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static shadows

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Everything posted by static shadows

  1. static shadows
    I second: "It's happening soon, / It's happening soon, / Its scent has been blowing in my direct-shoon." Surprised no one seems to have mentioned: "When you Instant Message me with a promise, / I can feel it, I can tell you're gonna be / Just like meeeeee." Or you know, all of the lyrics from that song.
  2. static shadows
    Forced In, Shrinking Universe, Recess, Yes Please, The Gallery, and Hyper Chondriac Music do give it a really interesting vibe that's pretty unique in Muse's back catalogue - although it is one that definitely leaks into some OOS tracks. They're all raw but atmospheric and even a little creepy, with some amazing riffs and ideas. But the record's definitely patchy as a whole. The other 4 tracks range from ok or enjoyably daft, to forgettably mediocre, making it feel very much like the (mainly) OOS B-Side album it is. Still, it offers an intriguing insight into another side of the recording process of one of my favourite albums of all time, capturing Muse at their creative height experimenting with different sounds. In terms of invention and my own taste, I'd rather listen to those 6 Hullabaloo tracks mentioned above than the vast majority (if not quite entirety) of Muse's last three albums. It would have been fascinating to have seen them go further down the more atmospheric and experimental route that Hullabaloo hints at. But if they had, then they really wouldn't have escaped the endless Radiohead comparisons! And it may have just resulted in an album of Endlessly-esque tracks. No one really wants that.
  3. static shadows

    So you did! Missed that somehow. Have to admit to still not having seen Branagh's Hamlet! That's definitely one of many outstanding on my to-watch list.

     

    I read that with some friends at a drunken party in the summer! I really must by it. It was hilarious. Can file it next to my choose-your-own-adventure Hamlet ('To Be or Not To Be') and the 'Shakespeare Not Stirred' cocktail recipe book (inc. 'Now is the Whiskey of our Discontent', 'Exit Pursued by a Beer', 'Get Thee to a Winery' and 'Caliban's Wrong Island Ice Tea'). Both are amazing!

  4. static shadows

    Ha! Glad someone liked my Shakespeare fanboying. I'd love any more recommendations too, if you have any favourites I missed!

  5. static shadows
    It's fairly solid as an album and an improvement on the awful mess that was The 2nd Law. It's arguably more consistent that The Resistance too. I like that they've made something a touch rockier, there are some very good moments, and in The Handler they have probably written their best track since BH&R. But Drones still largely suffers from its lack of an inventive spark and creative edge, a sonic identity that is Muse rather than [insert other artist here]. That, of course, isn't to say that their old music didn't have influences, or that I'm against change or experimentation. But their 'experimentation' over the last few years has simply been to mimic other artists and usually do so quite generically, not re-imagining it in a way that feels fresh or interesting: adhering to musical cliches rather than challenging them or moulding them into something new (which they were once so good at doing, especially around OOS). Aside from the odd riff, most of the instrumentation in Drones just doesn't feel musically exciting or inventive to me. The album is also rather patchy, with some tracks feeling lazy and unfinished (e.g. Psycho, Globalist), others being more rather uninspired/dull attempts at pop (Mercy, Dead Inside), a lack of real musical cohesiveness or flow as a whole, and Aftermath being simply awful. And lyrically it's simply cringeworthy. The lyrics and 'Orwellian story' are painful, clumsy, and shallow. They make me wince each time I listen to it. So overall, it's an improvement but is still ultimately disappointing.
  6. static shadows
    I've never seen that before. Blimey.
  7. static shadows
    Ooohhh... I really don't know. I equally adore Forced In, Recess, Shrinking Universe, and Hyper Chondriac Music. Also always used to play Yes Please to get myself pumped for anything when I was a teenager and I still can't help but feel a wave of excitement whenever hearing it! I'll go with Forced In, partially because no one's voted for it yet and because I would have loved to have seen Muse further explore that atmospheric, melancholic abstract sound. To be honest, I'd prefer to listen to Hullabaloo than any of the last three albums! It's, of course, not a cohesive whole but many of the tracks just have an inventive, atmospheric, experimental spark that Muse have rather lost.
  8. static shadows

    Thanks man, will give it a listen!

