... or at least my favorite band of the past few months: Muse. They have a new album out Monday and have made it available in its entirety on the Web. These guys are, in my opinion, grossly underrated in the United States, often written off as unimaginative Brit Pop or a Radiohead knockoff. Their catalog however is incredibly diverse and this latest album just blows my mind ... most notably a three-part symphony at the end composed by frontman Matt Bellamy. Not many rock bands draw on a Chopin/Rachmaninoff influence and do it well ... Bellamy is a classically trained pianist who also has an incredible vocal range and does quite well on the guitar, too. They kind of go off in a wild direction on their new album and the result is quite spectacular, in my not-at-all-musically-expert opinion: (Sorry for misspelled "simphony" ... that's courtesy of YouTuber, not Muse ... it's hard to find these on YouTube w/out getting something other than the song named)
Exogenesis Pt I
Pt II
Pt III

Most people in the U.S. would know them for their radio hits, Starlight and Time Is Running Out. Good songs, but doesn't scratch the surface of their repertoire. My friends give me trouble for having bad music taste (I like Coldplay, sorry), but I grew up listening to Rachmaninoff and Pink Floyd, so I must know something.

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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)

Muse is pretty good, that song Time is Running Out was playing at the club I was at last night in NYC.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I've liked Muse and I've known about them for quite a while now, but never really got into them. Saw a recent performance of them live on Later with Joos Holland (best music show ever, on BBC) and that got me hooked. Brilliant stuff. They did Map of the Problematique.

I think they've also had a massive boost from the Twilight trilogy. The author Stephanie Meyer credits them in her author's notes...

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Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

They get my approval....which is something extremely difficult for a modern artist to do.

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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

We had a west coast band stop at the shop last week,,, their van needed a hitch but the frame was rusted out so we repaired it and installed the hitch. Their name was Suffokate,,, I think. Nice guys, but way out of my culture for sure.

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

never heard them. I get ragged at work for listening to some pretty gay stuff, but I dont care. I am proud to like a band called bright eyes. I will have to check out this band muse

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1984 300SD Orient Red/ Palomino
1989 560SEC
2016 Mazda 6 6 speed manual
1995 Ford F-150 reg cab 4.9 5speed manual

You had it right when you were listening to Rachmaninoff.

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1988 California version 260E (W124)
Anthracite Grey/Palomino
Owned since new and still going strong and smooth
MBCA member

Past Mercedes-Benz:
1986 190E Baby Benz
1967 230 Inherited from mom when she downsized
1959 220S Introduced me to the joys of keepin' 'em goin'

There are only 10 kinds of people in the world--those who understand binary and those who don't

Well that seals it, they're going into my rotation!

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Yeah I like the Jools Holland show ... I don't get BBC but used to be able to get a few shows on In Demand. I've not seen Muse on his show, though, I'm sure it was great. I'd love to see them live but they're initial "tour" in the U.S. this fall is as support for U2. Nothing against U2, but I think I'll pass on paying U2 prices. I'll wait for the next go-round.

I think Muse's Supermassive Black Hole was in the movie Twilight, although I never saw it. My sister would know.

__________________
1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)

Yeah I'm not terribly impressed by a lot of modern artists. I like a lot of modern songs, but don't tend to find artists that present an entire spectrum of works that I like. It's pretty much Muse, Coldplay, Keane, James Blunt and Nine Inch Nails (who have more dimensions than most people know). I do hear some more offbeat or indie artists I like, but to be honest I'm often too lazy about writing down the name and looking them up. If I had more nights off I'd probably enjoy exploring the local music scene more.

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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)

I don't believe there is a right and wrong in music. And I do still enjoy Rachmaninoff. There's room in my life for multiple genres. I also like Ennio Morricone very much, a whole nother style of instrumental. I do enjoy modern artists that can incorporate subtle (or not-so-subtle) elements of that music into something that's based in rock or even pop. I'm not saying Matt Bellamy is Rachmaninoff by any stretch ... but as a 27-year-old who likes classical and likes rock, I really enjoy hearing something that takes a bit of influence from the former and blends it into the latter.

Incidentally, my dad, the one who blared Pictures at an Exhibition from his home office all the time when I was a kid and let me borrow all his classical CDs when I got older, very much enjoys the Muse "mix CD" I burned for him.

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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)

I've found that sattellite radio helps open more doors to good music before the radio does.

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1984 300SD Orient Red/ Palomino
1989 560SEC
2016 Mazda 6 6 speed manual
1995 Ford F-150 reg cab 4.9 5speed manual

I admit I like Coldplay. I'll check out Muse. Maybe there's something in there my "geezer rock" band can cover just to keep the younger audience listening.

Bodhi -

Here is the clip from Muse on Jools Holland...solid performance. Vocals are spot-on. They've got some synth in there (extra player in the background) but it sounds great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04xt1Z6OHGM&feature=related

What I love about Jools' show is that he always showcases a variety of music (Gypsy Kings were on recently and they were fantastically talented), and he usually chooses only the best. The top talent really shines in this format, and the few populaire-du-jour bands he slots in like Snow Patrol really stand out for the meagre talents they truly are.

There was an episode a while back with John Fogerty on it. I think Richard Ashcroft played right before him. You're thinking 'Man, Ashcroft is pretty good!' and then Fogerty just blasts into 'Fortunate Son' and he obliterates everyone on the show instantly. It's like...the young bands are good and all but a legend like that...doesn't show up often, and the contrast is stark indeed. Fogerty plays and sings like a man half his age.

C.

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Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0vZwONKshU

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'84 300SD sold
124.128