Top 5 Songs on Muse's "Black Holes and Revelations"

A quick one that I thought of while on iTunes.

Ryan's Top 5:

1. Invincible - I never thought a song would supplant Knights of Cydonia, but who knew. More than the sound, the spirit of this song reminds me of Queen.

2. Knights of Cydonia - Well, this song still kicks fucking ass, too.

3. Take a Bow - I used to play this all the time in the Bakermobile, traveling too fast, at a volume that surely is damaging to the human ear--thinking about my boss, burning in hell.

4. Starlight - This sounds like it could be a really good 80's song.

5. Supermassive Black Hole - There are few lyrics I enjoy singing more than "I thought I was a fool for no one / Ooh baby I'm a fool for you"


Dan's Top 5:

1. "Knights of Cydonia" - Everyone should know by now that I'm a big fan of prog rock - especially Rush and anything that sounds like them. So seeing Muse open with this in Maryland, with Matt Bellamy clad in all white, was a real treat. What's not to love about a seven-minute-long epic song that totally rocks? The only thing I don't like is that too often the video (which is still awesome) gets more attention than just the music, which I believe is just as strong on its own, and full of different imagery than what is presented in the video.

2. "Invincible" - OK, honestly, this is probably my true #1 the more I think about it, but I can't take away from the awesomeness of Knights, and more importantly, I can't copy Ryan. To see this played live is to be blessed by divinity. For the moment at least, I would have a hard time believing that this is not the greatest guitar solo of all time.

3. "Supermassive Black Hole" - This song is how you do falsetto. Really a sexy-sounding song. Also, it's got a good beat and you can dance to it.

4. "Take a Bow" - How could I go so long before including this? It's an arpeggiated synthesizer intro to the album, which just screams prog. A constantly escalating overture. Well, not really an overture, since you don't hear snippets of it later on in the album. But you get the point.

5. "City of Delusion" - Alright, really "Starlight" belongs on the top 5, and higher than the lowest position, but this song is another one of my favorites off the album and I may not get another opportunity to give it a shout-out. It's majestic prog with a Spanish flavor to it, and it's unlike anything else I've heard. Not to mention a killer bass line.

Tim's Top 5:
Let this speak volumes about the power of the list, I now own this album and am glad I do.

1. "Knights of Cydonia" - I couldn't agree less with Dan's assessment of bands like Rush (presumably Yes and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer as well), but I will agree that this song is awesome. The video doesn't hurt either, because it really does place it right where it feels appropriate -- in the middle of a Sergio Leone movie.

2. "Supermassive Black Hole" - I'm totally pathetic, hearing things on the XM Radio makes me feel vindicated and like them more, simply because there's now a chance I can hear this song instead of some total garbage. And I really dig the vocals on the track.

3. "Invincible" - I like the transition song, and this is a relatively good example, though it doesn't really ever go full-on, which I think is why it ranks third on the list instead of first. Still, it's a great track.

4. "Exo-Politics" - This may only speak about the fact that I've listened to this album once now, but this song stuck out to me as a particularly good one. The transitions really work for me and the doubled-up vocals make it potent.

5. "Take a Bow" - It's the leadoff song to the album and it does the job a leadoff song should always do, which is make you not only want to listen to more of the album but also make you never want to reach track 2, since you're perfectly happy with Track 1.