Mark

"I'll light the fuse And I'll never lose" Whilst your theory's great, I really don't think Matt Bellamy bothers putting effort into lyrics anymore.

My dog as a puppy. She's a Nova Scotian duck-tolling retriever. She's a nightmare.

Was talking to a girl in a club last night, said the music was shit. She said, "What music do you like?" I said, "My favourite band are Blur." "Oh I love Blur!" "Really? What's your favourite song?" "Woo-hoo." And then I walked off.

Or people like it because it's well-produced. Well done Muse. Well done. You've produced a song well. Oh. Wait. It was Nero, wasn't it?

What I'm about to say may offend you as a U2 fan, but read on. It's easier to rip off U2 than Queen. Like I said, everyone does the U2 thing. Even Glasvegas. Not many bands would even dare try and top Freddie bombast, because he was the greatest performer of all time. How would you pull it off live? Well, regardless of your opinion of Survival or United States, you have to admit, Bellamy's an almost unrivalled performer in today's scene. And now to redeem myself for the U2 comment; a lot of bands think that whacking the delay up and playing major chords is the way to sound like The Edge. Edge however, as you know, is perhaps the greatest guitarist ever when it comes to working with the effect. And Bono just happens to be one of the greatest songwriters ever. Would Bellamy/Martin/Followill ever write something as ingenious as "Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief, all kill their inspiration, and sing about their grief"? No. No they wouldn't. They'd write "Race, it's a race, and I'm gonna win, yes I'm gonna win, and I'll light the fuse and I'll never lose and I choose to survive". Despite anyone's opinions, U2 write the most uplifting, joyous music in the world. It's in the lyrics, it's in the music. It's a fact. No disputing it, it's just not everyone's cup of tea. Every two-bit, shit-bag arena act thinks they can pull it off and be likeable. No one can, not Coldplay, not Muse, not Kings of Leon, not Killers, not early Radiohead, not Glasvegas, not The Script, not anyone. It's about time everyone started paying more respect to them as a band by not trying to shamelessly steal their sound.

A lot of people can't, but I think it might be the Western society we live in. I've spoken to African people who say they're more religious at home. Which is odd!

I'm gonna be the arsewipe and say "no one's the best because everyone does different things." My favourites however, are... Drummer: Keith Moon, failing that, Animal from the Muppets. True rock and roll. Vocalist: Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star, she melts my heart. <3 Bassist: I'm tempted to go for the Who again and say Entwhistle. He was practically the rhythm guitarist a lot of the time, like Chris from Muse. Guitarist: I'm gonna go with either Graham Coxon of Blur or Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead. Two completely different guitarists, but love them both equally. They both have a brilliant gauge of how to control pure noise, which I love. Lyricist: Alex Turner is my hero, lyrically. Special mention to Scroobius Pip, while I'm at it though. Songwriter: Toss-up between Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn. Producer: Jamie XX, Burial, No ID, or Basement Jaxx. I'm the biggest Basement Jaxx fan on the planet, I think :P

Moving on from the slightly muddied debate of earlier... ...Ricky Gervais posted on Twitter earlier that the Romans called Christians atheists, because they didn't believe in all the gods. I found that somewhat interesting.

Yeah! Melody AM's an awesome record. I only found out the other week about the pronounciation!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDT4dE5yq0A]Eple - Röyksopp - YouTube[/ame] Did you know they're actually pronounced "Ray-ksopp"?

Most bands who try and do the stadium album draw influence from 80s U2. Coldplay on X&Y, Killers on Battle Born, Kings of Leon on Only By the Night. Muse are supposed to be one of the most original and refreshing bands of the last decade though. The three I mentioned are all revered, but Muse always had a huge cult following, and if fans are anything like me, they're sad that a band, who once released something as incredible as Hullabaloo, are now resorting to writing tribute-act-style songs just to shift more records and sell out more stadia. There's nothing wrong with U2. But U2 should be U2, and Muse should be Muse. They should follow their own paths, rather than saying "Oh let's do a song like Numb" or "This song sounds a bit like Queen, so let's make it sound more like Queen".

Anyone know if you can buy the extra disc separately? I know there's eight more tracks and that, but I'm not paying for the first album again.

The big problem with this album is that they haven't enlisted a producer. Again. It's easy to overlook, but John Leckie and Rich Costey were both brilliant producers, and though the big trilogy of Origin, Absolution and Black Holes wasn't perfect, it certainly didn't include stinkers like Big Freeze, Isolated System, Unnatural Selection, Guiding Light... They really needed cohesion with this. They needed someone like Marcus Dravs, Nigel Godrich or even Brian Eno to keep them in check. None of this is original, none of it excites me. A song like Survival has been released simply because the band don't mind being a laughing stock. Sorry, they're one of the biggest three bands in the world. That has to change.

I'd guess so.

a) They're streaming it with various services around the globe. b) It's just not the Muse I love. And I know that's a cliche, and I know bands evolve, but there is absolutely nothing on this album as good as anything they've done before, simple as. Just my opinion, though.

That too :cool:

It has a degree of Thriller about it. And he swears. I thought Muse never swear? (Apart from the infamous Feeling Good)

I'm with you on this. And I've only heard it once, but I hated it :/ Even on The Resistance, there were three or four songs that took my breath away. Low points for me have to be Panic Station, Follow Me, Big Freeze (More U2 anyone?) and Save Me... and Isolated System is the most underwhelming album closer to date. Nothing on this album shows off a musical ingenuity. Solos are bog-standard, lyrics terrible, melodies ripped, production clumsy and all songs either head in a dancey or a stadium-rock direction. Safe and boring, really. Sad day for me.

What I will say, is that Christians will never know the way of God. You just have to have faith. Religion is, to some degree, unexplainable. Reading this really made me feel like I wasn't alone. I've prayed and wished and hoped for things that don't come, but when I've needed a sign, I've got it. And often, you brush off those experiences, but reading this, and after something that happened to me yesterday, you've opened my eyes to something. So thanks :)

The Resistance was cohesive? Really? I'd say their most cohesive was Black Holes and Revelations. Had a sort of progression.

Pirating ain't all that bad.

The thing about you not agreeing with me was meant lightly! Should've put a smiley. I just honestly don't believe they have it in them to put out the masterpiece next. But hey, differing opinions are what makes music, and life, so interesting, so I look forward to you disagreeing in the future so we can have more rich, musical debates :D

This is what I was always taught by Christians, but sadly, it seems that a lot of atheists think God is a tool for controlling the weak, and manipulating the fearful. My best mate is an atheist, and he says that he doesn't believe in "nothing". He believes in the wonder of the universe, nature, people and life; science is his god. And those are the best kind of atheists. I don't discuss my own religion, by the way. :P

Well they can book anyone and everyone will come because you pay in advance. That's not the point of what I was saying. What I was saying was that Radiohead are not a popular booking. A cult booking, yes, but not a particularly popular one. Not to follow on from U2, Coldplay and Beyonce, that's for sure. That's not to say they won't be announced, it just doesn't exactly scream of one of the great Glasto sets, as you touched upon; they're touring the King of Limbs, after all.

You may have missed the boat I'm afraid :(