"RESISTANCE" MUSE (2009)

A great title track is par for the course when it comes to great albums. If the title track doesn’t cut it, what does that say about the album itself? This month, the Mental Jukebox will be playing some of my favorite title tracks – inspired by @NicolaB_73’s music Twitter challenge, #TopTitleTracks.

Muse is a band that was a bit of an acquired taste for me. While I’m relatively open-minded to different styles and genres, I do lean toward a “less is more” mentality, preferring minimal to maximal. But I started to appreciate Muse’s “more is more” approach when my son took an interest in the band. I started to appreciate the level of musicianship and complexity of arrangements despite being a three-piece band. I started to appreciate the diverse musical phases of Muse – metal bangers, prog epics, vast synthscapes, pop melodies. And somewhere in the middle is the title track from the 2009 record The Resistance.

The title track is the glue that connects the guitar-driven opener “Uprising” and the synth poppy “Undisclosed Desires”.”Resistance” is an aural tour de force that combines accessible synth hooks, melodic bass lines, and deafening guitar riffs. It leans in on just about every Muse impulse (except the metal banger side). “Resistance” is also quite the live anthem, a song concert attendees can’t help but belt along to as if they were part of the resistance themselves.

“You'll wake the thought police. We can't hide the truth inside.”

"STOCKHOLM SYNDROME" MUSE (2003)

The moment a song is born, the world is different. It’s now a part of our lives. We sing it in the shower. We dance to it at our wedding. We get pumped with it. We break up to it. We memorize it. We try to forget it. We rediscover it. This month, I’m joining Arron Wright’s Twitter music challenge: ##Popiversary2. Because why the hell not. Songs deserve their own anniversaries, too.

Year: 2003

I first discovered Muse on a car ride. My in-laws asked me if I heard the band Muse and then proceeded to play songs from Absolution. I wasn’t hooked immediately, but I was intrigued enough because I had heard nothing like them before. Muse is a genre masher. They sound like metal at time and attract their fair share of headbangers at their shows. They also have a progressive bent to them, both lyrically and musically with ambitious compositions soaked in heavy distortion. They even have classical music accents in terms of their song structures and chord progressions. You can hear Chopin and Rachmaninov imprinted all over their music. All of these genres come to a head in “Stockholm Syndrome”, one of the band’s most aggressive bangers.

“Sockholm Syndrome” lifts you up and then shoves you down. Every single note and word seemingly unleashing a fit of rage. You might just be casually listening to the music when you feel the slightest bit of insanity taking over. Interestingly, the song personifies the abuser in a Stockholm syndrome scenario, not the victim. Like the abuser, the music feels like it’s trying to sway you. Convince you. “Stockholm Syndrome” demands your obedience and that you never leave its side. Which is totally fine by me.

“AND WE'LL LOVE, AND WE'LL HATE AND WE'LL DIE. ALL TO NO AVAIL.”

"BLISS" MUSE (2001)

This month, I’m jumping into the #APlaceInTheSong challenge from @JukeboxJohnny2. Great songs have that special ability to describe places in a way that makes us feel like we’re right there. Each day, I’ll pick a track that I think accomplishes that feat.

One of my all-time favorite music moments was taking my older son to his first concert. We saw Muse on the Will of the People tour in the spring. This wasn’t a compromise on either of our parts. Muse had fast become his favorite band – and I had become reinvigorated by the band’s catalog as he and I would share ear buds listening to album after album on the way to soccer practice. Going back to the concert, Muse is definitely one of the more entertaining acts I’ve seen live. The combination of performance, video narratives and lighting is phenomenal. And the band went way back to the early days for their fifth song on the setlist with “Bliss”.

I read somewhere that “Bliss” is about video games. This might be one of the things I love most about the band. Their ability to dial up the drama and intensity of pretty much anything, including gaming. Bellamy cries out “Give me all the peace and joy in your mind” and it feels like these mini moments of catharsis. The song is bookended with piano arpeggios – and in between Matthew, Chris and Dominic go on a musical rampage.

“Give me all the peace and joy in your mind.”

"MAP OF THE PROBLEMATIQUE" MUSE (2006)

Each day in December, I’ll be reflecting back on a song from the 2000’s. The decade saw the return of post-punk and the popularization of folk music, all while some of music’s biggest acts gained their indie footing. Thankfully, it’s a period that I can look back at fondly without cringing. #31DaysOf2000sSongs

I think the reason why Muse has gained a massive following is because their music touches on so many different genres. Genres that usually have no business being associated with each other. Muse has used electro pop, prog rock, metal, classical, industrial rock and other musical expressions as springboards to create these epic-sized sonic statements for more than 25 years. I’ve never been to a Muse concert, but I can imagine how it might push one’s senses into overdrive. “Map of the Problematique” is a case in point.

