Muse - 'Uprising'
Close your eyes. Imagine yourself in a world far, far away from here. A world where pick 'n' mix grows on trees, and the moon is a giant pickle. Imagine, in this world, you hear a noise. A beautiful, but dark noise. You walk towards where the sound is coming from to find Muse, jamming with Deborah Harry of Blondie, while David Tennant repeatedly rewinds and plays the intro to Doctor Who. Then you notice that 'Atlas' by Battles is blaring from the speakers, whilst the faint sound of 'Shoot The Runner' by Kasabian pumps out of a scratched mp3 player. Oh, and Sonic the Hedgehog's there, too. And they're all floating on spaceships. With sunglasses instead of eyes.
*Whispers* and there is no sun.
In the shell of a nut, this is what Muse's new single sounds like (minus the moonpickle).
(Some of the song is streaming on . Create your own video with your mind...JUST LIKE I HAVE)
From trying to recreate 'Bliss' in ringtone form on my one-tone phone when I was 15, to attempting (and failing) to learn 'Plug In Baby' on my first guitar a year later, Muse have always been a big part of my life (almost as big a part as white chocolate mice and strawberry bonbons). So, naturally I'm very, very excited about their new single.
'Uprising' is good. It's got this awesome heavy, sexy bass not dissimilar to that of 'Time is Running Out', reminding us all what a bass is really for. Bellamy's vocals are, as usual, incredible: each word that leaves his lips seems to have potential to do more damage, have more impact, then the last. Then there's the handclaps that bring a human quality to the song's futuristic feel; and while the guitar seems to mimic Blondie's 'Call Me' to the point it's almost distracting, it's jerkiness running at odds to the dark feel the song has - creating a jarring experience that demands attention.
The only niggle here is that they've been away three years - THREE WHOLE YEARS - and they've burst back onto the scene with a song that well, aside from it's Doctor Who-isms and hanclaps, hasn't really seen that much progression in terms of their epic, swirly sound.
Saying that, one of the things that's always been great about Muse is that they're one of the few bands to grace the charts who actually have something to say (ooooh, I went there), and this song is no exception: "Rise up and take the power back, it's time that/the fat cats had a heart attack" has all the pro-active angst of Rage Against The Machine.
'Uprising' may not be a stand out track when compared to their back catalogue, and a lot of people will be expecting a lot more from Muse's new album, but none of this changes the fact it's a brilliant song with real integrity... and to hear a song like that be played next to Cascada on a Thursday afternoon, is always a treat. In fact, I guess you could say it is out of this world...
Lunar gherkin, anyone?
Download: Out now
CD Released: September 7th
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Music page
(Vicki Lutas)
Comment number 1.
At 6th Sep 2009, smartatikur wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 2.
At 6th Sep 2009, MozFoz wrote:I knew I wasn't the only one who thought it sounded like Call Me. I also get an I Kissed A Girl vibe from it. Plagarism aside, good comeback. GUTTED I didn't get tickets for the tour.
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Comment number 3.
At 6th Sep 2009, BloggingLiam wrote:Dont forget to add Kasabian to the list of plagarisms (yes Vicki mentioned it in the review).
I got tickets :D
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Comment number 4.
At 6th Sep 2009, flatknees wrote:it does sound good and powerful.. but yea it has taken from a lot of songs..
am i going crazy or has no one else seen the borrowing of Depeche mode's (covered by marilyn manson)'Personal Jesus' bass line?? its really blatant.. and stuff..
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Comment number 5.
At 6th Sep 2009, MozFoz wrote:Good spot, flatknees.
It sounds like a hell of a lot of songs, NME did a blog post which showed about 8 different ones.
Liam, I'm so jealous it's incomprehenisble. I heard Hysteria live today on the radio, it defined immense. Better than Pendulum anyday.
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Comment number 6.
At 6th Sep 2009, BloggingLiam wrote:I too heard it live and had a little grin to myself. Its going to be amazing.
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Comment number 7.
At 7th Sep 2009, Vicki wrote:MozFoz... "I also get an I Kissed A Girl vibe from it."
I am literally so with you on that.
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Comment number 8.
At 7th Sep 2009, flatknees wrote:you are literally so with him? why has it become so popular lately to use the word 'literally' out of context? how it irks me....
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Comment number 9.
At 7th Sep 2009, Vicki wrote:What's the point of words if you can't have fun with them, I say? Well, other than, you know... to communicate etc (details, details).
Anyway, I've been using that for years. In fact, I MADE it. Without me, it'd be nothing.
Literally. ;)
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Comment number 10.
At 7th Sep 2009, flatknees wrote:the obvious problem viki is when i am being savaged by an actual mountain bear and i call my mates and say 'i am literally being savaged by a mountain bear', they will be like 'well no one uses the word literally as it should be anymore, so he has probably met (yet another) aggressive female of some sort'
do you see my relevant problem??
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Comment number 11.
At 7th Sep 2009, Fraser McAlpine - wrote:Is it that all of your friends are pedants?
