Shuffleboard 4

1. "Killer Joe" by Quincy Jones from Walking in Space

Classic Quincy. Smooth jazz at it's finest. Great mellow trumpet work, unusual and welcome flute solo, and a wonderful muted trumpet solo from Quincy.

The vocals are distracting and little out of left field, but otherwise this is one of the standards for a good reason.

2. "Han Solo Returns" by John Williams from Return of the Jedi

Ah yes, good ol' Williams. This music is from when Leia thaws out Han in Jabba's palace, but we think it's the other bounty hunter, so there's some suspicious music until she takes off her helmet.

Great suspense building up to the classic Jabba tuba music. Some of the great themes in this track.

3. "I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow (Instrumental Version)" by John Hartford from O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Such a great movie, such a great soundtrack. This, I think, was played when the guys were on the road or something like that. Anyways, it captures the classic song from the film in a classic bluesy country style that couldn't define the movie better.

And you can't help but sing along in your head.

4. "The Confrontation With Ogilvy" by John Williams from War of the Worlds

Say what you will about the movie, but this scene was creepy and disturbing. Locked in a basement with his scared daughter and a crazy man likely to get them killed, Tom Cruise finally has to kill the man, Ogilvy, with a shovel behind closed doors.

Creepy stuff.

And this track is no exception. Williams opts for the smaller-sounding, but way more creepy tone for the War of the Worlds score. This track oozes foreboding and unpleasantness. While his daughter sings a children's song, he kills Ogilvy. Afterwards, an alien finds them and his daughter runs outside, which triggers some classic Williams chase music. Add in some creepy ascending strings, the cue for the horrifying tripods, and you've got a great chunk of the War of the Worlds score.

5. "Never Be The Same" by Red from Innocence and Instinct

Red's one of the better new bands around today. Just out with their second album, they're in the same vein as The Myriad, Skillet, and secularly, Linkin Park (shudder). Heavy stuff, but the guy can sing as well as scream.

I haven't listened to this album very much, but I'm liking it more and more. This song seems more like a second-tier one on the album. Throwaway lyrics but entertaining music. Oh well.

Muse: The Resistance

Awww yeah. It's here, and it's awesome.

I won't post youtubes for all these, because you should just go buy the album. It's that awesome.

I've only been a Muse fan for around two years now (thanks Zach!), but I already like the direction they're going.

They're categorized as "Epic Rock" in my iTunes, and I can't really think of a different classification for them.

They consistently come out with outrageous and huge-sounding music, and each song sounds like it is made by waaay more than three guys.

"The Resistance" is no different.

With "Black Holes and Revelations," Muse cemented their reputation as a decidedly non-U2 and non-Radiohead band (despite what the idiot iTunes reviewer said). Sure they had the electronic experimental nature that made Radiohead famous (and rightly so, Thom Yorke is a genius), and sure they had a grandiose and over-the-top sound that allowed U2 to stick around so long, but they also had a conspiracy-theory tinged, hard-driving lunacy that Matt Bellamy communicates all too well.

TrackByTrack

1. "Uprising"

I've already reviewed this track in my album preview, but it bears a reanalysis. It's a great album opener, with a pumping bass and drum line and sparse but distinctly Bellamy guitar riff. Muse's standard conspiracy theory lyrics are prevalent, but more accessible. It's quite anthemic, and you can't help but shout the chorus and the "Hey!"s along with the band, feeling quite rebellious and fired up. Great opener, but some may argue correctly that it's a little more poppy than their previous offerings.

Also, the Doctor Who-ish synth is great.

8/10

2. "Resistance"

It starts off very reminiscent of other Muse ballads (eerily similar chords to "Citizen Erased"), with spaced-out synths and piano arpeggios and blistering drums, but then the chorus starts. Matt trades a call-and-response "Could be wrong, could be wrong" exchange with the band, and then breaks into a great "Love is our resistance" hook that is in no way cheesy. It soars, and the listener is easily reminded of Muse classics like "Bliss." Overall, it's a great title track, and breaks away from the normally dark and weird lyrics with hopeful and soaring words. One of the best on the album.

