"Hysteria" (also known as "Hysteria (I Want It Now)" in the United States) is a song by English

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

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 ...

. Released on December 1, 2003 as the third single from their third studio album, ''

Absolution Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness imparted by ordained Christian priests and experienced by Christian penitents. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, although the theology and the pra ...

'' (2003), it was written by members

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 eccen ...

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, in England. When he was around 8 years old he moved with hi ...

, and

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. Early life Chris Wolstenholme grew up in the English town of Rotherham before moving to Teignmouth, D ...

, who all co-produced the track with

Rich Costey Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...

. The track peaked at number 17 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 ...

. The song is also well known for its intricate bass line, which was voted the sixth best bass line of all time on

MusicRadar MusicRadar is a music website that offers information pertaining to artists and their music. The site features music gear news and reviews, artist interviews and online music and production tutorials. It is owned by British media company Future ...

. It reached number 9 in the US on the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart. The artwork for the 7" cover was chosen by competition, and the winner was Adam Falkus. 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'' and remains a staple of the band's live show. The song also appears on the ''

Absolution Tour ''Absolution Tour'' is a Live album, live Video, video album by English alternative rock band Muse (band), Muse. Released on 12 December 2005, the DVD release documents the band's performance at the 2004 Glastonbury Festival. It also features addit ...

'' DVD and on both the CD and DVD of ''

HAARP The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) was initiated as an ionospheric research program jointly funded by the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Ag ...

''.

Music video

The official music video for "Hysteria" was released on February 8, 2010. Inspired by the hotel-trashing scene from ''Pink Floyd – The Wall'' (1982), it takes the form of a short narrative depicting a man (the protagonist) 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, however, ends violently. The video has several interpretations and can be seen to have several ambiguous elements, including the fit of rage which induces the man to trash the hotel room, and several chronologically non-linear sequences describing elements of plot. An alternate video was also 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 Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

, as the original video was deemed unsuitable for children. The director's cut of the video features several women visiting the protagonist in his hotel room as well as the main woman from the original version and is available on the Microcuts fansite.

Track listing

*7", CD #"Hysteria" – 3:47 #"Eternally Missed" – 6:05 #*Produced by

John Cornfield John Richard Cornfield (born 10 December 1958 in Epsom, Surrey) is a British record producer and sound engineer. He has been working from Sawmills Studios in Cornwall since 1982. Discography As sound engineer or sound assistant *The Dukes of Str ...

, Paul Reeve and Muse. *DVD #"Hysteria" (video – Director's Cut) #"Hysteria" (DVD Audio) #"Hysteria" (live on MTV2 Video) #"Artwork Gallery"

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

Official Muse website
{{Authority control Muse (band) songs 2003 singles Song recordings produced by Rich Costey 2003 songs East West Records singles Songs written by Matt Bellamy Songs written by Dominic Howard Songs written by Chris Wolstenholme