Starlight (song)

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“Starlight”
“Starlight” cover
Single by Muse
from the album Black Holes & Revelations
B-side "Easily"
Released 4 September 2006
Format 7", CD, DVD, download
Genre Alternative rock
Progressive rock
Length 3:59
Label Helium 3, Warner Bros.
Producer Rich Costey
Muse singles chronology
"Supermassive Black Hole"
(June 2006)		 "Starlight"
(September 2006)		 "Knights of Cydonia"
(November 2006)
Black Holes & Revelations track listing
"Take a Bow"
(1)		 "Starlight"
(2)		 "Supermassive Black Hole"
(3)

"Starlight" is a song by English alternative rock band Muse and is the second track on their 2006 album Black Holes & Revelations. "Starlight" was the second single from Black Holes & Revelations and was released on September 4, 2006 in the United Kingdom.[1] The song peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart.[2] It was also the second single from the album released in the United States, and became the band's highest-peaking single on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, reaching number 2.[3] The song was first played live during the Radio 1's Big Weekend festival in summer 2006.[4] Live, "Starlight" is usually played half a tone down from the key of B used on Black Holes and Revelations.

Despite its simplicity, "Starlight" was the most difficult song to write on Black Holes & Revelations. It underwent multiple recordings before the final version was produced.[5]

Contents

[edit] Background, writing, and recording

"Starlight" was first written in the band's practice studio in late 2004. The song was influenced by American rock band The Strokes. Bassist Chris Wolstenholme said that it is "a love song about missing someone, friends, family, someone you love."[6] Lead singer Matthew Bellamy commented that he first wrote the song on a boat in bad weather.[7]

In a separate interview with Tom Wilson and Lara Mathews, posted on MuseLive Forums, Wolstenholme was asked what he thought "was the hardest song on the album to record?" His response was "Starlight," stating it "was one of the songs we went around in circles with, and we recorded maybe six or seven different versions of it."[5]

[edit] Music video

Muse worked with Paul Minor on Starlight's music video, which was filmed in Los Angeles.[1] In the video, the band perform on the deck of a handysize bulk carrier. Band members are also carrying flares, in an attempt to "get rescued," but in the end this fails and they are abandoned.[6] This relates to the song's lyrics, which mentions ships and abandonment.[7]

Matthew Bellamy stated in an interview with The Sunday Mail that the band wanted to "create the idea of a band lost at sea because we see ourselves as being outside what's happening in the music scene." He also told the interviewer, Billy Sloan, that "it was an epic feeling playing on a huge platform with the sea all around us."[1]

[edit] Critical reception

"Starlight" received mixed critical reviews, from various publishers.

NME's review was harshly critical of the song, with the reviewer stating that the song "is a tune so chart-hungry it's virtually dry-humping JK And Joel's legs."[8]

MusicOMH stated that the song was "a track perfectly at home on drivetime radio" while saying it "showcases another side to the band's music and their staggering breadth of appeal."[9]

Meanwhile, Leeds Music Scene reviewer Maria Pinto-Fernandes gave "Starlight" a glowing review, with a score of 4.5 stars out of 5. In her review, she commented that "the band's musical arrangements on the track do not come into being just by accident." She also stated that the song was just as passionate when performed live as when heard on CD.[10]

[edit] Chart performance

"Starlight" entered the UK Singles Chart the week of September 3 at number 38 via digital downloads. The following week, and with the physical release in the UK, the single peaked at number 13. Since then, the single's chart position steadily declined, and it remained in the Top 75 after fifteen weeks, during the week of December 11, 2006. The next week, "Starlight" had fallen out of the Top 75.[11]

"Starlight" has also peaked at number 2 on Billboard's Modern Rock Chart, Muse's highest charting single to date on any major chart. It also charted in at #9 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2006.[12] It was also ranked at #4 on Colombian radio station Radiónica's 2006 top 100.[13]

[edit] Track listings

[edit] 7" picture disc

  1. "Starlight" - 3:59[14]
  2. "Supermassive Black Hole" (Phones Control Voltage mix) - 4:19

[edit] CD

  1. "Starlight" - 3:59[14]
  2. "Easily" - 3:40

[edit] DVD

  1. "Starlight" (video) - 4:07[14]
  2. "Starlight" (audio) - 3:59
  3. "Starlight" (making of the video)
  4. "Hidden Track"*

*The 'hidden track' on the DVD release is a short song. It is sung in a distorted falsetto voice with profane lyrics (largely variations of the word 'fuck' with some instruments in the background. Between fans it is often referred as "You Fucking Motherfucker". The cowbell click-track was left in the song.[15]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Shock Muse from the US. The Sunday Mail. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  2. ^ Muse announce new single (2006-07-20). Retrieved on 2006-08-16.
  3. ^ Artist Chart History - Muse. Billboard. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
  4. ^ Muse make comeback at Radio 1 Big Weekend. NME. Retrieved on 22 August 2006.
  5. ^ a b Interview with Chris Wolstenholme. Tom Wilson, Lara Mathews. MuseLive. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  6. ^ a b Muse Get Stuck At Sea — Without Unicorns — In 'Starlight' Clip. VH1. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  7. ^ a b Starlight (song). MuseWiki. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  8. ^ Reviews: Muse: Starlight. NME. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  9. ^ Muse - Starlight: Track review. Michael Hubbard. MusicOMH. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  10. ^ Muse - Starlight - CD review. Maria Pinto-Fernandes. Leeds Music Scene. Retrieved on 2007-08-27.
  11. ^ Music Charts - The Official UK Top 75 Singles: Week of Mon 11 Dec. UK Singles Chart. Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
  12. ^ Hottest 100, 2006. Triple J. Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
  13. ^ Top 100 of 2006. Radiónica. Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
  14. ^ a b c HMV.co.uk: singles: Starlight (2006). Retrieved on 2006-09-06.
  15. ^ Hidden Track. Muse Syndrome. Retrieved on 2007-11-05.

[edit] External links

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Muse
Matthew Bellamy · Dominic Howard · Christopher Wolstenholme
Studio albums
Compilations / DVDs
Demos / EPs
Singles
Other songs
Production
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