9. MuseShowbiz
This is another case of, "Where’s my Radiohead gone?" Hearing Muse for the first time was like, "Holy shit, this is like Radiohead, but heavier, and more pop, but also darker as well", and I just absolutely fell for it, hook, line and sinker. I was at the perfect age, was just getting into actually being good at playing stuff, and Matt Bellamy was all over the place in terms of his musical talents, playing the piano and guitar, and stuff that teenagers love. Stuff that sounds flashy and complex and twiddly but is actually not. And the bass player! Fuck me, the basslines on the album! Bass players don’t do that kind of stuff! He’s the sort of main character in an awful lot of those songs. It was an absolute revelation. I was a bass player before I was anything else, and I remember thinking, "Holy shit that sounded ace"! They ripped up the rulebook in so many ways for rock music. It was so enjoyable as well. Every song had a real sense of performance and razzmatazz. Of course it’s called Showbiz and it is a type of show. So I think, more than anything, that’s probably what you would say about my band, particularly live – we’re not subtle, it’s over the top. Whether people like it or not, that’s got into us now and it’s hard to take a step back.
So it’s the theatricality you really like?
Yes, I think so. I was always kind of let down by the lyrics of Muse, and god knows I’ve been let down since that album, but I always wanted to grab their method of commanding attention, but combine that with lyrics that actually mean stuff. I wanted their playfulness and over-the-top playing, but put it with something that means more.
