1979 (song)
Encyclopedia
"1979" is a song by American alternative rock
band The Smashing Pumpkins
. Released in 1996 as the second single from their third studio album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
, "1979" was written by frontman Billy Corgan
, and features loops
and samples
that were uncharacteristic of previous Smashing Pumpkins songs. The song was popular with critics and fans; Allmusic's Amy Hanson called it a "somewhat surprising hit". The song was nominated for the Record of the Year
and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
at the Grammy Awards, and won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video
.
tour and wrote about 56 songs for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the last of which was "1979". As the Mellon Collie sessions came to a conclusion, "1979" was just a couple of chord
changes and a snippet of a melody without words. When the time came to choose the songs that were to appear on the album, producer Flood said that "1979" was "not good enough" and wanted to drop it from the record. This, however, inspired Corgan to finish it in four hours. The next day, Flood heard "1979" once and decided immediately to put it on the album. Corgan considers "1979" the most personally important song on Mellon Collie.
The song features a sample of Corgan's voice repeated throughout. During recording, Corgan was singing "ooh" as the melody line, so he and Flood decided to record him singing to a tape. The pair electronically manipulated several samples and looped them against a drumbeat.
and number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks
and on the Modern Rock Tracks
charts. It peaked at number fifty-four on the U.S. Hot Digital Songs
in 2005, nine years after first being released. The song was nominated for the Record of the Year
and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
at the Grammy Awards. Pitchfork Media
included the song at number 21 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s.
In a 1996 Spin
interview, Corgan indicated that "1979" was probably the only indication he had for what the next Pumpkins album would sound like, "something that combines technology, and a rock sensibility, and pop, and whatever, and hopefully clicks. Between 'Bullet with Butterfly Wings
' and '1979' you have the bookends of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
. You've literally [heard] the end of the rock thing, and the beginning of the new thing".
for "1979" was directed by the team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
, who had previously directed the music video for "Rocket". Originally, the band approached another director (possibly Spike Jonze
) to film the video for "1979". His idea was that all the band members were residents in an alien
hotel and they were all going to have specially made alien-elephant masks. This video would have cost over a million dollars.
The video follows a day in the life of disaffected suburb
an teenagers driving around in a Dodge Charger
. It is based on a concept Corgan created, featuring an idealized version of teenage life, while also trying to capture the feeling of being bored as a teenager. Originally, Corgan wanted a scene of violence, in which the convenience store was trashed by the teens at the end of the video, but Dayton and Faris convinced him to go for something more tame. Aside from Corgan appearing throughout the video in the backseat of a car, the other band members had small parts in the video; James Iha
appears as a convenience store clerk, D'arcy Wretzky
as an irate neighbor, Jimmy Chamberlin
as a policeman, and all three of them appear together as the band in the party scene. Band manager "Gooch" plays Jimmy's partner.
Upon finishing the video shoot, the band flew to New York to perform. However, all tapes of the footage were accidentally left sitting on top of a car, and were lost as the driver departed. The group later flew back to reshoot the entire video again.
The "1979" video was highly acclaimed. It won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video
in 1996. It was one of Canadian cable television music channel MuchMusic's
Countdown
number-one videos of 1996. Billy Corgan considers it the Pumpkins' best video, calling it "the closest we've ever come to realizing everything we wanted."
The video for the 1998 song "Perfect" is a sequel to this one, and involves the same characters who are now older.
UK/US CD single/UK 12"
1996 Re-issue/Max-CD
1979 Mixes
Tracks 1, 2, and 4 are remixed by Roli Mosimann
. Track 3 is remixed by Moby
.
