s3ker
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Posts posted by s3ker
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Right when I was ready to give up on this album cycle...
When the band discussed influences for the record, I always imagined something a lot more like this. The vocal harmonies, the progressions and melodies... Its muse's old-school sense of melody wrapped in the 80s stuff and the synth wave outrun stuff. I like it a lot, and much much more than the other singles.actually,strongest muse single in quite a while, imo.
Ofc, I'm now fully expecting this to be amongst the top 2 of the album, and I'm mentally preparing for the rest to be bollocks.
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Every Muse fan should listen to the album it’s on, Octavarium. Not only is it (imo) DT’s best album, it is so Musey. Never Enough and These Walls have the riffs, crazy synths and arpeggios and big choruses, Root Of All Evil and Panic Attack are dark, heavy, riffy Muse, Sacrified Sons is a big political epic with 2nd Law-esque samples, Answer Lies Within is a big cheesy piano ballad, and Octavarium is Exogenesis meets CE meets Globalist sorta thing.
It’s just a really Musey album not just in sound, but feel. Reminds me of New Born, Dead Star, Stockholm Syndrome, Hysteria, B&H, Take A Bow, Assassin, City Of Delusion, MK Ultra, Exogenesis, Unsustainable/Isolated System, Reapers, Handler, Globalist, etc
Weird seeing this as I was rediscovering this album today. Funny enough, while Octavarium is held in high regard among muse fans (myself included), I remember a lot of the hardcore DT fanbase (especially musicians) sorta trashing it when it was released. Bar some of the monster tracks like the title one, I remember all the complaining about the riffy/hooky/power chord nature of a good chunk of it.
I still love those songs, even though they start to feel a little dated now (a lot of heavy stuff from that period seems to be meeting the same fate). Some Muse fans might also enjoy the follow up one, which was still quite riffy, but dark in a different way than Octavarium was. Then Portnoy jumped out of the boat and I lost interest. Jeez, that was kinda long ago.
Anyhow, the DNA of that record really comes from muse. As a dumb teen I actually found it before any muse album, and only much later I would find that there was this deliberate inspiration. Finally made it click for me as to why I was so inclined to Octavarium, while only being mild towards a lot of what was regarded as classical DT.
Oh as for the new Muse single... Refusing to get hyped for this album cycle. This sounds promising, so I'm fully expecting to be underwhelmed.
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The more I listen to this song the more I understand that I actually like the songwriting, and I think it's cool that Matt sounds Matt here and not a Bono Vox/Freddy Mercury copycut. What buzzes me about this song is the way it's arranged and produced, so I think I could really like the acoustic version.
My feelings as well, after a few days. Not to say the song couldn't still have been layered and synth-y. I just don't like the approach, and the somewhat generic arrangement almost seems to betray the songwritting that really is very good (needing something human vs. The blend of Top40 trendy arrangements).
Maybe it'll grow on me, but for now I'll just look forward to the acoustic version which I'm sure I will find really enjoyable.
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If that had just been a straight up acoustic song, with a few of the swirly synthy arpeggios in the chorus, it would have been wonderful.
But the horrendous layers of garbage over the whole thing, especially the vocal fx, just make it almost unlistenable.
Underneath all the crap, there's a half way decent, heartfelt song there. Even with the typically jarring and shonky lyrics.
Amen.
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I don't have such drastic feelings, to be honest. I just don't really like the song as a standalone, that's it.
Maybe it's a bit extreme. But just the choices for all the songs so far have been a step in the wrong direction,for me. TC is passable, imo, but I'm just not expecting good things coming from this release.
Just the thought of buying a ticket and then stand there and hear this tune live
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Oh... oh, Christ...
Guys... I can't fucking believe I'm about to say this. I've always supported them regardless if I like their stylistic choices or not, mainly because I'm always curious to hear in which direction they'll go at every release, and it's always fascinating to see a band's progression.
But... this song... God, this song... I think it's UGLY. I like their pop songs, absolutely, but this the first time I'm not attuned with their choices about sound and production. If Madness, DI, or, heck, even Revolt retain a certain kind of unique feel to them that always made me feel I was listening to Muse, and not another common act from the radio, this, from my personal of view, doesn't. The pristine, pumping production feels taken from those "soft electro-country" songs that have been so popular on the radio (even a promising songwriter like James Blunt converted to that style), and makes it feel alien to me, in comparison to the majority of Muse production.
