Siva (song)
Encyclopedia
"Siva" is a song by American alternative rock
band The Smashing Pumpkins
. It was the first single
from their debut album Gish
, and was written by Billy Corgan
. "Siva" was also the first music video
filmed by the band.
. The song was one of three played at the band's 1991 session with John Peel, released on Peel Sessions.
Corgan originally titled the song "Shiva", referring to the Tantric
concepts of Shiva and Shakti as opposing masculine and feminine forces, ignorant of any further implications of the name. Upon realizing that the name was more readily connected with the Hindu god Shiva
, he removed the letter "h" from the title to lessen this association.
The song was only released as a single in the UK and Australia, as well as appearing on the Peel Sessions EP. On 29 January 2008, it was also made available as a downloadable track for the video game Rock Band.
This song uses the Hendrix chord
, better known for its use in The Jimi Hendrix Experience
song "Purple Haze
".
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...
. It was the first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from their debut album Gish
Gish
Gish is the debut album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released in May 1991 through Caroline Records. Frontman Billy Corgan described Gish as a "very spiritual album"...
, and was written by 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...
. "Siva" was also the first music video
Music 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...
filmed by the band.
Background
In an early interview with Billy Corgan, he admitted that he had thought of the name for the song before he had written it, had labeled dozens of tapes with its name, and even considered naming the band "Siva" instead of "Smashing Pumpkins". Corgan has stated the riff was conceived on an acoustic guitar while working at a record store in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. The song was one of three played at the band's 1991 session with John Peel, released on Peel Sessions.
Corgan originally titled the song "Shiva", referring to the Tantric
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
concepts of Shiva and Shakti as opposing masculine and feminine forces, ignorant of any further implications of the name. Upon realizing that the name was more readily connected with the Hindu god Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, he removed the letter "h" from the title to lessen this association.
The song was only released as a single in the UK and Australia, as well as appearing on the Peel Sessions EP. On 29 January 2008, it was also made available as a downloadable track for the video game Rock Band.
This song uses the Hendrix chord
Hendrix chord
In music, the dominant 79 chord is sometimes known colloquially as the Hendrix chord or Purple Haze chord, nicknamed for guitarist Jimi Hendrix...
, better known for its use in The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience were an English-American psychedelic rock band that formed in London in October 1966. Comprising eponymous singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until June 1969, in which...
song "Purple Haze
Purple Haze
"Purple Haze" is a song written in 1966 and recorded in 1967 by The Jimi Hendrix Experience and released as a single in both the United Kingdom and the United States. It appeared on their 1967 album Are You Experienced...
".