|- valign="top"
| width="50%" |
{| class="wikitable"
!Chart
!Peak
position
|-
| Australian Singles Chart
| align="center"|16
|-
| Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart
| align="center"|37
|-
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart
| align="center"|21
|-
| Canadian RPM
Singles Chart
| align="center"|2
|-
| Canadian RPM Alternative 30
| align="center"|1
|-
| Dutch Top 40
| align="center"|29
|-
| Finnish Singles Chart
| align="center"|11
|-
| French Singles Chart
| align="center"|38
|-
| Irish Singles Chart
| align="center"|6
|-
| New Zealand Singles Chart
| align="center"|9
|-
| UK Singles Chart
| align="center"|16
|-
| US Billboard Hot 100
| align="center"|12
|-
| US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks
| align="center"|1
|-
| US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks
| align="center"|1
|-
| US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream
| align="center"|10
|-
| US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play
| align="center"|17
|}
!End of year chart (1996)
!Position
|-
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100
| align="center"|44
|-
| Canadian RPM Singles Chart
| align="center"|15
|-
| Canadian RPM Alternative 30
| align="center"|3
|-
|}
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 The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
. Released in 1996 as the second single from their third studio album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is the third album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released October 24, 1995 on Virgin Records. Produced by frontman Billy Corgan with Flood and Alan Moulder, the twenty-eight-track album was released as a two-disc CD and triple LP...
, "1979" was written by frontman Billy Corgan
Billy Corgan
William Patrick "Billy" Corgan, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet best known as the frontman and sole permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins. Formed by Corgan and guitarist James Iha in Chicago, Illinois in 1987, the band quickly gained steam with the...
, and features loops
Music loop
In electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
and samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
that were uncharacteristic of previous Smashing Pumpkins songs. The song was popular with critics and fans; Allmusic's Amy Hanson called it a "somewhat surprising hit". The song was nominated for the Record of the Year
Grammy Award for Record of the Year
The Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011.The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
at the Grammy Awards, and won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video was first given out in 1992. Prior to its inception, though, this award was known as Best Post-Modern Video in 1989 and 1990...
.
Background and music
According to statements in interviews, Corgan worked nonstop after the Siamese DreamSiamese Dream
Siamese Dream is the second album by the American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 27, 1993 on Virgin Records. The album fused diverse influences such as shoegazing, dream pop, grunge, classic rock, heavy metal, and progressive rock.Despite recording sessions fraught...
tour and wrote about 56 songs for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the last of which was "1979". As the Mellon Collie sessions came to a conclusion, "1979" was just a couple of chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
changes and a snippet of a melody without words. When the time came to choose the songs that were to appear on the album, producer Flood said that "1979" was "not good enough" and wanted to drop it from the record. This, however, inspired Corgan to finish it in four hours. The next day, Flood heard "1979" once and decided immediately to put it on the album. Corgan considers "1979" the most personally important song on Mellon Collie.
The song features a sample of Corgan's voice repeated throughout. During recording, Corgan was singing "ooh" as the melody line, so he and Flood decided to record him singing to a tape. The pair electronically manipulated several samples and looped them against a drumbeat.
Reception
"1979" is the Smashing Pumpkins' highest-charting single, reaching number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...
and on the Modern Rock Tracks
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
charts. It peaked at number fifty-four on the U.S. Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
in 2005, nine years after first being released. The song was nominated for the Record of the Year
Grammy Award for Record of the Year
The Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011.The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
at the Grammy Awards. Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
included the song at number 21 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s.
In a 1996 Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
interview, Corgan indicated that "1979" was probably the only indication he had for what the next Pumpkins album would sound like, "something that combines technology, and a rock sensibility, and pop, and whatever, and hopefully clicks. Between 'Bullet with Butterfly Wings
Bullet with Butterfly Wings
"Bullet with Butterfly Wings" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the lead single from the band's 1995 double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The song won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. This song was the band's first Top 40...
' and '1979' you have the bookends of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is the third album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released October 24, 1995 on Virgin Records. Produced by frontman Billy Corgan with Flood and Alan Moulder, the twenty-eight-track album was released as a two-disc CD and triple LP...
. You've literally [heard] the end of the rock thing, and the beginning of the new thing".
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "1979" was directed by the team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris are a team of American music video directors, also husband and wife, that received critical acclaim for their feature film directorial debut, Little Miss Sunshine....
, who had previously directed the music video for "Rocket". Originally, the band approached another director (possibly Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television...
) to film the video for "1979". His idea was that all the band members were residents in an alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
hotel and they were all going to have specially made alien-elephant masks. This video would have cost over a million dollars.
The video follows a day in the life of disaffected suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an teenagers driving around in a Dodge Charger
Dodge Charger (B-body)
The Dodge Charger was a mid-size automobile produced by Dodge. The 1966-1974 Chargers were based on the Chrysler B platform. The 1975-1978 Chargers were based on the Chrysler Cordoba.-Origin of the Charger:...
