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Progressive Musical Discussion Topic

W

Will04

TS Member
It returns!

Here you can discuss anything to do with the world of music. I seem to recall a lot of Pink Floyd discussion in the old thread - long may it continue. Enjoy!

For starters, who has seen the trailer for the new Muse album "The Second Law"? In my opinion it looks awesome...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqFZGnfMLMw[/youtube]

...although some of the Youtube comments don't necessarily agree with me. Anyway, it's a damn sight better than anything from their last two albums. The strings at the beginning are nicely done, and, after a few listens, I've grown quite fond of the dubstep-which-isn't-technically-dubstep-bit. Tickets for their new tour go on sale tomorrow at 10:00 - I hope I can get some. :)
 
Yes.

I LOVE MUSE

I was a little surprised when first seeing the trailer the first time, but I learned to appreciate it musically. Seems like there'll be a big difference between this and The Resistance (and ever other current Muse album). The dubstep was a shock indeed, but I don't mind it (as long as it is not over-used) as it is created by proper instruments and actually sounds half decent. The orchestral part sounds great as well, very peaceful compared to the drop, which makes it ever so surprising when heard for the first time.

I been hearing around that this album will be heavier than the last two, which is what the fans want, so everyone wins. There will probably be a lot more different Muser's than ever before, with different ideas on favourite styles etc.

Will04 said:
Anyway, it's a damn sight better than anything from their last two albums.
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I have to disagree there. Firstly, because this is only a teaser, and none of these sounds may even be on the album- as well as only a tiny sample has been given. You can't try and understand what the album will be like, or how good it'll be, from a tiny excerpt. Secondly, although it may be better than The Resistance (which was not very good IMO), I think BHaR was a fantastic album- and my joint second favourite out of them all. Although, this is just my personal preference.

Will04 said:
Tickets for their new tour go on sale tomorrow at 10:00 - I hope I can get some. :)
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I've already got tickets, from the website, before general release. A good move from Muse, as it gave members of its site a chance to get tickets earlier, and without having to attempt to get them from a independent ticket agency, for a better price (I think).

Anyway, I can't wait for the new album. ;D
 
I'm going to wait to see what else is released about the album before I form my full opinion on it. I'm really not keen on the dubstep so I hope that it is used in moderation. Of course not every song will be plastered with it, after all this is Muse and they seem to know what they are doing. Though I still have that gut feeling that I'm not going to like this album as much after seeing that trailer...

Only Muse would do a mixture of orchestra and dubstep. Keeps them unique I guess!
 
Would say kasabian live bringing in the new year for me at the 02 was an amazing night with chase and status and Zane Lowe supporting but find I proffer bands at festivals
 
Nick said:
I was a little surprised when first seeing the trailer the first time, but I learned to appreciate it musically. Seems like there'll be a big difference between this and The Resistance (and ever other current Muse album). The dubstep was a shock indeed, but I don't mind it (as long as it is not over-used) as it is created by proper instruments and actually sounds half decent. The orchestral part sounds great as well, very peaceful compared to the drop, which makes it ever so surprising when heard for the first time.

I been hearing around that this album will be heavier than the last two, which is what the fans want, so everyone wins. There will probably be a lot more different Muser's than ever before, with different ideas on favourite styles etc.
Click to expand...

I've got a hunch that it's going to be a really good album. I'm pretty sure Matt Bellamy said that they were going to have a (ie. one) Rage Against the Machine/Dubstep song, so I don't think the whole album will be filled with it. I'm pretty sure they've said that they'll play heavier setlists live too, which is a win because I'm seeing them in Birmingham! ;D

Nick said:
Will04 said:
Anyway, it's a damn sight better than anything from their last two albums.
Click to expand...

