The Resistance - One Year On

[Meep]

On a serious note, I agree a lot of the time with things you, Alix and Dee3Dee say. But I think you've all started arguing for the sake of an argument nowadays. Your sig says it all, that you seem to enjoy the fact that you've become the board's arguing team.

[Dee3Dee]

On a serious note, I agree a lot of the time with things you, Alix and Dee3Dee say. But I think you've all started arguing for the sake of an argument nowadays. Your sig says it all, that you seem to enjoy the fact that you've become the board's arguing team.

 

We argue because Muse keep making the same mistakes over and over, and we're not gonna shy away from that. We're going to call them on it. Every ounce of criticism they have gotten has been well deserved.

[forevermusic]

We argue because Muse keep making the same mistakes over and over, and we're not gonna shy away from that. We're going to call them on it. Every ounce of criticism they have gotten has been well deserved.

 

There's a fine line between 'constructive criticism' and 'criticism for criticism's sake' though. That and the fact you all have signatures happily admitting to being a 'beef team' doesn't exactly help the standing.

 

I'm not saying they don't deserve criticism - TR could've been a lot better and the Resistance Tour could have been a lot better, particulary in the US. But there's only so far you can continously criticise - that and I long ago stopped caring how little they change the setlists. While they are routinely shit, it is clear lots of band do very little rotation in their setlists. That and it could be much much worse.

 

Atm Resistance is kinda re-growing on me while Undisclosed Desires is going in the opposite direction and Guiding Light is also losing a lot. Never really got IBTY, and Exo 2 and 3 are out of rotation due to my mood.

 

Uprising, USoE, US, MKU and Overture are still regular listens.

[Clunge]

We argue because Muse keep making the same mistakes over and over, and we're not gonna shy away from that. We're going to call them on it. Every ounce of criticism they have gotten has been well deserved.

I agree entirely with what you're all saying; I've been pretty vehement as well.

 

But it's getting silly now, every thread descends into the same, repetitive loop. Surely a much better thing to do at this stage would be simply to write an open letter to Muse, outlining out concerns/issues and then get signatures. I was planning to do so after Australia hence I've hardly posted in here for ages .

[L.]

MK Ultra and I Belong To You are the only songs on it that keep me coming back.

 

I love Exogenesis, but they shouldn't have billed it as a 'Symphony' or split it into three tracks. Uprising is great live, if a tad flat recorded. United States Of Eurasia is still a favourite of mine and Unnatural Selection is great even if it is Muse-by-numbers.

 

I'd have like The Resistance x193i50935q more if it had run simply:

 

Uprising

United States Of Eurasia

Unnatural Selection

MK Ultra

I Belong To You

Exogenesis

 

I don't mind Undisclosed Desires, but it doesn't fit.

 

I pretty much agree with all of this. Apart for USoE, it didn't age well for me and I now find the parody aspect of it pretty boring. I do enjoy Resistance live but only for the intro/outro and the drumming.

 

MK and IBTY are my most listened songs from that album.

[Dee3Dee]

I agree entirely with what you're all saying; I've been pretty vehement as well.

 

But it's getting silly now, every thread descends into the same, repetitive loop. Surely a much better thing to do at this stage would be simply to write an open letter to Muse, outlining out concerns/issues and then get signatures. I was planning to do so after Australia hence I've hardly posted in here for ages .

 

Yeah I have a pretty big rant in a Word-document that's ready to be shipped off to them. It's been on my computer for a good couple of months.

[haze015]

I Belong To You is b-side material and nothing more. Plus, it's in completely the wrong place on the album as it is. Between the rock of US and MK and the "intensity" (it's not really that intense, but it's more serious for sure) of Exogenesis, it appears like a boil on the arse of the album (which is bad enough as it is). Sticks out like a massive sore thumb. Ruins any possible late-album flow. And the album doesn't exactly flow as it is.

 

Those of you who say it does flow, go and listen to Mansun's Attack Of The Grey Lantern for an example of a truly flowing album.

 

They need to go buy some ambient electronic albums, Four Tet, Boards Of Canada etc and the whole "post-rave" ambient thing as those albums are meant to flow, not necessarily be about individual tracks for radio airplay/singles.

 

 

Also arguing which out of Abso, BH&R & TR flows better is like debating which turd smells better. A lyrical theme never gives an album flow for a start, that argument always gets on my tits, the majority of music doesn't have lyrics for a start.

