Pressure
by Muse

Album: Simulation Theory (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Pressure" is a dark pulsating song exploring a mind trapped by the expectations of fans.

    I'm feeling the pressure
    I can't break out
    No one can hear me scream and shout
    Get out of my face, out of my mind


    "It's more like a straight Muse rock track," vocalist Matt Bellamy told Radio X. "It's like a different riff every 10 seconds, basically."
  • The song's music video continues Muse's collaboration with director Lance Drake, who also filmed the band's visuals for "Dig Down," "Thought Contagion" and "Something Human."

    The clip centers on a high school prom that goes awry, re-creating the school dance scene in the 1985 movie classic Back To The Future, with Muse taking on the role of the band. American comic actor and former American football player Terry Crews introduces the group as Rocket Baby Dolls (aka Muse's original band name) and we see Bellamy playing the same red Gibson guitar Marty McFly rocked at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. The clip then turns into something more akin to another classic '80s movie, Gremlins.
  • Matt Bellamy plays bass guitar in a Beatles tribute group named Dr. Pepper's Jaded Hearts Club Band, which also features Miles Kane of The Last Shadow Puppets. Muse drummer Dom Howard told the BBC he thinks the Muse's frontman's dalliance with the Fab Four fed through on this song.

    "Matt was studying a lot of Paul McCartney's basslines, and showing me," he explained. "[He] was like, 'Yeah, I mean, they're so intricate, and there's so much going on that you maybe don't initially notice.' So I think that song has got a bit of a Beatles, Paul McCartney-bass influence on it."
  • Muse incorporated crowd noise into the song from the penalty shootout at the end of England's last 16 victory over Columbia during the 2018 World Cup. The idea behind it being that taking penalties in such an important game is a pressure situation.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks

Ron and Russell Mael of SparksSongwriter Interviews

The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.

Strange Magnetics

Strange MagneticsSong Writing

How Bing Crosby, Les Paul, a US Army Signal Corps Officer, and the Nazis helped shape rock and Roll.

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in Songs

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.