Mercy

[jonisdead]

I thought listening to it once wouldn't be so bad, but I always discount my stupid memory.

I'm actually enjoying the stuff from this album so much so far that I'm waiting for the crash, you know?

I love Psycho, I'm fucking obsessed with DI still.

I still have hang ups about the "classic rock clichés" in Reapers, but I can't say it's a bad song, at all.

 

Also, though, didn't DI just hit #1? Would another single make sense right now?

 

I've repeatedly said that I thought Mercy would come out after the album, but after having heard Mercy I think it's entirely possible Muse might just want staying power right now and twice the buzz to push the initial release of Drones. Having DI and Mercy top the charts alternating between 1 & 2 respectively might not be a bad idea, I don't think they've done that before either. So yes, it could make sense if done properly.

 

Just searched the Drones thread, looks like it came up on March 17th. So a little under a week Let's hope Mercy is similar in that regard.

 

Awesome =) can't wait for some more treats! This wait will definitely seem easier with a new single. It's possible too they might release it before KROQ Weenie Roast to have a new track with buzz for more casual fans to listen to as a "new single"!

[serpentsatellite]

Didn't Tom also just Tweet recently about shooting another video?

[jonisdead]

Didn't Tom also just Tweet recently about shooting another video?

 

Yeah, mentioned that on the previous page. It's probably going to be a surprise drop.

[HomesickSubterranean]

If it's going to be released tomorrow, it could be in 2 hours at the earliest. Releases for Tuesdays are out on the store at 11 PM EST on Monday

[Mattestro]

Just searched the Drones thread, looks like it came up on March 17th. So a little under a week Let's hope Mercy is similar in that regard.

 

Next Monday maybe? Or before the Mayan gig?

[HomesickSubterranean]

It's such a short wait to the album that I'm not biting my nails in anticipation for the single. But sooner than later would be cool

[heyjackk]

You keep making baseless claims about "lack of originality" without refuting mine. There is no lack of originality unless Muse makes music derivative of other artists rather than allowing themselves to be influenced by other genres/artists, UNLESS they shamelessly lift direct elements from specific songs (i.e. New Born riff lifted note-for-note, same tempo and pasted into Unnatural Selection). And the claim that Muse using fragments of original pieces of music written and debuted live in their own shows which eventually became a part of their own repertoire somehow implies that Muse is "unoriginal" is preposterous. My argument is consistent, your rebuttal is not because you just ignored my post, assert my argument is inconsistent, and reassert your unsubstantiated point.

 

As much as i find your Unnatural Selection point strange because New Born and Unnatural Selection are both written in different keys and other than being riffs that move in similar patterns are pretty different - I agree with you. This album so far is nowhere near as unoriginal as the Resistance and the 2nd Law and I really cannot pull in too many comparisons. Sure, the Reapers riff sounds a little like a classic rock riff and the little synth parts in DI could be from Queen but other than that everything else seems very Muse and very original, everyone just be mad because they expected big 7 string drop tuned riffs on every song lmao

 

also muse pls release mercy as a single asap i need something new

[jonisdead]

As much as i find your Unnatural Selection point strange because New Born and Unnatural Selection are both written in different keys and other than being riffs that move in similar patterns are pretty different - I agree with you. This album so far is nowhere near as unoriginal as the Resistance and the 2nd Law and I really cannot pull in too many comparisons. Sure, the Reapers riff sounds a little like a classic rock riff and the little synth parts in DI could be from Queen but other than that everything else seems very Muse and very original, everyone just be mad because they expected big 7 string drop tuned riffs on every song lmao

 

also muse pls release mercy as a single asap i need something new

 

I just think US is trash in general so I attack it whenever possible, though it does rip off New Born. Also, this song is the first so far on this album to not be in either Drop D or Drop C, right?

[heyjackk]

Also, this song is the first so far on this album to not be in either Drop D or Drop C, right?

 

Probably could be played in drop D but from what I heard it sounds like standard, couldn't really make out exactly what the guitar was playing from the quality though

[Jobby]

Next Monday maybe? Or before the Mayan gig?

 

I'm feeling either Thursday or Friday this week. Surprised there haven't really been any kind of teases or official statements though, other than those kinda vague tweets from Tom.

[jonisdead]

I'm feeling either Thursday or Friday this week. Surprised there haven't really been any kind of teases or official statements though, other than those kinda vague tweets from Tom.

