Muscle Museum (song)
This page is about the song. For other Muscle Museum releases, see Muscle Museum (releases).
| Muse song | |
|---|---|
| Name | Muscle Museum |
| Album/single |
|
| Length |
|
| Alternative titles | - |
| First live performance | Unknown |
| Latest live performance | 15th October 2007 |
| Recorded | 1999 |
| Writer/composer | Matthew Bellamy |
| Producer | Paul Reeve |
| Chart position | 25 (UK) |
<flashmp3>http://www.musewiki.org/images/MuscleMuseum.mp3%7Crightbg=0xDDEEFF%7Cleftbg=0xDDEEFF%7Cbg=0xFFFFFF</flashmp3>
| Song Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunburn | < | Muscle Museum | > | Fillip |
Information
This song came from a practice session at Matthew Bellamy's house early in Muse's existence as a band,[1] with the guitar part coming before the bass line and percussion, respectively.[1] Its first recorded release was on the Muscle Museum EP, where it came in two versions. One is close to the later incarnation on Showbiz, and one is a short acoustic with rain effects. The latter was used at the beginning of the former as an introduction. The EP version also differs from the Showbiz version as having a different bassdrum figure in the verses and the pre-chorus parts.
Bellamy said that the meaning was the "conflict between the body and the soul or mind"[2] - the Freudian idea of inner conflict between want and conscience. He later stated that the meaning somehow involved people in the future no longer having bodies.[2] This idea came from a book that he had read.[2]
The title comes from a dictionary that Muse used, which had 'muscle' immediately before 'muse' and 'museum' immediately after.[2]
You can hear Matt talking about his hometown in “Muscle Museum”, where Teignmouth still wanted to convince Muse they were doing wrong (to prove I’ve made a big mistake).[3]
Matt actually sings the "guitar" solo. "I wanted to do this big epic guitar solo at the end of the chorus and as soon as I started doing the solo, I missed a chord. So I suddenly found myself singing the guitar solo instead. I ended up singing it into a Marshall amp and it sounded exactly like guitar."
As the song featured on four separate release, a wide variety of edits and versions were created, some exclusively on promotional media:
- Muscle Museum (4:20) — (From Muscle Museum EP)
- (Muscle Museum)#2 (1:21) — (From Muscle Museum EP)
- Album Version (4:22) — (From Showbiz and "Muscle Museum" CD1)
- Full Length Version (5:29) — (From "Muscle Museum" CD2)
- Radio Edit (3:17) ' (From Muscle Museum DE CD and DE promo")
- Radio Edit (3:51) — (From "Muscle Museum" French and US two-track promos)
- Radio Edit (3:57) — (From "Muscle Museum" promo, promo CD-R, Promotion Sampler)
- Radio Edit (4:00) — (From "Muscle Museum Single Formats" promo CD-R)
- Radio Edit Fade (3:21) — (From "Muscle Museum Single Formats" promo CD-R)
- Radio Single (4:26) — (From "Muscle Museum Single Formats" promo CD-R)
- Revised Radio Edit (3:12) — (From "Muscle Museum Revised Radio Edit" promo CD-R)
- Radio Acoustic (4:31) a live acoustic version [Watch]
Live
Muscle Museum was played at most concerts from its release until the 2006 tour, during which it wasn't played until the concert at Agora Theatre on September 10th. As of late 2007, the song is rarely played live.
As of January 2010, Howard revealed on TripleJ radio, Australia, he'd like to play the song live again, however, due to Bellamy losing the required (rare) effects pedal for part of the song, it's been left out of rotation so far. In September 2012, being asked whether they will play any Showbiz songs on The 2nd Law tour, a member of Muse tweeted that "I'm routing for Muscle Museum to come back".[4]
Lyrics
She had something to confess to
But you don’t have the time so Look the other way You will wait until it’s over To reveal what you’d never shown her Too little much too late Too long trying to resist it You’ve just gone and missed it It’s escaped your world
Can you see that I am needing Begging for so much more Than you could ever give And I don’t want you to adore me Don’t want you to ignore me When it pleases you And I’ll do it on my own
I have played in every toilet But you still want to spoil it To prove I’ve made a big mistake Too long trying to resist it You’ve just gone and missed it It’s escaped your world
Can you see that I am needing Begging for so much more Than you could ever give And I don’t want you to adore me Don’t want you to ignore me When it pleases you yeah...
So I’ll do it on my own and I’ll do it all by myself And you will never make it
Live variation
The first instance of
And I’ll do it on my own
has occasionally been changed to
So I'll do it on my own
The Plymouth version had the lyrics
I want you to ignore me
In the instance of
Don't want you to ignore me
and had
You will never be right
at the end.