Niki N. Phaser

          Muse selected their third single from The Resistance — it’s the title track. Resistance will be released in the UK on Monday February 22, with more info on the formats to come soon. After Undisclosed Desires, which was a bit of dividing point for Muse fans because of its mainstream sound, Resistance will patch things up, as it is an instant Muse-like classic, with catchy piano tunes, irregular structure, romantically anthemic choruses and plenty of tomwork on Dominic Howard’s part.

            This video will not feature any army of evil teddy bears, but no out-of-place crump dancer either. It’s just a video of the band playing live, but, if you are familiar with a Muse show, you’ll know that’s more spectacular than any CGI legion of toys. The band posted a preview of the video, with the full thing going to premiere in a few days, on 14th January. Till then, you can feast your eyes on a recent performance of Resistance, in all its greatness. Literally.

RESIST HERE

                Besides the massive touring of the United States, Muse have also been selected to play at one of the most popular shows. I’m talking about Saturday Night Live, of course. The alternative brits will be the musical guest this Saturday, December 19. James Franco will be the host. A match made in heaven.

                There is no point in denying that this appearance has a great symbolic value for the band’s evolution. It’s just a show, yes, two songs probably, but it’s also a great exposure to mainstream America. This is a little landmark in Muse’s campaign for conquering the States and the world, for that matter.

                  And if America wants more of Matt Bellamy and his henchmen, there are plenty of chances in the upcoming tour of North America and Canada, stretching from February to April.

DATES HERE

As I wrote in my review of Muse’s latest album, The Resistance, Undisclosed Desires is definitely single material and it would have been pathologically proggy of them not to use it as such. It’s a one of a kind track on this album, being the most mainstream on it, but we woun’t hold that against the boys, considering that they have ‘earned’ the right to be a bit poppy, once in a while. In fact, if you think about their catalogue, a track like this must be what they consider ‘experimental’. The total absence of a guitar and/or piano riff shows that they are more than a rock band, whether it is alternative, progressive, symphony or whatever else kind of rock there is.

It will be released on November 16 and it will be joined by two remixes, one by tour buddies The Big Pink and another (a really cool club cut) by The Thin White Duke (aka Stuart Price).  The video is, indeed, a bit strange and not necessarily in the good sense of the word. We have to admit, though, that it is quite a challenge to imagine a visual translation for this song. Still, the female dancer is really out of place there and she really seems to be moving to another beat. Maybe it’s a metaphor about how the song is out of place on The Resistance… 

See it on the MUSE’s MySpace