9/10

3. "Undisclosed Desires"

Wow, is this still Muse? It's not something they've ever done before...synths blended with pizzicato strings, along with slap bass and pumping drums. But it works, and lays down a great head-bopping track. The lyrics are okay, and the chorus is better than the verses.

Bellamy's vocal style is not my favorite on this one. Chris Wolstenholme's bass line is one of his best, and certainly makes this track stand out. And the strings mixed with it certainly make it quite catchy. But overall, not one of their best.

6/10

4. "United States of Eurasia"

Ah yes, my first exposure to the album. Still rocks. I reviewed it in my preview, but it's still great. The Queen-ish beginning is really the only hint of Queen on the album, so iTunes reviewers, PUT A SOCK IN IT. The random Arabic jam fits in the middle, and makes this orchestral conspiracy theory a Muse classic. Bellamy's piano skills really shine on this one, as does his orchestra-arranging skills, which certainly come into play later in the album.

Great song.

7/10

5. "Guiding Light"

Despite having the name of a bad soap opera, it's still a good tune. Great opening 80's drum riff from Dominic Howard, one of the most underrated drummers out there today. The synths and vocals are very 80s, but with a definite Muse tinge. The guitar riff in the middle is also quite 80s, but with Bellamy's signature heavy fuzz and "sheets of sound" Coltrane-on-guitar arpeggios.

Despite the great musicianship, the song is one of the weaker ones on the album. While catchy, the 80s style gets a little repetitive (there's a reason it went out of style), and the lyrics are forgettable.

Oh well. Can't win em all.

5/10

6. "Unnatural Selection"

Starts with an organ. Heck yes. Huge "Megalomania" church organ sound, straight into a heavy rock "New Born"-style riff. The lyrics are some of the best I've seen from Bellamy, and deal with injustice and the sort of put-downs the ruling class foists upon the underclasses. The guitar work is outstanding, and it's nice and long at 6:55. And it's especially awesome with it's repeated chant "I want the Truth!" at the end, making it an instant anthem for people who distrust media and politicians in today's climate.

With it's unusual beginning, awesome guitar work, and outstanding lyrics, it's one of the best on the album.

10/10

7. "MK Ultra"

The weird title refers to a World War II-era military project on mind-control, and the conspiracy-theory lyrics are in full swing here regarding the same.

I'm not the biggest fan of the synth opening, but I guess it's alright.

The post-chorus delay of Bellamy's "They're breaking through...ooo...ooo..ooo" along with a fuzz guitar and string riff makes the middle of the song the stronger part. The rest is standard Muse heavy-rock style, but the chord progression is unique enough to keep it interesting.

8/10

8. "I Belong To You/Mon Cœur S'ouvre À Ta Voix"

Yes, Matt Bellamy sings in French in this one. Don't ask me why.

The intro is slap/clap with a catchy piano riff that goes into a light drum beat and a weird bass line with some sort of strange effect...I don't know. It's catchy though.

The chord progression is entertaining and reminds me of the early "Showbiz" era stuff. Nice and weird.

Before a piano interlude and French stuff, Bellamy almost mentions the name of his own band, a Muse first.

The French part, which is from an opera I think, actually works well over Bellamy's piano work and then a building epic few chords, when he then sings over a choral synth and some more epicness from the rest of the band.

The ending is what makes this song. It's just Matt and his piano, and then back into the light drum beat and weird bass effect, with Matt playing a bass clarinet solo.

Seriously.

Is there an instrument this guy can't play? He makes the rest of us look bad.

A little too long for the content, but still great.

8.5/10

9, 10, 11. "Exogenesis: Symphony Parts 1, 2 and 3: Overture, Cross-Pollination, and Redemption"

I'm combining the last three because they belong together.

And holy crap.

This is Muse's most ambitious and out-there track they've done yet. It's jaw-dropping.

It starts off with a full orchestra introduction, then has Matt singing in his "Micro Cuts" falsetto.

