#48: Muse - Absolution
I have to admit that I am kind of cheating with this pick in the countdown, but I mean... it's my countdown, right? It should be ok since it's mine, but I still need to explain. I feel it's cheating because most of these posts will come with stories of how I came across the cd and how it impacted me, but this isn't one of those stories (technically, I "cheat" a few more times). When thinking of this countdown, I sort of realized that this cd was one of my favorites.If any of that didn't make any sense, let me explain. I learned of almost every track individually. "Hysteria" was the first one that I heard when my friend/roommate at the time Hedman put it on a mix cd. "Time Is Running Out" came next when I heard him play it in his room one night. "Stockholm Syndrome" I played as a bonus track on Guitar Hero III. "Butterflies and Hurricanes" I came to appreciate after Lola hyped it up for me. And "Blackout" was featured in a movie called "Southland Tales" that had The Rock in it (pretty much the only reason I watched it).
I did play the cd a few times, trying to get into it during my downloading days, and "Apocalypse Please" and "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist" also became my favorites. Then, some breakups came and "Time Is Running Out" became, and has stayed, one of my favorite songs of all time. So after thinking of it again while reading jeanette's post about the Top 5 Albums of the Decade (spoiler alert: one other album on that list will show up here later in the countdown) I went back to it and realized that it did rank among the favorites.
So for the very few of you that haven't heard this cd, here are some songs to check out:
BONUS
This is the first time that a band that has more than album I like only had one of them make the cut. So that means this is the first artist honorable mention. While I am just now getting into the older stuff, I have to give the nod to "The Resistance." I got the album the day it came out through iTunes so I got all the cool little stuff that goes with it. My favorite tracks have to be the last three, but you can tell the cd as a whole was put together really well. Enjoy the title track off of the latest release from Muse
Great choice! Time is Running Out is probably one of my fav Muse songs, but really- I love Supermassive Black Hole. And I was pumped to see it was the baseball scene in Twilight. But their Black Holes & Revelations cd probably is my favorite of theirs. But on Resistance- seriously- Uprising is a GREAT song. I heard it and just had visions of thousands of people jumping in a stadium. Which I plan to do in Chicago. ;)
ReplyDeleteI loveeee Museeeee :)
ReplyDeleteWhoaaaa Almost forgot to post on this. I'll never forget the first time I heard Muse on the radio in a gas station parking lot. It was great, and I'm so excited for the concert. Their music is on a whole different level from most artists today. Good choice! (still upset about Paramore absence, will T&S be on here to ease the pain?)
ReplyDelete@Sara:
ReplyDeleteYou liked that song/album for all the reasons it didn't get mentioned here, haha. I was hurt that a great band such as Muse would be associated with something such as Twilight... well appearing in the movie at least because their soundtracks have been pretty good. But Black Holes was definitely a more radio friendly cd, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in the case of "Starlight" can lead you to getting tired of a song you love. Just my two cents.
@j:
If you would have put that as one of your 7 things, I would have been surprised. I have never known that fun fact about you.
@jeanette:
All I can say to the end of your comment is that I can send you some band-aids...
I have liked Muse for a loooong time. I remember buying "Absolution" so clearly..back in 2004, which seems like forever ago. I was at Tower Records (RIP!)and they had this little section that I loved, full of staff recs and upcoming bands. I remember getting this Muse album and the debut from Kasabian and I fell in love with both. I kinda have to be in the mood for it though-- definitely not a sound I can listen to all the time. Love them! :)
ReplyDeleteGosh, words can not describe how i feel about this post. Maybe a few lust-filled sighs will do.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Bellamy is a genius. An absolute genius. There are fwe people who can compose classical music, sing, play the guitar, the trumpet, and the piano. Jeanette is dead on. They play on an entirely different level than other artists today. Passion is infused in every word. They toured with U2 and I have to stay they blew U2 out of the water with how tight they were. They are just incredible musicians.
As you can tell they are my favorite band.