"Resistance" is a song by English

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

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 ...

, featured as the title track on their fifth studio album '' The Resistance''. Written by vocalist, guitarist and pianist

Matthew 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 ...

, it was released as the third single from the album, following "

Uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

" and "

Undisclosed Desires "Undisclosed Desires" (also known as "Undisclosed") is a song by English rock band Muse. It was released as the second single from their fifth studio album, '' The Resistance'', on 16 November 2009. The song was written by lead vocalist Matt ...

", on 22 February 2010. The song makes several references to the novel ''

Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...

'', by

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalita ...

. The intro of the song is used in the trailer of the last episode of BBC show ''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel Mc ...

''. In February 2010, Muse had uploaded a picture puzzle of "Resistance" artwork on their official Facebook page. The puzzle itself has a making of the "Resistance" track (which will be able to see it after solving the puzzle). The song was featured in a promo for an episode of ''

Human Target The Human Target is the name of two fictional characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first is Fred Venable, while the second is private investigator and bodyguard Christopher Chance who assumes the identities of clients tar ...

''. The song was also released as downloadable content for the music video game '' Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock''.

Music video

The

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 ...

for "Resistance", which features footage of the band performing live on The Resistance Tour, debuted on 14 January 2010, and was directed by

Wayne Isham Wayne Isham (born December 2, 1958) is an American film director and music video director who has directed films and music videos of many popular artists. Early life and education Isham was born in December 2, 1958. He attended the Universit ...

in Madrid (Palacio de los Deportes, 28-November-2009).

Reception

"Resistance" reached number 35 in the

Triple J Hottest 100, 2009 The 2009 Triple J's Hottest 100 Volume 17, was announced on Australia Day 26 January 2010. It is the seventeenth countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by the listeners of Australian radio station Triple J. Voting commenced ...

. On 22 February 2010, "Resistance" debuted at number 17 on the '' Hot30 Countdown''. On 26 March 2010, "Resistance" debuted at number 20 on the ''

VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown ''The 20'' (previously known as the ''VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown'') is a weekly television show that aired on the VH1 cable television network in the United States. The long-running series began in 1995 as the ''VH1 Top 10 Countdown'', part of V ...

'', peaking at number 9. The song was nominated at the

53rd Grammy Awards The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights pr ...

in two categories: Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song. It lost in both categories to

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

's " Angry World", and

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing thei ...

' " Tighten Up", respectively. In 2011,

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n group

2Cellos 2CELLOS (stylized 2CΞLLOS) were a Croatian cellist duo, consisting of classically trained cellists Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser. Signed to Sony Masterworks since 2011, they released six albums. They played instrumental arrangements of wel ...

covered this song as a cello duet. "Resistance" was played frequently in concert by Muse. The song was played at most shows during The Resistance Tour, was played frequently during The 2nd Law Tour, and on rarer occasions during the

Drones World Tour The Drones World Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the English rock band Muse. Staged in support of the band's 2015 album '' Drones'', the tour visited arenas and festivals throughout 2015 and is the tenth concert tour the band has carried o ...

. A live version of "Resistance" was included on

Live at Rome Olympic Stadium ''Live at Rome Olympic Stadium'' is a live album and video by English rock band Muse, which was released on 29 November 2013 in CD/DVD formats. On 5 November 2013, the film received theatrical screenings in 20 cities worldwide, and the next d ...

Track listing

Charts

Commercial performance

On 21 February 2010, "Resistance" entered the

UK Rock Chart The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. Th ...

at number two. Following from its success on the Rock Chart, on 28 February 2010, the single entered 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 ...

as a new entry at number 38, beating previous single: "

", which only peaked at number 49. "Resistance" is now the second Top 40 hit from ''The Resistance''. The same week resulted in "Resistance" climbing to the number one spot on the UK Rock Chart, as well. On the week of 20 March, it jumped from number six to number one on the ''

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 ...

'' Alternative Rock Chart and it became their second number one single on the chart along with their previous single "Uprising".

Weekly charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control Muse (band) songs 2010 singles 2009 songs 2000s ballads Rock ballads Songs written by Matt Bellamy Music based on Nineteen Eighty-Four Music videos directed by Wayne Isham