I just bought Muse's recent album titled 'the resistance'. Muse is a three piece band from Devon, England and are one of my favorite groups, not only because of their phenomenal musicianship and well crafted catchy songs, but also because of their deep and inspiring lyrics and how they use their position as rock stars to be activists for a variety of causes. Their music is a blend of many different styles, incorporating progressive rock, classical music, electronica and elements of several other styles. In their early career they had difficulty getting signed because they wouldn't do what the record companies wanted them to in terms of changing their music to be more accessible to a wide audience. Too bad the record companies were wrong: Muse did their own thing, got signed and have received numerous music awards. Muse's songs are very recognizable thanks to Matthew Bellamy's unique voice. Muse are a great example of an apocalyptic artist. They attempt to erode the empire's boundaries and write music that goes against the norm. Muse participated in live 8 to pressure world leaders into giving money to the world's poorest countries. When one of Muse's songs was used without permission in a Nestle commercial, they successfully sued Nestle and donated the 500,000 pound ruling to Oxfam, a confederation of organizations seeking to introduce lasting solutions to poverty around the world.
Muse's epic new album 'the resistance' is one of the band's best to date. It has some hard hitting rock songs, but also very strong classical symphonic influences. On the song "Unnatural selection", Muse talk about the injustice in the world inherent in our class structured society where the rich have far more say than do the poor, ending in a demand for truth and justice.
I am hungry for some unrest,
Let's push this beyond a peaceful protest,
I wanna speak in a language that you will understand
They'll laugh as they watch us crawl,
The lucky don't share at all,
No hope for fate, it's a random chance selection,
I want the truth
Try to ride out the storm,
Whilst they'll make you believe, that they are the special ones, (we have not been chosen),
Injustice is the norm,
You are not the first and you know you won't be the last
Counter balance this commotion,
We're not droplets in the ocean
Ocean
They'll laugh as they watch us fall,
The lucky don't care at all,
No hope for fate,
It's unnatural selection
I want the truth, I want the truth,
I want the truth! I want the truth!
Aren't Muse just as or more 'christian' through their actions and lyrics than many self-labeled christian bands? Is it necessary to even have Christian music be its own genre? Is it a good thing?
Can God use people who may not be professing Christians to carry out his will? Are actions just as important as doctrines?
I recently downloaded their new album and I think it is absolutely epic. Not only is the new album musically spectacular, the lyrics really protest a lot of what the empire is encouraging, hence the title "the resistance." It sounds like a combination between Queen and The Killers except far better. By the way, I was listening to the resistance while looking for a post to comment on so this one caught my eye.
ReplyDeleteI too love Muse and I really enjoyed what you had to say about Muse being as or more christian than many self-professed christian artists. While I do not think that this would necessarily be music to sing in church I see it as a must have for Christians. As well as being better artistically than most CCM it more closely resembles the message of Jesus in regards to Empire than any POPULAR christian music you hear on the Christian radio stations.
ReplyDeleteGreat questions, Nathaniel. I need to check Muse out...
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