Posts written by muse
Muse - Uprising (Live From The Den, Teignmouth)
Hello Folks, long time no speak. Been a bit busy have I, what with Offset Festival (write up of highlights to come) and trekking 300 odd miles each way to see Muse come home to Teignmouth.
The gig was (obviously) fantastic, but there are plenty of reviews already out there so why don’t you check out set (and album) opener Uprising and have a think for yourself. It gets REAL heavy at the 5 minute mark.
Rad.
Greg
Muse - Uprising
I’m not sure where to start with this one…
When I heard Supermassive Black Hole for the first time in May 2006 I seem to remember being very shocked, bearing in mind the last single Muse had released was Stockholm Syndrome or something close. However, it certainly grew on me and has stayed the most played track on my iTunes for 3 years.
Uprising made me think of when The Killers came back with ‘Human’ following their Springsteenesque album of two years before. A surprising change of direction for both (perhaps less so for Muse, but surprising all the same), featuring very little guitar work for guitar heavy bands, and a new dance floor direction. Bloc Party did this too thinking about it, maybe it’s ‘the thing’ to do.
Uprising though (on 7 listens) can be summarised a 5 minute track with very little musical progression, that can quite obviously be equated as Marilyn Manson + Battles (Atlas) + Dr Who + Queen. The chorus is weak as is Matt’s vocal performance (compared to most other muse).
But I imagine within a few weeks it’ll be my favorite Muse track, that’s just the way it goes. Until The Resistance drops at least anyway.
Track available for download from all good retailers from tomorrow, check out YouTube if you want a preview.
Greg
UPDATE: Here is Zane Lowe chatting to the band about the two songs we’ve heard so far…
Muse - The Resistance (Tracklisting)
This is FRESH out the box news; the tracklisting for Muse’s fourth album (The Resistance, out September 2009) as it drips out:
1. Uprising
2. Resistance
3. Undisclosed Desires
4. United States of Eurasia
»> Collateral Damage
5. Guiding Light
6. Unnatural Selection
7. MK Ultra
8. I Belong To You
»> Mon Coeur S’Ouvre A Ta Voix
9. Exogenesis: Symphony Part I (Overture)
10. Exogenesis: Symphony Part II (Cross Pollination)
11. Exogenesis Part III (Redemption)
Greg
Next Week: “Return of the Rock”
While I ponder who the best Glasto bands were and manifest it into a AGCS worthy piece of literature, let me try and get you pumped for what Zane ‘Zipper’ Lowe is calling the ‘Return of the Rock’.
Next week there are going to be four new singles premiered by three big bands and one that was big back in 2004. This coupled with the promise of some Muse news next week has got me a wee bit pumped up for the imminent news.
Here’s what you’ve got to look forward to (with some words from Zane);
Monday: Arctic Monkeys - Crying Lightning “Swaggering and catchy”
Tuesday: Jet - ‘She’s A Genius’ “Heavy on groove”
Wednesdasy: Biffy Clyro - ‘That Golden Rule’ “Brutal and confident”
Thursday: The Cribs - ‘Cheat on Me’ “Heartfelt and free”
Plus, there’s the all important Muse news, which we might be able to get to you sooner than you think.
Until then…
Greg
Album of the Week
Acting as main support for Muse in 2004, Noisettes seemed to get a bad rep with over a hundred thousand music fans in the space of a fortnight simply for not comparing to the epic live show of Muse.
Whilst this is fair enough, the support slot did not act as the spring board it could/should of, and meant their debut album slipped largely under the radar. Yet it’s brilliant, and I implore you to check it out. However, the second album syndrome or sophomore slump is heightened following an a truly amazing debut so, how’d Noisettes do?
Well, they sort of pulled it off. Singles ‘Wild Young Hearts’ and ‘Don’t Upset the Rhythm’ are great, with the former sounding like it fell off the back of Rihanna’s bandwagon, and this is a good thing as it’s a great pop song, full stop. There are some other excellent moments on the album (see opener ‘Sometimes’ and old-school Noisettes ‘Atticus’), but from here you might as well be listening to Amy/Duffy/Adele etc. as the album sadly falls into the ubiquitous old-school-wall-of-sound-soul styling’s that everyone’s doing at the moment.
The songs are good, but not like the punk-rock experimental Noisettes of the debut, which is a shame. I consulted the liner notes for an explanation, and I did get a somewhat surprising one; 6 of the 11 tracks are co-writes with members of Orson (remember them?!) and Paulo Nutini’s (meh) songwriter. These co-writes hadn’t been mentioned in any press/interviews so I got onto their label boss Tim (at Transgressive Records) to find out just how much involvement the co-writes had in the songs;
“Yep, the band did co-write some tracks with other people - but rest assured they’re not just “playing other people’s songs”…. some of the tracks were written with others - it came about quite naturally, bands at same studios that kind of thing, but the heart of the Noisettes is in all of it… In terms of input; Dan, Shingai and Jamie are the majority writers on all of the co-writes”.
It just so happens that the 6 co-writes are the ones that sound furthest from Noisettes sound, but there we go. Don’t Upset the Rhythm, their first Top 40 single (entering at number two) was a co-write, so perhaps its what they needed to propel them into the mainstream. They’re a great little band though, but I recommend you check out the debut first and whether you like it or it’s not pop enough, the second album will satisfy at least some of your needs.
7/10
Out Now
Greg
Alistair normally does the pretty graphics you see on this site, but Songsmith doesn’t deserve that effort.
I’ve known for a long time that there are machines that can tell if a song will be a hit or not (accurately predicting Mika’s awful Grace Kelly among others), and have been awaiting the day that a machine can write a hit song from scratch, and we’re sadly nearly there.
You see, in principle Songsmith is shit. In practice Songsmith is shit. I don’t think this one requires much explanation, so just check out these clips to get the idea.
The first is the original commercial which really has to be seen to be believed (but at least you can watch it in the dark if need be)….
Next are some well known vocal tracks put into the machine. I know these videos are an easy way to make it look shit, but it IS shit. It’s the beginning of the end so pick up your guitar and write me a hit, you HUMAN.
Greg
PS; if you made it to the end of Take On Me, get some new ears.