[Liam]

MK Ultra and I Belong To You are the only songs on it that keep me coming back.

 

I love Exogenesis, but they shouldn't have billed it as a 'Symphony' or split it into three tracks. Uprising is great live, if a tad flat recorded. United States Of Eurasia is still a favourite of mine and Unnatural Selection is great even if it is Muse-by-numbers.

 

IBTY just doesn't do it for me. Catchy but a b-side at most. MK Ultra kicks arse though, and USoE - great live.

 

I agree that Exogenesis should have been one song and I also agree that Uprising was a flat recording. I think lacking Chris for large parts AND a producer was a bit detrimental. Too little criticism.

 

I Belong To You is b-side material and nothing more. Plus, it's in completely the wrong place on the album as it is. Between the rock of US and MK and the "intensity" (it's not really that intense, but it's more serious for sure) of Exogenesis, it appears like a boil on the arse of the album (which is bad enough as it is). Sticks out like a massive sore thumb. Ruins any possible late-album flow. And the album doesn't exactly flow as it is.

 

The latter half of the album was flawed by it. Otherwise a great 2nd half.

 

Abso flows good up until TSP, after that it's just chaos.

 

Fury should have been in there, but then I wouldn't have dropped TSP for it. I'd have had TSP after Endlessly and Fury, leading in to TOADA.

 

We argue because Muse keep making the same mistakes over and over, and we're not gonna shy away from that. We're going to call them on it. Every ounce of criticism they have gotten has been well deserved.

 

This. Admittedly it does go round in circles a bit at times but still, if we're educating people to the fact that we're too kind to Muse then good.

[nohopeinfear]

I'm quite surprised that tracks like Uprising or Resistance haven't been adopted by the protestors across the UK atm.

 

Would be nice to hear Uprising whilst the great unwashed are going apeshit

[Spectrum IV]

Well after not listening to the band for a month, and then seeing them live, my opinions have changed somewhat:

 

- Uprising: Brilliant live track and a great way to open the set.

- Resistance: The song builds and builds before coming to a crashing halt at the chorus. Live, the best parts of the song are lacking.

- UD: Muse's best pop song to date. Doesn't fit at all into the setlist though.

- USoE: Boring and unimaginative. The crowd "SIA!" chants are the only redeeming factor.

- GL: Some really strong ideas here, but they're executed poorly. Still it's good to have a cheesy, 80's style Muse song to sing to when you're in the mood.

- US: It's a bit repetitive in studio. Live is a different story, the middle section is massive, and I'm a bit disappointed I didn't see it in person.

- MK Ultra: The breakdowns are an awesome idea. Sadly most of the song is plagued by a grating guitar tone, and a lack of energy.

- IBTY: Good idea, and it's funny, but gets on your nerves after a while.

- Overture: I love that the song can be used as an intro to anything. Works well before SS.

- Cross-Porn: This is Muse at their finest; piano lead-in to an epic, emotional chorus with a post-apocalyptic outro.

- Redemption: Beautiful and gorgeous, fitting end to the symphony.

 

Overall

 

I have a newfound appreciation for most of the songs I thought were weak.

 

Muse seem to be confused about the best and worst parts of the album. US grew into a mammoth live track before being dropped for some stupid reason; CP and Redemption have never been played. Then we have songs like USoE, UD and Resistance which lack energy, but they're played every night without fail.

 

It's slightly ahead of Showbiz now, for me, but still nowhere near the other three in terms of overall quality and live suitability.

 

7/10

[Mizutsu]

There's a fine line between 'constructive criticism' and 'criticism for criticism's sake' though. That and the fact you all have signatures happily admitting to being a 'beef team' doesn't exactly help the standing.

 

I'm not saying they don't deserve criticism - TR could've been a lot better and the Resistance Tour could have been a lot better, particulary in the US. But there's only so far you can continously criticise - that and I long ago stopped caring how little they change the setlists. While they are routinely shit, it is clear lots of band do very little rotation in their setlists. That and it could be much much worse.

 

Atm Resistance is kinda re-growing on me while Undisclosed Desires is going in the opposite direction and Guiding Light is also losing a lot. Never really got IBTY, and Exo 2 and 3 are out of rotation due to my mood.

 

Uprising, USoE, US, MKU and Overture are still regular listens.

 

+1

 

Well after not listening to the band for a month, and then seeing them live, my opinions have changed somewhat:

 

- Uprising: Brilliant live track and a great way to open the set.