And the thing I'm most disappointed in is that this song, from a songwriting perspective, as Matt showed us with the acoustic alone, could have been one of greatest in their entire carrier just for the melody and lyrics. I wrongly expected a song with an atmosphere and sound similar to a sort of "Peter Gabriel doing FAWY" with a bit of Screenager thrown in because of the ethnic percussions. Instead, to me this feels their first song ever in which they're trying to chase the "cool kids" of pop (who can be very valuable nonetheless, make no mistake) by putting not very much of their tweak in there.
So, yeah... First Muse song in my life I don't really like (and the last, I hope).
That said, if many of you like it, or even love it, it's perfectly fine. Like I said, it's based on a stellar songwriting (and that comforts me about how LP8 may sound), but the big picture (no pun intended, lol) doesn't really click with me.
MSR out, for now!
This, so much. Surprised at the overall positive reactions floating around. I was excited when I heard the IG clip, but this is just a Top40 track with a little muse sprinkled on top. RIP this album cycle.
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Sample is the studio version. This acoustic thing is just to create a little hype around the tune and finally fulfill the bringing out the acoustic decade long prophecy.
Doubt we'll ever hear him have a go at it acoustically again though. Which is a shame, a full version would be nice
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I fear whatever the studio version ends up being, I am going to prefer Matt's acoustic version.
Same! But in general, I thought this was pretty good. Ive been pessimistic but this album might have some surprises.
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I questioned that person on reddit, I’m calling bullshit on completely layering in studio vocals. At most they’d pick and choose vocals across different performances if Matt cocked up at certain points. Personally it sounded live to me, obviously overproduced to fuck though...to be expected.
Yeah I find it hard to believe, and that persons reasoning didn't seem very solid either. Seems to be the only one claiming those things, too. Doesn't even make sense, if they were going to replace anything in TaB it would be the last chunk with the high chest notes (as matt sometimes struggles with them), not the start.
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No. Wasn't on it at all, so far as I can remember.
Thank god.
Also, I saw a post on /r/Muse claiming that the vocal track for the globalist and the beginning of take a bow were replaced with the studio vocal tracks. Is this bollocks? Seems crazy to me to jump over touching/over dubbing straight to studio tracks.
I couldn't go but I hope they release it digitally, would like to take a peek.
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Question to you fine people who went: was that weird filter you could see in the YT clips on the whole film?
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Not at all the best version of the song in any way shape or form but I didn't know where to put this lol. Was always wondering why Madness got omitted from the Mayan YT video.. now I know
[YT]
[/YT] yikesOuch. Guess that explains why he does both of those in falsetto now.
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Radiohead did something cool with it.
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Sounds awful.
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It's a sad indictment that yet again, as they have on every tour since BH&R, they've ditched the best songs from their most recent album - Dead Inside, Reapers and The Handler look buried to me.
Down to 15 actual songs again. Ergh.
Yes! I get its bouncy and all, but out of that entire album, how is Psycho the one song that gets played? Possibly the lowest effort of the whole record...
Edit: oh right, Mercy is in the set too. Still...
Also, it's amazing how well Showbiz aged.
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But the ‘greatest guy / dead inside’ line is the key line in the whole song, if we’re to go with the Drones narrative. It’s the acceptance the protagonist has been reprogrammed. Tbh, I just love every single thing about Dead Inside. It’s stood up the best of any Drones track and it’s definitely in my top 10 Muse songs.
Definitely! One of Muse's best pop rock efforts. It's a shame it didn't do as well as other singles like Madness or Starlight, but I guess that can't be helped as it is less accessible, kind of. But it's definitely up there for me. Also one of the few songs in which Matt sounds 100% sincere in the vocal delivery, I've always felt it was a very powerful tune.
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Thanks for the replies, I had similar opinions to you guys but was curious to see what others thought
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While I agree that Madness is a great demonstration of Matt's vocal ability (along with most of T2L in general), I'm pretty doubtful that Matt could ever sing the whole thing properly in the original key. Even the earliest performances where they ONLY played that song (Skalvan in Stockholm for example) they did it in a lower key, and Matt was REALLY pushing himself for that ending.
