BrandNewCadillac

http://dametokillfor.livejournal.com/193207.html

I know this list means nothing, but the fact Kerrang took is seriously is just hilarious to me. I love the fact that The Beatles, who should be number one or close to it, aren't even ON this list.

I'm a big fan of Prince. The Purple Rain soundtrack is excellent.

To be honest, I don't really think there's any bands that are like that today. I find acts like Buckcherry and Avenged Sevenfold to be below average bands, who only have popularity because they are the "best" on the market currently.

What I mean is, there's nothing original being produced.

Take a look at Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, the Stones, Deep Purple, etc ... all bands under the same genre, but produced music that was very good quality, but, most importantly, they had their own sound. I believe that Guns N' Roses or Oasis were the last of these artists. This is the main problem today. Most of the Hard Rock bands nowadays sound the exact same and it's boring. Then there's the dated sound of Motley Crue, Sebastian Bach and others, which doesn't help either. Even AC/DC have become parodies of themselves.

This is why I quite like what Muse are doing. I'm a huge Muse fan. They do use elements of Hard Rock in their music (Just take a listen to something like "Citizen Erased", "Hysteria", "Knights of Cydonia", "Muscle Museum" or "Plug In Baby" for examples of this), but they've progressed the overall sound. It's modern, it's fresh. If more artists did something different, then we'd have more of a Hard Rock scene.

First album that came to mind is Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here.

I like both bands, but I think AC/DC are far more overrated than The Doors.

The problem I have with AC/DC is that they haven't even attempted to do something different with their music. It's far less noticable on the first few albums, but after Back in Black, it became worse and every song just sounds the exact same.

Meanwhile, The Doors, in the few albums they released, explored a variety of different styles. Hell, just listen to the difference between The Doors and L.A. Woman...

Any song from Never Mind the Bollocks..., but then again, Rotten's vocals could make the Teletubbies theme tune sound like a war song.

It seems like that list can't tell the difference between annoyingly popular songs and genuinely bad songs.

As a Guns N' Roses fan, I'd say these four would be the albums to give a listen to.

The Beatles - Rubber Soul

The Doors - L.A. Woman

Aerosmith - Rocks

The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers

And any Led Zeppelin album, Physical Graffiti seems like the logical choice here though.

I'm going with...

1. Rocks

2. Get Your Wings

3. Aerosmith

None of their other albums match up to those three for me, except maybe Toys in the Attic. I also consider Rocks to be in the top three best Hard Rock albums.

Muse are probably one of the few bands in the world today, maybe exclusively in the mainstream, that are keeping rock alive. Even though there's a few good old timers still knocking around (Velvet Revolver) and some amazing ones that aren't too well known (Porcupine Tree) dominating the lesser scenes there hasn't been a really great new rock band like them in the charts for far too long. 'Rock' these days is usually either trumped up indie music which is tame as a kitten or watered down nu-metal which tries to look way more hardcore than they actually are. Bands like Biffy Clyro and Avenged Sevenfold wish they could be 1/10th the band that Muse are.

Is Matt one of the best guitarists of all-time from a technical standpoint? Of course not. Sweetness, I think it was, said that the chord progression and whatnot is rather simplistic at times and that's a very fair point. I'm not going to argue with him. The thing about his playing, though, is the fact he's very similiar to someone like Slash. They don't have the same style at all by any stretch of the imagination but they both know how to emphasise what they're good at and just forget about the rest. Even though Slash stays within his safety zone and has done most of his career nearly everything he's done has sounded awesome. Matt's the same. He may not be the quickest shredder out there but he knows his way around a guitar well enough so that every single thing he does sounds awesome. Sometimes this doesn't come out on the albums; you really need to see his improvisations like at the end of this performance to see what I mean. Is any of that too techincally challenging? Nope. Does it give you something awesome to rock out to? Fuck yes. Stockholm Syndrome is my second favourite Muse song and the last four minutes of that video are probably better than the actual song for me. When they're just riffing they're untouchable. They have such a good grasp of music theory and what just works.

