10 Songs Inspired By Real Events
7. Uprising - Muse
Muse have always been a band who never shied away from more rebellious themes in their lyrics. However, for as much as the band likes to talk about resistance in their lyrics, they also tend to get a lot of flak for just rebelling for the sake of rebelling. Once the Resistance came out though, the band had a much clearer target on their mind.
On the surface, "Uprising" is your typical solid Muse outing, with a driving bass line cementing the song's groove as Matt Bellamy's voice soars across the instrumental. At the same time, Bellamy has expressed that his anger was a little closer to home this time around. Instead of their usual space rock storylines, this song was actually inspired by the G20 riots in London in 2009, which railed against the dishonesty of global corporations around the world.
Instead of making the entire song sound massive, the main bass groove makes you feel like you're on the ground floor of a riot about to erupt, as you give a thousand-mile stare to the authorities who stand in your way. Revolt has always been integral to Muse's sound, but this is the moment when their ethereal soundscapes ended up mirroring reality.