Maghatter Studentzine

[bellapod]

Imagine my surprise, as I ate my cajan chicken wrap at the University of Winchester food hall when I spied a copy of the maghatter student magazine. Music mag! Yippie. Free, even better.

Picture my shock when I read an article referring to Muse, written by Adam Ford. This is a published magazine which is distributed quite freely in Hampshire and is online (though as yet, the article in question isn't).

The article is (and 'll restrict myself to the Muse bits):

 

'Why do bands change their styles to fit mainstream audiences'

 

'We of Generation Y witnessed the birth of such bands as Muse, Kings of Leon and Lostprophets. I grew up listening to these bands and now I find it hard to listen to them because of the changes they have made.

 

Muse's new album The Resistance is a complete change in their style, it abandons the style that we have all grown up to appreciate. Yes some people may think it's one of their better albums but in comparison to OoS and Absolution it lacks the finesse that made them become so widely recognised. They have taken advantage of their name and feel like they are able to do anything because they are Muse.

When I first listened to The Resistance I felt that Muse were ripping off the sound of Queen and tried to be something they weren't.....I just feel that The Resistance was a bit of a let down.

 

I feel that all bands need to look at their roots and look why they were signed to be so widely known. They are famous for a reason and need to realise what that reason is and not try to make some quick cash by making something that their main fan base would hate. If it wasn't for fans that stuck it out with them at the beginning they wouldn't be here at all.'

 

DISCUSS

 

(feel free to move this to a different thread)

[Apocalyptic Gerbil]

I totally agree with him but The Resistance still has a few good tracks.

[BlackPatch]

I agree with the writer that The Resistance is very different from OoS and Absolution, but I mostly disagree with everything else.

 

Matt has been a musician for almost all his life and I think being so adept at playing both the piano and a guitar, he probably has a very wide taste of music. I think The Resistance is just one of Matt's sides and Oos and Absolution are an other side. I, for one, was very surprised when I first heard Exogenesis, and still think it is something not a whole lot of other prog rock bands could produce so well.

 

Of course you could have a preference for older songs, but that doesn't mean Muse should stick to playing the same thing over and over again. They want to surprise people and, I have to admit, earn a little extra cash. But overall, I think this is a very logical and admirable step for a musician to take.

[Johanna]

I agree with the writer that The Resistance is very different from OoS and Absolution, but I mostly disagree with everything else.

 

Matt has been a musician for almost all his life and I think being so adept at playing both the piano and a guitar, he probably has a very wide taste of music. I think The Resistance is just one of Matt's sides and Oos and Absolution are an other side. I, for one, was very surprised when I first heard Exogenesis, and still think it is something not a whole lot of other prog rock bands could produce so well.

 

Of course you could have a preference for older songs, but that doesn't mean Muse should stick to playing the same thing over and over again. They want to surprise people and, I have to admit, earn a little extra cash. But overall, I think this is a very logical and admirable step for a musician to take.

 

I agree with this point 100%.

[serendipityMuse]

I agree with the writer that The Resistance is very different from OoS and Absolution, but I mostly disagree with everything else.

 

Matt has been a musician for almost all his life and I think being so adept at playing both the piano and a guitar, he probably has a very wide taste of music. I think The Resistance is just one of Matt's sides and Oos and Absolution are an other side. I, for one, was very surprised when I first heard Exogenesis, and still think it is something not a whole lot of other prog rock bands could produce so well.

 

Of course you could have a preference for older songs, but that doesn't mean Muse should stick to playing the same thing over and over again. They want to surprise people and, I have to admit, earn a little extra cash. But overall, I think this is a very logical and admirable step for a musician to take.

 

I can't say that The Resistance is my favorite album. There are a couple of songs that I still skip and cringe, but I wouldn't go as far as say they using their fame and are complete queen rip offs (the article).

 

I agree with you on the fact that The Resistance is another side to Muse. When I first heard it I couldn't help but wonder why they went with the direction, especially songs like Guiding Light. After watching interviews and such, they guys seem really happy about this album and proud. I think it's just their natural progression. They even went as saying that this is "a pure Muse sound, if there is one". And, like you said, they can't be playing the same thing over and over again. They want to grow as musicians and you can see that cause they really seemed like they were experimenting with this album.

 

Also, like you said... what other band can pull off Exo I, II and III ? These songs, in my opinion is what makes The Resistance. It makes you realize that Muse isn't just some band.

 

Although, I did see an interview where Dom was talking about going more in the direction of UD and GL I can't see them fully surrendering to this idea.

 

Anyway, I think the writer just needs to realize that bands moving in an unexpected direction and doing huge shows, doesn't necessarily mean they are sellouts.

[KockAnders]

This thread has the potential to go down the drain.

 

I don't think Muse has changed style at all. Their "style" is to explore a lot of genres through rock, keeping their root based in the style they know, then branching out and hitting all of the stuff they don't know. Muse plays Rock/X, and have ever since the Showbiz era, imo. That people liked the genres they were exploring during OoS and Absolution, and started listening to Muse throguh those albums, doesn't confine that to be "Muse's sound", and anything else is a deviation. It simply shows that those people like the Rock/Hard rock or Rock/Punk sides better than the rest of 'em.

 

EDIT: Oh, and for some final bit of baiting, in regards to the article's statement of bands needing to "look at their roots", that would actually be the ultimate act of "selling out". Muse don't want to be one-trick-ponies, and returning to their "roots" wouldn't prove that they weren't.

[mjartrod]

They want to surprise people and, I have to admit, earn a little extra cash.

one thing is not related to the other at all. in fact, many artists have suffered a lot in terms of 'cash earned' when they have a departure from their usual style. departures for muse are actually the norm. each album is radically different from the previous.

 

what earns muse the cash is the fact that they continually put out great albums despite being very different, there's no flops, they are not overhyped (which is what causes disappointments) and they are a fantastic live band that turns casual listeners into major fans after one gig.

[mjartrod]

and btw, this:

'Why do bands change their styles to fit mainstream audiences'

... is a ridiculous thing to say about an album that has 3 simphonic tracks, a piano song with chopin in the end, a song that quotes from an opera, an 80's sort of power ballad...

 

i would love to know what is mainstream and most of all, what is there mainstream about TR.

 

and if you're going to mention undisclosed desires then please do check how 'successful' that single was, first.

[Saracene]

AC/DC fans must be the happiest fans in the world; they know exactly what they're going to get on a new album and that there'll be no deviations from what they love about the band

 

Funny how this guy seems to forget about BHaR and talks as if The Resistance arrived on the heels of OOS and Absolution. Wouldn't the fact that Muse were changing their style be obvious, oh, four years ago?

[MattXXI]

 

Muse never really had a particular style anyways. All 5 albums are different from each other, and have their own uniqueness to them. I don't get how thats so hard to understand people...

[EJ.]

 

Muse never really had a particular style anyways. All 5 albums are different from each other, and have their own uniqueness to them. I don't get how thats so hard to understand people...

 

+1

 

I don't get why people do moan about "Why don't they go OoS and Showbiz-style again?"

It would eventually become boring if one album was like the other. I'd buy one album and think why spend money on another album thats almost the same?

[bellapod]

and btw, this: ... is a ridiculous thing to say about an album that has 3 simphonic tracks, a piano song with chopin in the end, a song that quotes from an opera, an 80's sort of power ballad...

 

i would love to know what is mainstream and most of all, what is there mainstream about TR.

 

 

Totally get you on that one. The sheer differences of tunes in the album are noticeable. Cannot believe it is being considered as mainstream in this article.

I guess what ticked me off most was the insinuation that Muse were sell outs. That got my goat.