Speculation on future gigs/tours

[hyper_chondriac_muser]

Originally Posted by Sippe

1. Muse are a mainstream band no matter what kind of music they make. I don't think you know what mainstream means.

2. Exogenesis isn't a symphony. It's three Muse songs with an orchestral backing, no more symphony than Blackout, Hoodoo or Butterflies & Hurricanes.

3. Being mainstream has nothing to do with doing pop, something that Muse does btw. Metallica and Iron Maiden are two of the biggest mainstream bands there is.

People need to get their head out of their ass and realise that mainstream does NOT equal bad. Music doesn't become any worse because it's popular. Fucking hipsters.

*applauds* someone speaks sense!

I think some people have a hard time understanding what mainstream actually means. It's just the prevailing/dominant course or thought in a culture/society. In musical terms, it's no different - songs that are accepted and 'popular' are ones that are embraced by mass audiences. That applies to all well-known music genres out there; every song that makes it into the charts; anything played on the radio. It's all mainstream, because it's all accessible and conforms to patterns that are deemed commonplace. It's understood and, therefore, welcomed/liked.

Any band signed with a record label and has agents, advertising, PR-backing etc clearly produces songs that the company feels would sell to a mainstream market, otherwise it's unlikely they'd acquire those things.

Muse ticks all of these boxes and more; they're in no way 'underground' or 'unconventional'. If they were, they certainly wouldn't have sold out the likes of Wembley Stadium four times over! Mainstream doesn't mean songs that'll only appeal to teenage Twilighters; it means being accessible - both musically and commercially. Even Rage Against The Machine is fucking mainstream!

Anyways, I'm sure this has been argued over and over, it's just funny that some people STILL think of Muse as being somehow avant-garde, when they have about the same mainstream status as Britney Spears, lol.

[LyraSilvertongue]

^Don't you think there are degrees of 'mainstream' though, rather than it being an all-or-nothing absolute?
I mean, I'd says Britney or Beyonce were firmly planted right in the middle of the mainstream, whereas bands like Muse are more on the fringes of it, what with them not being household names among the general public.
I still get blank looks when I mention Muse to someone who's not that knowledgeable about music. The same can't be said if I mention, say, Coldplay.

[hyper_chondriac_muser]

Originally Posted by Matt Bellamy's Muse

^Don't you think there are degrees of 'mainstream' though, rather than it being an all-or-nothing absolute?
I mean, I'd says Britney or Beyonce were firmly planted right in the middle of the mainstream, whereas bands like Muse are more on the fringes of it, what with them not being household names among the general public.
I still get blank looks when I mention Muse to someone who's not that knowledgeable about music. The same can't be said if I mention, say, Coldplay.

True, there are probably degrees, but I still think there's a clear indication of whether a band/artist is mainstream or not and I have to disagree on where Muse stands. The fact that Muse songs are constantly played on the radio; they've sold-out countless huge arenas/stadiums/venues; broken records with multi-million record sales worldwide; are developing a bigger following in the States (yes, thanks in part to the Twilight thing); win shitloads of awards and constantly make music-mag headlines, to me, indicates that they're no longer on the fringes of what's deemed 'mainstream'. It's still about how accessible you are, imo, and Muse seems to have made a point of becoming more so with each year.

I personally think they stopped being an 'on-the-fringes' band, in the UK at least, when they headlined Glastonbury in 2004. They made their mark at a renowned festival and started to turn heads.

When BH&R came out, they started to Really boost their status and fanbase and pretty much sealed the deal - there was so much more investment in advertising their albums and singles and they were more in the spotlight than they had been before.

This board alone proved that - before 2006, there didn't seem to be waves of people joining the boards and wanting to know more about Muse, but since, the join rate has practically skyrocketed! I know that doesn't define 'mainstream', but it's an indication of how their popularity has increased.

I see what you're saying about not being a household name, but I think that's slowly changing. Not completely, and I doubt they'll ever be as big or famous as the likes of Queen or Metallica, but with each huge venue they sell-out and each big pop-rock hit they release, they're becoming more and more known.

Where Muse was previously in the background, I think they've made a conscious effort, definitely in the US with their non-stop touring, to be more 'in your face'... if that all makes sense, lol.

[Meep]

You don't have to be recognisable to housewives to be considered full on mainstream. (Although Twilight is a housewives favourite).

Muse are one of the biggest, most mainstream bands in the UK. No point denying that when they are permanent festival headliners, wembley stadium sell out acts.

[LyraSilvertongue]

Originally Posted by hyper_chondriac_muser

True, there are probably degrees, but I still think there's a clear indication of whether a band/artist is mainstream or not and I have to disagree on where Muse stands. The fact that Muse songs are constantly played on the radio; they've sold-out countless huge arenas/stadiums/venues; broken records with multi-million record sales worldwide; are developing a bigger following in the States (yes, thanks in part to the Twilight thing); win shitloads of awards and constantly make music-mag headlines, to me, indicates that they're no longer on the fringes of what's deemed 'mainstream'. It's still about how accessible you are, imo, and Muse seems to have made a point of becoming more so with each year.

I personally think they stopped being an 'on-the-fringes' band, in the UK at least, when they headlined Glastonbury in 2004. They made their mark at a renowned festival and started to turn heads.

