Get Yer Muse On
Posted on September 18, 2009 Posted by John Scalzi 66 Comments
Still writing. Sorry. But look! Here’s Muse!
I like this song. Video’s a bit creepy.
My understanding is that Glenn Beck has glommed onto this song as a metaphor for the struggle he’s leading against Obama. I think that’s adorable.
I was hoping for another Lief Garrett cover! Truthfully I was thankful for something that didn’t cause my co-workers to stop in my office saying “What the hell is that!”
Rabid
Glenn Beck
I’m sorry. What did you say? My brain went south for a little while.
kind of a cool/weird song.
It’s what I imagine a pop-ified version of Portishead might sound like.
Hm, Portishead.
Does anyone else ever get the feeling that Glenn Beck LOVE loves America?
Like when he looks out at some purple mountain majesty, he’d like to take his relationship with America to the next level?
Aw, Glenn Beck just likes anything with rabid man-eating teddy bears in it is all.
Mmm, Muse.
Well, I guess Mr. Beck must have missed their last album.
Glenn Beck is Elmo for neo-cons.
He’s adorable in the same way a toddler is as he calmly lights the drapes on fire with the lighter he found in mommy’s purse.
Adorable, long as it’s not your house, and he’s not your kid.
Glen Beck does realize they’re from the UK, right?
Glenn Beck is leading a struggle against Obama? Really? He acts like he couldn’t find his way out of a wet paper sack, let alone “lead” anyone.
The things you learn…
OMG a new Muse song! I’ve played the last album to death and I’ve been dying to see what Matt Bellamy comes up with next!
Glenn who? (sorry, excuse my footprints, I’m British. Never heard of the Glenn chap, but OMG Muse!)
Tell that damn dirty ape to get his hands of Muse!
We are not a Muse.
Yay Muse! Boo Glenn dude. If he (Glenn) did any kind of miniscule research into Muse’s (well really Matt Bellamy, the lead singer and primary creative force of the band) politics, he might not want to use their music. Pretty darned liberal. Ronald Reagan & Born in the USA anyone? Did I mention YAY MUSE! Great band.
I don’t think you’re allowed to use the words “Glenn Beck” and “adorable” in the same paragraph. I’m almost positive that’s against the law in 49 out of 50 states, and while technically legal in Washington State, especially around Mount Vernon where the water appears to be contaminated, it can still earn you a punch in the nose.
Well, unless the paragraph also contains the words: “…police raid…licking cocaine off of a gay prostitute’s ass…wearing a large rubber strap-on in the likeness of Ronald Reagan…”
Yet another instance of “only listened to the chorus” and no nothing about the band itself. The Republicans seem to fall prey to this every time they get it in their heads to be “hip”.
Indeed, Lil is correct about Matt Bellamy’s politics. Glenn Beck can expect a cease and desist order in the very near future, methinks.
Gah. Grammar fail.
The synths have an old-school Doctor Who vibe to them. I approve.
And I agree with previous posters — Glenn Beck clearly didn’t do his homework with regards to band choice :-)
I think the fact the band members are playing in slow motion for much of the video adds to the otherworldliness of the video, thereby enhancing the creepy.
Though I suppose the giant man-eating teddy bears don’t hurt either.
And I agree with Eric, definitely a Dr Who vibe.
I like Muse, always have. They are in very real ways on the road to being this generations Pink Floyd.
Glenn Beck glomming onto them is exactly like Arthur Scargill glomming onto Pink Floyd, as well. A totally inappropriate move from a rabble-raising loser.
Oh, comparing Beck to a socialist idol felt good. Then again, mocking anyone who puts emotion above facts feels great any hour of any day.
Muse is one of my favorite bands. Bellamy is a multi-instrumental genius. He is a truther though, which puts him in odd symmetry with Beck.
Whoa. Ok, listen John… getting me hooked on TWO new things this week? What’s up with that? First Jim Wright’s blog, and now Muse… SLOW DOWN, MAN! I’m an Old Person[tm] (according to my dear Offspring, anyway).
But thank you. :-)
“A bit creepy.” Is that code for “OMGsqueeeeee!!!!!” ? Just wondering.
‘A bit creepy’ is what Muse do, witness – “Plug in Baby” with detatched legs and arms. “Newborn” with deformed Faces and “Sunburn” with a play on the Bloody Mary legend in the mirror. Matts Lyrics start out random but have become more politicised recently, they went through a very SF phase recently with “Starlight” and “Black Holes and Revelations”. However this new album is very political and not very good imho. Absolution is my Favourite album, Origin of Symmetry is the fan fave and Black Holes and Revalations is the mainstream fave.
