Stuff that pops into my head. Innit.

Wednesday 29 September 2010

Muse

They have millions of fans, they're widely acclaimed as the best live band in the world, and another blogger once told me Matt Bellamy was an audio god.

I'm going to tell you why I think they're shit.

"You sure you want to go with that look?"

I actually have the first 2 Muse albums, and I still think Showbiz -and the song Uno, in particular- is ok if not brilliant. My wife bought Origin of Symmetry for a reason I've never quite worked out, I think she thought it was ok but I didn't like it mainly because of Bellamy's gaspy vocals ruining "Feeling Good" Actually, while we're on the subject, here's a hint to any band members who might be reading this. If you're thinking of doing a cover version, fine go ahead-but make sure Nina Simone hasn't done it first. You're not the singer she was, you'll sound silly.

Muse are decent musicians -no-one can say they aren't- but using arpeggio and pitch shift effects doesn't make you a great guitarist, just a techincally gifted one. Great guitarists have a feel for their instrument, not just ability. Josh Homme -great gutarist, Herman Li -loaded with skill, but awful. See my point?
A great live band? No. A truly great live band adds something to their songs onstage -and that something isn't a flashy light show- Muse do perfect renditions of their CD cuts, yes, but I might as well sit in the garden listening to my MP3 player whilst shining a torch in my face.

Anyway, Muse have carried on -getting steadily worse as time has passed- until they're at the point where we  are now, and they seem to have turned into a pastiche of their former selves, becoming lazy, unoriginal and worst of all, boring.

11 comments:

Mrs Midnite said...

I find myself in total agreement. What was Mrs Fizzie thinking!

Vanessa said...

I guess it's a matter of personal preference really. Absolution is my favourite album, closely followed by The Resistance and Origin of Symmetry on equal footing. And I find their 'live' shows more exciting and accomplished than anyone else.

fizzee rascal said...

Mrs M, I'm glad someone agrees with me, I thought I might cop a bit of flak on this one. :)

Vanessa, just out of curiosity, who else have you seen to compare their live shows to?

Cayman said...

Fizzee you rascal, I hate to disagree with you on this one, but I do. Muse are quite the innovative band and have put out an impressive body of work so far, in my most humble of opinions. And while I do believe Bellamy is a gadgety guitarist, he creates some great dynamics with his playing and gear. Wile I think Exogenesis was a bit pompous and showed Bellamy's musical limitations, I liked the last album. And they are great live, as I've seen only on DVD, but live all the same. Now I completely agree with you about Herman Li!

Jodie-Ann Muckler said...

I've actually never listened to Muse. O__o Anyways, fizzee rascal... you didn't give me the code for you button. So, I can't grab it. You don't have a grab box either. So, please leave me the code, if you want, you can email me or just comment on a post or something. Thanks! :D
-Jodie

Jodie-Ann Muckler said...

Hey I awarded your blog! check it out :D
It is kind of girly I suppose... eh! It's still really cool. :)
-Jodie-Ann
www.musingsbyjodie.blogspot.com

fizzee rascal said...

Muller, let's just agree to diagree, eh?

J-A, I'll drop the code on your blog later, and thanks!

Jodie-Ann Muckler said...

You're welcome! :D

Funky Home Finds said...

My first exposure to Muse was "Uprising" (I think that's the title...the "we will be victorious" song).

Hated it. Heard a couple of other songs of theirs. Hated them, too. I still don't understand why they're so big. I just file them under the "Nickelback and other bands I hate and can't figure out why people like them so much" folder...which is getting mighty thick, BTW.

fizzee rascal said...

FHF. Well done, another Muse hater is always welcome

Anonymous said...

No. I have no desire to tell you anything less.