For the meaning of the term, see Stockholm syndrome

Stockholm syndrome

In psychology, Stockholm Syndrome is an apparently paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them...

, and for the song by Blink-182, see Blink-182 (album)

"Stockholm Syndrome" is a song by the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band Muse

Muse (band)

Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...

 from their third studio album: Absolution. The song was released as the album's lead single and also appears on the Absolution live DVD. It was released alongside its artwork as a download-only single through the official Muse website. The song's promotional video was included in the "Time Is Running Out" CD single, and was shot using a thermal camera

Thermographic camera

A thermographic camera or infrared camera is a device that forms an image using infrared radiation, similar to a common camera that forms an image using visible light...

. A different video was made for the song's release in the US, depicting the band playing the song in a fictitious talk show

Talk show

A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....

.

In March 2005, Q magazine

Q (magazine)

Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...

 placed "Stockholm Syndrome" at number 44 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.

In concert, the song is often played teamed with "Plug In Baby

Plug In Baby

"Plug In Baby" is a song by English alternative rock band Muse, featured on their 2001 second studio album Origin of Symmetry. Released as the lead single from the album on 5 March 2001, "Plug In Baby" became the band's highest-charting single when it peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart,...

" as the two songs have similar tempos. One example of this is during the second Wembley performance. However during The Resistance Tour, this song has usually been paired with the first part of the band's Exogenesis Symphony due to the similar tuning. Normally in live performances this song is followed up with by instrumental jams; these can make performances of the song last up to 10 minutes on some occasions, most notably at the band's headline appearance at the 2004 Glastonbury Festival

Glastonbury Festival

The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...

.

On the 8th of May, 2008, the song was released as downloadable content (as part of a Muse 3-song pack) for the rhythm game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a music video game, the third main installment in the Guitar Hero series, and the fourth title overall...

.

Lyrics and meaning

Stockholm syndrome

Stockholm syndrome

In psychology, Stockholm Syndrome is an apparently paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them...

 is a psychological

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

 response sometimes seen in an abducted hostage, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger (or at least risk) in which the hostage has been placed.

The song's lyrics are from the abuser's perspective, rather than victim's perspective, this often leads to confusion among listeners whether lyrics are related to the song's title or not.

The syndrome is named after the Norrmalmstorg robbery

Norrmalmstorg robbery

The Norrmalmstorg robbery was a bank robbery and hostage crisis best known as the origin of the term Stockholm syndrome. It occurred at the Norrmalmstorg square in Stockholm, Sweden in 1973...

 of Kreditbanken

Kreditbanken

Kreditbanken is a former bank that was based in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1974 it was merged with the Post Bank to form PK-Banken. In 1980, PK-Banken purchased Nordbanken, after which it changed its name to Nordbanken, which in turn became part of Nordea....

 at Norrmalmstorg

Norrmalmstorg

Norrmalmstorg is a square in central Stockholm. The square connects shopping streets Hamngatan and Biblioteksgatan and is the starting point for tram travellers with the Djurgården line...

, Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, in which the bank robbers held bank employees hostage and the victims became emotionally attached to their victimisers, and even defended their captors after they were freed from their six-day ordeal.