I HATE THAT STEPHENIE MEYER AND I HAVE THINGS IN COMMON

I'm not a Stephenie Meyer fan but I'm generally apathetic about her existence. But I do get super annoyed when I discover things we have in common. Like that we both have degrees in Literature. Or how we both want Henry Cavill but will settle for Robert Pattinson because OMG THEY'RE BOTH SO BEAUTIFUL AND I LOVES THEM BUT HENRY IS MINE SO BACK OFF STEPH. But I digress...

So I get a little crazy when I'm reminded about our shared interests. Like the other day I freaked out when I got an official MUSE email about a new song they've released called Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever) for the f-ing ECLIPSE SOUNDTRACK! EWWWWWWWGROSS. And you know why MUSE has a song on ALL the Twilight soundtracks? Because f-ing Stephenie Meyer is a huge fan. UGH WTF I'M A HUGE FAN TOO! I hate that she loves one of MY favorite bands and that she was listening to them while writing her Twilight poop. And I really hate that MUSE's songs are on the Twipoop soundtracks!

Nonetheless, I downloaded this new MUSE song aka the first single off of the Eclipse soundtrack (vomit). And you know what? It kinda sucks!!! The song sounds like a really bad b-side to MUSE's last album The Resistance. And that was an amazing album because MUSE is almost always awesome. So I'll blame the sucky song on Stephenie and not them. Siiigh. Ok, my rant is done. But may I digress once more?

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There are very few things in life I adore more than the band Muse. If Jeopardy had just one entire category devoted to Muse, I’d be a rich game show champ. So obviously my first post on this wonderful fan blog is about Muse’s new album The Resistance. Muse has always been clever, intricate, random, and grand with their sound and their fifth studio album is the most elaborate to date. And that’s why it rocks so hard and why I love it so much. And why I hope you will too.



True, I’ve reached a level of Muse fandom where I love anything these three men from Devonshire, England create. Still, my expectations of them remain high. And after a month of digesting and listening to the album (which was released on September 15th) I’m happy that Muse has pleased and surprised me again! The latest album is a welcomed natural evolution from their last two albums. While it’s not my favorite album (Origin of Symmetry is the ultimate gem) it’s still a treasure. The Resistance is another exercise in raw, leftist-political lyricism and sophisticated, polished prog rock music. But unlike Absolution and Black Holes & Revelations, the new album covers not just some but all of Muse’s favorite bases while dwindling down on the galactic references. For some listeners, the album will feel lyrically in sync but musically schizo. The Resistance runs the musical spectrum—you’ll hear some rock (obviously), electronica (“Undisclosed Desires”), jazz (“I Belong To You”), world (“United States of Eurasia”), and classical music (check out the 3-part symphony at the end). I think this album is actually the perfect place for new Muse listeners to start because it demonstrates the band’s incredible talent and range. It also displays their various influences/obsessions. And speaking of influences, let’s drop the obvious Queen and Rachmaninoff comparisons. And let’s never again bring up the tired Radiohead comparison. Seriously, after five full-length albums, two live albums and dvds, and countless sold out stadium shows, let’s just let Muse be Muse. Let's give them their own glorious unique spotlight.

But if you do want to discuss an album influence, let’s talk George Orwell’s 1984. When combining their musical and lyrical style, we find that Muse is a poetically political rock band. It makes sense that Matt Bellamy (the little magical man at the core of Muse) digs Orwell. In an interview for the September issue of Spin magazine, Bellamy explains 1984’s impact on The Resistance: “People overlook how moving the love story is and just talk about the politics. The novel’s idea of love as a political act is all over the album.” Bellamy is insanely worried that people will continue to be abused and controlled by the ever-expanding power of our world leaders and yet he wants to remind us that our capacity for empathy and love can unite us against manipulation and torture.

The Resistance is a musically layered yet lyrically explicit reflection of our arduous times. And when Muse tells us “love is our resistance" we should nod in rhythmical agreement.
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