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Madness reviews


Magnolia86

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I am not surprised. Madness is a great Muse song.

 

However, am waiting for Mojo's, Q's, Pitchfork's , Uncut's, Under The Radar's, Drowned in Sound's blah blah (do they all still exist? :LOL:) ... All the reviews posted so far are mostly or probably just Musers' blogs (even the NME's :LOL:) :p

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Muse – Madness (4/5)

 

Entitled Madness, this song is the medium through which Muse have chosen to rear their heads again, and it has to be said, it’s very different.

 

Madness is slow, electronic, pulsing, thudding dance/dubstep. It does, however, have a lot of redeeming features. It is very, very progressive and yet somehow very classic Muse. It’s definitely catchy, it has a great, pulsating beat to it, and vocally it gets listeners singing along with the endlessly repeated “m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-mad, mad, mad” (it looks daft when it’s written down) even if they don’t like the song.

 

The best thing about it, though, is that Madness builds up in a very satisfying way. It sneaks up on a listener and manages to explode into an epic finale section at about three minutes in, without anyone listening actually noticing it’s coming until it happens. It’s clever, and from then on until the end, the song becomes fantastic.

 

It’s well titled too because it does seem to epitomise feelings of madness (especially if listened to through large headphones) in musical form. The drums pound very heavily on listeners ears, and there doesn’t seem to be any guitar work that isn’t smothered in chaotic-sounding effects so much it no longer sounds like a guitar, except for a brief (and well played) solo. As always with Muse, the bass work is phenomenal. Hats off to Chris Wolstenholme, again.

 

The vocal work sounds very familiar, very typical Muse, which obviously it would do. But, it also sounds suspiciously like a bit of an ode to Queen. This reviewer wonders if that’s deliberate. Do Muse fancy themselves a bit of a new Queen?

 

By releasing it ahead of, The 2nd Law, an album due for release on October 2nd 2012 (clever.), Muse are playing a dangerous game, because this is a very love/hate kind of song. Fans of the old Muse, where the main instrument was a guitar rather than a synthesizer (Origin of Symmetry) aren’t going to like this song. At all. But that’s not the point, is it? Muse are moving on, experimenting with new sounds, and expecting the true fans of their music to come along for the ride. As well they should. It’s different from the Devon rockers, but not necessarily bad. Muse are drawing a line under their older material and beginning a new phase of their musical career. And we as listeners should all watch with interest, these guys aren’t done yet.

 

http://www.bornmusiconline.com/muse-madness/

 

This sounds like my review. Pretty much.

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I am not surprised. Madness is a great Muse song.

 

However, am waiting for Mojo's, Q's, Pitchfork's , Uncut's, Under The Radar's, Drowned in Sound's blah blah (do they all still exist? :LOL:) ... All the reviews posted so far are mostly or probably just Musers' blogs (even the NME's :LOL:) :p

 

I would care what Pitchfork wrote if it wasn't written from all the way up Thom Yorke's ass.

 

"By releasing it ahead of, The 2nd Law, an album due for release on October 2nd 2012 (clever.), Muse are playing a dangerous game, because this is a very love/hate kind of song. Fans of the old Muse, where the main instrument was a guitar rather than a synthesizer (Origin of Symmetry) aren’t going to like this song. At all. But that’s not the point, is it? Muse are moving on, experimenting with new sounds, and expecting the true fans of their music to come along for the ride. As well they should. It’s different from the Devon rockers, but not necessarily bad. Muse are drawing a line under their older material and beginning a new phase of their musical career. And we as listeners should all watch with interest, these guys aren’t done yet"

 

To be honest, I sort of love/hate what he has written here. I understand what he is saying but Origin of Symmetry is my favourite album and yet I really like Madness.

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Well maybe people who aren't dim realise it's minimal and that's what minimal music should be like whereas this fucking forum think the production/vocals/synths have been recorded wrong.

 

Fuck-a-doodle-doo people

 

Of course it's a minimal piece - not the most minimal (there's some Depeche Mode songs that are just keyboard and vocal, and there are certainly other minimalist songs) but certainly it's a lot more simplistic than other Muse songs.

 

It's all opinion but I just felt underwhelmed by it.

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I'm fine with how minimal it is, I actually really like the minimalism of it. Matt's vocals just don't fit with it until the very end for me, and I really hate the 'mamama' thing.

 

 

So true. I really like the fact that they try new sounds, but Madness just doesn't do it for me. None of the things I love Muse for are present; only Matt's singing in the last part of the song. Unsustainable was extremely different, and I still loved it. I even got to like Survival. Still think it's gonna be an awesome album, more concept-like like OOS (my favorite).

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  • 2 weeks later...

A method to Muse's 'Madness'

 

Following the no-holds-barred bombast of their Olympics theme "Survival," Muse has morphed again. "Madness" (Warner Bros.) is sleek, subtle and super-catchy, oddly combining '80s Queen with "Achtung Baby"-era U2 and a smattering of dubstep to build something new, yet familiar. Matt Bellamy barely sounds like himself -- containing his well-known yowl till the very end, replacing it with George Michael soul and Freddie Mercury stacked, synthesized harmonies. It's a risk to go so far afield, but this "Madness" will pay off big for Muse.

 

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/a-method-to-muse-s-madness-1.3967250

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"Can't you just go back to being Muse?"

 

Every time I see that line in a review I just get upset. What does it even mean.

 

I'm fine with not liking the song. Although I'm surprised it took the guy 30 seconds to notice the bass but to each his own.

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"Can't you just go back to being Muse?"

 

Every time I see that line in a review I just get upset. What does it even mean.

 

 

You know, I don't think this is hard to understand at all, and if I weren't bloody lazy I would at least try to explain what it means in my opinion. I feel the same way, sometimes. And it's ok to feel that way, I just think it's unnecessary to make a fuss and bitch about it all the time. Just get a grip because they won't.

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I always get the feeling that muse act deliberately vague/stupid when discussing their old songs to make themselves look modest. Idk how to explain it that's just the vibe I get all the time :LOL: which is why Dom seems to 'remember' more than Matt since he has far less input in creating the songs.

 

Matt has always talked about his songs like 'we have this song called map of the problematique' where the interviewer/muse fans are like yeh we know the one. It's like he still can't believe that many people know all their discography off by heart.

 

I'm probably totally wrong and they are just incredibly forgetful

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I always get the feeling that muse act deliberately vague/stupid when discussing their old songs to make themselves look modest. Idk how to explain it that's just the vibe I get all the time :LOL: which is why Dom seems to 'remember' more than Matt since he has far less input in creating the songs.

 

Matt has always talked about his songs like 'we have this song called map of the problematique' where the interviewer/muse fans are like yeh we know the one. It's like he still can't believe that many people know all their discography off by heart.

 

I'm probably totally wrong and they are just incredibly forgetful

 

I concur, but I also think Matt is forgetful/stupid.

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I concur, but I also think Matt is forgetful/stupid.

 

He's not stupid. I think it is easy to forget details when you are being directly questioned. Also it's not like they are fascinated with their own albums and songs like we are. I am sure it can easily become a blur after a few years have elapsed.

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