There may be a cease and desist order issued to this person using it for gain, they very much hated it when Nescafe use thier cover of “Feeling Good” for their adverts. But then again the BBC are fond of their tunes.
You might also not want to hear that Stepanie Meyer also loves Muse, Supermassive black hole was on the sound track to Twilight and there is a rumour that Guiding Light or Undisclosed Desires may be on the next movie too.
It really does sound a bit too much like straight lift from the theme to “Doctor Who” to me. Which kind of defeats any creepiness factor right out of the gate. Although it has to be said that any mention of Glen Beck does punch the creepiness right back up there again.
Well, that bit of info confirms what I thought the first time I heard this song. Protest anthem for the over-privileged. Too bad, too. The music is cool. The lyrics, meh.
I try to keep my politics away from my favorite band, thank you. Seriously, I’ve played the new album at least two dozen times and am still finding nuances and hidden metaphors. It hearkens back to the concept album days with a modern euro-dance prog rock edge.
@23: Bellamy is a truther? Can I get a citation on that? This would be right up there with finding out Beck is a Scientologist in terms crushing disappointment.
I’m curious if anyone on this post has bothered listening to or watching any Glenn Beck. I actually have. While he can be a bit of an alarmist, he does make very good points on some subjects.
I also have watched a few Michael Moore films before coming to the conclusion that he is a complete truth distorting, shit disturbing nutjob of the 10th degree.
I’m not trying to insult anyone here (except Michael Moore). I’m just curious if anyone has taken the time to actually investigate what they are talking about or if you are just playing follow the leader. I’m sure at least some of you must be talking from a postition of first hand knowlege.
@30: Yeah, it didn’t really surprise me after Icke.
One link
Alex Jones interviews Matt. Painful.
Sounds like Beck is about to join the very long line of Republican icons who have no clue what ‘copyrighted music’ means.
Some folks want to know if the story that Glennie is bioengineered with poultry genes is true.
Just say his last name several times fast.
Kinda jumps out atcha. Not that I would say that but some people…
I’ve read Bellamy is a truther of the “Bush allowed 9/11 to happen” stripe which at least has some relation to reality, as opposed to the “the WTC was really blown up by demolition charges” type. (And Beck is a second-generation Scientologist, so at least he has an excuse).
Anyways, IMHO the video for Knights of Cydonia is possibly the most awesome music video ever:
I really dig this song too, John. Bought The Resistance from iTunes today, and I’ve listened to “Uprising” in particular half a dozen times so far. Great lyrics and instrumentation, and I appreciate the theremin-esque nod to Doctor Who.
I think the fact that Glen Beck has decided to use this as his “protest tune” against Obama is hilarious. Matthew Bellamy shows his lefty stripes in the whole album, but particularly in this song; it’s practically a socialist solidarity anthem. But then again, I don’t think anyone ever accused Glen Beck of intelligence or critical thought.
Not bad at all. I like. Is the rest of their music just as good? I’ll have to watch that video one more time.
No opinion on the lyrics, yet, as I’ll have to read them to be able to tell what he sings.
I’ve found and read the lyrics now – it seems to me that it pretty much can be used against any organisation or puclic person, of power, that you think is dishonest.
Then again, I don’t know Muse’s general political opinion, as I’ve never heard heard any of their songs before this one and I have other stuff to do today than to research a political POV of some band.
Good ear, Scalzi. Definitely my favorite performance at the MTV Awards this year.
“I’m curious if anyone on this post has bothered listening to or watching any Glenn Beck.”
Nope. Internal US politics, not my thing. Mind you, I know who Boris Johnson is. Just looked up the man, and I’m really glad I never heard of him before. Will make a point to avoid him in future. I’m just here for Muse.
Love the echoes in the new album. But maybe Dr. Who’s Russell Davies took the Muse influence, not the other way around? Muse have been going longer than the latest incarnation of Dr. Who.
@31: “truth distorting, shit disturbing nutjob of the 10th degree”
I actually *have* watched some Glenn Beck, and I believe your particular turn of phrase I quoted above sums him up more than adequately. Glenn Beck is a fucking nutter.
D
Muse are my favourite “current/new” band (seeing as I was a teenager in the 70s, a band that is already 15 years old can still be new for me; in 1974, though, a band formed in 1959 would be positively antediluvian). I’m less keen on this new album than on their others, so far anyway – too many 80s-sounds and references to Queen – though as I usually listen to the others in a Muse-shuffle on my iPod I don’t have much of a handle on which of their earlier albums is which. I’m not synaesthetic, but for much older bands’ albums that I know well (LPs and cassettes days) I definitely have a song-cover mental link that keeps things distinct.
