Say what you like about Muse (and I will be doing just that below), their music is great for a run or a workout. I don’t actually listen to music on my runs anymore – it’s far too dangerous – but if I did, their music would be great for that.
That weird uncatagorisable mix of alt rock, glam rock, pop synth, metal, classical, EDM and even occasional dubstep makes for an often unpredictable – but always energetic – playlist.
Spotify put me onto a remix of their latest single, Compliance:
Echoes of their beautiful love song Endlessly and hints of the theme from Knight Rider. See what I mean about a weird mix of genres?
Still, that got me through a quick 5kms on the static bike. Go whoosh whoosh.
I’ve since been listening to some their other stuff. And it’s been cool to rediscover their sound.
However…
The subject matter of their lyrics does leave me cold. In fact, that was the reason I stopped listening to them in the first place. I just found it hugely annoying to have to hear about Matt Bellamy’s paranoia around the “New World Order” and our alleged reptilian overlords for an hour at at time, broken up into ten 6 minute sections. Think David Icke, but with a decent soundtrack.
Not that he’s not free to believe in that sort of nonsense. Of course he is.
Just like I’m free to switch him off for doing it.
He’s not soft about it either. In Animals, he refers to bloodthirsty capitalists suggesting to them:
Kill yourself, come on.
And do us all a favour.
Searching up that lyric, I’ve now got helpline numbers all over my internet. Great.
In Uprising, he enthuses that:
It’s time the Fat Cats had a heart attack.
Which seems an odd stance, given that each and every record Muse sell pops some more money into the coffers of Warner – one of the three biggest music publishers on the planet. I mean, surely the band could sign to some no-name, independent label, but then would they sell as many records? I guess you could argue that they are just trying to get their message out to as many people as possible. Or you could suggest that they are wildly hypocritical. Will we ever know?
The ticket prices for their tour are difficult to reconcile as well. Some of them beyond £250 for Huddersfield in June. And again, sold through Ticketmaster, who aren’t exactly socialist angels when it comes to doing business.
It’s all a bit of an odd dichotomy.
The pandemic was difficult for a lot of people, but I feel that as an alleged vindication of his ideas on government control, and as an opportunity to create lots more content, it was actually a blessing for Matt. You just need to listen to the track above or look at the lyrics to his anti-lockdown love song/rant, Verona:
Can we kiss with poison on our lips?
Well, I’m not scared
Ooh. You rebel, you.
Can we touch and taste forbidden bliss?
They can’t stop us now, I won’t let you be alone
I am coming for you
Keep us apart, it’s too much to ask
We’re running away
Take off your clothes and take off your mask
Songwriting: 100%
Microbiology: not so good.
And this really just stems from basic Germ Theory (which could actually be the title of their next single).
It leaves me with a quandary. Can I enjoy the music but ignore the often moronic messages that they’re trying to share? Well, yes. For a while, at least. So I’m going to have more high-energy workouts over the next few days or weeks before becoming annoyed again and shutting down Muse for another few months or years.