"Thought Contagion" is a song by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

. It was released as the second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the band's eighth studio album, ''

Simulation Theory Simulation theory or Simulation Theory may refer to: *Simulation theory of empathy, theory in philosophy of mind about how people read others' actions and intentions * ''Simulation Theory'' (album), 2018 studio album by the English rock band Muse * ...

'', on 15 February 2018, following "

Dig Down "Dig Down" is a song by English rock band Muse. Produced by the band with Mike Elizondo, it was released as a single on 18 May 2017 and is featured on the band's eighth studio album, '' Simulation Theory''. "Dig Down" debuted at number 94 on the ...

", released the previous year. The single debuted at number 76 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and topped the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart.

Writing and recording

"Thought Contagion" was released as a

and

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

on 15 February 2018. Speaking to ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' magazine, Muse front man

Matt Bellamy Matthew James Bellamy (born 9 June 1978) is an English singer, musician, producer, and songwriter. He is primarily known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for English rock band Muse. He is recognised for his ecce ...

revealed that the song was written in late 2017, explaining that "I came up with the bass line and then I used a theremin, originally, to

reate Rieti (; lat, Reate, Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina ...

this lead melody that went over the top." This melody was later changed, with Bellamy noting that "it occurred to me that the theremin melody would be a cool, anthemic sort of vocal part, so

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: * Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a b ...

Chris olstenholme/nowiki> and I did about ten passes on that to create this sort of crowd effect on the vocal".

Composition and lyrics

In an interview with

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod ...

presenter Matt Wilkinson, Bellamy explained that the lyrics of "Thought Contagion" are based on the theory "that thoughts are contagious nd thatthey spread like a virus, or like genes", noting that he had read about the idea in a book by

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An at ...

. The singer has also admitted that the lyrical content of the song is likely influenced by "watching American news stations", detailing that "The verses are me streaming off anxieties and feelings, which ... I'm wondering whether they're actually mine or not". Musically, Bellamy has described "Thought Contagion" as "a pretty epic and anthemic track", pointing out its "arena sound and synths" as examples of the band's process of "getting into blending genres and eras together" for their upcoming eighth studio album.

Music video

The

for "Thought Contagion" was directed by Lance Drake, who also directed the band's previous video "

", and features "vampires who can manipulate lightning, neon-drenched streets, old arcade cabinets and a ''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

''-type dance routine". ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' writer Nina Braca also compared the video to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's ''Thriller'', describing it as " nintense '80s-inspired zombie love story", while ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' magazine's Andy Cush called it "an '80s-indebted video about sexy vampires and riot police".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

"Thought Contagion"
music video on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

{{Authority control 2018 songs 2018 singles Muse (band) songs Warner Records singles Songs written by Matt Bellamy