Jumping on the Muse bandwagon

I don't know what it is. Maybe I'm just old and can't break the habit but I have a really hard time buying single songs. I'm an album guy. If I hear a song I like by an artist, I'm going to explore other songs by that artist and see how much I like them. If I like them, I'll buy the album (and maybe older ones if they've been around). I think there are two reasons I still do this.

The first reason is a minor one. I still think that artists sometimes create albums with a structure - that the songs on an album are in the order they are for a reason. I like listening to how the songs run into one another as much as I like the individuals songs. I think this reason is vanishing as people are buying single songs more frequently. I may be wrong.

But the main reason is because, almost always, my favorite song on an album is not one that gets play time or becomes popular.

Some examples:


I especially dig the fact it is in 7/8 or 7/4 time.



I could make a several page post with examples. But I won't.

Getting back to the point of the post, I finally broke down and picked up a copy of Muse's new album. I really enjoyed Uprising.

For some reason it reminds me of the Dr. Who theme song:


So I started exploring Muse's other work. Liked a lot of it. Had seen the Knights of Cydonia video before:


Oddball, enjoyable sci-fi/western/martial arts video. Song reminds me a bit of Queen.

Kept listening. Didn't find anything I didn't like but their newest pushed me over:


I dig the electronic pizzicato strings. The song reminds me of another group but I can't place it.

I think that's what I like most about Muse. There's a comforting familiarity to what they do but it's their own sound.