1979 (song)

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"1979"
Single by The Smashing Pumpkins
from the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
B-side
  • "Ugly"
  • "The Boy"
  • "Cherry"
  • "Believe"
  • "Set the Ray to Jerry"
ReleasedJanuary 23, 1996 (1996-01-23)
Genre
Length
  • 4:24 (album, single, video version)
  • 4:16 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)Billy Corgan
Producer(s)
The Smashing Pumpkins singles chronology
"Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
(1995) 		"1979"
(1996) 		"Zero"
(1996)
Audio sample
Music video
"1979" on YouTube

"1979" is a song by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. It was 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 uncharacteristic of previous Smashing Pumpkins songs.[7] The song gives something of a foreshadow of the synth-pop sound the band would embrace more openly on Adore and its tracks "Ava Adore" and "Perfect".[8][9] The song was written as a nostalgic coming-of-age story by Corgan. In the year 1979, Corgan was twelve, and this is what he considered his transition into adolescence.[10]

"1979" reached number two in Canada and Iceland, number six in Ireland, number nine in New Zealand, and number 12 in the United States. It charted within the top 20 in several other countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom. The song was nominated for the Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 39th Annual Grammy Awards, and won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video. In 2012, it was voted the second-best Smashing Pumpkins song by Rolling Stone readers.[11]

Recording[edit]

According to statements in interviews, Corgan worked nonstop after the Siamese Dream tour and wrote about 56 songs for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness,[12] the last of which was "1979".[13] As the Mellon Collie sessions came to a conclusion, "1979" (which evolved out of a demo called "Strolling"[14]) 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 the song was "not good enough" and wanted to drop it from the record. Taking it as a challenge inspired Corgan, and he wrote "1979" that night in about four hours. The next day, Flood heard "1979" once and decided immediately to put it on the album.[7] Corgan considers "1979" the most personally important song on Mellon Collie.[15]

The song features a sample of Corgan's voice repeated throughout. During recording, Corgan was singing "today" 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.[16] "1979" is partly influenced by "Pleasure",[17] an unreleased song by the Frogs, whom Corgan had liked after seeing them perform in Madison, WI, in 1993. Corgan later performed during the band's encore at Lollapalooza in the summer of 1994, and Dennis Flemion of the Frogs would replace recently deceased keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin during the Infinite Sadness tour.[18]

Reception[edit]

"1979" is the Smashing Pumpkins' highest-charting single, reaching number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and on the Modern Rock Tracks charts.[19] Virgin credited the inclusion of the single's bonus tracks for driving sales.[20] The song was nominated for the Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 1997 Grammy Awards. Pitchfork Media included the song at number 21 on their "Top 200 Tracks of the 90s" and said "'1979' was Billy Corgan asking, 'You know this feeling?' and the second you heard that guitar line the immediate answer was, 'I do-- tell me more.'"[21]

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".[22]

In Australia, the song was voted number 13 on Triple J Hottest 100 in 1996.[23] It was later voted number 71 on the Hottest 100 of All Time in 1998,[24] number 35 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time in 2009,[25] and number 21 on the Hottest 100 of the Past 20 Years in 2013.[26]

Music video[edit]

The music video 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[7]) 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.[27]

The video follows a day in the life of disaffected suburban teenagers driving around in a 1972 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 in the Chicago suburbs, where Corgan grew up. In the video the Dodge Charger has Illinois license plates, although in the driving scenes the mountains of California are visible in the background shots. 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 tamer. 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.[27]

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 re-shoot the party scene.[27][13]

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,[27] calling it "the closest we've ever come to realizing everything we wanted."[7]

The video for the 1998 song "Perfect" is a sequel to this one, and involves the same characters who are now older. The aforementioned incident with the loss of the original footage is parodied in one of the later video's final scenes, in which a cassette tape is left on top of a car and falls off as a character drives out of a parking lot at high speed, and is subsequently destroyed by another vehicle.

Track listings[edit]

UK and US CD single, UK 12-inch vinyl[28][29][30]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."1979"Billy Corgan4:24
2."Ugly"Billy Corgan2:28
3."Believe"James Iha3:15
4."Cherry"Billy Corgan4:02

1996 maxi-CD re-issue[31]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."1979"Billy Corgan4:24
2."Ugly"Billy Corgan2:28
3."The Boy"James Iha3:04
4."Cherry"Billy Corgan4:02
5."Believe"James Iha3:15
6."Set The Ray To Jerry"Billy Corgan4:10

US 7-inch double A-side single[32]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."1979"Billy Corgan4:24
2."Bullet with Butterfly Wings"Billy Corgan4:16