- Resistance: The song builds and builds before coming to a crashing halt at the chorus. Live, the best parts of the song are lacking.

- UD: Muse's best pop song to date. Doesn't fit at all into the setlist though.

- USoE: Boring and unimaginative. The crowd "SIA!" chants are the only redeeming factor.

- GL: Some really strong ideas here, but they're executed poorly. Still it's good to have a cheesy, 80's style Muse song to sing to when you're in the mood.

- US: It's a bit repetitive in studio. Live is a different story, the middle section is massive, and I'm a bit disappointed I didn't see it in person.

- MK Ultra: The breakdowns are an awesome idea. Sadly most of the song is plagued by a grating guitar tone, and a lack of energy.

- IBTY: Good idea, and it's funny, but gets on your nerves after a while.

- Overture: I love that the song can be used as an intro to anything. Works well before SS.

- Cross-Porn: This is Muse at their finest; piano lead-in to an epic, emotional chorus with a post-apocalyptic outro.

- Redemption: Beautiful and gorgeous, fitting end to the symphony.

 

Overall

 

I have a newfound appreciation for most of the songs I thought were weak.

 

Muse seem to be confused about the best and worst parts of the album. US grew into a mammoth live track before being dropped for some stupid reason; CP and Redemption have never been played. Then we have songs like USoE, UD and Resistance which lack energy, but they're played every night without fail.

 

It's slightly ahead of Showbiz now, for me, but still nowhere near the other three in terms of overall quality and live suitability.

 

7/10

I don't get why you think USoE is boring; both live and studio versions are really well done. Especially live, when the piano is brought out more and the absence of the strings emphasizes the notes you couldn't make out in the studio version.

I agree that they should play CP or Redemption live but Redemption especially would be hard to pull off in a concert setting, as the people are rowdy as hell and the slow, soft piano intro would probably bore them.

[Spectrum IV]

Redemption probably wouldn't work in full, but during the piano section it shares keys with a few songs, so it could be used as an interlude every once in a while. CP would also fit in brilliantly during the piano section.

 

As for USoE, to each their own.

[Mizutsu]

Redemption probably wouldn't work in full, but during the piano section it shares keys with a few songs, so it could be used as an interlude every once in a while. CP would also fit in brilliantly during the piano section.

 

As for USoE, to each their own.

 

I agree with CP, it has a soft piano intro (as does New Born) and then goes all out into a pretty heavy guitar section, then back down. It would go amazing like Citizen Erased, Cross Pollination, then USoE.

I understand why Matt hasn't played it live before; it's really really difficult to play. And not just because of the notes but because he physically has to be able to move his hands extremely fast but not move the positioning of his fingers, basically using all forearm muscles. It would be very pressuring to play live as there are so many places to make mistakes. (Same with Nocturne/ Collateral)

[WutDaFucksy]

Uprising: 7/10 Live 8/10

Resistance: 5/10 Live 5/10

UD: 4/10 Live 3/10

USoE: 7/10 Live 7.5/10

GL: 2/10 Live 2.5/10

US: 6/10 Live 7/10

MK Ultra: 9/10 Live 9.5/10

IBTY: 6/10 Live 7/10

Overture: 7/10 Live 7.5/10

Cross-Pollination: 6/10

Redemption: 7/10

[Rmk824]

i never understood the hate for undisclosed desires. I totally agree that live is a downer and shouldn't be played. But the studio version is a completely different story. There are so many layers to the song with the slap bass, strings, vocal harmonies and keytar. It is so intricate and they all blend together perfectly. I always hear other musers complain about how the lyrics are cheesy but i do not see that AT ALL! come on people, neutron star collision is cheesy. Guiding light is cheesy. But i think undisclosed desires is in a completely different league lyrically than "our love would be forever, and if we die, we die together" It is new, it is unique, it is muse.

[Hat]

It is new, it is unique, it is muse.

Now THAT is some proper cheese.

[hipbones]

On a serious note, I agree a lot of the time with things you, Alix and Dee3Dee say. But I think you've all started arguing for the sake of an argument nowadays. Your sig says it all, that you seem to enjoy the fact that you've become the board's arguing team.

 

On a super srs note.

Explain to me why are you bringing me into the beef you are having with Sippe? This discussion has nothing to do with me. I have the sig for the lulz it brings me, not for any srs bsns reason. I didn't argue because I enjoyed it, I did it because we were right in what we were saying and now people see our point.

