2007 – MUSE’s Matt Bellamy in “Random Question Generator”, Kerrang! Magazine.

Well, I have always loved old Muse articles and interviews; and the more random they are — the better! I don’t really know why, but the subject of Muse in the Media is usually the one that arouses my curiosity. Muse fan community in general does an incredible job in increasing the band’s presence online; there are wonderful sites that are dedicated to Muse bootlegs, videos, pictures, news, MP3s, stories, — every bit of information one would want to find. But what I want to know first and foremost is how Muse are presented in the media… Some of the things I’ve read over the years have been very interesting, to say the least.

The idea for this blog was very simple. Muse significantly increase their fan-base with each new album. “The Resistance” will be no different. I wanted to create a place that a new fan could stumble upon by accident, and come away as a better-informed fan, having gained a new curiosity about the music and a new appreciation of the band as people.

Muse make my life 100% better. Nothing I ever do in order to promote them will ever be enough. And that’s the truth I am not afraid to admit.

(Matt Bellamy Muse in Kerrang! Magazine’s “Random Question Generator” in November 2007)

 

If you had a TARDIS, which time period would you visit?

I think I’d probably go back to the mid-19th century and I’d try to cash in on the late Romantic piano music period and start hanging out with people like Berlioz and Chopin and maybe Rachmaninoff later on. I’d try to blend in with posh ponces playing the piano. 

What’s the worst onstage injury you’ve had?

I smashed my face in Atlanta and had about three or four stitches in my lip – that was while playing the song ‘Citizen Erased.’ At the beginning of the ‘Absolution’ tour we’d gone from playing some massive venue in Europe to playing in front of about three hundred people a couple of days later. I got excited on the small stage but I slipped up, fell on the floor and the guitar smashed into my face. We ended up stopping the gig because there was blood streaming all over my face. That was pretty rough. 

What’s the worst onstage injury you’ve caused?

I’ve injured poor old Dom [Howard, drums] in the past. I’ve thrown a guitar in his direction twice and on one of those occasions I split his eyebrow. He has to get a tetanus injection, which was quite funny. He had to bend over, pull his pants down and get a needle up his bum by a doctor. It was pretty humiliating for him and I felt a bit guilty but I must admit it was also pretty funny.

Were you disappointed when the Mars Express probe sent back those high resolution shots of Cydonia?

I haven’t seen them to be honest but it depends what you read and what sources you rely on anyway. If you go to NASA then clearly you’re not going to get the truth anyway because they’re a government agency. They’re going to keep all their proper information well hidden, but a lot of people are seeing what looks like remnants. If you look at some of the old, really knackered pyramids from above there are some pretty close similarities. Maybe there’s nothing there but we can all hope that there is. 

What was the last thing you put in your mouth?

A cup of lemon tea. I had a nice lemon tea for breakfast. 

Do you ever trawl internet forums anonymously?

I don’t actually. I’m a little bit out of touch on that front. I sometimes look at the message boards for the band but I don’t post any messages on there. At some point I might do, though – go on under a pseudonym and have a go at winding everyone up. 

Do you have any phobias?

I used to have a pretty severe arachnophobia. But since I’ve been living in Italy I see a massive millipede pretty much every day. They’re about the size of my hand and I’ve even got into bed and seen one in the bed as I’m getting into it. I’ve got a feeling that having to deal with millipedes while living in Italy will have made me get over my hang-up with spiders. 

Do you trust the BBC news?

Ooh… controversial! I would like to trust it. There are a few moments when I feel that they trivialize certain aspects, which is a shame because I think they’re more independent than most in terms of who funds them and all that kind of stuff. I think BBC news is probably as good as it gets but certainly not as good as it could be.

 

1. Muse – Exogenesis Symphony (Overture) Part I

2. Muse – Exogenesis Symphony (Cross-Pollination) Part II

3. Muse – Exogenesis Symphony (Redemption) Part III