MUSE AMUSED

It looks like Muse are trying to pull off a dangerous stunt, by dangling themselves over the burning fires of prog-rockery with only a smirk of self-awareness to try and save themselves. Matt Bellamy hopes they're wry enough to avoid ever going onstage in wizards hats:

There's a definite Englishness to what we do, playing with eccentric ideas. Sometimes, even I step back and go: 'That's a bit silly, isn't it?' Maybe calling a song 'Knights of Cydonia' is, in itself, acknowledging that this is a bit funny, particularly when we are pushing the epic side of the band to almost comical levels."

"Bands tend to take themselves very seriously, but we often turn into a bunch of giggling schoolboys when we're together, because we were giggling schoolboys when we started. I think the giggle factor is quite healthy. Both on stage and in the studio, there's an element of not really giving a damn. There's a lot of freedom in being able to laugh at yourself."

We'll believe it when they start making videos with laugh tracks rather than furrowed brows...

music muse