Star Analysis- Introducing Muse

Muse is a small English rock band from Teignmouth, Devon which formed in 1994.  The band consists of Matthew Bellamy (lead vocals, guitar and piano), Christopher Wolstenholme (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Dominic Howard (Drums, percussion, synthesisers).
Muse has released several studio albums:

·         Showbiz (1999)

·         Origin of Symmetry (2001)

·         Absolution (2003)

·         Black holes and Revelations (2006)

·         The Resistance (2009)

·         The 2^nd Law (2012)

·         Drones (2015)

And four live albums. Muse has sold over 17 million albums worldwide.
Their album ‘Black Holes and Revelations’ won the band a Mercury Prize and was named the third best album of 2006. Muse has won several other awards such as five MTV Europe Music awards, six Q Awards, eight NME Awards, two Brit Awards, won “Best British Live Act” twice, an MTV Video Music Award and were nominated for five Grammy Awards.

Muse’s Video for their song ‘Uprising’ won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Visual Effects.
‘Uprising’ is considered a good music video as it was used to symbolise implication of the lyrics. The first thing the music video focuses on is the burning fuse, which could imply the idea of time running out and how the population needs to stand up to the government while we are still aware of their control, as stated in the lyrics ‘they’ll try to push the drugs that keep us all dumbed down’, which is visually represented by a small toy digger pushing drugs, which shows the idea that the government is controlling it’s people, ‘and hope that we will never see the truth around’.
The use of a miniature setting gives the impression of the populace being small and insignificant (at least in the eyes of the corrupt government). They also depict those who represent the government as teddy bears, as they are shown on the television- a common conspiracy theory is that the media is used by the government to control people, which is represented in this video. The singer, Matt Bellamy, then uses the guitar to smash the screens to present the idea of an uprising and to rebel against the control- ‘so rise up and take the power back’.

Many shots are also used of the band with top lighting creating dramatic contrast with sparks flying in the background, this makes them seem powerful to the audience, making the audience feel like they are on the winning side, as the singer promises in his lyrics- ‘we will be victorious’.
 The teddy bears in this sequence play an important role. They symbolise the idea of something which is expected to be harmless and cute, however in this music video they are presented as evil as they destroy the buildings on the set. This could be insinuating the idea that the world is being destroyed by people that we believe to be harmless or who we think we can trust, in this case, it is suggested that the teddy bears represent the Government.
Muse attracts an audience that likes (alternative) rock and that possibly agree with conspiracy theories or just like the meaning behind the lyrics. This is enforced by the band’s music videos, which follow the typical conventions of their genre, for example, an interesting setting, close ups of members if the band and their instruments and group shots of the entire band, which editing that cuts along to the beat. They also have very interesting videos that are entertaining to watch and often have a small narrative or themes that relate to the lyrics, like in ‘Uprising’.