Which Muse song have you recently discovered or rediscovered the awesomeness of?

[New Born Lee]

It was pretty widely held during the busier days of this board that Pink Ego Box was the worst Muse song. I thought so too.

I listened to it today and...no way is it the worst. It's kinda weird and spacious, sure, that weird jumpy rhythm...it's kinda all over the place. "My heart is feeling pain" might win an award for worst delivery of a line in a Muse song. But the guitars really crunch when the chorus comes in. The theme of the song and the straightforward way it's conveyed...strikes me as weirdly prophetic now that PC music etc. is a thing. It's earnest and gets that 'early Muse pass' for me, it sounds immature but passionate. It's not bland. Not great, maybe not even good, but they've made worse.

[Jobby]

Pink Ego Box is a really weird case where, ok yeah, it’s veeeeeeery “hi I was written by a 14 y/o angstbag” which should make it naff in theory

but

At least when it comes to actually playing it, I don’t think there’s ever been a case where I’ve never had a mega fun time and got stupidly pumped up by it. Like, more so than the vast, vast majority of their discography. When that second verse kicks in...I’ve nearly broken strings with those guitar chugs 😂 those “my heart is feeling pain” and “I’ve never heard your lies” lines are such pure, raw, unrefined, unashamed angsty cheese that you’ve gotta get carried away with it

”but I fink I liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit

[when u]”

[LewisF]

And then that outro riff

great tune

[Luigi.]

Explorers.  No, really.

[Gemsy]

I've always thought Explorers were super beautiful. Don't get the h8 for that one!

[Jobby]

The melody and progression had potential despite it being a p typical piano ballad but, like a lotta T2L, it just ends up tying its own shoelaces together and falls flat on its face with goofy shit like the sleigh bells and enviro-lyrics.

[Maidens97]

Megalomania, especially the live at reading version

[Kit_Mapex]

I'm loving Dead Inside at the moment, particularly the live version, when it kicks in for the ending is incredible.

[Jobby]

Invincible

Y’all know I always love it but I feel like I’m ready to say it’s actually a masterpiece of a space rock ballad, paced to perfection. The payoff and burst of life and colour in the solo after such a gradual build-up is comfortably one of the best moments in their discography. Every single performance of it ever was incredible and the fact that it died so soon and was actively slagged off during its time is possibly the greatest Muse related tragedy going.

[kueller]

I've seen the solo regarded as just guitar wankery but just like New Born's live solo that's why I love it. And that last chorus is so.... huge.

[That Little Animal]

On 6/28/2019 at 10:20 AM, kueller said:

I've seen the solo regarded as just guitar wankery but just like New Born's live solo that's why I love it. And that last chorus is so.... huge.

Some review when BHaR just came out said it sounded like two Daleks climaxing or something along those lines. I have that image in my head every time I hear it. 

Edited June 30, 2019 by That Little Animal

[kueller]

I agree but in a good way.

[Jobby]

1 hour ago, kueller said:

I've seen the solo regarded as just guitar wankery but just like New Born's live solo that's why I love it. And that last chorus is so.... huge.

Y’know what, like a feckin idiot, I used to think the same. But when you get off the “merrr tappin’ = wankin’” (part of which may be fuelled by envy of the ability to do it ) high horse, you can appreciate that the sudden burst of flash and flourish is just supposed embody the uplifting, empowering purpose of the song.

[kueller]

I mean it's showy right? But it works as the sudden explosion of energy.

[matthijs]

I'm firmly in team invincible, I've always loved it. 

[hyena17]

If I could pick any one song to hear them play live, it's that.

[That Little Animal]

Reapers. I totally forgot about the solo and outtro. It had been a long time since I listened to any of Drones. Only Reapers and the Handler have really withstood the test of time for me, but both are better than I remembered. 

[Timbo59]

Ruled by Secrecy. It's beautiful, haunting, mesmerizing. I don't know if anyone else does this when listening to a song but sometimes I focus on one aspect or instrument (while still taking in the rest of the song but not in as much detail). For example I'll focus on the drums, the bass, or the two together, or the vocals, the piano or synths , the rhythm, etc. And in RBS every single aspect I focus on is just amazing. The vocals are fantastic. The rhythm section is so great, and I especially love the symbols in the last few seconds of the song. But what really stood out to me yesterday when listening for the first time in probably 2 years was the piano. I love the juxtaposition of the ascending piano arpeggio in one ear panned against a descending one in the other, throughout the verses. Then how these build in the chorus before quieting down again for the second verse. Then after the second chorus the piano just explodes (it feels like an explosion, honestly) into that beautiful, rich and haunting melody. And then it just continues to dizzyingly satisfying heights as the piano notes go to a higher octave to match Matt's powerful vocals in the final chorus, before winding down beautifully again to that eerie, short outro.