To add to the fact that fact he's also one magnificant pianist which gives the band many chances to really have a diverse sound in many songs. When they mix the piano with the awesome guitar/percussion/synth work they get a very awesome proggy/experimental sound that can match some post-rock bands at times. In some ways, anyway, I'm not saying they're nearly as progressive or unique as those bands, but not many modern rock bands could write a song like Butterflies and Hurricanes. It would end up sounding bloated, pretentious or a plain mess.

I've left his vocals until last because it's probably the most obviously amazing thing about the dude. In the studio they can be a bit too crisp at times which is totally going the wrong direction. Matt is best when he's up on stage screaming his lungs out. Go back to that Butterflies and Hurricanes video up there and listen from the 5:15 mark. How wonderful does his singing of that chorus sounds? He's just pushing every single drop of oxygen out of his lungs and sings it in a totally unique way each time near enough. I love how he's singing so high that by the end of the chorus instead of singing '...this chance to be heard...' he kinda sings it as '...this chance to BEEEEEEEE 'EARRRRDDD...' It's little things like that which make listening to him a joy. I'm not overly found of most high-pitched singers but when Matt screams I dig it so fucking much. This isn't even an issue of how amazing his range is or anything; he just sounds fucking immense. It is that simple. When you add the nice little bits of echo and reverb to his voice live it just blows you away. He can miss a note or not finish a word and it doesn't take away from it at all.

Obviously Chris and Dom do their jobs fantastically too. It's all well and good having Bellamy as the guy who really takes them to another level but they're the solid foundation he needs. I don't really feel the need to defend either of them much since nobody has really said anything about them, and all of the videos I've posted thus far are the perfect examples of why they're so great, so yeah. This is just a required paragraph really to make it a 'Muse are great' post rather than a 'I want to suck Matt Bellamy's cock' post. Although the latter would be accurate.

They're also one of the few bands in the world these days that can wow you in a 3,000 capacity arena as well as an 80,000 capacity stadium. Live is where it all comes together for them. Like all great bands they sound so, so much better in the live experience but it's so much more than that. It's an experience. When you say that about live shows most people think of something shitty and gimmicky like Kiss or Motley Crue with ten thousand pyros or whatever but that's not how it should be defined at a gig. Considering it's just three guys and some dude backstage doing the synth it's really amazing just how 'big' their sound is. You'd expect that sort of presence from a five-piece metal band. When you add to that the amazing light and video packages that you get with each show it goes up to a ridiculous level. I was lucky enough to be at Wembley for one night and when Stockholm Syndrome was blaring out I was surrounded by thousands upon thousands of people moshing their asses off, so many dazzling lights shining off the stage, wonderful video packages... I wouldn't want to be at any other gig. It was outstanding. To be honest with you, I'd trade all 4 times I saw Guns N' Roses in 2006 to go back and have tickets for the second night too. It was a masterclass in live music and showmanship.

Matt is definitely one of the greatest performers I've seen too. Many guitarists who double up as vocalists tend to be a bit boring most of the time as they tend to just stand by the mic and not move around too much but Matt is different. When singing he likes to move his lower body around a fair bit and just the way he strums looks so awesome. You can just watch the way that he moves around the guitar and be ridiculously entertained. I've never been so fascinated with the way somebody moves their hand around the neck of the guitar like I am with Bellamy. It's even better when he reaches a solo - just watch this video from the 3:50 point onwards. At the 4:27 mark he just really gets into gear and it's a joy to watch. I love how when he strums he leaves his arm hanging in the air before bringing it back down for the next strum, it makes it all look so fluid and when you're a guitarist making the flow of the music work well isn't just how you play it; it's how you portray it with your body language too. Then it gets faster and faster so he really starts doing that scratchy strumming which just defines the image of 'cool.' You'll find in most songs the way he runs his hand down the neck of the guitar looks ridiculously awesome too... my friend Charlotte calls it his 'wanking' motion, ha. He's sure to go down in history as one of the all-time great performers if Muse last it a little longer. Even if he doesn't then he deserves to be.