I like the noise Muse make, and the odd aural soundbite I pick up from the lyrics, and the sf sense I get – but I don’t particularly want to explore any real-life 9/11 troofer elements in case it puts me off them! Another band they sometimes remind me of is King Crimson, from the early-mid 70s period, say Red from 1974.
On TV (in the UK) last night I saw their recent “homecoming” gig in Teignmouth, in Devon, a small seaside town about 60 miles southwest of me with a large retirement community, a pier that used to be longer and an amusement arcade that still has some games that were already there when the bassist’s mother was growing up in the town. So it’s not a really avant garde place, and a bit strange that a global noisy band like Muse came from there. Someone else mentioned Portishead, who come from Portishead, 20 miles north of me on the coast near Bristol (Cabot would have passed by it on his way to the New World 500 years ago). Odd that West Country seaside environments produced such a pair of post-apocalypse-sounding bands.
Elgion: I’m curious if anyone on this post has bothered listening to or watching any Glenn Beck.
I’ve watched some Glenn Beck:
Beck agreed that America’s only hope is for Bin Laden to blow us up.
Beck fantasized about choking Michael Moore to death.
Beck advocated beating Rep. Charles Rangel with a shovel. (This is a great audio clip from his radio show. Listen to him scream.)
Beck declared that he hated the families of 9/11 survivors. He also said that he hated Katrina victims, whom he called scumbags.
Beck incited people to commit tax evasion.
Beck accused Obama of having a deep seated hatred of white people, that Obama is a racist.
And having read, watched, listened to Glenn Beck say all this, I’m perfectly willing to say that, yeah, he is batshit insane.
Let’s not have this turn into a thread about the various merits (or lack thereof) of Glenn Beck. This entry is about Beck inasmuch as it concerns his amusing misapplication of the Muse, and that’s pretty much it.
@31 Elgion, yes, I have. Normally I can only take him in doses of 10 minutes or less because I value my brain (and eventually I grow tired of such a high degree of spin and unreality, just like the Twister at the county fair, the first ride is fun, doing a second ride right away is likely to be followed by vomiting). The only times I’ve seen him make coherent points that couldn’t be refuted by the average 10 year old with a modest knowledge of reality are about as often as a broken digital-clock is correct. But, I’ll admit, he is slightly better than the “business” and “finance” programs on Fox. If I had more money to invest I’d watch them closer to do the “contrarian” style of investment (from what I’ve seen I would have made a boatload of money in the past nine moths following that strategy).
@ Lynne Connolly 39:
“But maybe Dr. Who’s Russell Davies took the Muse influence, not the other way around? Muse have been going longer than the latest incarnation of Dr. Who.”
The Dr. Who theme (in various forms, but always with that theremin-esque theme) has existed since the beginning. The original version was recorded pre-synthesizer, by the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop. They recorded pure tones, then manually altered them. I get the idea it was sort of like performing music by twisting the knobs on oscilloscopes. According to the Wikipedia entry, they more-or-less invented multitrack mixing to bring all the edited tape into a single recording.
Oh, sure, I could TOTALLY see how that song should be interpreted as a call to rise up against an administration that’s been in power for NINE whole months. Just like the “Run This Town” video is one long confession from Jay-Z about his high ranking position in the Illuminati.
Speaking of which, I agree that I’m hearing the Dr. Who theme in there, but maybe as channeled through the Timelords’ “Doctorin’ the Tardis.”
Oh, they are cute. Sounds liek they’ve been listening to ALOT of Gary Numan.
Then again, so have I.
I should be writing.
Joh Fredersen or Dr. Breen or whoever financed the development of the thanato-teddies really needs to get their money back. I mean, even at thirty feet tall how are they supposed to cram more then one or two dissidents at a time into that cute widdow mouth? And a fur covering in the era of the Molotov cocktail? Pllleeease.
If monsieur or madam ever does preside over a totalitarian state, may I perhaps suggest something like reconstituted ground sloths for anti-partisan duty? You get disks of bone embedded in its skin, claws that could open up a saber-toothed tiger like a Ziploc full of Beef-A-Roni and plenty of room for cyber/bio-augmentation. Plus the “You’re dead! We extincted you!” psychological factor can never be underestimated.
@17: Not if Glenn pays the royalties for using the song. (How else do you think Rush Limbaugh got to use the base line for The Pretenders’ “My City Was Gone” as his intro/outro music?)
Muse probably thinks Beck should be the first up against the wall, come the revolution.
I like this song. The video is creepy, especially with the teddy bears. That Glenn Beck likes the song is mind-blowing. I would have thought that “Take a Bow” was more his speed.