The Black Holes and Revelations album was supercharged with some of Muse’s most renowned tracks, including ”Knights of Cydonia”, “Supermassive Black Hole” and “Starlight”. This made a song like “Map of the Problematique” drift slightly under the radar. It has drawn many comparisons to “Enjoy the Silence” in terms of musical arrangement and chord progressions. And Bellamy has unabashedly cited Depeche Mode as an influence on the song. The end result, however, I think it is much more epic than the aforementioned synth pop anthem. “Map of the Problematique” highlighted what Muse does best: effortlessly smashing genres together and eliciting an emotional response from a cerebral theme.

“Life will flash before my eyes. So scattered almost I want to touch the other side.”

"HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF" MUSE (2019)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

In the past 20 years, the 80’s have made quite the comeback. The decade’s sound was prominent in bands like The Killers, The Bravery and Franz Ferdinand. Then later, 80’s covers started going from nostalgic filler to new musical dimensions from some of most established artists around. Weezer’s “Africa” and Johnny Cash’s “Personal Jesus” come to mind. But Muse’s lesser-known rendition of Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf” also caught my attention recently on Spotify.

The original was utterly infectious and highly emblematic of the decade. It was all about those juicy instrumental elements. Nick Rhodes’ celestial syynthesizer swirls. Andy Taylor’s laser-sharp guitar riffs. John Taylor’s octave leaping bass lines. Rather than turn the song upside down, Muse took all the likable elements and simply turned them up a notch, giving each instrument a little more sonic edge. It’s predictable in the sense that this is Muse in its comfort zone, but the most unpredictable aspect of the track is the song selection itself.

“Darken the city, night is a wire. Steam in the subway, earth is afire.”

"THE 2ND LAW: ISOLATED SYSTEM" MUSE (2012)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

The natural pacing of a band’s music tells you a lot about their approach. It’s a lot like basketball where some teams prefer to push the ball up the court and play fast while other teams are better at slowing things down and playing in half-court sets. Muse is almost all run-and-gun. Their natural inclination is to go hard and fast, which makes a track like “The 2nd Law: Isolated System” a real test of their capabilities. This is where they downshifted without stepping on the brakes.

Together with its companion track, “The 2nd Law: Unsustainable”, this track helped wind down the album to a contemplative, other-worldly state. It’s more science, less fiction. It’s cinematic. And it’s the kind of track that can double as a film score because its vast, orchestral soundscape works in layers. Each of the layers are worth unpacking and enjoying on their own. Muse has always amazed me at the sheer amount of sonic bliss that they’re able to create from just three musicians — and “The 2nd Law: Isolated System” is no exception.

"UPRISING" MUSE (2009)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

The thing about Muse is that just about every song is instantly recognizable as a Muse track. The instrumentation is always ambitious, even on the poppier Black Holes and Revelations. The sounds are drenched in full distortion to the point where Bellamy’s guitar often sounds nothing like a guitar. And there’s something otherworldly about the music. In one track you feel like you’re being abducted by aliens. On another you feel like you’re leading a revolution against evil. Which is exactly what I feel every time I hear “Uprising”.

I’ve yet to see Muse live, and it’s songs like “Uprising” that make me rightfully feel like I’ve missed out completely. This song was meant to be played hard, loud and live. It rips your guts out and rebuilds your innards even stronger. It blows your mind and then reprograms you to be ready for the revolution - at least in your head. It’s not just a hard rock song with a sci-fi edge. It’s a transporter for your soul. And you can’t ask for more from music.

“They will not force us. They will stop degrading us. They will not control us. We will be victorious.”

"STOCKHOLM SYNDROME" MUSE (2004)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

I first discovered Muse on a car ride. My in-laws asked me if I heard the band Muse and then proceeded to play what I think might’ve been Black Holes and Revelations. I wasn’t hooked immediately, but I was intrigued enough because I had heard nothing like them before. Muse is a genre masher. They’re not metal, but they use heavy distortion and emphatic beats as well as anyone out there. They’re not classical, but classical structures and styles from Chopin to Rachmaninov are imprinted all over their music. And they’re definitely not punk, but many of their songs are anti-establishment at their core. “Stockholm Syndrome” is one of them.

“Stockholm Syndrome” lifts you up and then shoves you down. Every single note and word seemingly unleashes a fit. You might just be casually listening to the music when you feel the slightest bit of insanity taking over. Interestingly, the song personifies the abuser in a Stockholm Syndrome scenario, not the victim. Like the abuser, the music feels like it’s trying to sway you. Convince you. “Stockholm Syndrome” wants you to keep on listening and never leave its side.

“And we'll love, and we'll hate and we'll die. All to no avail.”

"KNIGHTS OF CYDONIA" MUSE (2006)

Muse knows how to be epic. And “Knights of Cydonia” is one of the best examples of this. We hear elements of Queen. We feel elements of metal. This is Muse doing what they do best. Full-on symphonic and full-on sonic at the same time. “Knights” is a 6-minute dystopian masterpiece. Here we are, yet again, asking ourselves, how the hell did three guys manage to make all these sounds?

“No one's going to take me alive. Time has come to make things right. You and I must fight for our rights. You and I must fight to survive.”