It's what I think The Void wishes it was. And how I wish The Void was. Not that TV is bad, but RBS is just a masterpiece. It still frustrates me when music meme pages shit on Muse as a joke band, being a lesser Radiohead or something like that. They're two very different bands. I agree their later stuff is not in the league of Radiohead. But I find it strange how people can listen to songs like RBS and think it's lesser than something Radiohead put out. Not that RH is the gold standard of music. But to me RBS is similar, sonically, to some RH songs that are considered fantastic.

[Spiralia-statica]

6 hours ago, Timbo59 said:

Ruled by Secrecy. It's beautiful, haunting, mesmerizing. I don't know if anyone else does this when listening to a song but sometimes I focus on one aspect or instrument (while still taking in the rest of the song but not in as much detail). For example I'll focus on the drums, the bass, or the two together, or the vocals, the piano or synths , the rhythm, etc. And in RBS every single aspect I focus on is just amazing. The vocals are fantastic. The rhythm section is so great, and I especially love the symbols in the last few seconds of the song. But what really stood out to me yesterday when listening for the first time in probably 2 years was the piano. I love the juxtaposition of the ascending piano arpeggio in one ear panned against a descending one in the other, throughout the verses. Then how these build in the chorus before quieting down again for the second verse. Then after the second chorus the piano just explodes (it feels like an explosion, honestly) into that beautiful, rich and haunting melody. And then it just continues to dizzyingly satisfying heights as the piano notes go to a higher octave to match Matt's powerful vocals in the final chorus, before winding down beautifully again to that eerie, short outro.

It's what I think The Void wishes it was. And how I wish The Void was. Not that TV is bad, but RBS is just a masterpiece. It still frustrates me when music meme pages shit on Muse as a joke band, being a lesser Radiohead or something like that. They're two very different bands. I agree their later stuff is not in the league of Radiohead. But I find it strange how people can listen to songs like RBS and think it's lesser than something Radiohead put out. Not that RH is the gold standard of music. But to me RBS is similar, sonically, to some RH songs that are considered fantastic.

I can't focus on other thing than Matt's voice, it flows in my soul and I feel "high". But I hear instruments and sounds so deeply and clearly when I feel "high", everything seems to be deep, clear, peaceful and different around me, great feeling... I understand you when you describe all these music aspects, I feel some things like you (explosion for example... Like my heart explodes as the same time...). I love Muse for all these things.  The void is an hypnotic and ecstatic song, especially in the acoustic version : piano and Matt's voice seem to be in a sort of osmosis and this vocal note on "star" is a real ecstasy. 

[Jobby]

Showbiz, as an album/era ❤️

I don’t dig any of this “they sound young/naive/still developing” blah blah. It’s fucking incredible. Read through a list of songs from that era and it’s literally hit after hit, maybe 2 or 3 rusty tunes in the whole bunch. An indie garage/rock and blues/jazz mix fuelled by raw emotion. 3rd best album. Dying to hear it remastered.

Sorta think it’d be really refreshing if Matt attempted that style of writing again for a record - less hook/riff based with big themes, more focused on feeling and jazz/blues influences. Go back to ripping off Jeff Buckley basically, it’s been long enough, I promise no one’ll mind.

[kueller]

I've still been looking for bands that do what Showbiz was doing but I've never really found one with that kind of energy.

[mr.matches]

It's taken me a while to appreciate the unique melodic sensibility Dom has on his drums, particularly with his usage of the toms - so I'm really digging Stockholm Syndrome and Time is Running Out right now :)

[mr.matches]

On 6/28/2019 at 1:20 PM, kueller said:

I've seen the solo regarded as just guitar wankery but just like New Born's live solo that's why I love it. And that last chorus is so.... huge.

Hey, anti-guitar wankery solo's are one of Matt's most unique contributions to guitar music and that's no joke. 

[Timbo59]

Rediscovering how great FAWY is.  I overlooked this song for so long when I first listened to Muse, came around to loving it, then largely forgetting about it. The guitar playing in the intro and outro, the chorus synths and Matt's voice just work so well in this track.

[knightofcydonia]

Map of Your Head.

I've been trying to get my partner into Muse more over the years and assumed he wouldn't like this one, but it's actually now his favourite Muse song? So I've been looking at it in a different way. It's a really light, comfy song; very raw yet gentle, and one of the more different songs compared to the rest of their discocraphy. The lyrics are of course not light and comfy, but thematically it fits in really well with Origin of Symmetry.