The singer has discussed his politics ahead of the election
Alexandra Pollard

10:37 1st May 2015

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Muse's Matt Bellamy has proposed starting what he calls the Direct Democacy Party, through which MPs base every vote they take in parliament on an app vote from constituents.

Ahead of next week's general election, NME asked artists such as Savages, Noel Gallagher, Emmy The Great and Young Fathers for their political perspectives.

Perhaps the most unusual perspective came from Muse's Matt Bellamy, who said, "I was thinking the other day we should start the Direct Democracy Party. The way to play the existing system is to be an MP and say that 'every vote I take in parliament, I will take an app vote from my constituents'. The argument that MPs should decide because they are better researched on the topic at hand, to me, really supports the old idea that the masses are not clever enough."

The Horrors' Faris Badwan, meanwhile, voiced his clichéd disillusionment with the whole thing, saying, "I just think voting is for people who don't have their own imagination. It's for a different generation. You're not accomplishing anything. The problem is, my opinion on it isn't fully formed - the only thing I do think is that, realistically, voting doesn't make a great deal of difference."

Muse's new album, Drones, which they descibe as "a modern metaphor for what it is to lose to lose empathy", is set for release on 8 June.

They will also headline Download Festival alongside Slipknot, Kiss, Marilyn Manson and many more. See here for tickets and information

Meanwhile, the band have also been confirmed to head BBC Radio One's Big Weekend in Norwich, and have also announced a string of US tour dates. See here for tickets and information

  • 15. 'Sing For Absolution': Their first truly ridiculous video from 2003's Absolution, Muse find themselves in a dystopian future, as the planet entrusts them to travel into space to find new life and save us all. Only Muse. We won't ruin the ending for you, but do try to keep a straight face at Muse's forced earnest expressions as drum sticks float by and Matt Bellamy blasts into hyper drive.

  • 14. 'Dead Star': Keeping it much, much, much more simple and doing what they do best - rocking out hard (in Winston Churchill's basement).

  • 13. 'Hyper Music': No other Muse video truly captures the insane energy of the trio as a live band, nor the furious devotion of their fans. Watch as Muse literally bring the walls crashing down.

  • 12. 'Dead Inside': The first official proper clip to launch new album Drones, Bellamy's inner turmoil and anguish following his split from Kate Hudson is realised and fully played out as the band battle the elements as two lovers dance at war, with Drones watching throughout, waiting to strike.

  • 11. 'Madness': A Hollywood shimmer over something simple and powerful as the band play along to a couple who remain locked in obsession as revolt unfolds around them. Much like the track itself, all the bombast is laid to rest in a bright and elegant bubble of pop.

  • 10. 'Butterflies And Hurricanes': The best James Bond theme there never was, this high-octane rush of edited live clips captures the fervour of Muse as they entered the big leagues - taking in their Glastonbury 2004 headline performance as they got their first taste for stadium love.

  • 9. 'Invincible': Purely because an apocalyptic Muse-themed 'It's A Small World' style ride is just what Disney Land is lacking.

  • 8. 'Muscle Museum': Muse humbly perform at the death of a party as a dark American suburbia crumbles around them. Cheery stuff.

  • 7. 'Sunburn': Another simple but effect video from their early days as a fresh-faced Muse haunt a bad babysitter's guilty conscience, trapped in her reflection. Viewers of classic turn of the century BBC soaps may recognise the female lead Brooke Kinsella, who played Kelly Smith in Eastenders. Some great trivia there, should there ever be a Muse pub quiz near you.

  • 6. 'Plug In Baby': Muse returned after the introverted indie sounds of Showbiz with a bombastic, mushroom-fuelled manifesto that would shape the future of rock - the mindbending space-rock guitar anthem of 'Plug In Baby'. To launch the career-defining Origin Of Symmetry, the band needed some pretty powerful visuals. Naturally they decided to throw themselves around a flat filled with beautiful robot tentacle women...

  • 5. 'Knights Of Cydonia': The track is a mini-epic Spaghetti Western set in the space-age, the sound of Ennio Morricone and Freddie Mercury in a duel on Mars. The video is everything you'd hope, as holograms of Muse soundtrack cowboys and damsels in distress battle robots and laser fights through revolution. We know what you're thinking: it's the B-Movie that needs to be made.

  • 4. 'Time Is Running Out': A chic and classy tribute to Stanley Kubrick's cold war classic Dr Strangelove - you can't fight in the War Room, but you can certainly dance.

  • 3. 'Bliss': Matt Bellamy has had more hair colours than hot dinners, but the only change to be immortalised in video was when he went fiery-headed for the clip to Origin Of Symmetry's 'Bliss' - a clip that reflects the sheer undying devotion of the track by showing the frontman falling endlessly before dissolving into the atmosphere of space.

  • 2. 'New Born': That intro riff is enough to bring about the end of the world in itself - it's the perfect weapon to battle with a demon child as her follows mosh beneath a falling sky. Epic stuff.

  • 1. 'Supermassive Black Hole': Only the unhinged genius of Floria Sigismondi, who has brought us some of the most striking videos from Marilyn Manson, The White Stripes and Sigur Ros, could come up with something as visually seductive as this, to match the twisted sexiness of the track itself. It's an audio-visual symmetry that they've yet to match.

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