On The Resistance, their fifth studio album, Muse have created a difficult collection of songs which may take casual listeners time to digest.

Casting off the Oasis and Radiohead comparisons that have plagued them for most of their career, the band’s dense follow up to 2006’s Black Holes and Revelations hangs off intense ideas of corruption, the end of the world and difficult love.
Releasing an album in 2009 is risky business; in a singles-dominated music scene, releasing an album with a theme threading through 11 songs is even more risky.
But Muse do just that and more with The Resistance, an album that changes musical style with each track, skimming through 70’s glam rock, 80’s hair metal, 90’s Britpop and cumulating the experiment with a three part symphony in just under an hour.
United States of Eurasia (Collateral Damage)
Song structures and musical styles fluctuate to the extreme on The Resistance from the Queen influenced “United States of Eurasia (Collateral Damage)”, a track built around an imaginary opera concerning the emergence of a new world dominance, to the pure pop leanings of “Undisclosed Desires” a song dealing with secrets shared between lovers.
The album opens with the full blown rock chant “Uprising” a glam rock mantra influenced by 80’s synths and riots with a throwback to Queen’s “We Are The Champions”. The rebellious lyrics “They will not force us / They will stop degrading us / They cannot control us / We will be victorious” directed towards world leaders, sound off a general mistrust in bankers, global corporations and politicians.
Fully embracing their pop leanings, “Undisclosed Desires” explodes with layers of synths and a wobbling baseline to full effect. This could be Muse’s most straight forward song ever. Creating the sound the Killers hoped to master on 2008’s Day & Age, which blends rock, electronics and pop, it doesn’t summarise the album’s sound and what it attempts to achieve, but deserves to become Muse’s biggest single to date.

Uprising Resistance
From the straightforward rock/ pop of the opening tracks, the album skews towards varied musical styles as the album plays out. After a brief stint in rock/ pop land, Muse switch gears once more on the epic “Guiding Light”.
Muse swing back to 90’s lo-fi garage rock on “Unnatural Selection”, as if further proof of this album’s toughness were needed. Yet, at the same time, despite their varied sound and structure, all the songs stitch together in a coherent stream, proving the simple genius of this band.
Tucked away at the back of the album, Muse serve up another stand-out track. “I Belong to You”, also featured on the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack New Moon, before going into the distant past with their three-part symphony complete with overture.
Muse – The Resistance
Divided and dissected, The Resistance makes no sense. This isn’t a singles album but rather one made in the traditional sense with a beginning, middle and end and deserves to be listened to in that order.
If aliens came to earth and asked someone to hand them an album of evolving musical styles since the beginning of recorded music, Muse’s The Resistance would serve as a fine place to start. Bridging symphonies, 70’s Rock Opera, 90’s Brit Pop and electro-charged rock/ pop, Muse has most bases covered.
The Resistance will not please everyone, but those brave enough to embrace this album have lots to keep them happy on the trip.

fast cash

Bob Marley’s songs, which embody his message of peace, unity and redemption are still relevant today.

During his short life Bob Marley became known as reggae music’s ambassador to the world. He was also the first music artist of the third world to reach an international audience. Bob Marley’s message of peace, unity and redemption reflected the struggles he experienced growing up in a politically divided and violent ridden Jamaica. Even though it is nearly 30 years since his death, the songs he had written, which transcend racial and cultural barriers are still relevant today.
Reggae Music Brought Attention to the The Caribbean Islands
It was because of artists like Bob Marley that attention was brought to the poverty and desperation in the countries of the Caribbean. After the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010 the world was in shock. Many today feel they can relate to these countries or at least have some understanding about them.
Discrimination in America
Coming to play in the United States, Marley was interested in reaching out to African-American audiences. A group he identified with, because of their history, but that somehow had eluded him during his career. He wrote the song “Buffalo Soldier” about Black U.S. cavalry regiments known by this name, which he used as a symbol for Black resistance.
The present day shooting of 22 year-old Oscar Grant in Oakland, California on New Year’s Day 2009 is evidence that the injustices that Marley spoke out against still exist. For he was a voice against oppression, particularly for those downtrodden, because of racial injustice. His songs One Love and No More Trouble embody this message.
“I’d like to see mankind live together. Black, White, Chinese, anyone. That’s all.” Time Will Tell (documentary), 1991, Island Records
Music for Peace in Jamaica
The political tensions in Jamaica got so high that it led to the near assassination of Bob Marley (leaving two bullets in his arm that could not be removed) [VH1 Behind The Music: Legend, VH1 Television]. Despite this he played the Smile Jamaica Concert that took place two days later. Marley left the country almost immediately afterwards.
Years later Bob returned to Jamaica to perform at the One Love Peace Concert. During his performance Marley called Michael Manly, head of the far left People’s National Party and Edward Seaga, head of the Jamaican Labour Party on stage. The two leaders of the opposing parties had caused much of the political strife in a war torn Jamaica. In a gesture of peace Marley got the two men to shake hands. This greatly calmed the civil war in Jamaica that is not terribly different from the wars taking place in Iraq and Afghanistan today.
“This is work. This peace work. It doesn’t stop. It never stop. That mean we the youth get our work to do.” Time Will Tell (documentary), 1991, Island Records
Bob Marley and His Message Delivered Through Reggae Music
Whether the message might be delivered by speech or through music that outlasts the human life and breaks down barriers, it is apparent that there continues to be a need for a presence like the one Bob Marley embodied.
War, racism and oppression are still so present in our world to this very day that no one should be able to lean back and enjoy the luxury of not being (directly) affected. The message in his music is directed at everybody. For once we should listen.
“The people who are trying to make this world worse aren’t taking a day off. How can I?” Time Will Tell (documentary), 1991, Island Records

