[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lollercheese Matt bellamy is a pretentious prick. Although they are technically brilliant, they are no radiohead no matter how hard they try.

i've never heard muse, but these two sentences taken together made me laugh out loud... as though Thom Yorke were the very personification of humility. the thought makes me snort milk through my nose, and i'm not even drinking milk.

 

[markl]

I like this band, too, but I wish he would develop his own singing style, he immitates Jeff Buckley too much, IMO.

 

[Sleestack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lollercheese Matt bellamy is a pretentious prick. Although they are technically brilliant, they are no radiohead no matter how hard they try. That said, I used to quite like them, until my muse-obsessed friend played them over and over again to the point of me wanting to rip those high pitched vocal chords out of bellamy's throat

Bellamy's falsetto is definitely not my favorite aspect of Muse. He uses it quite effectively in some songs, but there are songs where it can get
grating.

I don't know that Bellamy is any more pretentious than the average Brit. In fact, in most interviews I have read, he comes off as a joker who has done a lot of mushrooms.

I really don't think Muse is tryng to be anything like Radiohead. Their music is generally much more aggressive and less esoteric. Much of Muse's music is rooted in metal, classical and classic rock. Most of Radiohead's music makes me feel like I should be sitting in a field of flowers reading Dostoevsky. Don't get me wrong, I l really enjoy Radiohead, but I usually need a cup of coffee after I listen to them.

 

[GuineaMcPig]

I saw them in concert last month for free as part of their MTV "Campus Invasion Tour." As would be expected at any MTV event that catered to the under 17 crowd, the music was WAY too loud and the sound quality was absolute ****. I left after an hour, but my impressions were not good. Muse certainly do sound like Radiohead, but this is mostly because of Matt Bellamy's voice IMO. Only, while Thom Yorke's voice has a much wider dynamic range and is more expressive, Matt Bellamy sings on full throttle pretty much the whole time. After about 15 minutes it went from "intense" to "monotonous."

The guitar sounds that the band uses put them more in line with bands like NIN than Radiohead, on the other hand. It's a very high gain, hyper distorted metal sound that Radiohead uses occasionally. Matt Bellamy gets a lot of hype for being a "classically trained musician," but from what I saw he was much more of a performer, player unimpressive two-note guitar solos while swinging the guitar around in front of the crowd, or doing some crappy EVH hammer-on/pull-off solo behind his back. Don't even get me started on his piano playing...he's worse than Liberace, just banging out major and minor triads and playing scale runs.

I had heard their CDs before and found them pretty disappointing, but their live show was the nail in the coffin for me. From what I saw, they're all flash and no substance.

 

[Sleestack]

You must have caught them in the worst possible circumstances. If anything, they are recoginzed as being great live performers. Check out the Hullaballoo DVD. Bellamy was not classically trained. He only started playing piano for Showbiz and has admitted that his piano playing leaves much to be desired. As a piano player myself, I don't consider Bellamy to be a good pianist, but certainly better than those key pushers from bands like Coldplay. I don't see how anyone who spends a decent amnout of time listening to Muse and Radiohead can say that Yorke and Bellamy, or their bands' respective songs sound alike. You would need ears of mud to confuse the two.

As for his gutiar playing. Bellamy loves feedback and distortion, I'm not crazy about his solos, but if you listen to the intricacies of songs like Dead Star (studio version) I think you might see a bit more substance than flash. From a musicians pespective, Muse might not be everyone's cup of tea, but they are much further along the spectrum of being musicians than most of the bands out there these days.




Quote:

Originally Posted by GuineaMcPig I saw them in concert last month for free as part of their MTV "Campus Invasion Tour." As would be expected at any MTV event that catered to the under 17 crowd, the music was WAY too loud and the sound quality was absolute ****. I left after an hour, but my impressions were not good. Muse certainly do sound like Radiohead, but this is mostly because of Matt Bellamy's voice IMO. Only, while Thom Yorke's voice has a much wider dynamic range and is more expressive, Matt Bellamy sings on full throttle pretty much the whole time. After about 15 minutes it went from "intense" to "monotonous." The guitar sounds that the band uses put them more in line with bands like NIN than Radiohead, on the other hand. It's a very high gain, hyper distorted metal sound that Radiohead uses occasionally. Matt Bellamy gets a lot of hype for being a "classically trained musician," but from what I saw he was much more of a performer, player unimpressive two-note guitar solos while swinging the guitar around in front of the crowd, or doing some crappy EVH hammer-on/pull-off solo behind his back. Don't even get me started on his piano playing...he's worse than Liberace, just banging out major and minor triads and playing scale runs. I had heard their CDs before and found them pretty disappointing, but their live show was the nail in the coffin for me. From what I saw, they're all flash and no substance.

 

[GuineaMcPig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sleestack I don't see how anyone who spends a decent amnout of time listening to Muse and Radiohead can say that Yorke and Bellamy, or their bands' respective songs sound alike. You would need ears of mud to confuse the two.

Please listen to the song "Exit Music" off of OK Computer, particularly the climax at the end of the song with the fuzzed-out bassline. The melody and harmony are pretty baroque in this part of the song, about as dramatic as Radiohead gets. Muse, to my ears, have ripped this part of this song off so thoroughly that it's pretty much become their "sound."

Audiophiles always complain about modern recording techniques squashing the dynamics of a lot of music. Muse, on the other hand, do it in the performances themselves. That's probably why I find it so boring.

 

[Sleestack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuineaMcPig Please listen to the song "Exit Music" off of OK Computer, particularly the climax at the end of the song with the fuzzed-out bassline. The melody and harmony are pretty baroque in this part of the song, about as dramatic as Radiohead gets. Muse, to my ears, have ripped this part of this song off so thoroughly that it's pretty much become their "sound." Audiophiles always complain about modern recording techniques squashing the dynamics of a lot of music. Muse, on the other hand, do it in the performances themselves. That's probably why I find it so boring.

I know that song very well. There is a vague similarlty, but one passage in one song that sounds similar is hardly a basis for saying that all of Muse's music sounds like Radiohead. I think critical listeners of both bands will find that the bands are really not much alike at all. Their is certainly some influence, but every band is influenced by someone else. Noone reinvents music in a cave.

I also think that your one live experience with Muse was not representative of what they are really about, however, everyone is entitled to their opinion.