Since I listen to the Alt Nation station on Sirius satellite radio, it could not escape my notice that “Resistance” by the British group Muse is a really hot song right now.
Which is astounding to me, because it’s the most ridiculous song ever. And I don’t think this is my inner-old person bucking against new-sounding noises that are so strikingly unlike the music to which my grizzled hairy ears are accustomed.
If you’ve never heard the song, imagine if Freddie Mercury & Queen teamed up with the Killers and they wrote a Spinal Tap-style definitive arena rock anthem while high on marijuana. The lyrics just kill me:
Is our secret safe tonight
And are we out of sight
Or will our world come tumbling down?
Will they find our hiding place
Is this our last embrace
Or will the walls start caving in?
Love is our resistance
They’ll keep us apart and they won’t to stop breaking us down
Hold me
Our lips must always be sealed
I mean, that is so much gooey industrial grade cheese that I can’t help but to wince. The portent piano intro and sweeping sound effects coupled with the defiant guitar arpeggios and impassioned vocals do truly beg the question: what or whom is this unknown “they” that warrants such ardent resistance? And is it possible that everyone who relates to this song enough to jump up and down with youthful “They’ve got the guns, but we got the numbers” enthusiasm has already succumbed?
Kids today. In my day, we didn’t shirk from naming our oppressors, and we certainly didn’t resist them with (sneer) love.
