"Muscle Museum" is a song by the 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 Wale ...

band

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

, released as the third single from their 1999 debut album '' Showbiz''. Written by lead singer

Matt Bellamy Matthew James Bellamy (born 9 June 1978) is an English singer, songwriter and producer. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and lyricist for the English rock band Muse. He is recognised for his eccentric stage persona, wide tenor vocal ...

, the song's title likely derives from the fact that the words "muscle" and "museum" come immediately before and after the word "muse" in some dictionaries. The song peaked at number 25 on the UK Singles Chart.

Music video

The music video is directed by Joseph Kahn and features different people in a suburban neighbourhood, crying in different situations, as Muse plays in a high school after a party, as a janitor cleans up. As the video goes on, some of the townspeople attempt suicide, and by the end of the video, the janitor breaks down. Joseph Kahn wanted to express the "sadness" of life in the suburbs where every house looks more or less the same. Individual expression is not possible because of the surroundings and the rules in those suburbs, happiness (or pretending to be happy) is mandatory. Though Joseph Kahn himself thinks of the video as one of the best he made, he believes that most people, including Muse, don't like the video.

Release

"Muscle Museum" was released on 22 November 1999 on

7" vinyl In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

—backed with "Minimum"—and

double CD Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A 2 ...

—backed with "Do We Need This?", a live acoustic version of the song, "Pink Ego Box" and "Con-Science". It reached #43 in the UK Singles Chart—an improvement of nine positions on "

Cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

". The song is available to play on

Rocksmith 2014 ''Rocksmith 2014'' is a music video game produced by Ubisoft. It is a followup to the 2011 game ''Rocksmith'', but has been described as a replacement to the original game rather than a sequel. Like its predecessor, the game allows players to plu ...

as part of a Muse 5-song pack.

Live performances

"Muscle Museum" was a staple in the band's live performances from 1997 until 2004. The song made occasional appearances on the

Black Holes and Revelations Tour The Black Holes and Revelations Tour was a worldwide concert tour by English rock band Muse in support of their fourth studio album ''Black Holes and Revelations''. Lasting at over 2 years, this was the band's longest tour to date. Overview In ...

, and later, the Psycho Tour and Drones World Tour. The song has not been performed since 2018.

Charts

Track listing

Personnel

Personnel adapted from ''Showbiz'' liner notes ;Muse *

- vocals, guitar, piano, Mellotron, production, mixing *

Chris Wolstenholme Christopher Tony Wolstenholme (born 2 December 1978) is an English musician. He is the bassist and backing vocalist for the rock band Muse. He combines bass guitar with effects and synthesisers to create overdriven fuzz bass tones, a motif of ...

- bass guitar, production, mixing *

Dominic Howard Dominic James Howard (born 7 December 1977) is an English musician who is the drummer and co-founder of the rock band Muse. Early life Howard was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. When he was around 8 years old he moved with hi ...

- drums, radio noise, production, mixing ;Additional Personnel * Paul Reeve - production, mixing

Re-release

A "US Mix" of "Muscle Museum" was released on 9 October 2000 on 7" vinyl—backed with a live version of "Escape"—and double CD—backed with a live version of "Agitated", the '

Timo Maas Timo Maas (born July 27, 1969) is a German DJ/ producer and remixer. His remix of Azzido Da Bass's single " Dooms Night" helped launch his career in 2000. In its wake, he also released ''Music for the Maases Volume 1'', a mix album consisting ...

Sunstroke Remix' of "

Sunburn Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and other animals include red or reddish skin tha ...

", the 'Saint US Mix' of "Sober" and the '

Soulwax Soulwax are a Belgian electronic band and DJ/production collective from Ghent, who formed in 1995. Centred around brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, other current members include Igor and Laima Cavalera, and Stefaan Van Leuven. The group first ...

Remix' of the song. It reached number 25 in the UK Singles Chart—eighteen positions higher than its original release.

Release history

References

External links

* {{authority control Muse (band) songs 1999 singles Music videos directed by Joseph Kahn Songs written by Matt Bellamy 1999 songs Mushroom Records singles Rock ballads