Do you reckon Matt had a hard time recording those parts in the studio, or would he only struggle with it in the context of a longer performance (as in a gig)? Do you imagine Matt lowers keys/avoid playing particular songs purely to avoid vocal fatigue, or is it possibly a part of his range that he can't access consistently/at all times?
Sorry if these are dumb questions, but I'd be keen on hearing what you think about that
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It has been growing on me, for sure.
I think what I appreciate the most is the way they blended the genres in a way that is very much theirs. Despite some of the most clear influences or incorporation of specific trends, the song as a whole has a very particular vibe/direction. And even if perhaps it lacks depth as a consequence of being evidently tailored to be a single, I actually think it's a really interesting choice given how much it would/will stand out in comparison to much of the stuff I hear on the radio.
I guess Dig Down felt awfully derivative to me. With Thought Contagion, despite fan reaction to the song's quality itself, it makes me think that the band are stil hungry to try out different things, expanding their range and throwing out there their interpretation of where music is at, in the present moment. These days I think that's what keeps me interested in Muse, and I'm glad they still have that.
I also appreciate the irony of a lot of people disliking the song but recognising how it got stuck in their heads
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Trap is definitely still a thing, so long as I can't avoid hearing people blasting new Migos the day it comes out and Lil Pump still sells, trap has not left hip hop. Heck, those beats are on the new black panther soundtrack.
Fair enough, I don't really keep up with that stuff. I guess i'm just a little tired of hearing that everywhere
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Quite off putting on the first listen, but as I relisten I'm taking a liking to it.
People seem to complain mostly about the Woahs in the chorus but I actually feel like those do a nice job of building up the dynamics in the song (although I agree it seems too high in the mix in relation to Matt's lead vocals).
I don't think I'll warm up to the verses though. I've never been a fan of the way Matt has to approach this kind of register/melody/flow, somehow it doesn't sound it comes naturally to him. He kinda gets away with it, but it sounds forced to me.
I love the you've been bitten by pre-chorus though with that piano coming in. I think it's a great contrast to the claustrophobic vibe of the tune, it was the first thing to seriously grab my attention in the song.
The final solution line is just appalling, seems to reinforce my (possibly incorrect) belief that the band are surrounded by too many "yes men". Obviously the term is not off-limits, and I detest the intellectual PC going on right now, but it's just really weird and tone-deaf. Lyrically, the tune continues Matt's trend of saying a load of things without really conveying anything, which is a shame.
I’d say it’s anything but uninspired. Now I’m not saying this is a necessarily good thing, but this isn’t really like anything we’ve heard by them before, and it’s clear they’re inspired by new things.Totally agree with this. In the last few cycles Muse have tried loads of stuff, but recurrently they would end up mocking up something that was almost a caricature of a certain genre/artist. I don't hate this tune, and I don't love it. But I do recognize that this is actually an interesting attempt at assimilating their diverse influences and a few modern trends into Muse's trademark vibes. Poppy as it is, I think it's also kinda daring as single material.
I also appreciate that this song isn't really jumping on some trend that was already dying down 2 years ago, unlike DD. But I wonder though, is the hi hat triplet/sixtuplet thing still relevant in hip hop right now?
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Aside from an improvement in lyrics, which is almost certainly never going to happen, I hope any backing instrumentation on TC doesn't sound like it was done on fucking GarageBand. Those 3rd verse strings and extra drums on DD really are atrocious.
So much of this. That puzzles me, to this day. Also less than a year later, that bass sounds is so...blergh. I guess it was already very 2012 when it came out.
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I loved The Globalist live, actually. It might have helped that I had sitting tix, so I could take the whole thing in. That moment was definitely the best showcase of their setup, with the Handler as a close second. I know the song faces a lot of criticism around these parts, but tt's definitely a highlight of the album for me.
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rationality of doing so aside, i am aware of a number of muse collectors who likely wouldn't bat an eye at paying at least £750/€850/$1000 for an official WB drones instrumental CD. no question.
Well, to each their own I guess
yikes
Album Eight: Simulation Theory
in Songs & Releases
Posted
me_irl