Any given moment, countless people are listening to electronic music. It’s hard to believe that a mere ten years ago techno was considered an underground movement.

In the early eighties a trio of pioneers in Detroit began merging the sounds of synthpop and Italo-disco with funk. Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson were high school friends who went to dance parties where the music ranged from Kraftwerk to Parliament. They listened to an influential radio DJ, The Electrifying Mojo, who played European imports alongside Prince and the B-52’s. In 1981 Atkins and Richard Davies, aka 3070, started releasing records as Cybotron. Techno was born.

Around the same time, the infant hip-hop community picked up elements of Kraftwerk’s music, thanks to DJs like Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash, and created electro. Electro relied heavily on synthesized beats and computery vocoder voices. In 1982, Afrika Bambaataa took the melody from Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europe Express,” combined it with the distinctive beat from Kraftwerk’s “Numbers,” and composed the anthem “Planet Rock.” Electro spawned the idea of the funky computer. MCs rapped over its beats, and breakdancers formed a new culture in the cities where electro reigned.

In Chicago and New York, house music was taking a similar path. Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy, and other DJs were spinning synthesizer-driven dance music and creating their own edits and mixes. Before long, Chicago radio caught on with the Hot Mix 5 on WBMX, and locals began creating their own tracks to play.

Techno, electro, and house were made possible by new, inexpensive technology. The Roland TR-808, a programmable drum machine released in late 1980, formed the distinctive sound for the entire electro genre and was used in countless early techno and house tracks. 1981’s Roland TB-303 mini-keyboard was used to create squelchy basslines once people discovered the weird sounds that emerged from a little knob twiddling. Samplers and sequencers also became commonplace.

In the late eighties and early nineties, something odd happened. Techno and house, which had failed to gain mainstream success in the United States, became a huge phenomenon in Europe—especially in Great Britain. In fact, the term techno was popularized by Virgin Records’ seminal UK compilation Techno! The New Dance Sound Of Detroit.

Around 1990 raves began to appear near London. Most organizers of these large, illegal parties made their money dodging British licensing laws. Sometimes the location was a secret until the night of the event, and elaborate phone trees and rendezvous points were employed. Hundreds of ravers would descend simultaneously, making the parties more difficult to break up.

For a brief time in the U.K., rave music went pop. In 1996, The Prodigy hit Number 1 on the pop charts with two different singles, and for a while the record industry tried to push electronic music. At the same time, Warp Records built a roster of musicians who preferred to explore more experimental fare. Autechre (Sean Booth and Rob Brown), Aphex Twin (Richard D. James), and Squarepusher (Tom Jenkinson), created alien atmospheres which pushed the boundaries of musical conventions. They were partially inspired by a second wave of Detroit artists, including Carl Craig, Jeff Mills, and Underground Resistance.

Where is electronic music headed? It’s difficult to say. The Internet transformed the music industry just as genres began to get increasingly specialized. Techno is a soundtrack for the wired world. Some of its original creators are approaching their forties, but many of its current listeners are in their twenties and early thirties—people who grew up with computers. Techno reminds us that humans control the machines, and electronics can be used to express funk and soul.

Bibliography

An Electronic Dance Music Timeline