Sorry for the lack of post this weekend, anyone who cares, but I'm sorta sick and really don't have the spirit for posts. Basically, I'll be off of this site until I feel better. Again, sorry.
H. Rourke
Monday, 12 November 2012
Sunday, 4 November 2012
Showbiz
Well, I've had no unique ideas for content this week, and I really don't feel like another 3 Songs or pointless rant post, so I'm going to back to reviewing an album. Its been a while, huh?
This time I'm looking at Muse's debut release from 1999, "Showbiz". I can't say I have a definitive view on Muse as a whole. I understand the appeal, but I also understand much of the criticism. Overall, Muse are pretty decent and worth a bit of a listen. Let's look at ""Showbiz"
1. Sunburn
This track starts out very stripped back, with just a piano and Bellamy's vocals, which I must say are a standout aspect of Muse's sound. Bellamy has a cool, calm and variable voice, and this song excels by focusing on it. The music grows and reaches the usual, but I have a really serious complaint. The music becomes louder and faster, but I really can't feel any energy behind it. Everything just seems to be going fast when it should be slowing down. This song feels like the climax was just shoehorned in. This song does a pretty good job of introducing the album. If I was to think of a song that summarised the Muse sound, that would be very close. I get why this was one of the singles from the album.
2. Muscle Museum
This song starts with a much more processed sound than the previous track, but still with a definite focus on Bellamy's voice. The climax in this song has much more energy behind it. It think it's all in the drums. If the drumbeat is the same through the rest of the song and the climax, it just doesn't have the same drive. I like the story that this song was named for the words coming before and after "Muse" in the dictionary. My edition has "Muscovite" between "Muscle" and "Museum", but I doubt the two words in that location are a coincidence. This song is another single off of the album (the third of five, with Sunburn being the fourth) and I see why, although I must say it is very similar to the previous track. I really hope this doesn't become a theme.
3. Fillip
I learned something from this song. You can't rhyme "soon" and "direction" without sounding like an absolute dickhead. This song really just switches between tempos like a madman. We start discordantly with rock tones, switching into pop, turning to a faster, more rock influenced sound, switching back between pop and rock before just screeching to a halt, slowing to a slow, sentimental whine before returning to the discordance and the rock. I can't say the switch between the tempos is unpleasant, just unexpected and a little jarring. It takes you on a bit of journey, has a little bit of fun with the sound and overall just sounds like Muse were playing around with different settings and gave us something a bit weird and fun. Not bad at all.
4. Falling Down
Before Bellamy arrives, and even a little bit afterwards, this song really reminds me of Ball Park, but a little more melodramatic. I can't quite put my finger on it, but they definitely have some traits in common. This song starts slowly, and I can't say the pace really changes. The sound feels much less processed than the usual Muse track, which is an interesting change of pace. Bellamy is really putting his all in this one, at some points even being a little bit too emotional for my tastes. The song seems to be a breakup song, and the emotion is relevant, but just seems to slow the entire song down rather than being a central part of it. The emotion in Bellamy's voice seems to be like that weird screaming guy in the street everything else in the song is trying to avoid.
5. Cave
This song has a very unpleasant opening, being about as enjoyable of TV static, but the actual song is reasonable, although the static sound never quite disappears from the song. Bellamy, again, is the saving grace of this song. Honestly, if a lesser vocalist was on this song, I wouldn't even give it a second listening. The music sounds very grand at points, but overall, it just doesn't have the bit of humanity possessed by the previous tracks. Although this was the second dingle of the album, it really does very little for me. With a voice like Bellamy's, a more polished, together song would make the most sense. Pretty ordinary.
6. Showbiz
What the fuck is going on with the vocals? Oh, they stopped. Thank god. If they kept that edited voice shit up for the entire song, I wouldn't have been able to listen to the whole thing. This song has some good elements. It has a lot of energy and life, but it also gives me a sensation similar to feeling a dentist's drill in my teeth. Do they need all of these sounds? Does that guitar with the screech really make this song. Oh shit, they brought that voice effect back. This is just shit. There. The title track of this album is just shit. I'm glad in a way. I was slightly nervous every song would just be OK. But nope, this song is dreadful. Screeching, distortion and strange vocals (half the bloody song is Bellamy making the word "ohwaah" sound different). Just garbage of the purest degree.
7. Unintended
Intelligently, this song is a guitar and Bellamy for the intro. God knows we need that after the mess of the previous song. I'm getting a little bit sick of Bellamy making drawn out, whining notes. It just doesn't suit his voice as much as other kinds of music. OK, so he'll always love someone. Great. But problem. No! Problem resolved? I dunno. I stopped caring the second I realised the entire song would just be Bellamy in whiny mode. End already! Just... stop! Good.
