Thirty-Three (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Thirty-Three" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by The Smashing Pumpkins | ||
| from the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness | ||
| Released | November 11, 1996 | |
| Format | Cassette tape andCD | |
| Recorded | 1995 | |
| Genre | Alternative rock | |
| Length | 4:10 | |
| Label | Virgin Records | |
| Writer(s) | Billy Corgan | |
| Producer(s) | Flood, Alan Moulder and Billy Corgan | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| The Smashing Pumpkins singles chronology | ||
| "Tonight, Tonight" (1996) |
"Thirty-Three" (1996) |
"The End is the Beginning is the End" (1997) |
| Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness track listing | ||
| "Bodies" (16) |
"Thirty-Three" (17) |
"In the Arms of Sleep" (18) |
"Thirty-Three" is a song by The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the fifth and final single from their third album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. It was also the first single released after the firing of Jimmy Chamberlin and death of Jonathan Melvoin. "Thirty-Three" was written by Billy Corgan and the first song written for Mellon Collie after the Siamese Dream tour.
At the time of its release, the plan to release the song as the album's final single was a point of disagreement for insiders. Sources close to the band claim that "Muzzle" was in fact due to be released as the final single, as is evidenced by the fact that a promotional single for the song was issued to radio stations worldwide. It is possible that the change was made because "Thirty-Three" is one of the few songs on the album that doesn't feature Jimmy Chamberlin's drums. Some have gone on to say that a music video was actually filmed for "Muzzle" with Chamberlin, but was never released. Billy Corgan denied this in June 29, 1998 [1] . The band went on to perform "Muzzle" for their next television appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien with replacement drummer, Matt Walker.
Corgan revealed on an August 24, 2000, taping of VH1 Storytellers he planned on making '33', '66', and '99', but only finished '33'.
The guitars recorded in the song are in the rather unorthodox tuning of EGDGBE (Whereas normal tuning is EADGBE). The drum machine track is the exact same track Billy recorded when he layed down the demo version of this song, because he 'couldn't remember how to recreate it' (Guitar World, 1997)
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[edit] Music Video
The music video for "Thirty-Three", directed both by Billy Corgan and girlfriend Yelena Yemchuk, is a series of images shot in stop-motion, ending with a re-enactment of the Mellon Collie album cover. Jimmy Chamberlin is notably absent from shots of the band.
Fans launched a large attack on the MTV show Total Request Live to have the song played on Billy Corgan's thirty third birthday. The project was not a success, failing to achieve enough requests, but was mentioned on air by host Carson Daly. Inside sources have, however, claimed that the video would have made the #3 spot, but MTV refused and claimed it as #11.
[edit] B-Sides
The b-side "The Last Song" features a guitar solo by Corgan's father, Billy Corgan Senior and was performed live only once, at the Pumpkins final show at Chicago's Cabaret Metro.
The b-side "My Blue Heaven" features piano by Keith Brown. Corgan has said that he found it hard to play someone else's song ("My Blue Heaven" was written in 1927 by George Whiting and Walter Donaldson), likely prompting him to call on Brown for help.
Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Ivy fame contributed piano for the b-side "The Bells".
[edit] Single tracklist
- Like "Tonight, Tonight," "Thirty Three" was issued as two singles with different b-sides. Only tracks 2, 3 and 4 were on the first version, and only tracks 5 and 6 on the second. The songs were combined onto one disc for The Aeroplane Flies High box set.
- "Thirty-Three" (Billy Corgan) - 4:10
- "The Last Song" (Corgan) - 3:55
- "The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)" (Corgan) - 8:31
- "Transformer" (Corgan) - 3:25
- "The Bells" (James Iha) - 2:17
- "My Blue Heaven" (George Whiting/Walter Donaldson) - 3:20
[edit] Cover images
 Part 1 |
 Part 2 |
