not an indictment, I love Undisclosed, me. But I'm surprised you can't hear it. The processed-sounding drums are a fair start, but on top of that there's the complete absence of any guitar, the sparseness of the bass and the sheer density of the synthesisers. Layer upon layer of production. The emphasis is on the vocals, too, to carry the melody. I'd say they're all hallmarks of R&B. I'm no expert on urban music, so I might be mixing genres, but it's not got much in common with rock music. Which is great! Nice. 'Citing. I can see why people would dislike it, but that's fine. All the more for me.
-
Yeah I don't think you're thinking of R&B there Rob, can't say I've ever heard any of it with such warm synths (which remind me of 70s prog artists) and big layered vocal harmonies (again the 70s thing going on there). The lack of guitar is unusual for a rock band (though they've always done non-rock songs: Unintended, Endlessly, Soldier's Poem), I'll give you that, but it isn't unique to R&B, most pop music lacks guitar.
But again, that's only from what I've heard. If there is R&B out there that sounds like UD I would absolutely love to find it, because that's one of the few genres I've struggled to find much good stuff in.
I've kinda covered my attitude to it above with versatility, easily amused, etc., but Absolutionwise, I'd argue that Apocalypse Please, Ruled by Secrecy and Blackout are fairly heavily classically influenced, whereas Interlude is, natch, Adagio for Strings.
I'm with you on those, but you seemed to imply that the album is more classically influenced than most other Muse albums. Resistance has all 3 tracks of Exogenesis, the Chopin at the end of USE and the Saints-Saens in the middle of I Belong to You. OoS has a big classical influence in Space Dementia and Megalomania, and to a lesser extent bits of Citizen Erased. BH&R is probably their least classically influenced album, but even that has the Tchaikovsky piano chords in Hoodoo as well as a few smaller influences. My point is, all these elements have always been a part of Muse's sound.
Although having said all that, I think we actually generally agree with each other, because of the following:
I think that's a fairly common symptom of fandom, mind. I do think Muse have got a particularly atrocious fanbase, but yeah, I'd agree with that. I think part of it is getting their hopes up. The new one's always the Scrappy that ruined it all and raped their uncle and didn't have enough guitar solos or a nineteen minute sequel to New Born and it ran over their cat and it was probably deliberate, too, if only Warner stopped meddling blah blah blah moan moan moan.
Couldn't agree more. As I've said, we all recognise when a new album is less good than the previous one, I felt that way when BH&R came out, but I still recognised that it's a good album, mostly along the lines of other Muse albums. But the outrage of some other fans at the time was just infuriating, considering how minor the differences were over the album to previous ones. As you say, it's probably largely in part due to expectations and expecting something to be perfect on the first listen, which obviously won't be the case with intelligent and diverse albums such as those Muse create. Happens with so many bands, and it always bugs me that people can't be a bit more open minded.
I think I spend too long reading your posts Rob, mine are getting nearly as long as yours. :lol
-
There weren't songs like "Supermassive Blackhole" on Absolution.
I don't understand what point you're making here. ???
You said you didn't understand how people could like one Muse album and not the others. In a roundabout way, I'm pointing out that there was nothing anywhere near as outrageusly fruity on Absolution.
-
The Resistance is my favorite Muse album yet. I've always been a fan, and The Resistance definately took some time getting into, but I'd say it's their most tasteful record. Though I absolutely can't stand 'Guiding Light'.
TR
Absolution
OoS
BH&R
Showbiz
Though I can't say the albums differ much in quality (except for Showbiz). I don't like TR a whole lot more than BH&R. They're all great, and on all albums there are at least 2 tracks I really don't care for. The Resistance has only one, PLUS it has two of my favorite Muse songs, 'The Resistance' and the three part symphony.
-
Ah well, each to their own.
Indeed. :)
Origin, I think, is fairly mid-range. There are lots of good songs, but there's not much variety. Not in the same league as Absolution or Black Holes. Origin sounds like a slew of brilliant rock songs. (And New Born, especially, is truly... astonishing!) They don't quite have the extra spice of A/BHR.
Not much variety? I totally disagree. It has the usual rockers, some great laid back mellow tunes, and I can't think of any other songs they have done that are like "Space Dementia" and "Darkshines." When it comes to the variety factor alone, OoS tops them all, IMO. :)
Maybe I'm just more susceptible to superficial changes. I'm blinded by the aesthetic. To me, between Apocalypse Please, Time is Running Out, Endlessly and Stockholm Syndrome, Absolution demonstrates more versatility than the whole of Origin. BHAR takes it to the next level. City of Delusion, Supermassive Black Hole and Knights of Cydonia have got very distinct flavours.
Origin's more... they're all fairly heavy rockers, augmented with an ambitious serving of classical piano. There's a bit of a spanish thing towards the end of the album - Screenager & Darkshines, etc. - but I think it's more uniform in its colour. I'd put New Born, Bliss, Hyper Music, Plug-in Baby, Micro Cuts and possibly Citizen Erased into about the same box, and that's half the album. But again, I could just be finding myself blinded by the fairly superficial "ooh, this one has a fuzzy bassline, lovely" variety of production from Absolution onwards. Origin has a lot of different approaches to songwriting, and various structures. Actually, structurally it's one of the more ambitious, which is something I quite like about it. Being a mid-range Muse album is no bad thing, in my book.
