Muse, a rock band formed in 1994 (who released their first album in late 1999) recently released their fifth studio album, The Resistance. Since its release on September 14, 2009, the album has undergone a lot of scrutiny, leaving critics divided on its level of success. Some declare that Muse rely too heavily on accomplished artists, causing their sound to lack originality. They suggest that portions of the new album sound particularly reminiscent of bands like Queen and Depeche Mode. Yet, one must somehow draw a line between influence and replication.
Undeniably, elements of Muse’s songs appear strikingly similar to other well-established bands, but Muse’s incorporation of different genres and musical styles help balance out what might otherwise be deemed imitation. Indeed, when Muse first began making music, they were pinned down as “Radiohead-imitators” but, over time, Muse broke away from this connection, harnessing inspiration from several musical virtuosos (including master guitar players Tom Morello and Jimi Hendrix) to cultivate a distinctive musical style.
Pertaining to the new album, in “United States of Eurasia,” powerful, harmonic vocals reminiscent of parts of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” fuse with a Middle Eastern/Arabian-esque style that transforms the song into something authentic without the transitions appearing to be forced. Additionally, there is general consensus that the three part symphony, Exogenesis, which closes out the album, is a master work in modern music. Few have dared to criticize this part of the album with its beautiful and seamless synthesis of classical, rock, and electronic genres (perhaps suggestive of Pink Floyd’s early experimental tracks). In fact, The-Fly.co.uk opted to give The Resistance two scores: 5/5 for Exogenesis and 3.5/5 for the rest of the album; even those who did not care for the album as a whole could not resist this composition, combing an orchestra with the original trio in mind-blowing fashion.
As a transitional generation somewhere between Generation Y and Generation Z, we struggle for a sense of unambiguous identity. In a similar manner, Muse (along with many other newer, successful bands) transcends a single genre. Alternative rock represents a fairly broad “umbrella” genre that imparts upon bands like Muse the freedom to experiment and blend diverse musical influences. Other generations, with more clearly defined musical tastes (such as the psychedelic era of the 1960s, the punk evolution of the 70s, or the grunge phase of the 90s), were influenced behaviorally by the music they listened to (e.g. drug experimentation and care-free attitude of the hippies and anarchy of the punks). Yet, the Transitional Generation does not possess such a clear grounding in its definition except for its immersion in powerful new technologies; world-wide music sharing programs allow access to plethora of diverse harmonics making modern music a mesh of older genres with no clearly dominant influence. However this is not to imply that contemporary music exists without a broader societal implication. Muse’s lyrics and performances generally present a synthesis of harmonic beauty and high energy rebellion; this, in turn, relates to a generational struggle for a well defined identity. Nonetheless, united in an effort to assess current and future problems (global warming, the economy crisis, etc.), as reflected in the theme of Muse’s album, we band together in the face of hardship. Our generation is a chaotic assemblage of many different tastes and providing one can make a coherent mosaic out of it, satisfaction becomes achievable (yes, I just pulled a T.S. Eliot on you).
Accordingly, bands that impeccably weave an eclectic assortment of musical sources together, adding their own personal flair to the mix become conspicuous and invariably successful; Muse embodies such characteristics.
Muse’s feats however, are in stark contrast to parasitism practiced by many contemporary artists. Modern rap, hip-hop, R&B, pop performers, in particular often leech from older musicians, pillaging beats, melodies and even lyrics; some merely introduce a “remixed” version with added drum machine and electronic reverberation, interlaced with interludes of rapping.
Although the line between imitation and parasitism is clearly defined, the line between inspiration and imitation remains murky. True originality may be impossible to achieve, but with so many resources to draw from, fresh and interesting music remains attainable.
Inspiration or Imitation? You decide.
Muse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB1OkuN8vdU
Queen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irp8CNj9qBI
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