Should "help!", you fool. Much quicker.
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Comment number 12.
At 7th Sep 2009, Fraser McAlpine - wrote:SHOUT, not SHOULD...
(If I had a pence for every time I got into a ruckus over correct use of language and then I went and used the wrong word, or wrong grammar...I'd have 38 pence)
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Comment number 13.
At 7th Sep 2009, flatknees wrote:no they are not, thats the point, i am probably the one being pedantic and i am often found manipulating and changing the english language for my own benefit.. its just the word literally being used in its totally opposite context..
and obviously i am in the dense woodland of north canada when i meet the bear, its like Alien, no one can hear you scream.. luckily they can if you have roaming.. but as i said before, my friends will be dumbfounded when i use the word literally in its correct context.. yep..
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Comment number 14.
At 7th Sep 2009, BloggingLiam wrote:On the topic of pendantic, capitilise your Is. It literally so annoying :p
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Comment number 15.
At 7th Sep 2009, flatknees wrote:no no no! i do not correct my 'i's after a pedantic comment when they spell the flipping word wrong! oh the irony of it all...
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Comment number 16.
At 7th Sep 2009, BloggingLiam wrote:This comment has been referred for further consideration. Explain.
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Comment number 17.
At 8th Sep 2009, CurtainJerker wrote:I'm amazed that there's been all this talk of an imaginary scenario involving someone being savaged by bears, and yet not one mention of Reggie Yates...
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Comment number 18.
At 8th Sep 2009, Fraser McAlpine - wrote:Reggie's a bear? Why wasn't I told?
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Comment number 19.
At 8th Sep 2009, CurtainJerker wrote:Ursa-ch a joker, Fraser.
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Comment number 20.
At 8th Sep 2009, CurtainJerker wrote:As in "you're such". Like a pun.
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Comment number 21.
At 8th Sep 2009, Fraser McAlpine - wrote:Yes, sort of like a pun, that's right.
Puns are supposed to be funny though, aren't they?
I found that one to be *cough* un-bear-able...
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Comment number 22.
At 9th Sep 2009, flatknees wrote:oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
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Comment number 23.
At 9th Sep 2009, CurtainJerker wrote:That was brutal. I think this could get grizzly.
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Comment number 24.
At 9th Sep 2009, Fraser McAlpine - wrote:Well, you've got to be honest with friends, haven't you? You can't just panda to their every whim.
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Comment number 25.
At 9th Sep 2009, CurtainJerker wrote:This is true. And it can be especially challenging when you're polar opposites.
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Comment number 26.
At 12th Sep 2009, smartatikur wrote:I really enjoy coming to this website. Would love to be able to help contribute.
Atik
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Comment number 27.
At 13th Sep 2009, thranjax wrote:I love Muse. I love this song. All review normal standards fall by the wayside because of I love the whole thing so much. There are problems with this track. There are inefficiencies and overdoings. But I love it anyway.
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Comment number 28.
At 13th Sep 2009, MozFoz wrote:I'm not at all offended -my nickname is misleading- but I'm in fact female ;)
I'm also getting Doctor Who theme tune when I hear this...
I still like it though.
With song titles that mention Eurasia and the album being called the Resistance, is this basically about 1984?
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Comment number 29.
At 20th Sep 2009, spirit wrote:As I predicted 3 months ago , THE RESISTANCE is NUMBER 1 !!!!
Before anyone says that even the man on the moon could have guessed that , Muse have fought off PIXIE LOTT , DAVID GRAY , JAY - Z and the resurgent PETER ANDRE !!!!!
Oh , and VERA LYNN !!!
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Comment number 30.
At 21st Sep 2009, BloggingLiam wrote:Easiest prediction of the year.
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Comment number 31.
At 21st Sep 2009, spirit wrote:Yeah .
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Comment number 32.
At 27th Sep 2009, spirit wrote:For people who really like this sort of thing.
Black holes and revelations debuted at number 1 on sales of 115,000 copies in 2006.
The resistance debuted at 1 on sales of 148,000 copies last week .
It's a sure sign that Muse are generating huge interest at retail !
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Comment number 33.
At 27th Sep 2009, spirit wrote:So come on Muse fans , what is your verdict on the new album ?
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Comment number 34.
At 27th Sep 2009, RandomEnigma wrote:I think the new Muse album is fantastic. Although, style wise, it doesn't sound that different from their Black Holes and Revelations album?
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Comment number 35.
At 28th Sep 2009, BloggingLiam wrote:Its amazing. Uprising is a throwback to their older material but the rest of the album is a real step.. sideways? I dont want to say forward because Im not sure its a "better" album. Its just a change of pace .. not direction as Im sure their next album will be more Black Holes like. It is a concept album at the end of the day.
Track 6 is my fav. I cant remember its name, not etched the whole thing on my brain yet.
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Comment number 36.
