Supermassive Black Hole (song)
| Muse song | |
|---|---|
| Name | Supermassive Black Hole |
| Album/single |
|
| Length | 3:29 |
| Alternative titles | Supermassive |
| First live performance | 13th May 2006 |
| Latest live performance | - |
| Recorded | New York Avatar/Electric Lady studios - 2005 |
| Writer/composer | Matthew Bellamy |
| Producer | Rich Costey, Paul Epworth (Phone Control Voltage mix) |
| Chart position | 4 (GB), 8 (EU) |
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Description
Dance-type beat with alternative guitar. Inspired by a Norwegian mix of funk & disco and bears some similarity to "Do Something" by Britney Spears. Described by the band as Prince-like and inspired by Franz Ferdinand. Heavy and funky. The band was influenced by Belgian bands such as Millionaire or Evil Superstars. It's pure disco and "maybe that song came from being in New York for a while" declared Matthew Bellamy.
Bellamy: "It’s the most different to anything we’ve ever done. We’ve had some Belgian influences: Millionaire, dEUS, Evil Superstars, Soulwax etc. These groups were the first to mix R&B rhythms with alternative guitar. We’ve added a bit of Prince and Kanye West. The drumbeat isn’t rocky, with Rage Against The Machine riffs underneath. We’ve mixed a lot of things in this track, with a bit of electronica; it’s different, slow, quite funny..."
Additional information
The first single taken from Black Holes and Revelations. It was released online on June 12th, 2006 and on physical media on June 19th, 2006. The day after its UK radio premiere on May 8, 2006, it became available for download via 7digital.com for 79p for UK customers only.
The song was leaked on the 7th of May, 2006. It received its first play at the Radio One Big Weekend on May 13th 2006.
The song was added to Guitar Hero 3 on 8th May 2008 as part of a track pack also including Exo-Politics and Stockholm Syndrome. "Supermassive Black Hole" is on the OST for the movie "Twilight". It is also used in the baseball scene therein; (watch). The song is also used in the movie "Vampires Suck" which parodies Twilight and other vampire movies. The song can be heard in a little under ten minutes into the movie.
At every end of the chorus, the words "into the Supermassive" can be heard. This is done with the use of vocoders. This vocal is provided by Dom Howard, and is the only time Dom's vocals are used during a song while playing live. In the chorus just after the guitar solo, after "dead" is sung, a very faint voice says "d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d". It can be heard only in the chorus after the solo and can be heard clearly using good audio equipment, or on the vocals-only track included on the Supermassive Black Hole DVD single.
Live
Since Eden Project 2006-08-22, Bellamy has used his Kaoss Pad to imitate a DJ scratching sound during the intrumental part.
From Roseland Theater 3rd October 2006 to December 2006, a new riff was played before the instrumental part, where "Supermassive black hole" is repeated four times. From Halle Tony Garnier 11th December 2006, or possibly earlier in December, this riff has been replaced with the "Revolver" riff.
Alternative versions
An alternative studio recording of Supermassive Black Hole is featured on the FIFA 07 soundtrack. In this version, the guitar part is more distorted in places.
A remix was created for the Starlight 7" vinyl, entitled "Supermassive Black Hole (Phone Control Voltage Remix)".
A live recording from Campo Pequeno, Lisbon, 26th October 2006 features as the B-side for the "Knights of Cydonia" single CD.
Covers
A metal band called 'Threshold' did a cover of Supermassive Black Hole (watch) and it was featured as a bonus track on their album "Dead Reckoning"
In late 2009, Billy Lunn of the British band The Subways, released an acoustic cover of the song via twitter.
Lyrics
Ooh baby, don't you know I suffer
Ooh baby, can't you hear me moan? You caught me under false pretences How long before you let me go
Ooh, you set my soul alight Ooh, you set my soul alight
Glaciers melting in the dead of night And the superstar's sucked into the supermassive (Ooh, you set my soul alight) Glaciers melting in the dead of night And the superstar's sucked into the... (Ooh, you set my soul...) Into the supermassive
I thought I was a fool for no one Ooh baby, I'm a fool for you You're the queen of the superficial How long before you tell the truth
Ooh, you set my soul alight Ooh, you set my soul alight
Glaciers melting in the dead of night And the superstar's sucked into the supermassive (Ooh, you set my soul alight) Glaciers melting in the dead of night And the superstar's sucked into the... (Ooh, you set my soul) Into the supermassive
Supermassive black hole Supermassive black hole Supermassive black hole Supermassive black hole
Glaciers melting in the dead of night And the superstar's sucked into the supermassive Glaciers melting in the dead of night And the superstar's sucked into the supermassive
Glaciers melting in the dead of night And the superstars sucked into the supermassive (Ooh, you set my soul alight) Glaciers melting in the dead of night And the superstars sucked into the (Ooh, you set my soul...) Into the supermassive
Supermassive black hole Supermassive black hole Supermassive black hole Supermassive black hole