When BH&R came out, they started to Really boost their status and fanbase and pretty much sealed the deal - there was so much more investment in advertising their albums and singles and they were more in the spotlight than they had been before.

This board alone proved that - before 2006, there didn't seem to be waves of people joining the boards and wanting to know more about Muse, but since, the join rate has practically skyrocketed! I know that doesn't define 'mainstream', but it's an indication of how their popularity has increased.

I see what you're saying about not being a household name, but I think that's slowly changing. Not completely, and I doubt they'll ever be as big or famous as the likes of Queen or Metallica, but with each huge venue they sell-out and each big pop-rock hit they release, they're becoming more and more known.

Where Muse was previously in the background, I think they've made a conscious effort, definitely in the US with their non-stop touring, to be more 'in your face'... if that all makes sense, lol.

Yeah, I see what you're saying. When I said more on the fringes, I didn't mean in a hipster underground way, I meant more that they weren't anywhere near the same mainstreamness (is that even a word?) as the likes of Beyonce and other artists that dominate the charts.
Obviously they're huge and getting huger each year but people still don't know who they are and they're not played that much on mainstream radio, don't make that much of an impression on the mainstream charts.
They're kind of relegated to the specialist radio stations/charts, the specialist categories at mainstream awards shows, specialist magazines aimed at guitarists etc

[hypermusic]

NME magazines aren't that specialist

[hyper_chondriac_muser]

Originally Posted by Matt Bellamy's Muse

Yeah, I see what you're saying. When I said more on the fringes, I didn't mean in a hipster underground way, I meant more that they weren't anywhere near the same mainstreamness (is that even a word?) as the likes of Beyonce and other artists that dominate the charts.
Obviously they're huge and getting huger each year but people still don't know who they are and they're not played that much on mainstream radio, don't make that much of an impression on the mainstream charts.
They're kind of relegated to the specialist radio stations/charts, the specialist categories at mainstream awards shows, specialist magazines aimed at guitarists etc

Yeah, I can understand that... but, again, to an extent . I def agree that they're not at 'Beyonce' status and don't dominate the charts or airwaves nearly as much as the most mainstream artists out there. But I still feel they've made a stronger indent in the 'mainstream' charts and awareness in general.

When you say 'specialist', I think of it as mainstream rock. Their songs are, largely, relegated to mainstream rock magazines, radio stations, etc. But the likes of Xfm, Kerrang, NME etc etc are all the top mainstream players in rock music coverage - I wouldn't class those as specialist, especially when Xfm esecially tends to play the most well-know pop-rock. But Muse does veer into other/bigger circuits, too - e.g. Radio 1, MTV award/TV stations, various mags like Q and even Smash Hits when it was around!

Also, do remember that all of their BH&R singles made Top 20 status. And all The Resistance singles, although they definitely haven't done nearly as well, still appeared in the Top 50. Personally, I think that's more laziness in the way they marketed their singles, rather than their music not being good enough to brush the Top 20 of the charts. Almost all of their albums have reached Number 1.

I guess I'm just elaborating on what you've said - they're not the cream of the mainstream crop, but nor are they lurking on the outskirts. I see them as working their way up the ladder until they're much more in the public consciousness.

[LyraSilvertongue]

^ I do see stations such as XFM as being specialist though, as they only play a narrow range of music genres. You're not likely to hear them playing Justin Bieber

[Dockertae]

So whats everyone thinking for the setlists for the U2 support slots? I would think they'll be much the same as last time except maybe more Resistance and less Unnatural Selection.

[Dee3Dee]

Originally Posted by Dockertae

So whats everyone thinking for the setlists for the U2 support slots? I would think they'll be much the same as last time except maybe more Resistance and less Unnatural Selection.

They might consider playing some rare-ish songs since South America isn't Europe or the U.S.

[musse]

Originally Posted by Dockertae

So whats everyone thinking for the setlists for the U2 support slots? I would think they'll be much the same as last time except maybe more Resistance and less Unnatural Selection.

I heard that they are going to be more than a "supporting" act, and they'll have at least one hour to play their music.. gosh I wish U2 hadn't chosen Snow Patrol to support them in Mexico

[leetroot]

Originally Posted by hyper_chondriac_muser

I want them to come back to the UK and play a small-ish show. SOON! I'm getting Muse-live withdrawal again just by listening to RAH and Teignmouth gigs
I don't recall a single year when they've not played at least ONE UK show - they've def done it within the past five years, so they MUST come back this year. I dun care where, I don't even care if the setlist is mediocre, I just want to see a Muse show and bloody soon .

as far as i recall there were no UK gigs in 2005 ? i may be wrong - they could have played somewhere inaccessible to me at the time - i just know it mucked up my 'seeing them every year' checklist

i feel the same as you. F**K the setlist. gig withdrawal is kicking in.

[Muse_Maniac]

Just found out Muse are strongly rumoured for Reading this year

[Pip]

Originally Posted by Muse_Maniac

Just found out Muse are strongly rumoured for Reading this year

Ticket already bought

[DukeNatty]

Originally Posted by Pip

Ticket already bought

Wish I could join you but living up north leaves me relegated to Leeds with the mates. If Reading get 'an Oxegen' to our 'T' then I think I might cry .

Edit: If they play obviously.