Epic. Apocalyptic. British. Muse is a band that does nothing on a small scale. The Resistance is an eclectic mix of sounds, textures, and stirring vocals by lead singer and brain-trust, Matthew Bellamy. The album takes you on a journey, thru progressive, classical, and electronica that comes together in a beautiful mess that is dark but yet glorious.
The album opens with Uprising a rhythmic march of a song that can empower any sports star to get hype for the game, or any empower any citizen to overthrow the government.
It's that mix that makes Muse probably the most interesting band in the world (however I do not think they drink Dos Equis).
Muse has a sound that is unmistakably...well...Muse. However, on this album you can really hear the bands that inspired and paved the way for artists like this. The track United States Of Eurasia is an amalgam of Queen-like-harmonies, massive string and drum instrumentals likened to Biblical Period Piece movies (Exodus), and to top it off a classical excerpt from Chopin.
The three part epic Exogenesis is as erie and ethereal much like Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon.
Muse is either brilliant or totally indulgent, but aren't most things British.
Whatever side of the fence you find yourself on one thing is clear these are some amazingly talented musicians. As Bono said after Muse opened for U2 in DC, "It's amazing that you can get such a big sound out three guys."
Speaking of U2 and Muse, seeing them at that particular DC concert was well, Epic is overused, and awesome is so 1999, maybe Massive is a good word.
The stage was massive... (gigantic rocketship-stage that took up almost all of FEDEX Field.)
The sound was massive... (my ears were buzzing for days...gotta love it)
The stadium was massive... (having floor passes FEDEX Field is a stinking huge stadium)
It felt like a concert of eschatological (a big scrabble word for end-times) proportions.
The super cool thing about being at this massive concert was getting to meet author and pastor Mark Batterson. He was there with his son Parker, to see U2, his son's first concert.
Mark is a super-cool guy who is totally humble and authentic.
How can you not like a pastor who takes his son to see U2.
Seeing Batterson interact with his son reminded me of my first concert with my Dad. We saw Bob Dylan and it changed my life. It brought me closer to music, it brought me closer to my Dad.
I hope you enjoyed this blog series on music of the last decade.
I hope there will be more opportunities of great music and great experiences in the decade to come.
Concert Footage from the Show in DC FedEx Field.
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