I have to disagree there. Firstly, because this is only a teaser, and none of these sounds may even be on the album- as well as only a tiny sample has been given. You can't try and understand what the album will be like, or how good it'll be, from a tiny excerpt. Secondly, although it may be better than The Resistance (which was not very good IMO), I think BHaR was a fantastic album- and my joint second favourite out of them all. Although, this is just my personal preference.
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BHaR isn't my favourite Muse album - I just find it a bit...lacking. I really like Take a Bow and the latter half of the album, but the rest feels either like filler (I'm looking at you Soldier's Poem) or music written for radio (Starlight/SMBH/Invincible etc.). Even though on its own it's a good album, I don't think it matches up to Absolution and Origin. I think that at least the strings part of the trailer will be on the album because they released a photo of the sheet music for it on a "Muse in the Studio" album. It's called Supremacy...supposedly it's from a different song to the Dubstep bit. Bring on September 17!

On a sadder note, I was shocked to hear the news about the Radiohead incident. Their stage in Toronto collapsed, killing one, barely hours before they were due on stage. Sad times...
 
All I know being a fan of Iron Maiden and playing their songs for years on guitar... suddenly learning bass and expecting to be able to continue playing most Maiden... It pretty much kills your right hand.... Damn you Steve Harris... Y U SO GUD!
 
Anyone else think that Muse doing the Olmypic song has dumbed them down a bit and the Olympic song is a bit meh? I'd like to know from the more diehard Muse fans on here as I am just a mere Indie/Alternative music fan who likes Muse.
 
There's been a bit of discussion in here:

http://www.towersstreet.com/talk/corner-coffee/what-are-you-listening-to/75/

Basically, some of the song is terrible- such as the cringy lyrics about winning, and the intro is horrific- whilst other bits show Muse back to there best- such as the prelude (which is musically excellent) as well as the riffs and the solo show good signs.

In my opinion, they've tried to put too much into this song, and it hasn't worked that well. However, I'll enjoy it for what it is, and won't pass any more judgement before the album's released, and think it works quite well for a Olympic song. However, it won't overtake (the 2nd Law) albums such as Origin of Symmetry or Absolution, which show Muse at their absolute peak in ability.

Downloaded the single BTW, and I think it'll get to number one in the charts.
 
Listened to it again today after sleeping on it.

The IBTY/Queen/Frog Chorus intro doesn't quite grate on me as much as it did, and I'm starting to appreciate the structure. The 'Arnie' bits aren't quite as bad either.

However, the lyrics are still the worst I've ever heard in a song ever, Matt seems to be going backwards as a lyricist, they're worse than NSC, Guiding Light, and dare I say it, Overdue, and I can't decide whether they're worse first time around for being almost spoken and standing out so much, or second time because it sounds so over the top and ridiculous. Matt's trying far too hard with his vocals, the ending is painful and the first guitar part isn't quite as impressive as I thought; it doesn't go anywhere. It's like David Gilmour's got ridiculously angry, got into a fight with Brian May and neither of them can remember why. It reminds me a lot of NSC. Terrible lyrics, great instrumentation, madly over the top and excruciatingly cheesy. But at least it isn't appearing in a film about sparkly vampires.

However, the scream at the end of the first verse is amazing, the falsetto at the end of the second is great, the high note is just wrong but it's at least impressive he can still reach it and so convincingly for such a long time, the solo is amazing. It's the sort of stuff they should have been doing all along, it's a natural progression of Bellamy's work on Origin and Absolution, that's been missing off the last two albums apart from maybe the extended version of Assassin. It's some of the hardest and most technical stuff he's done for years, so hopefully the new album will see a bit more of the alt-metal they used to be so good at.

Also, the song's a bit of fun, we have to remember it's for the Olympics, to expect Citizen Erased is a bit much. I don't see what was wrong with just giving them Butterflies And Hurricanes, which does everything Survival does without the cheese, but there isn't a much greater honour than being asked to do a song for the Olympics, so I'm just going to enjoy the silliness of it.

Still looking forward to the album, I love the two tracks on the trailer, and even though there seems to be a lot of experimentation and messing around with different styles, the lead single even being an 80s style jazz inspired song with a brass section and a solo by the sax player from Stevie Wonder's Superstition (no idea how they'll do that live unless Matt gets a synth pickup again or Morgan plays it on synth) (no idea why a supposed rock band would release that sort of song as lead single either, but I'll wait until I hear it), there should still be room for some good old fashioned rock and alt-metal that The Resistance and BH&R lacked.

