Muse treats Turkish PM with wrecking ball in new video

Sebla Koçan – ISTANBUL

The video clip, opening with a famous speech by John F. Kennedy in 1961, features many famous images and figures, from the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s statue to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. And boom… Ahmet Davutoğlu is also present in the video of the song, which has lyrics such as “You think you are strong and you can’t be broken / But your empire is dissolving.” At the 1:08-minute mark of the clip, among many world leaders, Davutoğlu is seen on a television screen, which is then smashed by a wrecking ball.

We feel the whiffs of MTV rock clips of the late 80’s and early 90s in the latest squeaky “JFK+Defactor” clip. Unfortunately, this does not attract our attention. Because for us, the distressing thing is the comments on the internet about the possibility Muse will not come back to Turkey again. Probably most of us fear the possibility of not being able to watch the group we love live.




Let us remember, it was only a few years ago when, on the Istanbul leg of the “One Love” festival, advertisements of alcoholic drinks were banned and black-market vendors sold beer at the entrance. Moreover, questions such as “Was Kaiser Chiefs vocalist Ricky Wilson holding beer or not?” and “Can’t the artists drink beer too?” were risen. We are right to worry.

It has been a bleeding wound for a long time among their fans that Muse has not come to Turkey since their 2002 and 2006 Istanbul concerts. That is another story. Yet the possibility of problems if they attempt to enter the country after “Drones” is a brain twister now. Should we really be afraid? Let us listen to Muse: “Yeah I’m free / From society / You can’t control me / I’m a defector.” 

So where will this end up? Is Bono supported when he shakes hands with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan? Will prominent bands such as Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down or Skunk Anansie, which composed a song with a distorted call to prayer, forget the roads of our country at a time when we boast about watching big bands such as Metallica and Rammstein live in Istanbul? There is no relief apart from hoping not to live those days.

Let us turn back to our main subject. This video is actually not something new for Muse. The band made political references in much of their early work and have talked about the barbed wires of economics and capitalism. 

One of Muse’s best songs on “Drones” is undoubtedly the track titled “Psycho.” In “Psycho,” which could be considered one of the band’s best songs, a commander talks to soldier, saying: “If you do not do what you’re told to do when you’re told to do it, you will be punished. Do you understand?” and the soldier confirms, “Aye Sir!” 

As can be seen on the artwork, “Drones” roughly represents unqualified remote-controlled robots that have no aim other than following orders. The new album will be in stores on June 8, right after the June 7 elections in Turkey. According to vocalist Matt Bellamy, this album is their best work, but bands always say that. “It is like [David] Bowie and Queen,” Gigwise said about the song, but as a whole will “Drones” be as powerful as “Supermassive Black Hole” and “Origin of Symmetry?”

We will listen and see. So far, six songs from the album have been released, but it is a fact that Muse can again attract our attention even after many years.