Uprising (song)

"Uprising"
Single by Muse
from the album The Resistance
B-side	"Who Knows Who" (7") Does It Offend You, Yeah? Mix (CD)
Released	4 August 2009
Format	7" CD digital download
Recorded	2008–09 at Studio Bellini (Lake Como, Italy)
Genre	Synthrock glam rock
Length	5:03 (Album version) 4:08 (International radio edit) 3:35 (US radio edit/Now 74 edit)
Label	Warner Bros. Helium-3
Writer(s)	Matthew Bellamy
Producer(s)	Muse
Muse singles chronology
"Map of the Problematique" (2007) "Uprising" (2009) "Undisclosed Desires" (2009)
7" single cover art The Resistance track listing "Uprising" (1) "Resistance" (2)

"Uprising" is a song by the English rock band Muse. It was released as the lead single from the band's fifth studio album, The Resistance, on 7 September 2009. The song was written by band member Matthew Bellamy, produced by the band themselves, and mixed by Mark 'Spike' Stent.^[1] "Uprising" had a very positive commercial performance, peaking within the top ten in seven countries. It was certified silver in the United Kingdom, gold in four countries, platinum in two countries, and double-platinum in the United States making it Muse's best selling single.

Background and composition

The title "Uprising" was first revealed on 3 July 2009, when the album's track listing was released sporadically on the band's Twitter page; the song was unveiled as the opening track of the album, preceding the title track "Resistance".^[2] In a pre-release review, French media source JudeBox described the song as follows:

Matt Bellamy’s voice is more serious and academic than usual. However it is delivered in a similar vein: Conspiracy, Apocalypse … He announces a “union”, speaks of “victory” that “they do not control.” Sound is still very heavy and dense, accompanied by mounted synthesizers. The structure of the song is simple for once.^[3]

"Uprising" is a synthrock^[4] and glam rock^[5] song. The song is often considered to be partly inspired by the hit Blondie song "Call Me", because of the thumping bass line and the occasional lead guitar riff (Blondie have in turn referenced this in their 2010 live performances by singing the lyrics of "Call Me" whilst covering the music of "Uprising"^[6]). However, "Uprising" can be argued to have more in common with the Black Sabbath song "Children of the Grave" which Blondie's "Call Me" may have been based on.^[7] Many journalists have mentioned that "Uprising" is similar to the theme music for Doctor Who,^[8][9][10] and the 1988 hit single Doctorin' the Tardis by The KLF.^[11]

Music video

The music video, directed by American collective Hydra (Sam Stephens, John Hobbs and others), first aired on MTV2 on 17 September 2009.^[12] The band performs through a miniature city in the bed of an old, small truck, with a lit fuse following behind. At times, they are also seen performing inside a trailer, which seems to be exploding. Through the window of a store, the band at one point looks at TVs with teddy bears (with reptilian eyes and fangs) on the screens; Matt smashes the window and TVs with his guitar. At the end of the video, a group of teddy bears, similarly-looking to the teddy bears seen on the TVs, rise up from the ground and start destroying the miniature city, only to all fall down at the end of the video. This is said to pay homage to the climactic scene in Ghostbusters, with one shot even mirroring the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man's introduction.^[13]

The video won "Best Special Effects" in the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost "Best Rock Video" to Thirty Seconds to Mars' "Kings and Queens."

Release

While "United States of Eurasia" was initially thought by the Muse fan community to be the first single due for release, Muse revealed, via their Twitter page, that it would in fact be "Uprising".^[14] It was revealed in July 2009 that the band would perform at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. They played at the theatre across the street from where the VMAs were held, and were introduced by Gerard Butler.^[15] On 28 July 2009 Zane Lowe played a 32-second sample on BBC Radio 1 ahead of its first play in full on 3 August 2009. The song peaked at No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart and is the band's fourth top 10 single on that chart. The song was a huge success in Poland, going up to number 1 on the Singles Chart.

"Uprising" won the Best Single award at the 2010 Music Producers Guild Awards in London.^[16]

Track listing

7"

• Warner Bros. — WEA458

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Uprising"	5:04
2.	"Who Knows Who" (with Mike Skinner)	3:24

CD

• Warner Bros. — WEA458CD

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Uprising"	5:04
2.	"Uprising" (Does It Offend You Yeah Mix)	4:00

Digital download

iTunes release[17]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Uprising"	5:04
2.	"Uprising" (Does It Offend You Yeah Mix)	4:00
3.	"Uprising" (Live from Teignmouth)	5:37

Charts and certifications

Commercial performance

"Uprising" had a very positive commercial performance. It peaked within the top ten in Belgium (Wallonia), Denmark, Finland, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It was certified silver by the BPI in the United Kingdom, gold by the ARIA in Australia, BEA in Belgium, MC in Canada, and FIMI, platinum by SNEP in France and IFPI in Switzerland, and double-platinum by the RIAA in the United States.

