Music / The Resistance (Album)

"And we know that there's no one we can trust
Our ancient heroes, they are turning to dust"

They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious
(So come on)

— "Uprising"

The Resistance is the fifth studio album by the English Alternative Rock band Muse, released on 14 September 2009. Notable songs include "Uprising" (the band's lone Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100), "Resistance" and "Undisclosed Desires".

The album heavily expands on the classical elements from the band's previous albums while retaining the electronic influences from Black Holes and Revelations. It also ends with a three-part Rock Opera, titled "Exogenesis: Symphony", which tackles a post-apocalyptic story. The band's main inspiration during the making of the album was reportedly Queen.

Tracklist:

1. "Uprising" (5:03)
2. "Resistance" (5:46)
3. "Undisclosed Desires" (3:56)
4. "United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)" (5:47)
5. "Guiding Light" (4:13)
6. "Unnatural Selection" (6:54)
7. "MK Ultra" (4:06)
8. "I Belong to You (+Mon Cœur S'ouvre a ta Voix)" (5:38)
9. "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)" (4:18)
10. "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination)" (3:56)
11. "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)" (4:37)

A universe is trapped inside a trope:

• An Aesop: The three-part "Exogenesis: Symphony", which speaks of mankind abandoning a post-apocalyptic, dystopian Earth in order to re-populate and spread their kind across other planets in the universe in order to keep their species alive. Good idea at first, one can think, and that's how it's believed throughout the first two parts. Too bad that by the third part, mankind realizes that the reason they left Earth and they're all together in this mess is that they botched it in the first place, so chances are it'll all become a cycle unless mankind changes its disruptive ways.
  • There's a lot of hope in the third part, which is titled 'Redemption'. A major part of redemption is recognizing that yes you've done the wrong thing, but also that you can still change before it's too late. There can't be redemption without that commitment to do better.
• Album Title Drop: The Resistance appears in the title and lyrics of "Resistance".
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The teddy bears in the "Uprising" music video and single cover art.
• Audience Participation Song: "Uprising": "They will not force us..." It also has a clap to go with it.
• Band Name Drop: "You are my muse", in I Belong to You [+Mon Coeur S'Ouvre à Ta Voix]. Easily missed; the entirety of "Mon Coeur S'ouvre à Ta Voix" occurs between "Mu" and "se", which are blended into the vocalization.
  • "You are my Meeeeeeeeeew..."
• Bears Are Bad News: Teddy bear uprising FTW.
• Concept Album: The Resistance has many songs directly inspired by Nineteen Eighty-Four. It's mainly a discussion of rebellion and the pressing need for it in the modern context.
• Epic Rocking: The three-part "Exogenesis: Symphony", which forms a 13-minute long song when all three parts are played one after the other.
• Fading into the Next Song: A subtle one: if you listen closely to the end of "Uprising," the beginning of "Resistance" can be heard - it's faint but present. Played more straight with "United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)" to "Guiding Light", with the songs linked by a missile sound effect.
• Government Conspiracy: The song "MK Ultra" was inspired by the secret CIA behavioral engineering project that, since its public revelation in 1975, has become a favourite target of conspiracy theorists.
• Government Drug Enforcement: "Uprising":
  They'll try to push drugs that keep us all dumbed down
  And hope that we will never see the truth around.
• Gratuitous French: Matt does a bit in "I Belong to You [+Mon Coeur S'Ouvre à Ta Voix]", which is poorly done.
• Homeworld Evacuation: A key plot point in the "Exogenesis: Symphony".
• Incredibly Long Note: The band's cover of "Prague" by Mega City Four, which appears as a B-Side on the "Resistance" single.
• Indecipherable Lyrics: "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)".
• In the Style of:
  • The band channels them often, but "United States of Eurasia" makes the Queen influence very prominent.
  • "I Belong to You (+Mon cœur s'ouvre a ta voix)" features a french bit that covers Maria Callas' "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix"
• La Résistance: In case you couldn't tell by this point...
• Musical Nod:
  • Fryderyk Chopin's "Nocturne in E-flat minor" in "Collateral Damage" (the outro of "United States of Eurasia").
  • The middle section of "I Belong to You [+Mon Coeur S'Ouvre à Ta Voix]" is a direct reference to the Camille Saint-Saëns opera Samson and Delilah.
• Non-Appearing Title: "Uprising", "MK Ultra", and parts two and three of "Exogenesis: Symphony".
• One-Word Title: "Uprising" and "Resistance".
• Out-of-Genre Experience: Subverted with "Undisclosed Desires", as it starts off this way, but winds up sounding familiar by end. It's one of only two songs with slap bass, though (the other being "Panic Station"), plus the only one where Matt plays neither the guitar nor the piano. ^note He uses a keytar.
• Protest Song: Basically the theme of a lot of the songs on the album, with "Uprising" being the most notable.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: The chorus of "Uprising": "THEY! WILL! NOT! FOOOOORCE US! THEY! WILL! STOP! DE! GRAAAADING US! THEY! WILL! NOT! CON! TROOOOOL! US! WE! WILL! BE! VIC! TOOOOOOORIOOOOOOOUS! SO COME ON!"
• Rearrange the Song: "Guiding Light" got this treatment on Matt's 2021 solo EP Cryosleep. This version is more spare and minimalist, and famously features the same Fender Telecaster Jeff Buckley used during the recording of Grace.
• Shout-Out: "Resistance" is based on the love subplot between Winston and Julia in Nineteen Eighty-Four. The song mentions the Thought Police, and "United States of Eurasia" is a very blatant reference to the states of Eurasia, Eastasia, and Oceania.
• Subdued Section: For the Exogenesis Symphony as a whole, you have large sections of Part 3 (Redemption).
• Title Track: "Resistance" counts, even if the album is technically called The Resistance.

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Just let us start it over again
And we'll be good
This time we'll get it...
Get it right
It's our last chance to forgive ourselves