8. Uno
All the greatest songs of our time start with a sound like a very broken motor, don't they? They don't? Is that because the sound is dreadful and no-one wants to fucking hear that? How did I guess?! This is the lead single? Why? Why is this review all questions I'm not asking anyone in particular? How did Muse make a song so poorly composed so as to make Bellamy not enough to fix it? Why did they wait until this track to bring back non-whiny Bellamy? Why did this song suddenly become cool and awesome? Why did the broken motor noise come back as soon as I said that? Why am I still asking questions? Do you think Green Day named their album after this song or the card game? Why isn't this song good?
9. Sober
OK, this song does have a good opening. Bellamy is loud and to the point, the music is basic and driving and everything seems to be building up to a great climax. The climax isn't bad. Man, this song is everything Muse should be. Everything is fast and fun. Previous songs have been pretentious, self-gratifying and just irritating. Give me Sober any day of the week. So far, this is the definite best song off of this album. I can't say this album is bad, per say, but I wouldn't call it one of the best. Perhaps the next few songs will completely change that opinion. I somewhat doubt it. Man, this song is just plain awesome. Uno was the lead single, but this doesn't even make the cut?
10. Escape
Nearly over. All the best albums make you think that. Let's see. Bellamy is in whiny mode. Huh. Well, this is going to take about three minutes, so I'll just sit back and - holy fuck, where did that come from? This song just switched Bellamy from whiny to awesome. Thank God. Let's see: fast paced, fun, loud, not over-complicated, not making me wish for deafness.. yup, this song is now awesome. To say the least, a definite improvement. Slowed back down, chilled out and done. Sweet song.
11. Overdue
Whoa boy, deep breaths, guys. Stop with the mood changes. Pick a song and stick with it. This one seems to switch between a Good Charlotte "ballad", something by The Thermals and Weezer. Pick. A Song. It's not hard. I can't say this song is bad, because you never know what's around the corner, and no part of the song is individually bad. Overall, I'd have to say a good song woven from several different strong aspects. An interesting idea. I wish I knew whether it was on purpose.
12. Hate This And I'll Love You
Interesting title. So... crickets? What am I getting into? Okay, I think this is whiny Bellamy. Shit. A decent tempo. Not bad, can't complain. Slow again. Great. Well, this song was so dull it gave me time to spellcheck the rest of the post. Well done, song. You're usefully useless. Someone give Bellamy a dummy and shut him up. Honstly, half of his singing in this song sounds like he's about to cry. Well, they cut Bellamy out for a little while to focus on the unremarkable music. If you couldn't tell, I regreted starting this post at about the fourth song. I would be lying if I said I didn't automatically hate all songs after that merely for existing. JUST END.
Okay, overall this album is average, just erring on the good side of average. Give it a listen, give me feedback. Farewell,
H. Rourke
This time I'm looking at Muse's debut release from 1999, "Showbiz". I can't say I have a definitive view on Muse as a whole. I understand the appeal, but I also understand much of the criticism. Overall, Muse are pretty decent and worth a bit of a listen. Let's look at ""Showbiz"
1. Sunburn
This track starts out very stripped back, with just a piano and Bellamy's vocals, which I must say are a standout aspect of Muse's sound. Bellamy has a cool, calm and variable voice, and this song excels by focusing on it. The music grows and reaches the usual, but I have a really serious complaint. The music becomes louder and faster, but I really can't feel any energy behind it. Everything just seems to be going fast when it should be slowing down. This song feels like the climax was just shoehorned in. This song does a pretty good job of introducing the album. If I was to think of a song that summarised the Muse sound, that would be very close. I get why this was one of the singles from the album.
2. Muscle Museum
This song starts with a much more processed sound than the previous track, but still with a definite focus on Bellamy's voice. The climax in this song has much more energy behind it. It think it's all in the drums. If the drumbeat is the same through the rest of the song and the climax, it just doesn't have the same drive. I like the story that this song was named for the words coming before and after "Muse" in the dictionary. My edition has "Muscovite" between "Muscle" and "Museum", but I doubt the two words in that location are a coincidence. This song is another single off of the album (the third of five, with Sunburn being the fourth) and I see why, although I must say it is very similar to the previous track. I really hope this doesn't become a theme.
3. Fillip
I learned something from this song. You can't rhyme "soon" and "direction" without sounding like an absolute dickhead. This song really just switches between tempos like a madman. We start discordantly with rock tones, switching into pop, turning to a faster, more rock influenced sound, switching back between pop and rock before just screeching to a halt, slowing to a slow, sentimental whine before returning to the discordance and the rock. I can't say the switch between the tempos is unpleasant, just unexpected and a little jarring. It takes you on a bit of journey, has a little bit of fun with the sound and overall just sounds like Muse were playing around with different settings and gave us something a bit weird and fun. Not bad at all.
