Unraveling the Fictional Future

This is it. The very first song unraveled on Mellow Dice. This is a song that has been stuck in my head for several weeks now and I decided it would be fun to start off with it. What is it? United States of Eurasia by Muse. Because the piano outro known as Collateral Damage is actually Chopin’s  “Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2” I will focus on the first 3 ½ minutes of the song.
The title of the song presents the idea of the United States expanding its government to Eurasia: the combined continents of Europe and Asia. The lyrics of the song convey a message that is inspired by the book 1984 by George Orwell. In the book, Eurasia was often mentioned as being at war with Big Brother’s country, Oceania. The lyrics depict a citizen who is rebelling against a communistic and unjust government that promotes the war.

The song begins with a piano intro that alternates between chords and singular notes. After a few measures the lead singer, Matt Bellamy, sings a short melody while the violins enter in behind him. The violins and piano lose dominance while Bellamy starts to sing the lyrics to the song. After the first 4 lines of the song the drummer, Dom Howard, comes in with a simple cymbal beat as the piano and the violin crescendo. At the end of the verse the guitar and bass make their first appearance in a sudden and effective bridge that leads to the second verse. The bridge mainly focuses on the piano, violin, and drums and drives a beat into your head. The second verse has a more upbeat feeling to go along with the lyrics sung by Bellamy. The drums and violins have a more dominate place in this verse than they did in the first. At the end of the verse the transition to the bridge has a very dominant guitar piece while Bellamy emphasizes the first part of the title. The transition to the Chopin piece is Bellamy singing the word, “Eurasia” over and over in a declining chord progression while the drums help to emphasize the end of the word, and the violins fill the gaps between the singing. What really makes this song great is the bridge between the verses when the drums and piano drive a melody that represents the feeling of rebellion.

My first reaction: 5 out of 10. I first heard this song back in 2009 when it was released. I remember that it wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was definitely exciting since it was the first song released off of the album The Resistance. Official rating: 7.5 out of 10. As I listened to it more I realized the effectiveness of the pounding drums, the piano that gave it the feel of rebellion, and the violins that seemed to put our thoughts into the song itself. Is it the best song off of the album? It’s close, but I don’t think that’s the position I would put it in.

Since this is the first song unraveled, it now holds the position of the best song on Mellow Dice. Think there’s one better? Have a song you want to know more about?  Maybe you just want to see what we would rate your favorite song. Let us know in the comments what song we should do next. Any genre, band, or song that you want. If we get enough participants, we’ll release a poll later in the week that consists of your suggestions! Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.