After being released to radio in the United States, the single reached No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart on 9 September 2009,^[18] becoming Muse's 6th Top 10 single and first No. 1 on that chart, eventually spending 17 weeks at No. 1, becoming the second longest running No. 1 song ever on the chart. It also became one of three songs at the time to almost concurrently break the 52 week record held by 30 Seconds to Mars' The Kill, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus's Face Down, and Finger Eleven's Paralyzer. As songs on the chart are retired for charting out of the top 10 beyond week 52, it was initially removed for a week after logging its 52nd week for missing the top 10. However, the following week it gained enough points to return to the top 10, returning it to the chart for a 53rd week, which would mark its final tally. In 2013, it was ranked the top song of all time in the magazine's 25th Anniversary list of the top 100 songs to grace the chart.^[19] It became their first Billboard Hot 100 single (and Top 40 single), peaking at No. 37 on the week ending 3 October 2009 and spent 20 weeks on the Hot 100. It remains the band's only Top 40 single to date. It has sold 2,170,000 copies in the US as of April 2013.^[20]

Weekly charts Chart (2009–2010) Peak position Australian Singles Chart[21] 23 Austrian Singles Chart[22] 29 Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[23] 12 Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)[23] 6 Canadian Hot 100[24] 28 Danish Singles Chart[25] 5 Dutch Singles Chart[26] 22 European Hot 100 17 Finnish Singles Chart[27] 8 French Singles Chart[28] 74 German Singles Chart[29] 40 Irish Singles Chart 11 Italian Singles Chart[23] 14 Japan Hot 100 Singles 12 New Zealand Singles Chart[30] 12 Norwegian Singles Chart[31] 4 Scottish Singles Chart 6 Swedish Singles Chart[32] 13 Swiss Singles Chart[29] 8 UK Singles Chart 9 US Billboard Hot 100[33] 37 US Billboard Rock Songs[34] 2 US Billboard Adult Alternative Songs[35] 21 US Billboard Alternative Songs[36] 1 US Billboard Adult Top 40[37] 14

Year-end charts Chart (2009) Position Hungarian Singles Chart[38] 61 Italian Singles Chart[39] 59 Swiss Singles Chart[40] 59 UK Singles Chart[41] 161 U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs 16 Chart (2010) Position U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs 1 All-time charts Chart (2013) Position U.S. Billboard Alternative Top 100 1 Sales and certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Australia (ARIA)[42] Gold 35,000 Belgium (BEA)[43] Gold 15,000 Canada (Music Canada)[44] Gold 20,000 France (SNEP)[45] Platinum 250,000 Italy (FIMI)[46] Gold 15,000 Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[47] Platinum 30,000 United Kingdom (BPI)[48] Silver 300,000 United States (RIAA)[49] 2× Platinum 2,170,000[20] ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

1. '"Uprising"' (Back sleeve). Muse. Warner Music Group. 2009. WEA458.
2. "The Resistance: The Tracklisting". Muse. 4 July 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
3. "The Resistance Mini-Review". Muselive. 9 July 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
4. Jess Harvell. "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Muse: The Resistance".
5. Collis, Clark (18 September 2009). "Music Review: The Resistance (2009)". Entertainment Weekly (1065–1066). Retrieved 5 October 2011.
6. "Blondie - Call Me (Live at Isle Of Wight Festival 2010)". Blondie - Live at Isle of Wight. Isle of Wight Festival/panicofgirls. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
7. "Blondie vs Black Sabbath". That Song Sounds Like. 29 December 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
8. http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&p=6886&more=1&c=1
9. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/chartblog/2009/09/muse_uprising.shtml
10. http://www.veidt.com/?p=1020
11. http://dogandpanda.com/production/muse_uprising.html
12. http://www.videostatic.com/vs/2009/08/booked-muse-hydra-directors.html
13. Muse Nod to "Ghostbusters" in Explosive "Uprising" Video
14. "To clarify!: Treasure hunt ...". Muse (Twitter). 14 July 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
15. "Adam Lambert On VMA Performers Muse: 'Their Music Is Unbelievable'". MTV. 17 July 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
16. Uprising Songfacts
17. "Uprising - Single". iTunes. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
18. http://www.americasmusiccharts.com/index.cgi?fmt=R3
19. "Alternative Chart 25th Anniversary: Top 100 Songs". Billboard Magazine. September 9, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
20. Paul Grein (April 3, 2013). "Week Ending March 31, 2013. Songs: "Thrift Shop" Sets First Quarter Record". Yahoo Music (Chart Watch). Retrieved April 10, 2013.
21. "Muse - Uprising". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
22. http://acharts.us/austria_singles_top_75
23. http://www.italiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Muse&titel=Uprising&cat=s
24. "Muse Chart Positions". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
25. "Muse - Uprising". danishcharts.com. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
26. "Muse - Uprising" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
27. "Muse - Uprising". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
28. "Muse - Uprising". lescharts.com. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
29. "Muse - Uprising". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
30. "Muse - Uprising". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
31. "Muse - Uprising". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
32. "Muse - Uprising". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
33. "Muse Chart Positions". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
34. "Muse Chart Positions". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
35. "Muse Chart Positions". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
36. "Muse Chart Positions". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
37. "Muse Chart Positions". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
38. "Éves összesített listák - MAHASZ Rádiós TOP 100 (súlyozott)". Mahasz. Mahasz.
39. "FIMI - Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana - Ricerche e dati di mercato". Fimi.it. 19 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
40. "2009 Year End Swiss Singles Chart". Swiss Music Charts. 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
41. "Charts Plus Year end 2009" (PDF). Charts Plus. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
42. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
43. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2011". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
44. "Canadian single certifications – Muse – Uprising". Music Canada.
45. "Année 2012 - Certifications au 1/1/2013" (PDF). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (in French). 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
46. "Italian single certifications – Muse – Uprising" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 28 July 2014. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter Muse in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
47. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Muse; 'Uprising')". Hung Medien.
48. "British single certifications – Muse – Uprising". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Uprising in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
49. "American single certifications – Muse – Uprising". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links

Official "Uprising" (sound track), licensed by SpaceX for Reusable Launch System concept video, 3:58, 29 Sep 2011.