1979 Mixes[33]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."1979 (Vocal Mix)"Billy Corgan5:08
2."1979 (Instrumental Mix)"Billy Corgan5:17
3."1979 (Moby Mix)"Billy Corgan6:39
4."1979 (Cement Mix)"Billy Corgan4:40

Tracks 1, 2, and 4 are remixed by Roli Mosimann. Track 3 is remixed by Moby.[34]

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[68] Gold 25,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[69] Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[70] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[71] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[edit]

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States January 23, 1996 CD Virgin [72]
United Kingdom January 29, 1996
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
[73]
March 11, 1996
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD (Mixes)
 [74]

Licensed uses[edit]

The song is used in Clerks II and during the credits of Gran Turismo 5. It was also released as part of a Smashing Pumpkins-themed DLC pack for Guitar Hero World Tour.[75] It was also part of the soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto IV as part of the fictional Liberty Rock Radio station until April 2018 when Rockstar Games' ten-year license to the song expired.[76] The song's guitar riff was also interpolated by American boy band Why Don't We in their song "Slow Down".

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Gray, Scott A. (April 4, 2018). "An Essential Guide to the Smashing Pumpkins". Exclaim!. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  2. ^ "50 Greatest Grunge Albums". Rolling Stone. April 1, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  3. ^ "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s". Pitchfork. September 27, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  4. ^ Leas, Ryan (October 29, 2013). "Smashing Pumpkins Albums From Worst To Best". Stereogum. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  5. ^ "Adore". Rolling Stone. May 18, 1998.
  6. ^ Philip Cosores (July 5, 2017). "Ranking: Every Alternative Rock No. 1 Hit from Worst to Best". Conseqeunce.net. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d Kot, Greg. "A Long Strange Trip to 1979". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  8. ^ Parks, Andrew. "Smashing Pumpkins Share 'Adore' Bonus Tracks, Including a Banjo Take and Diddy Remix". Wondering Sound. Archived from the original on November 17, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  9. ^ "Adore". Rolling Stone. May 18, 1998.
  10. ^ "Top 21 Songs About Nostalgia". Consequence of Sound. September 3, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  11. ^ "Readers' Poll: The Best Smashing Pumpkins Songs". Rolling Stone. June 13, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  12. ^ Corgan, Billy; Iha, James; Wretzky, D'arcy (December 19, 1996). "Hora Prima". MTV Latin America (Interview).
  13. ^ a b "1979 by Smashing Pumpkins - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  14. ^ Smashing Pumpkins: The Secret History, by Alan Cross. Harper Collins. 2007. ISBN 9781927002209.
  15. ^ Billy Corgan (May 29, 1998). "Billy Corgan interview" (Interview). Karl Daher.
  16. ^ "King B's". Guitar World (January 1997).
  17. ^ Hall, Carl (June 15, 2008). "The Frogs Live Pleasure". YouTube.
  18. ^ "Smashing Pumpkins and The Frogs: A Brief History | The SPfreaks Team". February 5, 2013.
  19. ^ "Charts & Awards: Smashing Pumpkins". AllMusic. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  20. ^ Rosen, Craig. "CD Single Sales Spurred by Addition of Nonalbum Cuts". Billboard. No. March 30, 1996.
  21. ^ "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 50-21". Pitchfork. September 2, 2010. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  22. ^ Marks, Craig. "Zero Worship". Spin (June 1996).
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  31. ^ "Smashing Pumpkins the Aeroplane Flies High USA BOX SET (76593)". Archived from the original on May 30, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  32. ^ "Smashing Pumpkins 1978/Bullet with Butterfly Wings US 7" vinyl single (7 inch record) (224570)". Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  33. ^ "Smashing Pumpkins 1979 Nineteen Seventy Nine Mixes UK CD single (CD5 / 5") (217070)". eil.com. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  34. ^ "Moby Tries To Collect Debt From Pumpkins Corgan". MTV. May 28, 1997. Archived from the original on June 14, 1997. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
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  61. ^ "Rapports Annuels 1996" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
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  63. ^ "RPM Year End Dance Top 50". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
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  68. ^ "Italian single certifications – Smashing Pumpkins – 1979" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  69. ^ "The Smashing Pumpkins - 1979". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  70. ^ "British single certifications – Smashing Pumpkins – 1979". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  71. ^ "American single certifications – Smashing Pumpkins – 1979". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  72. ^ "1979 / Ugly / Believe / Cherry". Amazon. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
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  74. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. March 9, 1996. p. 31.
  75. ^ Snow, Jean (September 3, 2008). "Smashing Pumpkins Debut Single on Guitar Hero: World Tour". Wired. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  76. ^ Roemer, Dan (April 26, 2018). "Here's a list of songs removed in GTA IV's latest update". Destructoid. Retrieved April 28, 2018.

External links[edit]

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