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Cherub Rock
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Cherub Rock" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by The Smashing Pumpkins | ||
| from the album Siamese Dream | ||
| Released | July 13, 1993 | |
| Format | Vinyl record (7" & 12") and CD | |
| Recorded | 1993 | |
| Genre | Alternative rock | |
| Length | 4:58 | |
| Label | Virgin Records | |
| Writer(s) | Billy Corgan | |
| Producer(s) | Butch Vig & Billy Corgan | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| The Smashing Pumpkins singles chronology | ||
| "Rhinoceros" (1991) |
"Cherub Rock" (1993) |
"Today" (1993) |
| Siamese Dream track listing | ||
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"Cherub Rock" is a song by The Smashing Pumpkins (at the time known as simply Smashing Pumpkins). It was the first single from their second album, Siamese Dream, and was written by Billy Corgan. It was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal at the Grammy Awards of 1994, their first Grammy nomination along with a Best Alternative Music Performance nomination for Siamese Dream.
The song was one of the last written for the album, and the lyrics relate to Corgan's relationship with his perception of the indie-rock community. Corgan insisted that the song be released as the first single from the album, against the wishes of record executives who believed that "Today" would be a stronger opening single. Although Corgan's wishes were honoured, the single was indeed received much more coldly than "Today", although it remains a fan favorite.
The song was performed in standard tuning with a G sharp octave played at the 11th fret, which the band later used on other songs. Apparently this caused many to bring other bands using the same chord to Corgan's attention as "sounding like The Smashing Pumpkins". The prominent effect on the solo was achieved by recording the guitar solo to two different tapes which were then run simultaneously, with the speed of one tape slightly altered.
The song was a moderate success for the band, being performed on Saturday Night Live and making it to the Triple J Hottest 100 at number 43. Readers ranked Cherub Rock at number 97 in Guitar World's list of the 100 greatest guitar solos of all time. In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 67 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In October 2005, the Fox Broadcasting Company used "Cherub Rock" to advertise their Major League Baseball post-season coverage. Also for some time, professional wrestler Psicosis used "Cherub Rock" as his entrance theme.
An acoustic version of the song is performed on Vieuphoria.
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The band themselves claim that the video for "Cherub Rock" was a failure. The video itself features footage of the band performing the song live in a forest setting. When developing the film, the director, Kevin Kerslake, threw the film into a bath tub to give the video a broken and dirty look. The end result was not ideal as most saw the video as too dark and hard to watch, which reduced its airplay on music television channels like MTV and VH1.
- "Cherub Rock" (Corgan)
- "Pissant" (Corgan)
- "French Movie Theme" (Corgan)
- "Star Spangled Banner" (unlisted) (Traditional)
- "Cherub Rock" (Corgan)
- "Purr Snickety" (Corgan)
- Billy Corgan - guitar, vocals, production
- James Iha - guitar
- D'Arcy Wretzky - bass
- Jimmy Chamberlin - drums
- Download sample of "Cherub Rock" from Siamese Dream