. It is based on a concept Corgan created, featuring an idealized version of teenage life, while also trying to capture the feeling of being bored as a teenager. Originally, Corgan wanted a scene of violence, in which the convenience store was trashed by the teens at the end of the video, but Dayton and Faris convinced him to go for something more tame. Aside from Corgan appearing throughout the video in the backseat of a car, the other band members had small parts in the video; James Iha
James Iha
James Yoshinobu Iha b. March 26, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois) is a Japanese American rock musician. He is best known as having been a guitarist and co-founder of the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins and for his eclectic musical projects of recent years, most notably being a permanent...
appears as a convenience store clerk, D'arcy Wretzky
D'arcy Wretzky
D'arcy Elizabeth Wretzky is an American musician. She is best known for her work as the original bass player of the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins...
as an irate neighbor, Jimmy Chamberlin
Jimmy Chamberlin
Jimmy Chamberlin is an American drummer, songwriter, and producer. He is best known as the former drummer for the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. After a drug-related incident with touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin in 1996, Chamberlin was fired from the band and joined The Last...
as a policeman, and all three of them appear together as the band in the party scene. Band manager "Gooch" plays Jimmy's partner.
Upon finishing the video shoot, the band flew to New York to perform. However, all tapes of the footage were accidentally left sitting on top of a car, and were lost as the driver departed. The group later flew back to reshoot the entire video again.
The "1979" video was highly acclaimed. It won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video was first given out in 1992. Prior to its inception, though, this award was known as Best Post-Modern Video in 1989 and 1990...
in 1996. It was one of Canadian cable television music channel MuchMusic's
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
Countdown
Countdown (MuchMusic TV series)
The MuchMusic Top 30 Countdown is a ninety-minute music video program block, that airs on Canadian music television station MuchMusic. Countdown is one of the oldest programs that continues to be aired on Much Music since its debut...
number-one videos of 1996. Billy Corgan considers it the Pumpkins' best video, calling it "the closest we've ever come to realizing everything we wanted."
The video for the 1998 song "Perfect" is a sequel to this one, and involves the same characters who are now older.
Track listing
US 7" double A-side singleUK/US CD single/UK 12"
1996 Re-issue/Max-CD
1979 Mixes
Tracks 1, 2, and 4 are remixed by Roli Mosimann
Roli Mosimann
Roli Mosimann is a drummer, electronic musician and record producer who has worked in genres ranging from industrial to pop. Originally from Switzerland, Mosimann first came to attention with the New York City no wave band Swans and later collaborated with Foetus leader J. G...
. Track 3 is remixed by Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
.
Peak positions
{| width="0%"|- valign="top"
| width="50%" |
{| class="wikitable"
!Chart
!Peak
position
|-
| Australian Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
| align="center"|16
|-
| Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart
Ultratop
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts...
| align="center"|37
|-
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart
Ultratop
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts...
| align="center"|21
|-
| Canadian RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
Singles Chart
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....
| align="center"|2
|-
| Canadian RPM Alternative 30
Canadian rock/alternative chart
The Canadian rock/alternative chart was first published on June 11, 1995 by RPM magazine under the name Alternative 30. The song which held the number-one spot on this first chart was "More Human than Human" by White Zombie...
| align="center"|1
|-
| Dutch Top 40
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...
| align="center"|29
|-
| Finnish Singles Chart
| align="center"|11
|-
| French Singles Chart
| align="center"|38
|-
| Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
| align="center"|6
|-
| New Zealand Singles Chart
| align="center"|9
|-
| UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
| align="center"|16
|-
| US Billboard Hot 100
| align="center"|12
|-
| US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...
| align="center"|1
|-
| US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
| align="center"|1
|-
| US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream
| align="center"|10
|-
| US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play
| align="center"|17
|}
End of year charts
{| class="wikitable sortable"!End of year chart (1996)
!Position
|-
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100
| align="center"|44
|-
| Canadian RPM Singles Chart
| align="center"|15
|-
| Canadian RPM Alternative 30
| align="center"|3
|-
|}
See also
- Number one modern rock hits of 1996Number one modern rock hits of 1996These are the Billboard magazine Modern Rock Tracks number one hits of 1996....
- List of number-one mainstream rock hits (United States)
- List of RPM Rock/Alternative number-one singles (Canada)