Hysteria (song)

Muse song
Name	Hysteria
Album/single	Absolution (8), Hysteria CD (1), vinyl (1), DVD (1, 2) » Absolution Sampler (3), Sing for Absolution Dutch CD/DVD2 (3) Live 8 Paris DVD (5) Absolution Tour (1) H.A.A.R.P. CD, DVD (3)
Length	3:47
Alternative titles	I Want You Now, New One
First live performance	10th April 2002
Latest live performance	-
Recorded	2002-2003
Writer/composer	Matthew Bellamy
Producer	Rich Costey
Chart position	14

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Description

Matthew Bellamy: Hysteria is a kinda fat bassline with a groovy straight beat on it. Its one of the tracks that has quite a heavy groove goin' on straight down the middle.

General information

The bass part started out as the lead part in a sound check on the Origin of Symmetry tour,either in 2001 or very early 2002. At first, the band played around the part as a lead guitar part, sometime later the band thought that it would sound good on the bass guitar and subsequently moved it to the bass, leaving the lead guitar for a more melodic part. When the band felt that the song was ready to perform, they did so at the Rockefeller Music hall in April 2002. At that stage, what is now the mid section was at the end and the parts either side of said section were not seperate. On the 2002 tour, Bellamy played the bass part on his guitar at the start of the song, instead of slowly moving down the fretboard as on the album recording. He occassionally still does this.

The song is about wanting something or someone that's out of reach so badly that this frustrates you till no end. It becomes an addiction.

In 2003, Hysteria was used as the intro music for the NHL hockey team Washington Capitals.

Live

Hysteria was first played live in April 2002. From then on, it was usually played intermittently with Apocalypse Please and The Small Print, the latter two being played during other concerts. On the Absolution tour, Hysteria was usually played toward the beginning of the setlist and either Hysteria or Apocalypse Please was usually the first song. Later, Hysteria was played during most Black Holes and Revelations concerts.

Trivia

At 1:34, a scratching which sounds similar to a zip or a DJ can be heard.

The artwork for the 7" cover was chosen by competition, and the winner was Adam Falkus. The runner-up images are included in the DVD version of the single.

Hysteria

Hysteria was originally a now-defunct psychoanalytical diagnosis particularly afflicted to females, akin to sexual frustration. The treatment consisted of a massage of the genitals leading to "hysterical paroxysm", or what is now known as the female orgasm. It later came to mean overwhelming fear, panic or emotional excess, or alternatively, a mental disorder that is without an organic cause. Hysteria is sometimes referred to as "the slyest reference to a female orgasm in a rock song"

Hysteria is still used, along with many remnants of the Freudian psychoanalytical line of thought, in day to day language and descriptions.

Hysteria has been anounced to be part of the European release of the videogame Rock Band but will also be released as downloadable content on the American version.

Lyrics

It's bugging me, grating me
And twisting me around
Yeah I'm endlessly caving in
And turning inside out

'cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
And I'm breaking out
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control

It's holding me, morphing me
And forcing me to strive
To be endlessly cold within
And dreaming I'm alive

'cause I want it now
I want it now
Give me your heart and your soul
I'm not breaking down
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control

And I want you now
I want you now
I'll feel my heart implode
I'm breaking out
Escaping now
Feeling my faith erode

References

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