Ok, I'm going to wade in on this one.
Muse used to be my favourite band, by quite a way. I was about 16 when I first started listening to them - I was hooked by one of their first singles, Unintended, and that was it. They released Origins of Symmetry a year later (2001), and I've never been more blown away by a record. The songs Bliss, New Born and Feeling Good have never since left my top 50 tracks, and are in my opinion some of the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed (yes, I know feeling good is a cover).
In 2011, Muse have become a stadium band. They've become a similar entity to U2, not in sound, but in the way they are shown in the media, and how they tour. I watched them live last year. I loved the gig, but all I could think all the way through was how I was 10 years too late. How I wish I'd watched them live when I was 17 or 18. I didn't need to see them at Wembley for them to be amazing, their music did that for me. In fact, the 90,000 seater stadium took some of the magic away.
I still love Muse. I still listen to their old music frequently. I just listen to their new music less frequently, which is a shame.
And musical genres are garbage. If you look at the list of musical genres on wikipedia, it is insanely long. Yes, you can say that Eminem writes hip hop, but what do Scroobius Pip and Dan Le Sac perform? Rap? Spoken word? And Massive Attack? Hang on, they don't fit in hip hop, let's call it trip hop... Music is an ever changing beast. Broad genres work better - rock, rap, jazz and country are four off the top of my head, but still there are so many overlaps where do Hayseed Dixie fit in, for example?) that trying to categorise is pointless.
Music is music, love the stuff you love and hate the stuff you hate. It's the music that inspires no emotion that sucks.
Muse used to be my favourite band, by quite a way. I was about 16 when I first started listening to them - I was hooked by one of their first singles, Unintended, and that was it. They released Origins of Symmetry a year later (2001), and I've never been more blown away by a record. The songs Bliss, New Born and Feeling Good have never since left my top 50 tracks, and are in my opinion some of the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed (yes, I know feeling good is a cover).
In 2011, Muse have become a stadium band. They've become a similar entity to U2, not in sound, but in the way they are shown in the media, and how they tour. I watched them live last year. I loved the gig, but all I could think all the way through was how I was 10 years too late. How I wish I'd watched them live when I was 17 or 18. I didn't need to see them at Wembley for them to be amazing, their music did that for me. In fact, the 90,000 seater stadium took some of the magic away.
I still love Muse. I still listen to their old music frequently. I just listen to their new music less frequently, which is a shame.
And musical genres are garbage. If you look at the list of musical genres on wikipedia, it is insanely long. Yes, you can say that Eminem writes hip hop, but what do Scroobius Pip and Dan Le Sac perform? Rap? Spoken word? And Massive Attack? Hang on, they don't fit in hip hop, let's call it trip hop... Music is an ever changing beast. Broad genres work better - rock, rap, jazz and country are four off the top of my head, but still there are so many overlaps where do Hayseed Dixie fit in, for example?) that trying to categorise is pointless.
Music is music, love the stuff you love and hate the stuff you hate. It's the music that inspires no emotion that sucks.