 

Oh, and I actually agree with you about Abso and TR. Abso flows far better.

[TheRandomChocolate]

Well after not listening to the band for a month, and then seeing them live, my opinions have changed somewhat:

 

- Uprising: Brilliant live track and a great way to open the set.

- Resistance: The song builds and builds before coming to a crashing halt at the chorus. Live, the best parts of the song are lacking.

- UD: Muse's best pop song to date. Doesn't fit at all into the setlist though.

- USoE: Boring and unimaginative. The crowd "SIA!" chants are the only redeeming factor.

- GL: Some really strong ideas here, but they're executed poorly. Still it's good to have a cheesy, 80's style Muse song to sing to when you're in the mood.

- US: It's a bit repetitive in studio. Live is a different story, the middle section is massive, and I'm a bit disappointed I didn't see it in person.

- MK Ultra: The breakdowns are an awesome idea. Sadly most of the song is plagued by a grating guitar tone, and a lack of energy.

- IBTY: Good idea, and it's funny, but gets on your nerves after a while.

- Overture: I love that the song can be used as an intro to anything. Works well before SS.

- Cross-Porn: This is Muse at their finest; piano lead-in to an epic, emotional chorus with a post-apocalyptic outro.

- Redemption: Beautiful and gorgeous, fitting end to the symphony.

 

Overall

 

I have a newfound appreciation for most of the songs I thought were weak.

 

Muse seem to be confused about the best and worst parts of the album. US grew into a mammoth live track before being dropped for some stupid reason; CP and Redemption have never been played. Then we have songs like USoE, UD and Resistance which lack energy, but they're played every night without fail.

 

It's slightly ahead of Showbiz now, for me, but still nowhere near the other three in terms of overall quality and live suitability.

 

7/10

I agree with most of your points except for USoE. USoE is one of their best tracks in their album. I don't think it lacks imagination, quite the opposite in fact. But it is true that there are heavy similarities of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (due to the backing vocals) and Radiohead's Paranoid Android. The one thing I feel people forget is that it was Muse that created the WHOLE song - not Queen.

[Clom]

Uprising- Studio: 6/10 Live: 6.5/10

Resistance- Studio: 6/10 Live: 4/10

Undisclosed Desires- Studio: 6/10 Live: 2/10

USOE- Studio: 7/10 Live: 6.5/10

Guiding Light- Studio: 2.5/10 Live: 2.5/10

US- Studio: 7/10 Live: 8.5/10

MK Ultra- Studio: 8.5/10 Live: 9/10

IBTY- Studio: 7.5/10 Live: 8.5/10

Overture- Studio: 9.5/10 Live: 8/10

Cross Pollination- Studio: 9/10

Redemption- Studio: 9.5/10

[Frakkles]

Uprising: 7/10 Live 8/10

Resistance: 5/10 Live 5/10

UD: 4/10 Live 3/10

USoE: 7/10 Live 7.5/10

GL: 2/10 Live 2.5/10

US: 6/10 Live 7/10

MK Ultra: 9/10 Live 9.5/10

IBTY: 6/10 Live 7/10

Overture: 7/10 Live 7.5/10

Cross-Pollination: 6/10

Redemption: 7/10

 

When exactly did you see IBTY live? I'm intrigued

 

Stolen:

 

Uprising: 7/10 Live- 8/10

Resistance: 4/10 Live- 4/10

UD: 7/10 Live- 7.5/10

USoE: 8/10 Live- 7.5/10

GL: 7/10 Live- 8/10

US: 8/10 Live- 9/10

MK Ultra: 8/10 Live- 9/10

IBTY: 6.5/10 Live- 8/10

Overture: 7/10 Live- 6/10

Cross-Pollination: 4/10

Redemption: 6/10

[WutDaFucksy]

When exactly did you see IBTY live? I'm intrigued

 

Youtube

[Frakkles]

Youtube

 

Doesn't count.

[WutDaFucksy]

Doesn't count.

 

The thing is I'm not fussed about seeing it live anyway

[Frakkles]

The thing is I'm not fussed about seeing it live anyway

 

You should be, it's absolutely brilliant live. Biggest difference from album to live off that whole album in my opinion.

[Pip]

The thing is I'm not fussed about seeing it live anyway

 

Tis great fun live!