Hoodoo (song)

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Muse song
Name Hoodoo
Album/single
Length 3:43
Alternative titles Nina
First live performance 24th October 2006
Latest live performance 6th August 2007
Recorded Unknown
Writer/composer Matthew Bellamy
Producer Rich Costey

<flashmp3>http://www.musewiki.org/images/Hoodoo.mp3%7Crightbg=0xDDEEFF%7Cleftbg=0xDDEEFF%7Cbg=0xFFFFFF</flashmp3>

Description

A quiet song, consisting of Spanish-esque electric guitar and a romantic piano section.

The romantic piano bears a resemblance to the piano part in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovksy's Piano Concerto #1, Op. 23 - 1. Allegro Non Troppo E Molto Maestoso at time [0:11]. The beginning of Hoodoo consists of only an almost whisper soft Bellamy and the Spanish-esque guitar, very similar to a passage in Isaac Albeniz's Asturias (Leyenda) academic composition for guitar. The beginning is almost entirely arrhythmical until [1:13] when strings and drums join and the song builds tension and dynamics until [1:44] when the song becomes an epic fortissimo with the entrance of romantic piano, Bellamy's passionate high chest-voice vocals, and the addition of homophonic arpeggio string parts at [2:36]. At [3:00] it reverts back to the mezzo-piano original section featuring a soft sung Bellamy and the guitar.

Additional information

This song was originally entirely piano based, and was part of a set of very classical-sounding songs but Bellamy felt that the original piano-based piano intro and outro were too posh sounding, and so it was later adapted for Black Holes and Revelations. The track was recorded in two sections, one consisting of guitar and vocals, and the second consisting of piano, bass and drums, together with strings arrangement. The production was done in two stages. The majority of the song was produced in Avatar studio, while the intro, outro and strings were produced in Italy.[1]
The lyrics were voted "Lyric of the Decade" in 2009 by readers of Q Magazine.

Live

The beginning of the 2006 European tour marked the first performance of Hoodoo in in its piano form, played with Bellamy on the piano, Nicholls on bass and Wolstenholme on guitar.[2][3][4]

On some occasions, the second chord of the verses are replaced by an inverted D flat major chord, instead of F minor. This was a good indicator of Apocalypse Please being played later in the set, possibly after a break.

Lyrics

Come into my life
Regress into a dream
We will hide
And build a new reality

Draw another picture
Of the life you could've had
Follow your instincts
And choose the other path

You should never be afraid
You're protected
From trouble and pain
Why, why
Is this a crisis
In your eyes again?

Come to be
How did it come to be?
Tied to a railroad
No love to set us free
Watch our souls fade away
And our bodies crumbling
Don't be afraid

I will take the blow for you

And I've had recurring nightmares
That I was loved for who I am
And missed the opportunity
To be a better man

References

  1. Jeff Touzeau. (2007-03). An Evening with Rich Costey. EQ. [verify]
  2. susurr0. (2006-10-25). [Muse forum post]. Official Muse forum. Retrieved from board.muse.mu.
  3. colin88. (2006-10-25). [Muselive thread]. Muselive. Retrieved from muselive.com.
  4. Performance Footage--2006-10-25--dammitjanetILY -- (Youtube)


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