Slash had a quote a while ago in some interview saying how much he liked Muse even though he wouldn't call them a 'rock' band and I found that quite puzzling as many people seem to share that opinion. I really don't get it. They're quite clean-shaven and have no visible addictions to narcotics but is that what most people look to define a band as 'rock?' If so that's pretty fucking ridiculous. These guys may not be 'badasses' or whatever but they're a more energetic and fierce act than most metal bands I've seen. The sense of coolness around them all as they make their instruments an extension of themselves is the defining factor for me when it comes to calling these guys rock. All these shitty nu-metal bands get branded with terms that Muse deserve over them easily. I think a lot of people get confused by the fact that they're a diverse and complex bands on many levels which doesn't really fit into the general opinion of what rock should be.

All I can say to people who aren't sold on them is to see them live. It will change your mind. It just will. As much as I love their first three studio albums none of the tracks on them can compare to their live versions.

Excellent, excellent post. It was everything I wanted to say and more.

All I'm going to add is, if you haven't listened to Muse before or have a negative opinion about them, please go and purchase Origin of Symmetry. You won't regret it.

I don't think I've ever heard anything by Brides of Destruction. I'm not even sure who they are.

So Velvet Revolver win by default. Even though I do think they are a very average band (for the quality of the musicians, anyway).

Oh, I have plenty. Can't pick just one.

"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"

"A Day in the Life"

"Taxman"

"Come Together"

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"

"I Am the Walrus"

"Run For Your Life"

"Back in the U.S.S.R."

"Maxwell's Silver Hammer"

"With a Little Help From My Friends"

"Drive My Car"

"What Goes On"

"I'm Only Sleeping"

"Helter Skelter"

"The Night Before"

"Revolution 9"

"You Never Give Me Your Money"

"In My Life"

"I Want You (She's So Heavy)"

Those are the ones I can think of from the top of my head.

Wow, I can't wait for this.

Although I would've preffered to have 'Plug In Baby' and 'Hysteria' instead of the two tracks from Black Holes & Revelations. Not complaining though.

One of the more recent artwork I like is Biffy Clyro's Puzzle.

One of the best I've seen in a long time. My all-time favourite is still Abbey Road, though.

1. The Beatles - Rubber Soul

2. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

3. The Doors - L.A. Woman

4. Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction

5. Iron Maiden - Powerslave

Sorta cliché list, I know, but those are the albums I enjoy most.

As for right now, the top five I'm currently listening to are:

1. Muse - Origin of Symmetry

2. The Clash - London Calling

3. John Lennon - Imagine

4. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell

5. Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory?

Absolutely amazing band. One of the only bands where I would call some of their albums "mindblowing".

But I've always thought that Floyd should've been remembered for more than The Wall and Dark Side..., as, for example, I would consider Wish You Were Here to be their best album.

Currently, I have 2616 songs on my computer, which amounts to around 16GB.

I wish I could say I paid for all of them but I haven't. Maybe around 15% I've actually paid for. I'm trying to change that, I plan to buy all the albums I've downloaded and slowly build up a huge collection. A huge music library is something I've always wanted, and I can finally afford it now.

Good for Robin, that's what I say. At least now his music is being heard.

I'd love to hear the new NIN song, though. Time for some searching, I think.

What about (current NIN member) Alessandro Cortini's band, Modwheelmood?

I think they're alright, "Crumble" is a good track.

I'll wait until the whole thing is released to form a proper opinion, but from what I've just heard there it's nothing different to what we've already heard countless times.

Like him or not, Michael Jackson is one of the greatest musicians in history.

His more recent work hasn't been too good, but the trio of Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad are three of the best albums ever recorded.

No. Just ... no.

I can't believe they were compared with them, really. You can't "compare" The Beatles to any artist, past or present, simply because I believe they are on a higher level to everyone else.

This is the probably the strangest thing I've ever heard. I was expecting a Ron Jeremy cameo or something.

"Monkey Wrench"?

I'd say that classifies as a 'rocker'.