"Hysteria"
Single by Muse
from the album Absolution
B-side"Eternally Missed"
Released1 December 2003 (2003-12-01)[1]
StudioGrouse Lodge (Westmeath, Ireland)
Genre
Length3:47
LabelEast West
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Matt Bellamy
Producer(s)
Muse singles chronology
"Time Is Running Out"
(2003) 		"Hysteria"
(2003) 		"Sing for Absolution"
(2004)
DVD Single
7" single

"Hysteria" is a song by the English alternative rock band Muse, released on December 1, 2003 as the third single from their third studio album, Absolution (2003). It was produced by Muse and Rich Costey.

"Hysteria" reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart and reached number 9 in the US on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. In 2012, "Hysteria" was voted the best Muse song by readers of NME.[2] The bassline was named the sixth-best of all time by MusicRadar in 2011.[3]

The artwork for the 7" cover was chosen by competition, and the winner was Adam Falkus.[4] The runner-up images are included in the DVD version of the single. The song was performed regularly during the tour in support of Absolution. The song also appears on the live videos Absolution Tour and HAARP. A demo and a live version appeared on Absolution XX, the 20th-anniversary Absolution reissue.[5]

Music video

The music video for "Hysteria" was released on end 2003. Inspired by the hotel-trashing scene from Pink Floyd – The Wall (1982), it takes the form of a short narrative depicting a man (played by Justin Theroux) awakening inside of a hotel room and, through non-linear chronological elements, discovering that he both stalked and eventually met with a prostitute with whom he was obsessed (played by Hayley Caradoc-Hodgkins). This encounter ends violently.

An alternate video was created for the release of the single in the U.S. which features the band playing in front of a green screen; with white blood vessels, a woman's face, red, grey and black circles overlapping, and lightning. This video is also used in the UK before the watershed, as the original video was deemed unsuitable for children.[6]

Track listing

  1. "Hysteria" – 3:47
  2. "Eternally Missed" – 6:05
    • Produced by John Cornfield, Paul Reeve and Muse.
  1. "Hysteria" (video – Director's Cut)
  2. "Hysteria" (DVD Audio)
  3. "Hysteria" (live on MTV2 Video)
  4. "Artwork Gallery"

Charts

Chart (2003–2005) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[7] 61
France (SNEP)[8] 77
Italy (FIMI)[9] 31
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 92
Scotland (OCC)[11] 16
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[12] 20
UK Singles (OCC)[13] 17
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[14] 1
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[15] 18
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[16] 9

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 29 November 2003. p. 33.
  2. ^ Beaumont, Mark (1 August 2012). "20 Best Muse Songs – As Voted By You". NME.
  3. ^ "The 25 best basslines of all time". MusicRadar. 28 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  4. ^ "muse : archives | microcuts.net | November 2003". microcuts.net. Archived from the original on 11 June 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  5. ^ Trendell, Andrew (15 September 2023). "Muse announce Absolution 20th anniversary deluxe reissue". NME. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Muse : Video clips - promo videos - multimedia - music videos | microcuts.net". Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  7. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 197.
  8. ^ "Muse – Hysteria" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Muse – Hysteria". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Muse – Hysteria" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Muse – Hysteria" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Muse Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Muse Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  17. ^ "British single certifications – Muse – Hysteria". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 May 2022.

External links

Muse
Authority control databases
Categories