I should preface this by saying that this is a personal reflection, and not intended as a universal statement on music appreciation. My distaste of certain ideas and approaches is largely fueled by my evolving experience of music, and the way I project that onto the world.

Lately, I've grown disillusioned by the way music is sometimes consumed—appreciated, or worse, dismissed for reasons that stray too far from what music fundamentally is. Over-intellectualisation can overshadow the raw, emotional experience of sound. I know that music can invite discussion of culture, genre, theory, and our personal biases, but when abstractions like these dictate value, I can't help but feel like something vital has been lost.

What does this have to do with Muse? Well, I think they're a band that reflects this idea in my own life. Their music—like so much I loved growing up—carries a sense of seriousness. Yet this seriousness contradicts how we naturally perceive music when we're you