At 28th Sep 2009, CurtainJerker wrote:I'm not an immense Muse fan, but like some of their songs and, with all the hoo-ha over the new album, I decided I would check it out, along with Black Holes and Revelations. I listened to all 30 sec samples of Black Holes on iTunes; and then listened to The Resistance in full (it's been streamed on We7, available on the NME website).
In the end, I plumped for Black Holes, and gave The Resistance a miss, and I think I was right (for me). They both have the same grandeur and huge scale, but I think Black Holes is on the right side of overblown, and The Resistance might not be. The songs on Black Holes seem overall better to me, whereas The Resistance seemed to stray a little too much into Queen territory for my liking. Plus, the "funky first single" was done better the first time (Supermassive Black Hole) than this time (Uprising).
All the same, I'm keen to have another listen to the three-part symphony from The Resistance. I might just buy those tracks.
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Comment number 37.
At 28th Sep 2009, BloggingLiam wrote:Tbh Curtain you're better off just buying both albums. Why not have your cake and eat it?
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Comment number 38.
At 28th Sep 2009, CurtainJerker wrote:Meh. I don't think I'm interested enough to shell out the £8 for the whole album. A couple of quid for those three is fine though.
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Comment number 39.
At 30th Sep 2009, spirit wrote:Right , a few statistics about Muse , as requested by Liam .
Muse have now sold over 3 million albums in the UK.
Of this total , Black Holes and Revelations made the biggest contribution with over 800,000 copies sold .
The Resistance has sold over 200,000 copies in two weeks.
It certainly looks like a successful time for the Teignmouth trio !
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Comment number 40.
At 2nd Oct 2009, BloggingLiam wrote:Wasnt aware I'd requested some statistics, but thanks none the less Spirit :)
Its not as good an album as Black Holes.. but its sure a brilliant one. Hard to quantify them against each other, as this one isnt really intended to be as comercial as Black Holes was.
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Comment number 41.
At 2nd Oct 2009, spirit wrote:STATISTICS CORNER :
When it was released , the album THE RESISTANCE by MUSE , WENT TO NUMBER 1 in 18 different countries !
Not bad !
Maybe someone will come on in a grumpy voice and a say :
"Yeah , but there are still more people in the world that didn't buy the Muse album , than people that did . "
That's all very well , but in my opinion I think it is important, in this world, to be positive and celebrate success that has been well earnt , and give credit for a lot of talent and really hard work !
Well done Muse .
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Comment number 42.
At 3rd Oct 2009, thranjax wrote:And they are in Sheffield just before my birthday, a trip out seems highly in order!
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Comment number 43.
At 3rd Oct 2009, thranjax wrote:The album is about 1984 indeed, and the New World Order which we have yet to prevent occuring, and all the other issues which are destroying our spiritual world at this present time. Like others here, I cannot criticise Muse rationally as I love the whole vibe they have so much.
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Comment number 44.
At 13th Jan 2010, harrythedog10 wrote:Muse's new single will be Resistance and the video is planned to debut tommorow, don't know where.
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Comment number 45.
At 13th Jan 2010, BloggingLiam wrote:They have really flunked in terms of singles from this album. 'MK Bowl', 'Guiding light', 'United states' and 'Unnautral selection' are CLEARLY better singles and tracks.
When I saw them live people were actually getting bored during 'Undisclosed desires'. I'd almost go as far as to say that its a poor single.
Within the concept of the album, they all work. Its almost a story. I even like 'Undisclosed desires' in the context of the album. But the tracks I mentioned above are all beter individual tracks in my mind.
Phenominal album and easily the best thing I have ever seen live. I was just completely awe struck. I nearly cried during 'United states..', I was that emotional. I haven;t cried in years.
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Comment number 46.
At 13th Jan 2010, harrythedog10 wrote:Unnatural Selection and MK Ultra would be better singles but Resistance is more poppy so it will probably chart higher.
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Comment number 47.
At 13th Jan 2010, spirit wrote:To stress Liam's point , Undisclosed Desires , failed to chart !
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Comment number 48.
At 13th Jan 2010, harrythedog10 wrote:I really like Undisclosed Desires actually, even if Unnatural Selection would have been a much better single.
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Comment number 49.
At 13th Jan 2010, BloggingLiam wrote:'The Resistance' probably won't chart either. Maybe top 30.
'Undisclosed Desires' was everywhere. All over the radio and yet didn't chart. Says something!
Anyway Muse aren't about the singles, everyone knows that I guess. Not even sure why they bother with 'em. I guess it's, as I said for Paolo Nutini, so they can keep their radio play, thus exposure and thus album sales up.
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Comment number 50.
At 13th Jan 2010, spirit wrote:In a nutshell !
A big successful single , is the best promotion , an album can have !
Oh and maybe an X Factor performance too !
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Comment number 51.
At 13th Jan 2010, BloggingLiam wrote:X Factor performance seemed to = number 1 for a lot of artists!
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Comment number 52.
At 13th Jan 2010, spirit wrote:18 MILLION viewers , can be such a good marketing tool....
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