Song & Artist: Cherub Rock - Smashing Pumpkins
Album & Date: Siamese Dream - 13th July 1993
Nationality of band: American
Members at release: Jimmy Chamberlain (Drummer - American); Billy Corgan (Guitars/Vocals - America); James Iha (Guitar - America); D'arcy Wretzky (Bass Guitar - America)
YouTube:
My rant;
This is a grunge track for starters. People could call it alternative but by 1993 grunge was not entirely alternative.
Excellent finger playing riff at the start, building up with grungy guitars and an ethereal drum beat with vocals that change from soft and inviting to to raking and disparaging in the same line.
This could almost be hard rock, but it is not fast enough for that. It's a driving song, where you feel you could be singing it so hard you crash your car, but it's ok because you tell everyone you were rocking out to the pumpkins and they go.... "sweet....."
I love it when a graunching track tosses in lines like 'who wants that honey?' and makes it beyond supercool.
Can i mention the diabolically brilliant guitar solo that wrenches its way through the middle of the track? Can i? Can i really? Yay!! It is super! There you go!!
I know this track did not perform well as a single, certainly not as well as Today, but it is a firm starter for me at number 11. Booyah!!
Bands:
6 - America
5 - England
Countries:
23 - America
19 - England
1 - Tanzania
1 - Germany
Decade
7 - 90's
2 - 70's
2 - 60's
Year
2 - 1994
2 - 1997
1 - 1993
1 - 1975
1 - 1965
1 - 1991
1 - 1979
1 - 1968
Genre:
3 - Alternative
3 - Grunge
2 - Rock
1 - Glam Rock
1 - Punk
1 - Post Grunge
Love me some Pumpkin Smashing, but they're totally not grunge. They came out in 93 so at best they could be second wave, but in reality there isn't the punk influence and the moody angst usually associated with Grunge. They're more like distorted melodic hard rock, or shoegaze to get specific. There's just too much prettiness in the guitars, and too much pronounced Glam and Psychedelic influence in the music.
ReplyDeleteNow this is what I have been waiting for. An actual argument.... excellent. I love me a good argument. So we're talking about this specific song, not just the band. It is difficult to call the band any specific sub-genre because they shift genre from time to time.
DeleteFirstly, I don't recognise the word 'shoegaze' as a sub-genre of rock. I do love me that type of music, with somewhat unintelligible vocals that occasionally emerge from heavily 'effected' guitars. I would like a better term than the hideousness that is 'shoegaze'.
Secondly, grunge did not die when KC put on the T-shirt declaring it dead. Grunge is as grunge does and, yep I know it's borderline grunge on date alone, but listen to the track, it is grungey and lovely. If it weren't for Corgan's bizarre (Yet alluring) voice, the track could almost be off Nevermind.
Rock on.
I'll concede that Iha's guitar tone shares something with the tone on Nevermind, but that's largely because it was produced by the same guy (Butch Vig). But Corgan's lead riff? More like something from Brian May or even The Cure. If it was played on piano it would sound exactly like The Cure. I keep coming back to the influences of Grunge being Pop and Punk with a bit of Metal thrown in. Nothing about this is punk - even in the video they're wearing distinctly non-grunge psychedelic shirts. And that layering of guitar sounds?
ReplyDeleteBut thats talking about just this song, probably the grungiest song in the Pumpkins catalogue post Gish. 1979, Today, Bullet with Butterfly Wings - they're all psychedelic pop with the distortion turned up.
Hmmm, I think we're going to have to discuss this in more detail over a beer ;)
While I think about it, you can embed the youtube in the blog (so I don't have to leave your page to watch the clips) if you paste the "Embed" link instead of just the url