Musique (album)
Encyclopedia
Musique is the fourth music album of Norwegian
metal
band Theatre of Tragedy
, and the album that marked the switch from gothic metal
with Early Modern English
lyrics to a more electronic
style, using Modern English
.
The title on the album's cover, "[ˈmjuːzɪk]", is the pronunciation of the English word 'music' transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet.
The change in musical direction for Theatre of Tragedy was also marked by the switch from traditional gothic
and supernatural
themes to lyrics based on modern life, including technology
("Machine", "Radio"), nightlife ("Image", "The New Man") and streetfighting ("Crash/Concrete").
The album was re-released on July 27, 2009 as a limited edition of 2000 copies.
On the back of the album's casing, "Space Age" is written in Russian
: "Космическая эра"; moreover, the words "Гагарин, Гречко, Леонов, Лайка, Белка и Стрелка" ("Gagarin
, Grechko
, Leonov
, Laika
, Belka and Strelka") are recited throughout the song.
The song "Commute" has the line "It's more fun to commute" in its lyrics, possibly a reference to Kraftwerk
's "It's more fun to compute" from their Computer World
album, which in turn is a reference to "It's more fun to compete" found on old pinball machines.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Theatre of Tragedy
Theatre of Tragedy
Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which provided a great deal of influence to the gothic metal genre.-Biography:...
, and the album that marked the switch from gothic metal
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
with Early Modern English
Early Modern English
Early Modern English is the stage of the English language used from about the end of the Middle English period to 1650. Thus, the first edition of the King James Bible and the works of William Shakespeare both belong to the late phase of Early Modern English...
lyrics to a more electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
style, using Modern English
Modern English
Modern English is the form of the English language spoken since the Great Vowel Shift in England, completed in roughly 1550.Despite some differences in vocabulary, texts from the early 17th century, such as the works of William Shakespeare and the King James Bible, are considered to be in Modern...
.
The title on the album's cover, "[ˈmjuːzɪk]", is the pronunciation of the English word 'music' transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet.
The change in musical direction for Theatre of Tragedy was also marked by the switch from traditional gothic
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
and supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
themes to lyrics based on modern life, including technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
("Machine", "Radio"), nightlife ("Image", "The New Man") and streetfighting ("Crash/Concrete").
The album was re-released on July 27, 2009 as a limited edition of 2000 copies.
Track listing
- "Machine" – 4.14
- "City of Light" – 4.09
- "Fragment" – 4.00
- "Musique" – 3.29
- "Commute" – 5.25
- "Radio" – 3.39
- "Image" – 3.09
- "Crash/Concrete" – 3.29
- "Retrospect" – 4.03
- "Reverie" – 5.26
- "Space Age" – 4.16
- "The New Man" (Bonus Track) – 3.21
On the back of the album's casing, "Space Age" is written in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: "Космическая эра"; moreover, the words "Гагарин, Гречко, Леонов, Лайка, Белка и Стрелка" ("Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....
, Grechko
Georgi Grechko
Georgy Mikhaylovich Grechko is a retired Soviet cosmonaut who flew on several space flights among which Soyuz 17, Soyuz 26, and Soyuz T-14.Grechko graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Mechanics with a doctorate in mathematics. He was a member of Communist Party of Soviet Union...
, Leonov
Aleksei Leonov
Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov is a retired Soviet/Russian cosmonaut and Air Force Major General who, on 18 March 1965, became the first human to conduct a space walk.-Biography:...
, Laika
Laika
Laika was a Soviet space dog that became the first animal to orbit the Earth – as well as the first animal to die in orbit.As little was known about the impact of spaceflight on living creatures at the time of Laika's mission, and the technology to de-orbit had not yet been developed, there...
, Belka and Strelka") are recited throughout the song.
The song "Commute" has the line "It's more fun to commute" in its lyrics, possibly a reference to Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
's "It's more fun to compute" from their Computer World
Computer World
Computer World is the eighth studio album by the German electronic music band Kraftwerk, released in May 1981. The album deals with the themes of the rise of computers within society. Critics see this album as a peak in the career of Kraftwerk, along with Autobahn and Trans-Europe Express...
album, which in turn is a reference to "It's more fun to compete" found on old pinball machines.
Singles
Two tracks from Musique were released as singles.- "Image" was released in 2000. This single featured the album version of "Machine" plus remixes of "Fragment" (by Element) and "Machine" (by VNV NationVNV NationVNV Nation are a British/Irish electronic music band originally from Dublin, Ireland and Essex, United Kingdom and now based in Hamburg, Germany. They combine elements of electro-industrial, trance, synthpop and electronic body music . The members are Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson...
). - "Machine" was released as an EP in 2001. The EP featured the same remixes of "Fragment" and "Machine" which were on the "Image" single. The EP also featured the French version of "Image", a remix of "Reverie" and "Radio". The multimedia content on the disc is the video for "Image".