Hopefully TSL will be better produced than the last two and be more coherent. They'll never again reach the standards of OoS and Absolution, which is a shame because they're better musicians and Matt is a much better singer now, especially if Bellamy remains in charge and acting like he's the second coming of Freddie Mercury, and it's too late to reinvent themselves in the way Radiohead did on Kid A, but they can still get back on track, especially now Chris has recovered from his alcoholism and will hopefully stop Matt ruining everything.

Looking at some of the reaction, Muse are now the laughing stock of the nation because of this song, and I feel embarrassed, so I need them to get a grip and put everything right in September.
 
I agree and I don't agree.

They're on 'that film' because the author of the books asked them if she could use their music if the book became films, so they had to stick to their word.

They've gone softer and more pop, but I think that's just as much down to Matt Bellamy being a *******.

Doing a 13 minute long prog piece about the end of the world, dressed up as a classical symphony isn't exactly selling out and it's not at all selling out to do the Olympic song, they won't make money from it and there isn't really a bigger honour, so they'd have been mad to say no.

Still wish they hadn't done any of that though. One of the few bands who got harder and heavier as they got bigger and then 2006 happened. Oh well, at least they've said their live shows are going to be heavier than last time, so there's still a glimmer of hope.
 
I'm too annoyed with the new song to even try to discuss it, you're pretty much right.

Saw this review from some magazine, it needs quoting for the lols. Especially with the score at the end.

Muse return with ‘Survival’ the first track from their new album ‘The 2nd Law’ and the official single of the London 2012 Olympics.
Survival starts off all grandiose with plinky piano and strings before snappy finger clicks appear like some f*** awful amateur production of Bugsy Malone.
As Matt Bellamy screams out Olympics style ‘inspirational’ lyrics "I’m gonna win!" "I won’t give in!" this begins to feel like it could have been an 80′s era Bond theme rejected by Shirley Bassey for being a bit too pompous.
One of the biggest problems with this overblown Queen esque ‘epic’ is that you can almost hear Brian May’s poodle permed mane blowing in the breeze.
As the band try in vain to salvage some credibility and resemblance of a traditional Muse sound, by adding screeching guitars over the final third it all begins to sound like a particularly nasty motorway pile up.
Excruciating and quite possibly aneurism inducing, my advice is too stock up on the paracetamol because this is going to get an awful lot of airplay over the coming weeks. 7/10
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Amazing comments on NME (who bizzarely, seem to like it) like "It makes NSC sound like Plug In Baby" While some other magazine are in love with it and give it a bloody 9!
 
Oh boy, I really hope this is true...

clashmusic.com said:
Speculation is increasing that Daft Punk are set to release their new single next month.

Little wonder Daft Punk are shy of the internet. When the French group returned with their third album 'Human After All' the record leaked online, sparking a backlash against their new sound before the music was even legally available.

Yet everything the band does becomes BIG NEWS online. Fans are desperate for new material, and reports in French magazine Tsugi seem to be the answer to their prayers.

The magazine reports that Daft Punk are set to release a new single next month - the track title is ‘Renoma Street’ and seemingly refers to a Parisian cafe. Pushed for more details on Twitter, the editor caved in and said: "21/7".

FACT then stepped in, asking for more information. The British imprint claim to have received an email stating “the answer will be on the next issue”.

So far: quick straight forward. However it would be an enormous breach of decorum for a magazine editor in any country to leak a release date via Twitter, while reports are - as always - subject to translation.

As such, until we receive a genuine bona fide press release hand delivered by Daft Punk (in full robot costume) we reserve the right to remain sceptical.
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http://www.clashmusic.com/news/is-there ... on-the-way
 
Ah ******, ah well, at least we know something is in the works. Having Rodgers onboard really gets me pumped for whatever they do. I'm really hoping he's done more than record a few loops with them. May be heading a bit more in the Discovery or Homework direction again.

Human After All was gutting, there were just two tracks on there that did it for me, but boy did they do it for me. The rest was a mess IMO. :(
 
Damn you false news distributing music press! :(

Also, you guys not like Human After All? I feel that it's a massively underrated masterpiece...