Josh Jasper:
No, the marketing board of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation will be first against the wall. Beck will have to be second at the very earliest.
@43: Fine, fine, though to be fair I didn’t even mention how Glenn Beck may have raped and murdered a young girl in 1990.
@51: Yep, leave it to Beck to completely miss the political point; even if “Take a Bow” was more his speed, a more scathing indictment of Tony Blair’s tenure as PM (and the neoconservative American policies he helped provide cover for) you will not find.
The fucking nutter is attempting to seize upon the explicitly anti-corporatist revolutionary message of “Uprising” as a way to legitimize his nascent Second Civil War bullshit.
D
Inasmuch as Black Holes and Revelations was the Anti-Bush album…that Beck likes this song is amusing, to say the least.
The style of that video reminds me a lot of Rise Against’s Audience of One
Not really a fan of Uprising, though it is better than the over-the-top style of United States of Eurasia. Someone needs to give Muse a year’s supply of Shrooms so we can get another Origin of Symmetry.
@53: HA!! I was wondering how long it would be before that website popped up. Well played, well played.
I have to say though, I really don’t believe Glenn Beck raped and murdered a girl in 1990. On the other hand, if Glenn Beck DIDN’T rape and murder a girl in 1990, why wouldn’t he just deny it? You know, take 2 minutes out of his show and announce “I’m Glenn Beck, and I didn’t rape and murder a girl in 1990.” That would quickly put to rest all this nonsense about Glenn Beck having raped and murdered a girl in 1990.
I’d just as soon not have the “Glenn Beck raped and murdered” nonsense here, thanks.
To me the synth doesn’t sound like Dr. Who. Instead it sounded like a close match to the intro riff from “White Wedding.”
I heard an interview with the guys from Muse this weekend and Dr Who sound was on purpose. They wanted to evoke 60s and 70s scifi tv with the song.
I’m enjoying the new album. It’s a bit of queen, a bit of System of a Down, a bit of Pink Floyd, a touch of Radiohead and a whole lot of Muse.
I like this song quite a bit. It is applicable to feelings against any overbearing system– something like this era’s ‘Won’t Be Fooled Again.’ Frustration, anger, and bitterness seems to be heavily featured in the video, coupled with imagery that draws heavily from the Great Depression.
While creepy, and ending on a very surreal note, the video is far less such than some of their others I’ve seen, which to me resemble a bad acid trip.
Next, regarding the band’s political views– I don’t know them, I don’t /want/ to know them. There’s groups that I’ll change the station or turn the radio off due to their vocal alignment to one side or another, who supported ideals and concepts that are anathema to me. So be it; perhaps in a few decades, I can stand to listen to them again. Or, less likely, my personal views may change.
Oh, and regarding Glenn Beck– he seems to be falling into Hannity’s rut and getting more alarmist and strident than entertaining.
Y’all who voted for the current administration, just don’t gloat too much, OK? To my shame, I did just that some years ago. Be kind and humble in your ascendancy. We’ve seen what happens when you’re not.
Muse is terrific. Picked up The Resistance yesterday, rocked out while doing laundry.
They’re definitely more Queen (greatest band ever, don’t argue, you’ll just embarrass yourself) than Pink Floyd though. :D
I liked this song so much that I went to the record shop to buy the cd. It turned out that the shop had a sale, where I found 3 other of Muse’s cds cheaply, so I bought them too.
I blame John Scalzi for that purchase, of course, and for the other cds I bought at the sale too, since I wouldn’t have gone down to the record shop and discovered the sale if I hadn’t seen that video on this blog and I feel that I need to blame *someone* for this, really!
There – having put the blame for me buying these cds on someone else, I feel much better.
*smiles and continues to listen to Muse – hey! they’re good!*
Priceless, the irony. The good lady (Irony) always gets paid. Uses a socialist truther’s insurrectionist anthem as a marketing mechanism for his soft-pedaled corporate fascism.
That’s almost as bad as these folks, using anarcho-syndicalist motifs to promote falangism:
http://www.battlecry.com/
Have you seen this cover of “Don’t Stop Believing” yet? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIoSTbPt_PI&feature=player_embedded
I have been a Muse fan for years, love their music, LOVE it. Unfortunately, the ignorance of some of the bloggers proves to be mind-blowing. “Raging liberals” come to mind reviewing comments of the fan base. As far as Beck, well he may have had his Muse facts wrong but in terms of other issues and discussions, he leaves much to be considered. While yes, fiery, he is at worst, interesting. The fact that Beck mentioned the band at all, isn’t that publicity? I am sure the band didn’t mind nearly as much as all were made to believe.