Follow Me (Muse song)

"Follow Me"
Single by Muse
from the album The 2nd Law
A-side "Follow Me" (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
Released 7 December 2012
(see release history)
Format
Recorded October 2011 – July 2012
Shangri La Studios, Malibu;
Air Studios, London
Genre
Length 3:51
Label
Writer(s) Matthew Bellamy
Producer(s)
Muse singles chronology
"Madness"
(2012)		 "Follow Me"
(2012)		 "Supremacy"
(2013)
The 2nd Law track listing
Music video
"Follow Me" on YouTube
"Follow Me" (Lyric Video) on YouTube

"Follow Me" is a song by the English alternative rock band Muse, written by Matthew Bellamy for their sixth studio album, The 2nd Law. It appears as the sixth track on the album. The song was released as the third single off The 2nd Law on 7 December 2012, just over two months after the album was released.[1]

Composition

"Follow Me", which is co-produced by Nero, contains influences from dubstep, like the early promotional, "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable".[2][3][4] The song also contains instrumental elements from their previous two studio albums, Black Holes and Revelations and concept album The Resistance,[5] both of which were electronically inspired, like The 2nd Law. The beginning of the track features Bellamy's newborn son Bingham's heartbeat, recorded on Bellamy's iPhone. According to Bellamy, the song is about "having a baby and all that." This was later confirmed in an NME article[6] where the song was described as Bellamy's "ode to fatherhood." It was featured in the end credits of the film World War Z.

Release

"Follow Me" was originally released to radio stations as a promotional single from The 2nd Law, alongside "Panic Station" on 24 September 2012.[7] In October, it was confirmed that the song would serve as the third single from the album, after much speculation and debate.[1] In the lead up to the single release, Muse issued another single, a live version of the song, recorded during the band's performance at the O2 arena during the 2nd Law Tour. It was offered as a free download on 31 October 2012.[8] Muse released a lyric video for the song on 1 November 2012.[9]

Music video

The music video for "Follow Me" was released on 11 December 2012. Similarly to the video for "Resistance", it consists of live footage from the O2 Arena and Atlas Arena during the 2nd Law World Tour.[10]

Critical response

"Follow Me" received positive to mixed reviews from critics and mixed fan reception. Digital Spy gave the song a positive note in their review of the album, stating "adding a dollop of reverb to 'Follow Me' enhances the track's doom-sodden message of clinging to strength from a dark place."[2]

AllMusic's Gregory Heaney wrote in his review of The 2nd Law about the electronic influences on "Follow Me" and the previous single, "Madness", saying that "their excursions into dubstep and dance music on tracks like "Madness" and "Follow Me" feel more like remixes than original songs."[11]

Track listing

Digital download[12]
No. Title Length
1. "Follow Me" (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Remix) 5:54
UK promotional single
No. Title Length
1. "Follow Me" (Album Version) 3:51
2. "Follow Me" (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Remix) 5:54
Follow Me (Live from the O2, London, 27 October 2012)
No. Title Length
1. "Follow Me" (Live from the O2, London) 3:58

Charts

Chart (2012–13) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 31
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[14] 37
France (SNEP)[15] 56
Italy (FIMI)[16] 41
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[17] 37
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[18] 47
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[19] 19

Release history

Country Date Format Label
Europe[20] 14 November 2012 CD-R (Contemporary hit radio) Warner Music
United Kingdom[21] 7 December 2012 Digital download
10 December 2012 CD-R (Contemporary hit radio, BBC Radio 1 rotation)
United States[22] 9 July 2013 CD-R (Modern rock / Alternative radio)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Next Muse Single Confirmed as Follow Me". MuseLive. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Muse: 'The 2nd Law' - Album review - Music Album Review". Digital Spy. 2012-09-28. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
  3. ↑ Adams, Sean (2012-09-27). "Muse - The 2nd Law / Releases / Releases // Drowned In Sound". Drownedinsound.com. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
  4. ↑ Kitty Empire (2010-08-23). "Muse: The 2nd Law – review | Music | The Observer". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
  5. ↑ "NME Album Reviews - Muse - 'The 2nd Law'". Nme.Com. 2012-09-28. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
  6. ↑ http://www.nme.com/news/muse/65549
  7. ↑ "MUSE single - "Follow Me" - Very Rare Promo CD". eBay. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  8. ↑ "Muse - "Follow Me (Live from the O2, London, 27th October 2012)". f0110w.me. Muse / Warner Bros. Records. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  9. ↑ "Muse - Follow Me (Lyric Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  10. ↑ "MUSE: NEWS - Follow Me Video Online Now". Muse.mu. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  11. ↑ Heaney, Gregory. "The 2nd Law - Muse : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
  12. ↑ "Follow Me (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix) - Single". iTunes. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Muse – Follow Me" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Muse – Follow Me" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  15. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Muse – Follow Me" (in French). Les classement single.
  16. ↑ "FIMI – Classifiche – Top Digital – Classifica settimanale WK 6 del 2013". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (in Italian). Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  17. ↑ "Muse Album & Song Chart History" Japan Hot 100 for Muse. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  18. ↑ "Muse Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Rock Airplay for Muse. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  19. ↑ "Muse Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Alternative Songs for Muse. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  20. ↑ "Muse – Follow Me". Muse Discography. Discogs. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  21. ↑ "Follow Me (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix) - Single". iTunes UK. Apple inc. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  22. ↑ "Alternative Future Releases". All Access Media Group. Archived from the original on 2013-06-23.

External links