Sounding Off about…Muse

Posted by Susan in Sound Bytes with SusanAshlea | 1 comment

Muse: Do the fans “get it?”

by SusanAshlea

Back in October, I wrote a review of The Resistance by Muse, the progressive alternative rock band that seems to be everywhere I look these days.  In that review, I begged people to listen to the album so the band would have more recognition in the US and do a North America tour.

I’m pretty sure it wasn’t my tiny, insignificant review that caused it, but it’s happening.  Muse is doing a North American tour.

And I get to see them on their first date: February 27^th, in Atlanta, Georgia.  That’s right, I’m going to drive 7 hours on Friday after work on the 26^th and drive another 7 hours back home on Sunday the 28^th for the privilege of seeing this amazing band on The 27^th.  I’m that dedicated.

Well, I’m a little crazy too, but mostly I’m dedicated.

So, you’d think I’d be happy right?  I am!  I am over the moon at this newest development.  I felt like a kid on Christmas morning on Saturday morning when tickets went on sale.  You’d think after the night that I had with my BFFs, that I’d be growling at the alarm when it woke me up at 10:55am (enough time to log on to TicketMaster and refresh a couple of times).  But no.  I was awake at 8am, my heart fluttering, my mind racing, and my stomach doing flips.  My hands were shaking as I rushed to fill out all the information I needed to upon requesting tickets.  For the first time in my life, I cared absolutely nothing about where the seats were located, yet that ticking clock on the bottom of my screed battered my nerves as I steadily approached the checkout line on Ticketmaster.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt, because I ended up getting some pretty kickass seats, even though I didn’t care if I had to swing from a rope tied to the ceiling; I was going to have tickets to the Atlanta show.

Naturally, I’ve been on a Muse binge all weekend.  I have listened to each album no less than 5 times, I’ve signed up for their website social network, streamed the videos they have available, turned friends into fans, and looked up pictures.  I’m telling you, I’m devoted.

It was during one of my trips down the information superhighway that I discovered that, like Twilight, there are fan blogs dedicated to Muse.  I don’t know why I didn’t think to look for one before, but I was delighted when I found one.  I started reading, and liking what I read, until I reached a post that slapped me in the face.

The post sourced an article that was somewhat of a review.  The Resistance debuted at Number 3 on the US Billboard charts, so obviously there is a fan base on this continent.  The band has never had trouble selling records:  They have been together for something like 15 years, The Resistance reached Number 1 in 21 different countries, they consistently sell out stadiums across Europe, and they were named “The Best Act in the World Today” by Q Magazine.  They had to add a second date at Wembley Stadium in London, England, because the first one sold out so fast.

Wembley Stadium holds 90,000 people.

I know, right?

So, why is it that the Americans are just now catching on?  And, in true American style, the fist-raising anthem, Uprising, has been used in football and hockey stadiums to rouse the patrons.  It has been used to promote the TV show, V.  It has also been used countless other ways.

Reading the review made me realize why: the Americans just don’t “get it.”  And, up until recently, I didn’t get it either.  Some of the comments I made in my review were so far off base from what the songs were actually about that it’s embarrassing.  I’m tempted to go back and extensively rewrite it.

To say that Muse’s songs have political undertones is an understatement, but I like that.  I like that they have chosen to get their point across in such a creative way.  I’m not sure if I would enjoy the music as much if the messages behind the lyrics were any less serious.  I certainly wouldn’t enjoy the band if the music didn’t compliment the lyrics.  But it’s all one big package, and that package is wrapped up in flawless music, creative composing, razor sharp wit and endless talent.

This weekend, Saluki came to visit me for a girls weekend.  I live in an area of the country that one could consider “hickish” or “Podunk.”  Word it however you want, but there is very little in the way of open minds, especially when it comes to music.  Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw are bar staples.  If you are at a Harley bar, you might hear endless classic rock.  Luckily, the bars all have those newfangled internet jukeboxes, so you can find just about any song or any band.  With a little extra money, you can even bump the other atrocious music that’s already playing.  So, for one dollar, I can trump your “Friends in low places” with “Map of the Problematique.”  Which is precisely what my friends and I did on Thursday and Friday nights.  The “play now” function was especially necessary on Friday night when 3 guys put endless amounts of money in the jukebox in order to play the entire Bon Jovi songbook.

I’m not saying horrible things about Bon Jovi, AC/DC, and the like.  I’ve listened to Slippery When Wet more than a few times.  I just wish that people would open up their ears and listen to something that isnt’ manufactured.  Muse isn’t manufactured; the band writes and composes and plays everything themselves.  It boggles my mind that over the course of more than 15 years and several studio albums they haven’t run out of ideas.  But each song is better than the last, and their “worst” song is still a 15 on a scale from 1-10.

Another article I came across on the aforementioned Muse fan blog was a review of their performance in the Bay Area of California.  I didn’t get the link to the source material, but what I read felt like a newspaper review.  It also felt like the reporter didn’t “get it,” because he/she kept comparing Muse to other bands and likening their songs to other band’s songs.  I’ll admit that “United States of Eurasia” makes me think of Queen just a little bit; but please do everyone a favor and not pigeonhole this band between Radiohead and U2.  According to the reporter, Muse strikes a perfect balance between the experimentalism of Radiohead and the radio friendliness of U2.

I like Radiohead.  I like U2.  But Muse isn’t even in a class with those two bands.  They are in a class above them, and they are sitting in that class all by themselves.  I said it in my review that they are musical geniuses, and I stand by it.  I don’t confer that title on just anyone.  I wouldn’t even use those two words to describe Elvis or The Beatles.  Michael Jackson is the only person I have ever said that about.  Before you laugh, I’m not comparing Muse to Michael Jackson in any way other than the fact that what they have contributed to modern music makes you unable to look at music the same way after hearing them.  I can’t find one single band to compare them to because there is none.

Yes, I am gushing THAT much.  I dare you to find a singer in today’s world of rock music that has a voice more refined that Matthew Bellamy’s.  I dare you to listen to “Butterflies & Hurricanes” and not be moved by the piano solo in the middle of the song.  I dare you to listen to “Knights of Cydonia” and not  be wowed at all of the different facets of music that make up the song.  I dare you to find a band that puts on a more elaborate stage show that compliments, not detracts from, the music.  Okay, maybe U2 could compare in that category.  But as much as I love Bono and the gang, they still don’t reach the same class as Muse, though they are probably the only current band that could even get close.

So, even though I’m more excited than a kid on Christmas about the US tour, I still kind of want Muse to stay a nice little secret.  I like the fact that they aren’t considered “radio friendly” because that means the people who discover their music and become fans and populate their concerts are doing so because of the music, not because “Uprising” happens to be played every hour on the hour on Rock 105, TAO.  I’m just as guilty as the next person about things like that, but not this time.

This time it’s about the music.