  9. static shadows
    Shrinking Universe. Hullabaloo just came on automatically after Drones. Actually, I'm just enjoying this whole album a lot more than Drones. But Shrinking Universe was the one I particularly thought, 'I'd forgotten how good this song was'!
  10. static shadows
    It's the best 2 mins of the album crushed together with the worst 7 mins (or joint worst with Aftermath). And it's just not a cohesive track. It consists of an ok extended intro, two painfully dull, unconnected half-finished ballads, and a brilliant riff that should have been turned into a song but instead goes nowhere, merely building and abruptly ending. In that regards it rather reminds me of Survival: a cool riff but with nothing of any substance around it, leaving it ultimately feeling rather flat and unfinished as a song.
  11. static shadows
  12. static shadows
  13. static shadows
    - Riff: New Born - Bass: Hyper Music - Guitar solo: Sunburn - Drums: Map of the Problematique - Piano: Space Dementia - Vocals: Microcuts - Backing vocals - Supermassive Black Hole - Chorus: Stockholm Syndrome - Verses: Hyper Music - Intro: Fury - Outro: Showbiz - Lyrics: Citizen Erased
  14. static shadows
    In relation to my response to Fabri ^ As regards Mercy and Revolt: Mercy strikes me as a slightly more energetic (dare I say improved) version of Starlight. I don't love it and think its one of the weakest tracks on this album, but I don't hate it either. Revolt is... well, fuck knows! But it's so silly and so ridiculous and catchy that I can't help but laugh at it/with it. I'm at least entertained by it! I can't say that for most of The 2nd Law - which tends to veer between tedious and awful.
  15. static shadows
    It's a cool, atmospheric intro followed by nearly 6 minutes of utter, mind-numbing tedium, packed with some of Matt's worst ever lyrics (which is saying something). Not for me.
  16. static shadows
    I wouldn't have said so when The 2nd Law first came out, as I thought they were two of the few moments in that album that offered glimmers. But, after multiple listens Animals got a little dull, without anything to really repay repeated listens. It just lacks some kind of extra spark or beauty, feeling rather like an In Rainbows-era Radiohead b-side that goes on a touch too long. And Isolated System just sounded more and more to me like the good bridge for a song that never actually got written. Maybe I'd take Animals. Despite its flaws it's still head and shoulders over the rest of that album.
  17. static shadows
    Nah. I'd take everything in Drones bar Aftermath over everything in The 2nd Law. And that's not even to say I rate this album particularly highly! I just really hate The 2nd Law. And as a coherent whole, as you say, Drones is easily better.
  18. static shadows
    Because you've got streeenength, you've got soooouooul, you felt paaaiain, you felt luuuurvurve... Honestly this might be my favourite song from Drones atm. Just for the pure wtf factor. Handler, Defector and Reaper are clearly far better but Revolt is just hilarious. Muse via some absurdly happy and catchy piece of musical theatre. I usually dislike Muse songs when they're dull and forgettable (Explorers, Big Freeze, NSC, GL, etc...). And whatever else this is, I wouldn't say that it's dull. Maybe it will got the way of Panic Station - funny at first but quickly gets old. But Revolt feels like a more solid song. Panic Station does funk badly. Revolt does catchy pop-rock-musical well.
  19. static shadows
    It's ok. You can get through this. Reading between the lines, it's clear that you've got strength. You've got soul. You've felt pain. But you also feel love. Use this experience. You can grow. You can grow. And you can revolt against this song.
  20. static shadows
    By far the worst song on the album for me. It's nearly 6 mins of utter tedium. There's no direction, nothing interesting musically, no interesting melodies, and painfully awful lyrics. It makes me want to hurt things. The only thing I like is the atmospheric intro. But that just makes what follows all the more disappointing.
  21. static shadows
    Dead Inside - 6/10 [Drill Sergeant] + Psycho - 6/10 Mercy - 6/10 Reapers - 8/10 The Handler - 9/10 [JFK] + Defector - 9/10 Revolt - 7.5/10 Aftermath - 3/10 The Globalist - 6.5/10 Drones - 4/10 6.5/10 OOS > Absolution >> BH&R > Showbiz / Drones > The Resistance >> The 2nd Law
  22. static shadows
    I should hate this song. But I just can't. It cracks me up. At least it's catchy. And ludicrously happy.
  23. static shadows
    The lyrics are for the most part so, so bad. It's pretty difficult to take seriously as a result. For me, the best lyrics offer a degree of poetry and mystery, allowing for individual interpretations and something to think about, or in the case of political lyrics offer genuine intellectual depth. But here there's neither any sense of mystery or depth. It's just so superficial, shallow, cliched, silly and even rather exploitative and emotionally dishonest as a narrative. It also doesn't help that I really dislike 'rock operas' at the best of times! I just dislike the concept of them. But after a first listen, it's easily better than The 2nd Law (what isn't?) and probably better than the Resistance too! It has more life and punch, some cool riffs, and generally flows pretty well. Just a shame about the lyrics and dull narrative marring it.
  24. static shadows
    You know what... this track ain't bad.
  25. static shadows
    I can't choose. They're all just so uninspiring. Voting in the other album threads just emphasises how horrendously poor this album was. The best are only average in quality here. Animals and Survival are the best of a bad lot, so one of them I guess...
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