Megalomaniac (Incubus song)

"Megalomaniac"
Single by Incubus
from the album A Crow Left of the Murder...
B-side	"Monuments and Melodies"
Released	23 December 2003
Format	Enhanced CD
Recorded	October 2003
Genre	Alternative metal
Length	4:24 (radio edit) 4:54 (album version)
Label	Epic/Immortal
Writer(s)	Incubus
Producer(s)	Brendan O'Brien
Certification	None
Incubus singles chronology
"Circles" (2002) "Megalomaniac" (2004) "Talk Shows on Mute" (2004)

"Megalomaniac" is a song by the American rock band Incubus, from their 2004 album A Crow Left of the Murder... It was released as a single in December of 2003, and eventually reached the top of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks, where it stayed for a six-week period.

Composition

The song begins with a cyclic, scratchy warble that lasts about 30 seconds (not present in the radio edit) before fading into a more conventional introduction. The entire buildup lasts about one minute in all before climaxing into a heavy rock riff, with distorted electric guitars and bass, before going into the first verse. The song alternates between more mellow mood of the verses and the driving rock feel of the chorus, also managing to incorporate a bridge in the key of Dm, in contrast to the rest of the song, which is in Gm.

Lyrical interpretations

Though the lead singer Brandon Boyd claims the song is not specifically targeting anybody,^[1] "Megalomaniac" has been called a "barely veiled condemnation of George W. Bush".^[2] The band maintains that the song's meaning pertains to megalomaniacs in general with a particular emphasis on El Guapo from the American comedy film Three Amigos.

Music video

The video shows images of Adolf Hitler interspersed with shots of the band and of many people who are either protesting or helpless and victimized. As the video progresses, the Bush look-alike sends officers to disperse the crowd. The speaker's podium rises very high - then it is revealed that the podium is actually a gas pump. The gas pump spurts oil over the crowd, while the Bush figure's head is consumed by a Bald Eagle and starts eating people that turned into fish. The broad theme of the video seems to be corruption in general, though oil and explosions are recurrent symbols as well. MTV refused to show the video during daytime airplay due to the controversy.

Track listing

US/EU CD single

1. "Megalomaniac" (Radio Edit)
2. "Monuments and Melodies"
3. "Pistola" (Live at Lollapalooza 2003)

Billboard chart positions

External links

• Billboard.com Artist Chart History
• Amazon.com
• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

References