 

Makes me think moreso that this wasn't intended to be released so soon, especially with what I presume to be the video for Mercy having been shot so recently, normally it would take a lot longer to get at least that done if it were to coincide with the single release. So this is probably damage control. I know Psycho took over a month. I think they might just drop the single then put out the video later.

[heyjackk]

 

from memory isn't that what they did last album as well? i remember the lyric videos for a couple songs coming out a couple weeks before actual videos

[jonisdead]

from memory isn't that what they did last album as well? i remember the lyric videos for a couple songs coming out a couple weeks before actual videos

 

For sure. They did that with all of the lyric videos last album cycle, I just don't know whether Mercy is slated to have both or just one or the other.

[That Little Animal]

You keep making baseless claims about "lack of originality" without refuting mine.

 

I'm sorry, I didn't know I was supposed to consider everything you say when I state my own opinion. Should I refute everything anyone says when my opinion doesn't match theirs, or are you special somehow? Were we having some kind of argument?

 

There is no lack of originality unless Muse makes music derivative of other artists rather than allowing themselves to be influenced by other genres/artists, UNLESS they shamelessly lift direct elements from specific songs (i.e. New Born riff lifted note-for-note, same tempo and pasted into Unnatural Selection).

 

I see where our alleged disagreement comes from, your definition of originality is very specific and completely different from mine. To me, the songs we heard so far sound uninspired, like a repetition of moves. None of the songs have surprised me musically or lyrically. In the past, even on the past two albums, even when they were inspired by other songs, bands or genres, there was always an element of 'holy shit, what have they gone and done now?'. The Drones material is lacking that feeling for me, it sounds stale.

 

And the claim that Muse using fragments of original pieces of music written and debuted live in their own shows which eventually became a part of their own repertoire somehow implies that Muse is "unoriginal" is preposterous. My argument is consistent, your rebuttal is not because you just ignored my post, assert my argument is inconsistent, and reassert your unsubstantiated point.

 

It's funny you think I ignored your post and yet somehow provided you with a rebuttal at the same time.

 

Regarding incorporating live riffs into new studio work:

- Psycho's riff is fun, but it's not original by any means.

- Unlike other elements of songs Muse have debuting live in part and then incorporated into songs, Psycho pretty much is a constant repetition of that one fun, but 'cheap' riff. Take a Bow, for example, is a lot more than a repetition of that little snippet they used to play live.

[Bumpypotato]

Makes me think moreso that this wasn't intended to be released so soon, especially with what I presume to be the video for Mercy having been shot so recently, normally it would take a lot longer to get at least that done if it were to coincide with the single release. So this is probably damage control. I know Psycho took over a month. I think they might just drop the single then put out the video later.

 

Damage control?

[jonisdead]

Damage control?

 

I'm referring to the fact that Mercy "leaked" out of the private gig where preventative measures were taken to make sure it wasn't. So mainly releasing it sooner rather than later (or whenever the previous intended release date was) would be considered damage control since it pushes up the release date. I still don't think this was initially intended to come out before the album but all signs point to it coming out within the next two weeks now that the track length has been revealed.

[jonisdead]

I'm sorry, I didn't know I was supposed to consider everything you say when I state my own opinion. Should I refute everything anyone says when my opinion doesn't match theirs, or are you special somehow? Were we having some kind of argument?

 

 

 

I see where our alleged disagreement comes from, your definition of originality is very specific and completely different from mine. To me, the songs we heard so far sound uninspired, like a repetition of moves. None of the songs have surprised me musically or lyrically. In the past, even on the past two albums, even when they were inspired by other songs, bands or genres, there was always an element of 'holy shit, what have they gone and done now?'. The Drones material is lacking that feeling for me, it sounds stale.

 

 

 

It's funny you think I ignored your post and yet somehow provided you with a rebuttal at the same time.

 

Regarding incorporating live riffs into new studio work:

- Psycho's riff is fun, but it's not original by any means.

- Unlike other elements of songs Muse have debuting live in part and then incorporated into songs, Psycho pretty much is a constant repetition of that one fun, but 'cheap' riff. Take a Bow, for example, is a lot more than a repetition of that little snippet they used to play live.