4. Falling Down
Before Bellamy arrives, and even a little bit afterwards, this song really reminds me of Ball Park, but a little more melodramatic. I can't quite put my finger on it, but they definitely have some traits in common. This song starts slowly, and I can't say the pace really changes. The sound feels much less processed than the usual Muse track, which is an interesting change of pace. Bellamy is really putting his all in this one, at some points even being a little bit too emotional for my tastes. The song seems to be a breakup song, and the emotion is relevant, but just seems to slow the entire song down rather than being a central part of it. The emotion in Bellamy's voice seems to be like that weird screaming guy in the street everything else in the song is trying to avoid.
5. Cave
This song has a very unpleasant opening, being about as enjoyable of TV static, but the actual song is reasonable, although the static sound never quite disappears from the song. Bellamy, again, is the saving grace of this song. Honestly, if a lesser vocalist was on this song, I wouldn't even give it a second listening. The music sounds very grand at points, but overall, it just doesn't have the bit of humanity possessed by the previous tracks. Although this was the second dingle of the album, it really does very little for me. With a voice like Bellamy's, a more polished, together song would make the most sense. Pretty ordinary.
6. Showbiz
What the fuck is going on with the vocals? Oh, they stopped. Thank god. If they kept that edited voice shit up for the entire song, I wouldn't have been able to listen to the whole thing. This song has some good elements. It has a lot of energy and life, but it also gives me a sensation similar to feeling a dentist's drill in my teeth. Do they need all of these sounds? Does that guitar with the screech really make this song. Oh shit, they brought that voice effect back. This is just shit. There. The title track of this album is just shit. I'm glad in a way. I was slightly nervous every song would just be OK. But nope, this song is dreadful. Screeching, distortion and strange vocals (half the bloody song is Bellamy making the word "ohwaah" sound different). Just garbage of the purest degree.
7. Unintended
Intelligently, this song is a guitar and Bellamy for the intro. God knows we need that after the mess of the previous song. I'm getting a little bit sick of Bellamy making drawn out, whining notes. It just doesn't suit his voice as much as other kinds of music. OK, so he'll always love someone. Great. But problem. No! Problem resolved? I dunno. I stopped caring the second I realised the entire song would just be Bellamy in whiny mode. End already! Just... stop! Good.
8. Uno
All the greatest songs of our time start with a sound like a very broken motor, don't they? They don't? Is that because the sound is dreadful and no-one wants to fucking hear that? How did I guess?! This is the lead single? Why? Why is this review all questions I'm not asking anyone in particular? How did Muse make a song so poorly composed so as to make Bellamy not enough to fix it? Why did they wait until this track to bring back non-whiny Bellamy? Why did this song suddenly become cool and awesome? Why did the broken motor noise come back as soon as I said that? Why am I still asking questions? Do you think Green Day named their album after this song or the card game? Why isn't this song good?
9. Sober
OK, this song does have a good opening. Bellamy is loud and to the point, the music is basic and driving and everything seems to be building up to a great climax. The climax isn't bad. Man, this song is everything Muse should be. Everything is fast and fun. Previous songs have been pretentious, self-gratifying and just irritating. Give me Sober any day of the week. So far, this is the definite best song off of this album. I can't say this album is bad, per say, but I wouldn't call it one of the best. Perhaps the next few songs will completely change that opinion. I somewhat doubt it. Man, this song is just plain awesome. Uno was the lead single, but this doesn't even make the cut?
10. Escape
Nearly over. All the best albums make you think that. Let's see. Bellamy is in whiny mode. Huh. Well, this is going to take about three minutes, so I'll just sit back and - holy fuck, where did that come from? This song just switched Bellamy from whiny to awesome. Thank God. Let's see: fast paced, fun, loud, not over-complicated, not making me wish for deafness.. yup, this song is now awesome. To say the least, a definite improvement. Slowed back down, chilled out and done. Sweet song.
11. Overdue
Whoa boy, deep breaths, guys. Stop with the mood changes. Pick a song and stick with it. This one seems to switch between a Good Charlotte "ballad", something by The Thermals and Weezer. Pick. A Song. It's not hard. I can't say this song is bad, because you never know what's around the corner, and no part of the song is individually bad. Overall, I'd have to say a good song woven from several different strong aspects. An interesting idea. I wish I knew whether it was on purpose.
12. Hate This And I'll Love You
Interesting title. So... crickets? What am I getting into? Okay, I think this is whiny Bellamy. Shit. A decent tempo. Not bad, can't complain. Slow again. Great. Well, this song was so dull it gave me time to spellcheck the rest of the post. Well done, song. You're usefully useless. Someone give Bellamy a dummy and shut him up. Honstly, half of his singing in this song sounds like he's about to cry. Well, they cut Bellamy out for a little while to focus on the unremarkable music. If you couldn't tell, I regreted starting this post at about the fourth song. I would be lying if I said I didn't automatically hate all songs after that merely for existing. JUST END.
Okay, overall this album is average, just erring on the good side of average. Give it a listen, give me feedback. Farewell,
H. Rourke
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