(Warning, the album interpretation you are about to read is unnecessarily pompous and artsy.)

I've always seen 'Human After All' as a conceptual album about the mechanization of culture and in particular mocking the music industry's repetitive and unimaginative output. The songs on this album are meant to be infectious and catchy (which they are) but they are also constructed so that they become quite grating and abrasive. It's excessive but for the purpose of parodying the sameyness of commercially created music.

So 'Robot Rock' is a joke as there's nothing less 'rock' then robotically blurting out the same riff over and over again. So this could be seen as a metaphor for the industry creating consumer friendly music purely for profit but having no genuine artistic ambition.

Similarly songs like 'Make Love' and 'Emotion' are laughing at the false emotional content of commercial music which are constructed to pull at the heart strings of their audience, almost as if it were a machine carrying out a function.

'Television Rules the Nation', 'Technologic', 'Prime Time of Your Life' and 'The Brainwasher' all maintain the excessive parodical repetitiveness as the other songs but also communicate ideas about the messages coming from the very dominant media presence which pushes the consumer culture. Consumer culture being the route cause of why the music industry is so samey and profit driven.

The 'Discovery' album was about finding the best that can be achieved in the realms of popular music and culture, where as HAA album is the about deconstructing the illusion and glamour of music. It reveals to us it's limitations and faults and proves that it is indeed only human after all.

Or.... I could be completely wrong and it's travesty. :p
 
That's a brilliant way of looking at HAA, I love your view on it. About being catchy and repetetive to the point of it being abrasive; this is probably 75% of my problem with the album. I saw it as deliberate, but never really looked at it like you have. If I had, I'd probably like the album much more lol. My other problem is 'becoming human afterall' which appeared to be a theme in the first track, which then got left behind for the rest of the album, this is a bit of a iffy one though as I could have misunderstood the whole point of the album. I'll try and describe it.

The first track out 'Human After All' itself, I think is sublime in two ways. Firstly it carries that repetetive and catchy aspect but it takes it in a direction, it's small but it is there, building towards the end with that wonderful vocoder being gradually cranked up (or cranked down I think actually). I thought ''wow Daft Punk are on technical form here''. Secondly it also wonderfully feels more human at the end, the robotic voice becomes more human-like and feels almost emotional, trying to break through the robotic harsh melody, only to fail to make it and fall back/sucumb to full robot in the final word. I thought ''holy cow Daft Punk are on philisophical form here as well as technical - this album will be the battle of human vs robot, a dark emotional struggle''. Like I say this aspect was me probably misunderstanding the main point of the album, but it seemed such a wonderful idea that was never explored any further.

Prime Time Of Your Life came on. Again, promising start, catchy, more daft goodness, but then it fell down by not building technically or in thought IMO. The song stood for something and conveyed a message, but it was stuck in its point, it never went further (It probably didn't need to, but after the mini storyline of the first track I was hoping for it and felt let down) Robot Rock, again started so fantastic, and didn't go anywhere beyond some very admirable sampling. The rest of the songs suffered in the same way I think certainly from a technical viewpoint, far too repetetive or at least loops that weren't amazing enough to be played that many times (I can listen to songs on the Le Knight Club album and never get bored of a 5 second long loop repeated 3 million times lol). Also I didn't expect every single track to develop in a storylike fashion, just maybe 3 or 4 but not one tried IMO.

I think if Human After All (the track) had been the last song on the album I'd rate the whole album higher for two reasons. Firstly I think it's the better of the tracks on the album, so everything else after seemed inferior from track 2 to finish. Secondly, it really would have seemed a fitting climax, almost becoming human, only to fail at the last second; leaving the question will they try again or will they accept they are robots. I loved how they approached that idea in Electroma, maybe i'm mistaking HAA as the musical version of that story.

Maybe I'm also looking for thoughts in areas there aren't any, and missing good ones like you have found lol. It'll stay on my itunes forevermore, I do like the album more nowadays, but I still can't get over that initial dissapointment in 2005. Nevertheless, roll on the next album from those 2 music gods haha! ;D
 
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