Very interesting way of looking at it. Whether I agree or not, I like your perspective. :tup :tup
As for the classical piano stuff, I love when they do that stuff. It gives their music an almost romantic feel. Very cool stuff. :coolio
In a roundabout way, I'm pointing out that there was nothing anywhere near as outrageusly fruity on Absolution.
Outrageously fruity? What does that even mean? ???
Though I can't say the albums differ much in quality (except for Showbiz). I don't like TR a whole lot more than BH&R. They're all great, and on all albums there are at least 2 tracks I really don't care for. The Resistance has only one, PLUS it has two of my favorite Muse songs, 'The Resistance' and the three part symphony.
I have really grown to love "Resistance" like crazy; terrific song! Really, if I listen to the first four songs and the last four songs from TR, I have no problem with it at all. It is just that the middle of it that drags it down. Granted, the first part of "Unnatural Selection" is killer, but it gets a little less interesting once they slow it down, and it was unfortunately sandwiched between the album's two subpar tunes.
-
Just finished listening to this album again thanks to this thread. Its still a great album.
-
Awesome. :hat
Oh, and I cannot remember if anyone has mentioned it yet, but we have to give some love to "Glorious," the bonus track. That is one of my favorite Muse songs to drive to. :metal
-
Awesome. :hat
Oh, and I cannot remember if anyone has mentioned it yet, but we have to give some love to "Glorious," the bonus track. That is one of my favorite Muse songs to drive to. :metal
Great song! Though I understand why they left it off of the album. Sounds like it could've been on Absolution.
-
In a roundabout way, I'm pointing out that there was nothing anywhere near as outrageusly fruity on Absolution.
Outrageously fruity? What does that even mean? ???
I have a hard time believing that you really have no idea what I mean.
-
Oh, and I cannot remember if anyone has mentioned it yet, but we have to give some love to "Glorious," the bonus track. That is one of my favorite Muse songs to drive to. :metal
One of my friend's thought that TCOT had some parts that sounded like "Glorious." Name the arpeggios in the intro. I lol'd, then stuffed him in some wine barrels.
Glorious is a great song btw.
-
Map of the Problematique spoke to me more than any song during my depression, and it still is a very personal song to me.
Black Holes and Revelations is a really important album to me. And certainly Muse's best.
-
slightly off topic, but fave muse songs?
I'd go
Showbiz, plug in baby, bliss, butterflies & hurricanes, knights of cydonia..
-
Brilliant album. Probably helps that I saw the first 4 tracks plus KOC live on Saturday. :hat
-
In a roundabout way, I'm pointing out that there was nothing anywhere near as outrageusly fruity on Absolution.
Outrageously fruity? What does that even mean? ???
I have a hard time believing that you really have no idea what I mean.
I know what you think it probably means, but it makes no sense to me. How is "Supermassive Black Hole" outrageously fruity?
-
Maybe when you're not so quick to imply that I don't "know" what I really mean, I'll talk about it with you! As for now, nope, not gonna play this game (again). ;D
-
Have it your way ;), but I think you are being outrageously fruity. :p :biggrin:
-
Jesus Steven Wilson Christ if you think SBH is gay, then call it gay instead of using middle school slang for it!
I have a feeling its "fruity" because its 1. poppy, 2. dancey, and 3. on the Twilight soundtrack.
-
Jesus Steven Wilson Christ if you think SBH is gay, then call it gay instead of using middle school slang for it!
No, because then it becomes a matter of, "Look at PC for example. Everyone who doesn't like BH&R must be a homophobe!" :lol
I'll put it this way: usually, in rock and metal, I look for a distinct kind of "hard-edge." That doesn't necessarily rule out the occasional pop song, but SMBH just sounds like it was written for Britney Spears to sing it while making suggestive poses. I don't like it.
-
Jesus Steven Wilson Christ if you think SBH is gay, then call it gay instead of using middle school slang for it!
No, because then it becomes a matter of, "Look at PC for example. Everyone who doesn't like BH&R must be a homophobe!" :lol
I'll put it this way: usually, in rock and metal, I look for a distinct kind of "hard-edge." That doesn't necessarily rule out the occasional pop song, but SMBH just sounds like it was written for Britney Spears to sing it while making suggestive poses. I don't like it.
:facepalm:
-
See. This is why I don't bother trying.
-
I'll put it this way: usually, in rock and metal, I look for a distinct kind of "hard-edge." That doesn't necessarily rule out the occasional pop song, but SMBH just sounds like it was written for Britney Spears to sing it while making suggestive poses. I don't like it.
So you like your rock and metal to have balls, but not in a totally non-gay way.
Got it.
-
You guys are the ones that brought gay into it, not me. It's just when I hear grown men singing "Oh baby can't you hear me moan" in unnaturally high-pitched voices, I know what I'm listening to isn't for me. Hell, the idea of listening to other men "moan" at all is totally not on my list of things I want to do. But hey, if you like it, that's all that counts!
Jeez.
-
Hang on, you like Muse but don't like unnaturally high-pitched voices?
Sometimes you make no sense Joe.
-
You guys are the ones that brought gay into it, not me.
I believe you were the one who said it was, and I quote, "outrageously fruity." ;)