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| The single artwork for 'Map of the Problematique', © Warner Bros. Records |
After cracking the ‘250 word limit’ challenge (twice!), this week I’m going to attempt yet another daringly dramatic feat: to review this week’s ‘Alive in the Superunknown’ track in the style of a liveblog – that means I’ll review the song riff-by-riff, chorus-by-chorus, in brief, chronological snippets. Here goes...
The London 2012 Olympic Games seem have an ‘official’ everything – official water, official tracksuits, official face wipes, official pyjamas... the list goes on! You’d be forgiven for thinking that Muse have been picked as the official band of the games – after all, the stadium rock megastars have released the official Olympic single, provided the soundtrack to the Opening Ceremony’s countdown and their music has been featured in endless sports montages as the games have gone on. Why? Because Muse are a band with a powerful, inspirational and truly unique sound that showcases the best in British rock music.
The song that demonstrates the band’s unique, signature sound best in my opinion isn’t their latest sport-centric effort Survival, but is in fact a song from an album made all the way back in 2006. Today I’ll be reviewing that song – ‘Map of the Problematique’, from the album ‘Black Holes and Revelations’.
So, in true Olympic style, let the liveblog begin... NOW!
0:00 (That means 0 minutes and 0 seconds into the song)
One of the most epic riffs ever created begins. It’s a riff that just oozes with tension and atmosphere – a riff just made to rock stadiums all over the world. As the drums, synths and layers upon layers of guitars kick in, the dramatic and powerful feel of the track increases and increases until...
0:53
The first line of the song perfectly describes the feel of the song so far: “Fear and panic in the air”. The operatic vocals soar above the distorted, grungy guitar and bass parts and compliment them perfectly. Too often in the rock genre, drums become outshined and pushed into the background by the vocal, guitar and bass parts, but here the drums refuse to be overshadowed and continue beating loudly and deeply, fulfilling their essential part in keeping up the frantic atmosphere of the track.
1:24
Here ensues one of many lines in this track that prove Muse’s lyric-writing proficiency. The simplicity of it is striking – “I can’t get it right, get it right, since I met you” – but it strikes a chord with the audience because it’s something that everybody can relate to: Trying your utmost best for somebody, but getting ‘it’ wrong.
1:40
Too often songs are created that seem to waste time, or ‘fill time’, in order to reach the desired 3-minutes-or-more by repeating sections already used, or using weak ‘filler riffs’. Muse are a band that waste no time in their music – even this short bridge section between the chorus and next verse utilises otherworldly synths, some heavily layered vocals and perfectly matched guitar, bass and drum-work to continue the fist-pumping momentum of the track.
2:48
At this point is, in all honesty and sincerity, my favourite lyric of all-time. “No one thinks they are to blame. Why can’t we see that when we bleed, we bleed the same?” – Never has so much meaning and significance been packed into so few words. Muse’s lyrics are consistently perfectly crafted and thought-provoking, completely complimenting the momentous instrumental music.
3:20
And now, it’s the beginning of the end for this amazing piece of music. Even this late on in the track, there’s still the introduction of brand new sounds to accompany the repeated riffs and beats commonplace throughout the previous minutes of the song. The band succeed in keeping listener’s interest active from the first note of the song to the last.
4:06
Muse go out with a bang, as the track finishes just as it started. The crunchy, distorted guitar’s enviable tone rings out the final few notes of the epic riff that’s been present throughout the entire song - but still doesn’t sound old, repetitive or tired. The listener is left stunned; a Muse fan for life.
And that was my review of ‘Map of the Problematique’ by Muse! As always, I completely recommend that you listen to this track, either by purchasing the track itself, which was released as a single back in 2007, or by buying the ‘Black Holes and Revelations’ album.
Anyway, I’d better go, the Olympic Closing Ceremony starts in 15 minutes*, and guess who’s performing? Muse! Stay tuned to the blog for much more reviews and write-ups on the world of music, and thanks for reading!
PsyD
*Correct at the time of writing. Obviously.
Next week's 'Alive in the Superunknown' featured track will be...
'Godless' by Blue Origin
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