Powerful chords, great use of synths, and Chris does a great job doing his constant thumping eighth-note bass line in the background (I've never understood how that guy is so good, he's like a human metronome sometimes).

Halfway through, a great guitar solo and lyrical reference to Absolution's "Stockholm Syndrome."

After four minutes that seem like one, the second part starts with a very Rachmaninoff-ish piano part, with eerie string and choral melodies.

The Rachmaninoff-ish-ness continues with great orchestration, and then dies down to only the piano and low strings in a dark waltz.

The lyrics are dark, mysterious, and a little inaccessible. But then again, no one knows what 80% of Coldplay's songs are about and they're one of the biggest bands ever.

Then, halfway through, the guitar comes back with a great vocal backing part, before dying down to just the eerie strings, choir and piano.

After a quick four minutes are up, the third part starts.

The piano part dies, and then quits. It starts again with a mellow waltz melody. It's actually giving me some chills right now. The bass and higher strings gently come in a minute in, adding to the great orchestral feel. Drums start ticking off quarter notes, things start speeding up, and an almost orchestral version of "Bliss" starts, with piano, strings, and light drums and bass. The vocals are restrained, but soar above the strings quite well. Chris and Dom shine as backup vocals (they are severely underrated singers). It falls back to piano and low strings again, and gently ends with a few low digital effects on the piano.

A perfect ending to a great album. The only thing that I find fault with is that it could have been longer.

10/10

They will never again duplicate "Origin of Symmetry" or "Absolution." But they know that and have continued to evolve their sound into the experimental crazy epic rock group they are today.

Awesome album.

8/10 Overall

Upcoming Posts

Somehow (I'm still not sure how), I got an email interview with composer John Murphy. He's composed the score to great films like Sunshine and 28 Days Later, and for some reason, he agreed to answer some questions I had. He's not done yet, so I'll post the interview later, but in the meanwhile, here's some videos to get you hooked.

Our Post-Apocalyptic Fascination

28 Days Later.

Dawn of the Dead.

Mad Max.

The Postman.

I Am Legend.

Cloverfield.

They all start when our world ends.

I just finished reading "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy (I didn't get to the end; halfway is more than enough of that depressing weird book) and noticed that our society as of late has a strange obsession for the Apocalypse and what follows. Who knows where it started (perhaps the original zombie movie in 1985, Day of the Dead), or even why it started.

But our society today has a penchant for thinking about what happens next.

-It could be a morality tale: if we continue on our destructive paths, who knows what happens next. If we try to play god via science, it could backfire on us (28 Days Later, I Am Legend). If we just nuke everyone and everything, what would be left (Mad Max, The Postman)? What can be done to prevent such a horrible fate?

-It could be a fascination with the unknown. We don't know how our world will crumble, or how many times it will sort of crumble before it is truly done. It's the same reason we love ghost hunting shows and The X-Files. For all the time we spend trying to know everything, we sure love not knowing something.

-It could be, and this seems like the most likely option, that we have just played too many video games. Dead Rising, Fallout, Left 4 Dead, anything that lets you kill endless waves of zombies.

Against violent video games? The same rule that apparently applies to Nazis also applies to zombies. So it's all good.

All in all, it's an interesting thing to consider every once in a while, but not something good to dwell on (hence why I stopped halfway through The Road).

"Isn't it a good thing to be prepared for all possibilities?" you may ask.

You can't be prepared for nuclear winter, zombie infestation, alien invasion, and superpollution.

My point is, only God knows how this world will end. He alone knows the day and the hour, He alone knows how it will all play out.

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. -Matthew 24:36

The book of Revelation talks about a period of tribulation for our world, in which many horrible things will occur. It also speaks of the Second Coming, or the Rapture. It's not clear which comes first, and some believers side on either the Pre-Tribulation (believers will be taken to heaven before the horrible crap) or the Post-Tribulation (after the crap) viewpoints.

My former pastor in Minnesota said it best. He believes in Pan-Tribulation. "We'll just see how it all pans out."

The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.

-Isaiah 40:8