The Cavern
Rock & Words
MUSE
"Take, take all you need
And I'll compensate your greed
With broken hearts
Sell I'll sell your memories
For 15 pounds per year"
"C"
Main Decade: 00's
Main Eras:
Alternative II: The Big Bang (1990-1999)
(Post)-alternative III: The Dispersion (2000-???)
Key Members:
Matt Bellami: Vocalist, Guitar and Keyboard
Chris Wolstenholme, Bass
Dominic Howard, Drums
Key Songs:
Knights of Cydonia, Hysteria, New Born, Space Dementia, Stoklholm Syndrome, Plug In baby, Feeling Good, Super Massive Black Hole, Invincible, Sunburn, Butterflies and Hurricanes, New Born, Map of The Problematique, Megalomania, Showbiz, Muscle Museum, Megalomania, Starlight, Apocalypse Please, Time is Running Out, City of Delusion, Bliss, Citizen Ereased, Solfiers Poem, Ruled by Secrecy, Cave, Hyper Music,
The year was 1999. In a world where the great heroes had vanished and chaos reigned, electronic music, hip hop, and the Macarena seemed beyond saving. The golden years of the early 90s were long gone, and bands had disappeared after their leaders overdosed, due to conflicts among members, or continued playing but without the same creativity and ideas. The Spice Girls and Ricky Martin dominated the radio stations, while reggaeton was brewing in the underground and terror loomed over everyone with no one able to do anything. Even Napster collapsed after Metallica's betrayal!
After the suicide of grunge and the evaporation of Britpop, all hopes were pinned on Radiohead, who had astonished the world in '97 with OK Computer; But after the spotlight, the fame, and the exhaustive world tour, Yorke and company renounced glory and embarked on a more electronic and experimental project, abandoning the idea of being THE next big band to guide a new generation. Who could save us? WHO? From the ashes of OK Computer, at a school in Teignmouth, England, rose an unknown group that modestly began to combat the pop and commercial sounds of Devon. People wondered who these lads were who dared to fight organized crime—err, sorry, the record labels—with generous doses of virtuosity and power, forming a power trio that defied all standards. This new, almost anonymous hero began to shake up pop and hip hop and soon spread its influence throughout England, gaining strength with its touches of Britpop, progressive, alternative, classical music, Hendrix-esque riffs and solos, and surprising lyrics. A mix never seen before. Who was this hero who protected rock in such a critical moment and fought against the villains, saving us from becoming mindless zombies endlessly singing “Duyu guanaví mailoveeer” or “Mmmmhbop du ba Mhhhhbop”??? This new hero was none other than… MUSE!!!!!!!!!
Hahaha, didn't you imagine it as a movie trailer? Okay, I exaggerated a bit, I admit it. But you get the idea, right? Muse might not be the supergroup that definitively rescued rock from its grave; perhaps they lack greater exposure, or more marketing, or something to fully solidify their place (they have more than enough music and talent), but they are undoubtedly one of the most interesting acts of the last 10 years and the only one that partially rescued the sound of OK Computer and brought it into the new millennium, nuanced, of course, with their own ideas and influences.
Muse emerged, like many great bands, after a call in 1994 from drummer Dominic Howard to put together a band at Teignmouth Community College in Devon, England. A guy named Matthew Bellamy auditioned as guitarist, and there was immediate musical chemistry. Then they called Chris Wolstenholme, who was also a drummer but shared the band's vision. He immediately enrolled in bass lessons and accepted the challenge of playing an instrument he didn't yet master, which is remarkable considering he's now one of the best in the world. Thus, Muse was born, although in those days they were called The Rocket Baby Dolls and sported a somewhat glam-gothic image. That same year, they entered a battle of the bands competition and during their performance, they smashed all their equipment, not so much as a performance piece, but as a protest or a statement. The audience and the judges loved this "protest" and the music, and to their own surprise, they won the competition. From then on, they began to take themselves more seriously and dropped out of school and their jobs to dedicate themselves fully to rock. They also changed their name, choosing Muse because, according to Bellamy, "It would look great on posters."
After battling it out in the London and Manchester nightlife scene, Muse had already built a solid fanbase. By 1998, Dennis Smith was impressed with the band's sound and gave them the opportunity to record their first EP at Sawmills Studios, a self-titled record. They then released another EP called Muscle Museum, which achieved moderate success, reaching number 3 on the charts and attracting significant media attention, particularly from radio host Steve Lamacq. Around that time, Dennis Smith and Safta Jeffrey founded a new studio called Taste Media and immediately signed Muse to record their first LP. However, the band couldn't find a record label in England, as the excuse given was that "They sounded too much like Radiohead!" Seriously?! What are these guys thinking? If I found a band that sounded like Radiohead, I'd sign them immediately!
Unfortunately, there was a boom of bands that sounded like the Oxford band, but Muse undoubtedly had enough talent and a sound with their own ideas to step out of Radiohead's shadow. In 1998, there was a rock festival in New York, and the trio crossed the Atlantic to participate. Several record labels were blown away by the talent of these guys, but it was Maverick Records that ended up signing Muse on Christmas Eve of '98. Thus, the band went into the studio in early '99 under the production of John Leckie, who knew how to redirect the influences of Radiohead, a group he had also worked with, so that Muse took the risky and experimental side of the Oxford band without losing their balance, while bands like Coldplay and Keane took the mellow and more commercial side of RH.
Muse knew how to handle things more intelligently. Their debut album already showcased great potential, with tremendous instrumental power, even though they chose the "lightest and most accessible" songs from their already enormous catalog. The album fared relatively well in a very difficult year, in which Pop and Electronic music won the war against Rock by knockout. However, it opened doors for them and gave them the confidence to take risks and create two subsequent masterpieces: Origin of Symmetry and Absolution, brilliant works with superb instrumentation that delve into Progressive-Alternative territory, with now truly impeccable instrumental work that confirms the three members as some of the last virtuosos of Rock. In addition to critical acclaim, the albums achieved popular acclaim and high sales figures. Absolution even received nominations and awards from all sides, and Muse suddenly became the most powerful band on the planet by the middle of the decade. The Hullabaloo Soundtrack concerts of 2003 and HAARP in 2008 (at the legendary Wembley Stadium) confirm them as one of the most powerful live acts, without needing so much fanfare. I've already seen them, and it's truly incredible what the three of them are capable of.
In short, Muse could have reached great heights and established themselves as the best band of recent times, but the album *The Resistance* is extremely complacent on one hand and convoluted on the other, without achieving the balance they reached, for example, with *Black Holes and Revelations*, where they had already shown signs of a more commercial inclination. Then they succumbed to the temptation of resembling blockbuster movies for screaming teenagers with sparkly vampires, and their creative capacity seemed to plummet. Well, no, they still have the ability to compose; the problem is that they've run out of quality songs.
We'll have to wait and see how their next album turns out, because while I said it was too early to consider them the Messiahs of Rock, I think it's also too soon to say they're finished. Hopefully, it was just a rough patch, but Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme, and Dominic Howard have more than proven they have enough talent and virtuosity to be considered one of the best bands of the first decade of the millennium. And therefore, they have the capacity for a spectacular comeback that will reclaim their place in the Alt-Prog scene.
Hopefully, that will be the case, for the good of Rock, which needs strong figures like Muse now more than ever.
By Corvan
Jul/19/2011