 

Thank you for addressing my points/humoring me. I responded the way I did because it seemed like you were just brushing off my response to your post before that. I was just trying to engage you to see what you had to say about it at length. You seem to interpret "original" as something "surprising" that "interests" you, which is cool, I just thought you were panning original created-by-Muse-material as unoriginal in the sense that it's derivative rather than original meaning it brings something new/exciting to the plate. I'll concede Psycho doesn't do too much, but I think comparing it to a proggy number from BHAR when Muse haven't done progressive structures for two albums it's a bit unfair of a comparison. But it does incorporate another riff besides Psycho so it's more than just abusing the riff, and even the main riff does move around a bit and then there's that bassline, to its credit.

[Bumpypotato]

I'm referring to the fact that Mercy "leaked" out of the private gig where preventative measures were taken to make sure it wasn't. So mainly releasing it sooner rather than later (or whenever the previous intended release date was) would be considered damage control since it pushes up the release date. I still don't think this was initially intended to come out before the album but all signs point to it coming out within the next two weeks now that the track length has been revealed.

 

I know what you're referring to but come on, outside of the hardcore fanbase I doubt anyone heard it. It won't have made a big enough impact to prompt them to release it early.

[kueller]

tl;dr incoming on originality.

 

Criticizing their use of old material is still really a stretch to jump right to unoriginality. Bumped my own post back there that using old work is nothing new for this band, or any band. And after all, if they have a good jam going why do they need to make something new just for the sake of it. For all we know the "original" parts of the album could've been older, but just not showcased regularly. Does that make a difference? It wouldn't be the first time they've done that.

 

But also if they were to release an album of all note by note covers as a studio release, disregarding the legal aspects for a second, I doubt that would be accepted. There's a line somehwere. I'm not gonna try to find that line here. But I think a lot of the fighting over this topic comes from that ambiguity. No one is on either extreme of the originality argument, everyone lies in the middle somewhere.

 

I do feel some uninspiration in these songs personally. I'd say a lot of it is just lack of song variety, especially in Psycho. There's some other aspects I've probably explained more in other posts. But these aren't really about the ideas they use but rather how they use them. Similar to Supremacy.

 

For Mercy, I see it kinda like Starlight, as peolpe have said. But a bass driven twinkly pop song is nothing inventive in Starlight. It's not a direct copy. Their RatM styled drop D riffs tend to get more praise. From me as well. Think of how much more well received Animals was to Big Freeze. They were both more derivative than Mercy I'd say. Similar to above, there's other aspects. The style they pick, the instrumentation, and what bands or older influences they take. I think looking at how they're getting their little riffs and melodies and judging the entire creativity of the album might have truth but is really over-simplifying.

[rainer219]

Be careful, my SoundCloud account got deleted a few hours ago

with all of my tracks because I recreated the first minute in Logic.

 

Which Logic? I've got Pro X. Do you compose as well?

[Bumpypotato]

Gotta say I agree with Kueller. Anyone who's written a bit of music will probably find themselves revisiting old bits and pieces down the line. And the notion that Mercy is plagiarising Starlight is nuts. Even the piano melody isn't that similar.

[aleluman]

meh, apart from the intro, the song doesn't really sounds that similar to starlight

[kueller]

Gotta say I agree with Kueller. Anyone who's written a bit of music will probably find themselves revisiting old bits and pieces down the line. And the notion that Mercy is plagiarising Starlight is nuts. Even the piano melody isn't that similar.

 

Well no one said it was outright plagiarising (as far as I know). Just that it was kinda a Starlight 2.0. I was just using it as an on topic example.

[rainer219]

Mercy sounds like a mix of Bliss, Stockholm Syndrome and Starlight, predominantly.

 

For Bliss and SS, it's the pre-chorus and chorus, arpeggiating synths, bass distortion/fuzz, crotchet and quaver beats and crashes, falsettos (SS), and a groovy but not-complicated bass-line (Bliss).

 

For Starlight, it's mainly the piano, synth bells, arpeggiating synths, and the use of guitar later in the song, as well as a major key.

 

That's how I'd best describe Mercy.

[heyjackk]

Gotta say I agree with Kueller. Anyone who's written a bit of music will probably find themselves revisiting old bits and pieces down the line. And the notion that Mercy is plagiarising Starlight is nuts. Even the piano melody isn't that similar.

 

glad i'm not the only one who doesn't think the piano melody is similar to starlight, people are far too quick to draw comparisons to other songs