Darkshines (Bass Cover) | MUSE

Today's bass excursion honors the world release of Muse's groundbreaking second album Origin of Symmetry on this day in 2001, following the UK release by just under a month. The album's planned US release was in August of the same year, but it fell through when Muse's record label asked the band to re-record some of the songs to be "more radio-friendly", i.e. less gloriously dark and weird. The band rightfully refused, and proceeded to leave the label. Consequently, Origin of Symmetry would not be released in the US until 2005, after Muse's next album, Absolution, became popular.

Happily for yours truly, I was at that time too young to be aware of any of it; I came to Muse's discography long after it was all easily available, and was therefore able to binge this album through the angstiest days of my teen years (and, let's be honest, it is still my go-to album for catharsis during all of life's most annoying moments). Although I don't fall into the camp of Musers who insist that ORIGIN OF SYMMETRY WAS BEST MUSE AND EVERYTHING SINCE HAS SUCKED, I do think that it was the first in a run of several truly great albums that possibly can't be topped. It's a gleefully extravagant yet dark and shamelessly experimental record, and the pairing of dark themes of anger/frustration/suffocation and what is, at times, almost comically over-the-top dramatic and expressive music is nicely summarized in this contradictorily titled tune, "Darkshines" – the complicated, ever-moving bassline of which was certainly "bringin' me down, 'cause it's good". The jury is still out as to whether playing the chorus repeatedly has given me a blister on my 3rd finger, but my hope is that it was just a little bit worth it. 😅

#muse #basscover