I think this is shaping up to be one of the great debates of our time. In the past it was Rebublican of Democrat, Coke or Pepsi, Pro Life or Pro Choice. But now it seems everyone I talk to who is into current rock music has a really strong opinion on whether Radiohead or Muse is the better band.
Personally, although I can see some similarities (heavy guitars and melancholy vocals) I don’t thinks they are that close. So I don’t know why people often call Muse a Radiohead clone. I think both bands are among the best this decade has to offer, but both are clearly influenced (or even derivative) from earlier bands. Radiohead seems to be heavily Beatlesque, while Muse is strongly influenced by Queen (and on the latest album I hear references to Depeche Mode, Kinks, and Cure).
Me, I prefer Muse because I like their epic pieces and dramatic mood changes. Basically I see them as a 2000’s progressive band. Radiohead is more of a modern-day classic rock group (with a few prog tendencies). And because I really love 70s prog (especially YES), I give the nod to Muse.
Which do you prefer?
(although I called this a great debate, I chose to post it to Cafe Society. Or course as a poll it could be IMHO too. Mod’s choice!)
I love both bands, but I don’t see how this can even be a contest. It’s Radiohead, all the way. They are like unto gods! “The Bends”, “OK Computer” and “Kid A” are the stuff of legend, three near-perfect albums that are constantly winding up near the top of all sorts of “Best Albums” lists.
Seems like asking “The Beatles or Oasis”. I’m a huge Oasis fan, and probably play their records more often, but there’s no way I’d ever rank them ahead of The Beatles.
Matthew Bellamy’s vocal stylings are a [strikethru]direct rip-off[/strikethru] homage to Thom Yorke. Muse’s songs are less complex and layered. IMHO Radiohead is verging on genius, while Muse is a fairly talented indie band.
No contest. Muse is cool and all but Radiohead is Radiohead.
Absolution would be a top 100 album for me while The Bends, OK Computer and Kid A would all be top 10. Even Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief would be ranked ahead of it.
As has already been mentioned, there is no real comparison to Radiohead. They’re a 4-dimensional rock band in a 3-dimensional world. While I like Muse, I agree that they’re not a Radiohead clone. The bands that I think are trying to be like Radiohead are Coldplay, Snow Patrol and Travis. They’re all good bands, but I’d call them Radiohead-lite.
I’ll stay out of this because I don’t know Muse’s work, but as a big Radiohead fan I have to say Thom Yorke owes a debt to Jeff Buckley the same way.
And now to go crawl back into a corner and wait for the next album.
I really liked Radiohead back before Amnesiac came out, and haven’t really warmed up to their newer stuff. OK Computer was good, but sometimes they go off into [del]weirdland[/del] experimental stuff that doesn’t appeal to me. So far, though, I haven’t heard a lot from Muse, other than that one song with the weirdo space cowboys thing going on in the music video and the “no one’s going to take me alive” chorus. It’s fun to rock out to, as I am a HUGE fan of Queen and things that successfully aspire to pay homage to Queen, but I don’t see a distinct connection between Muse and Radiohead.
I dislike both bands, but even I have to acknowledge that Radiohead are head and shoulders above Muse, who have only ever been a completely contrived, intentional and cynical Radiohead imitation.
Again, I’m not a Radiohead fan - probably because I’m a bit more discerning and have far broader listening habits than most music fans - but I do acknowledge that they’ve made a few great records and written a few timeless songs.
I can’t even begin to imagine how Muse can be put in the same metaphorical room as Radiohead. I mean, much as I appreciate subjectivity and everything, even Muse’s videos are all functionally identical, as far as I can see. Quiet bit, quiet bit, SCREAMY BIT WITH CAMERA SHAKE, quiet bit, etc. Don’t get me wrong; they’re all right, as far as they go - well ahead of your Snow Patrols and suchlike - but it’s all far too much oriented around Bellamy’s-voice-as-novelty-item. Hell, one of the complaints frequently levelled at Radiohead (most often by people who wish they’d just keep releasing versions of The Bends) is that they increasingly and perversely eschew resorting to Thom Yorke’s voice as a focus. And maybe they do go too far in that direction, but I’d much rather a band err on the side of excessive experimentation than on the side of conservatism.
Well, depite the consensus, I still like Muse better than Radiohead. Radiohead’s compositional and lyrical skills are beyond question, but c’mon: City of Delusion, Butterflies and Hurricanes, Darkshine! When has Radiohead ever produced anything like those?
That said, I only have two of Radiohead’s albums (OK Comp and their greatest hits), so maybe I need to do a bit more studying…
