It was just announced that Muse will be releasing their 8th studio album, Simulation Theory, on November 9th. The band has sporadically released four the the coming album's tracks to this point, along with sci-fi-esque music videos: "Dig Down," "Thought Contagion," "Something Human," and "The Dark Side." As with every Muse album, I'm excited, but like with every Muse album, it seems all I hear from self-described fans of the band is negativity.
If I'm a homer with anything, it's Muse's music. There are some songs I definitely don't like as much as others, but I can't remember a single Muse song I heard, where I immediately thought, "Wow, that's crap!" I think one reason for this is I go into every Muse album with an open mind. The one constant with Muse is change. Some people hate that, including old-school Muse fans, but I love it. I like not knowing what to expect sonically with a new album, yet knowing I'll probably enjoy it. Hell, love a song or think it's rather average, I appreciate the band experimenting, trying something new.
As a writer, I have to say it'd get incredibly boring to write the same thing over and over again and I'd have to assume the same would go for my readers. I imagine the thought process isn't vastly different to bands like Muse. If musicians truly love music, making and performing music, of what benefit would it be to continually recycle the same sounds? Where's the challenge? What's the reward? Where's the growth and passion? In my opinion, bands like Muse, who continually experiment with different sounds, but place their own signature spin on them, are doing it, not only as an ode to their musicianship, but also as an ode to their fans.
Due to all of that, I'll never understand these self-described die-hard old-school Muse fans. No, they don't have to like the band's new stuff, but they should at least respect the band for being unafraid of expanding their horizons, providing something new for their fans, and not just recycling the same sounds for a paycheck.
If I'm a homer with anything, it's Muse's music. There are some songs I definitely don't like as much as others, but I can't remember a single Muse song I heard, where I immediately thought, "Wow, that's crap!" I think one reason for this is I go into every Muse album with an open mind. The one constant with Muse is change. Some people hate that, including old-school Muse fans, but I love it. I like not knowing what to expect sonically with a new album, yet knowing I'll probably enjoy it. Hell, love a song or think it's rather average, I appreciate the band experimenting, trying something new.
As a writer, I have to say it'd get incredibly boring to write the same thing over and over again and I'd have to assume the same would go for my readers. I imagine the thought process isn't vastly different to bands like Muse. If musicians truly love music, making and performing music, of what benefit would it be to continually recycle the same sounds? Where's the challenge? What's the reward? Where's the growth and passion? In my opinion, bands like Muse, who continually experiment with different sounds, but place their own signature spin on them, are doing it, not only as an ode to their musicianship, but also as an ode to their fans.
Due to all of that, I'll never understand these self-described die-hard old-school Muse fans. No, they don't have to like the band's new stuff, but they should at least respect the band for being unafraid of expanding their horizons, providing something new for their fans, and not just recycling the same sounds for a paycheck.
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