Bliss (Muse song)

"Bliss"

The "Bliss" CD1 cover.
Single by Muse
from the album Origin of Symmetry
B-side CD1
"The Gallery"
CD2
"Hyper Chondriac Music"
Released 20 August 2001
Format 7", CD, Maxi-CD, DVD
Genre New prog, space rock
Length 4:13 (Album Version)
4:36 (Single Version)
3:46 (radio edit)
Label Mushroom
Writer(s) Matthew Bellamy
Producer(s) David Bottrill, Muse
Muse singles chronology
"New Born"
(June 2001)
"Bliss"
(August 2001)
"Hyper Music" / "Feeling Good"
(November 2001)
Alternative cover
The "Bliss" CD2 cover.

"Bliss" is a song by English alternative rock band Muse. It is the second track of their second studio album Origin of Symmetry released in 2001. The song was also featured as the third single release from the album in the United Kingdom on 20 August 2001 (see 2001 in British music).

During the tour in promotion of Origin of Symmetry, "Bliss" was usually played as the final song, often coinciding with the release of giant confetti-filled balloons from the venues' roof. At one gig in Australia during the HAARP tour, balloons were released onto the stage, with Bellamy using his guitar to pop them.

Composition

Bliss is an electronic rock song that moves at a tempo of 129 bpm. The song opens and ends with piano arpeggios, with the majority of the song driven by bass and synth. Bellamy's vocal lines in the song span from F3 to E5, except for live performances, where he hits a G5 in the final chorus. The song is written in the key of C minor and modulates to the parallel major key during the chorus.

Matthew Bellamy has said "Bliss" is his favourite song "because it's got all these 80s arpeggios and keyboards on it which remind me of some music I heard on some children’s music programme when I was five. I think I ripped it off that. And that reminds me of when I was a bit simpler, a bit more of a pleasant state."[1]

Bliss reached number 12 in the British charts in 2001 making it one of their most successful singles from Origin Of Symmetry.

Music video

The music video features Matt Bellamy standing on a ledge then the song begins as he leaps and begins falling through a shaft in space. The shaft looks to be on a space station possibly on an abandoned planet, but the clear technology looks to be futuristic and well beyond what exists at this time. The other band members can be seen throughout the video watching Matt Bellamy as he falls each in their own pods along the shaft that Matt Bellamy is falling through. As the song reaches its climax he exits the shaft into space and towards what looks like a nebula or a star's photo-sphere. At that point, the light causes him to fade out as he begins to turn into dust as he edges closer to a white light and the song fades out.

Track listing

  1. "Bliss" - 4:36
  2. "The Gallery" - 3:32
  3. "Screenager" (live) - 4:00
  4. "Bliss" (video) - 4:36
  1. "Bliss" - 4:36
  2. "Hyper Chondriac Music" - 5:30
  3. "New Born" (live) - 5:57
  1. "Bliss" - 4:36
  2. "Screenager" (live) - 4:00
  1. "Bliss" - 4:36
  2. "Hyper Chondriac Music" - 5:30
  1. "Bliss" - 4:36
  2. "The Gallery" - 3:32
  3. "Screenager" (live) - 4:00
  4. "Hyper Chondriac Music" - 5:30
  5. "New Born" (live) - 5:57
  1. "Bliss" (DVD audio) - 4:36
  2. "Photo gallery"
  3. "Lyrics"
  4. "Discography"
  5. "Making of Bliss" (video)
  1. "Bliss" (Radio Edit) - 3:46

Personnel

References

External links