Keep Musicking: Muse wins Grammy for Best Rock Album. It's about time.

Muse. Jason Merritt, Getty Images

Muse won the Grammy for Best Rock Album at the 2011 Grammy Awards. They were nominated for three Grammy Awards. Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals went to The Black Keys for the song "Tighten Up" from the album Brothers. The Grammy for Rock Song went to Neil Young for "Angry Noise" from his album Le Noise.

The recognition is bittersweet for many longterm Muse fans who feel that The Resistance is not Muse's strongest album. While there are better guitar riffs on other Muse albums, and more memorable vocal melodies on others, this is the album which has sold the best.

The lead single, "Uprising", was criticized. Though it was their most popular single, it's not the best melody Bellamy every wrote. However, it's given many fans a sing-along anthem.

To be fair, the album has many great moments with the instrumental work and incorporates a wide variety of influences, particularly classical music in the three part "Exogenesis Overture", the spectacular "United States of Eurasia", the jazz and opera influenced "I Belong to You/Mon Couer Souvre A Ta Voix", and the hip hop beats of "Undisclosed Desires." Even if Muse fans have other favorites, it's still a great album.

Part of how awards are chosen is by sales. But really, it's a secret recipe that only a few from the Recording Industry Association of America know.

Because of the secretive formula for determining winners and the exclusion of entire genres, the American Music Awards were born 38 years ago. However, Muse was nominated for the first time at the AMAs in 2010.

Most Muse fans just wonder why it took so long for Muse to be recognized when they were winning awards and filling stadiums since 2000 in Europe when they won an NME award for Best New Band. Lately it just takes the US a little longer to catch on to what's happening across the Pond, unlike the 1980s.

Chris Wolstenholme joined Muse for this awards ceremony as they performed at the ceremony. For the AMAs, Wolstenholme stayed home with his wife and baby number five. Tom Kirk, long time associate of the band attended in his place and thanked Darwin for the award while Dom Howard and Matt Bellamy thanked their fans.

Accepting the Grammy, Bellamy thanked his "beautiful pregnant girlfriend," Kate Hudson and Dom Howard thanked the fans. Wolstenholme, who has never been much of a talker in public, remained silent.

Muse reportedly have a new album on the way which has "some lovely melodies" according to Kirk. But
with Matt Bellamy being so busy due to impending fatherhood, it may not come out until 2012. Please check out the articles below for more information.

Their performance of "Uprising" included pyrotechnics and dancers. While dancers aren't really a Muse thing, the set looked like the set they had built for their Resistance tour.