It’s been a long time since I last updated, and for that I’m sorry. We’ve had some issues with our internet and after the tragic computer breakdown, and moving into this lovely 3 bed house, we have finally gotten a new computer and our internet is being connected within the next few weeks (Whoo!)
For now, I have typed this up in Word, and using my lovely Mumsy’s computer, have managed to finally post (my new super-awesome phone wouldn’t let me log in xD)
Today, I bring a different sort of post to my usual self-critical hypotheses of the workings of the human mind. I have been listening to the new Muse album – The Resistance, and have discovered a whole different side of their music.
Anyway, enough of the rambling and onto the real reason for my somewhat late update – Exogenesis Symphony.
Lately, I had come of the opinion that music itself was dwindling away into a never-ending mess of nudity and repetitive backbeats, accompanied by shrieking size 0 tarts who wouldn’t know the difference between a major and minor transposition if it hit them in their plastic faces!
However, upon listening to The Resistance, I was faced with something I had least expected from today’s music – a genuine example of musical genius so pure it tugs on the heartstrings and makes you feel emotion you didn’t know existed.
Although Muse are well known for their ever improving musical compositions, there was debate over whether the new album would live up to the reputation the reviews gave it. Some said that it would be bigger than Queen; others thought that it wouldn’t live up to the previous Black Holes And Revelations; however it indeed proved to do both of those things.
If you were to listen to The Resistance from start to finish, it would appear as if it were all one long story, cut into bite-size chapters. From the initial “Uprising” through to “I belong to you” in which Matt sings in French half way through *can anyone say “ah pure bliss”?* there is a definite central theme, surrounding the controversial topic of war and retribution. Just as each track can stand on its own, they flow neatly from song to song, merging together in perfect synchronicity and harmony.
Just as we get to the 3-part “Exogenesis Symphony” at the end of the album, we are of the opinion that this album cannot get any better, after all, what could be better than the heart-thumping beats of “Guiding Light”, and the soothing chromatic tones of “I Belong to You”? And then, all of a sudden, we hear haunting violins, accompanied by cello, timpani and brass, which evolves into a fully orchestrated explosion of sound, rising with a perfect crescendo to the entrance of the vocals, which, by themselves are massively moving, but when accompanied with the enigmatic sound of fully harmonized backing, turns into something magical.
It isn’t until the second movement of the symphony- (and I use that term literally- it is somewhat so perfect, it can be likened to those written by some of the best musical minds of all time- Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner would all be impressed) in which we hear the entrance of beautiful piano playing and the conventional “band”. Cue full drum kits and Electric Guitars.
Strangely enough however, the merge between classical symphony and modern rock, is so well written that they sound as if they were “born” for each other. This is something which many people have tried, and failed, to do and in doing so, have ended up with something sounding as though they had just fed the orchestra through a cement mixer and splattered it onto a digitalized mixer deck with little care for the trained ear.
Somewhat aptly named, Part 2- Cross Pollination brings a whole new meaning to the word beautiful. However, believe it or not, this is not the best track on the album. If you were to listen, from the very first note of Uprising through to Cross-Pollination with your eyes closed, you would likely have a story unfolding in your minds-eye, and while your brain unfolds the perfect harmonies and tries to absorb the pure emotion incorporated into the writing, you cannot possibly fathom anything getting better than this (I know I for one, could not think of anything in modern pop-culture which can even hold a candle to this!)
Just as you are thinking it couldn’t get any better, Exogenesis Symphony- Pt 3. Redemption starts. Like part 2, it starts with soft piano and very soft violin, which washes over your eardrums and tugs at your very fibres. Throughout the first 1:30, the strings and piano build up a very slight crescendo, and then at 1:35 the drums are introduced, and the rising tonal quality, built nicely together with a very strong crescendo climaxes at 2:09 to the introduction of the lyrics. At this point, if you aren’t feeling any emotion, then I feel desperately sorry for you. I for one am in tears every time I listen to it, including now.
After building up to the climatic lyrics, signalling the end of a long journey through the depths of your soul, you are ultimately left with possibly the most important message underlining the album –
“Let’s start over again,
Why can’t we start it over again?
Just let us start over again,
And we’ll be good…
This time we’ll get…
Get it right
It’s our last chance to forgive ourselves”
I am certain that this is a message to which we can all familiarise. After all, we all at some point, wish we could go back, to do things differently and atone for our actions. For me, it symbolises the breakdown of my family unit and makes me feel as though I would give anything to “start again” and to renew lost bonds. If that wasn’t hard hitting enough, the ultimate hard hitting chord at 2:50 feels so powerful that it is as though you have been stabbed in the heart with a knife made of emotion so raw and untouched that it makes you melt away, which the melody also does at 3:35, returning to the haunting quality of the violins and piano, symbolising the end of this long journey.
I honestly feel as though music cannot get any better than this. To convey such a powerful sense of desperate emotion is not something that just anyone can do. It has taken Muse a long time to get to where they are today and there are not many artists these days (if any) who can be likened with such intensity to the masters of classical music.
I often say that music is the language of the soul, and should this be the case, then Muse have managed to uncover a treasure so rare that I cannot fathom anything purer and more important in all of life. The cadences and harmonic quality of this powerful composition cannot be matched by anything written post-classical period. Just as there are masters of the English language (as shown by some of the best writers of time – Shakespeare, Dickens, Poe etc) there are masters of the language of music.
Universally recognized, music is possibly the oldest form of communication, and to me, the most important. What better way is there of conveying a feeling, but to put it in music? Words can be misread; they can be informalized in such a way that they cannot be properly understood (for example, the birth of slang) whereas a well-written piece of music needs not an introduction, nor explanation, but can immediately overwhelm you with emotion and purpose. Isn’t that why music is used in films? Music has a unique way of giving you a perfectly formed idea of the setting and scene of any story and when mastered, it can be the most powerful emotive weapon the world has ever seen.
I, for one, believe that these guys have mastered the art of music and can only grow from here on. To what? I don’t know but whatever they decide to do next, I will be waiting with open ears and soul and welcome it with all of my being. I cannot begin to imagine what awaits us on their next album; can it get any more perfect than The Resistance? That I’m afraid, time itself can only tell.
As I turn off the speakers, and say goodbye to you all for another day, I can only hope that this peek inside my soul has given you some idea of how, and why, music is more important to me than any form of communication ever invented. I would give my all for music, and though it doesn’t play quite as active part in my life as it did 10 years ago, it is still very much a part of me and will always remain so.
Lacrimosaangel~ Eyes on me 