Panic Station by Muse

Album: The 2nd Law (2012)

License This Song

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

Stevie Wonder was one of the inspirations for this '80s inspired tune. Frontman Matt Bellamy told NME: "That's Scary Monsters Bowie meets Primus. Doing a funk track was for us remembering Rush and Primus, the more slap-bass things we liked."

Drummer Dom Howard added: "Those big, spacious, wet, massive drum sounds. It started to conjure up memories of songs we'd listened to or grew up on in the '80s by Prince and Stevie Wonder and we wanted to take It in that direction."
Muse recorded The 2nd Law in London, then worked on overdubs in Los Angeles with Beck's father, composer David Campbell. Bellamy told Rolling Stone that Campbell "understood that film-music thing we were looking for. And he found a lot of amazing people," including a trumpeter for this track who played on Stevie Wonder's "Superstition."
Matt Bellamy told NME: "At first I sang 'Panic Station' normally. It wasn't exciting, so I pretended I was Prince."
Muse received their first-ever Parental Advisory label on The 2nd Law because of the inclusion of the F-word on this song.
The song's music video sees the Muse trio taking to the streets of Tokyo. It was shot during the Japanese dates of The 2nd Law Tour and was self-directed by the band. The clip caused controversy with its original title shot, which depicted the Rising Sun flag coming up behind the city's skyline. The flag is commonly associated with Japan's militarism during World War II, causing some of their East Asian fans to complain. The band quickly pulled, re-edited and uploaded a new version of the visual.

Comments: 1

K from Nowhere, OnBest song on the album IMO. It's so awesome.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Everything ZenBush

After Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale coupled up in 1996, Rossdale's Bush bandmates referred to their hit song "Everything Zen" as "Everything Gwen."

Watching The DetectivesElvis Costello

Lyrically, Elvis Costello's "Watching The Detectives" was inspired by American detective shows; musically, it was inspired by The Clash.

Enter SandmanMetallica

The original "Enter Sandman" lyric was about crib death, with the "sandman" killing a baby.

That Don't Impress Me MuchShania Twain

Brad Pitt and Elvis both get mentions in the 1997 Shania Twain hit "That Don't Impress Me Much."

White as SnowU2

Bono came up with the idea of focusing on a soldier's last thoughts as he dies from his wounds in the U2 song "White As Snow" after reading William Golding's 1956 novel Pincher Martin.

Lady MarmaladeLabelle

"Lady Marmalade" is the only song to hit #1 twice in both the UK and US.

Editor's Picks

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."

P.F. SloanSongwriter Interviews

P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.