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I recall early muse (Showbiz to Absolution) critics used to make fun of their lyrics for being kinda meaningless. Like standard art school students diary stuff, lots of abstract imagery and a sense of angst but not much you can really definitively say they're about. But then around Resistance they started trying to write songs about the world and holy poo poo it was way better when their lyrics were about nothing. Glenn Beck at one point declared them his favourite band which is the danger when you try and write politically but have no target except being anti general dystopian conspiracy paranoia and pro vague populism. Also, late in their career they've been doing this thing where they take a genre/band and do a really tacky pastiche of it for one song and it never comes off as sincere tribute of the genre. massive spider fucked around with this message at 14:42 on Dec 24, 2023 |
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Dec 24, 2023 14:34
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| # ¿ May 8, 2024 08:36 |
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IMO one of their weaker points of their late stage stuff is the drumming. It's basically just kind of functional grooves and boom baps following the riff without a lot of surprises. I was listening to The Handler off Drones because I remember liking that at the time but it feels kind of plodding to me now. As a contrast City of Delusion is one of the high points off black holes and revelations. I've seen them live three times from Origin of Symmetry tour, to at a festival, to just getting a free ticket. The more their music depends on playing to a click and backing track the less exciting it is. massive spider fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Jan 1, 2024 |
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Jan 1, 2024 21:21
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One uniting factor is the Jeff Buckley influence. Fake Plastic Trees recording was part inspired by a Buckley performance, Matt Bellamy owns one of Buckleys guitars. Although Radiohead and Buckleys careers overlap so its not a direct lift, but all three singers have a high wailing but clean tenor with a wide vibrato and falsetto that isn't a super common singing style in rock. Also the thing Johnny Greenwood does in Just where he plays aggressively fast octave lines is also a favourite Matt Bellamy guitar thing. If you made a rock track with a male singer going "WhhoOOoooOOOoooOaaaaHH" in a high voice while the guitar did that hysterical octave strum thing the immediate mental comparison would be Muse - But thats also the crescendo of Creep. That not to say that the accusation they're 'ripping off' Radiohead is accurate any more so than every other contemporary band shares musical of tropes from related acts. You only need to have like one visible trope in common with another band to draw comparison if that trope is distinctive enough. You can always tell when a band is doing a RATM inspired bit for example because even a little bit of RATM is really obvious. massive spider fucked around with this message at 23:18 on Jan 17, 2024 |
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Jan 17, 2024 22:51
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