"Rocket"
Single by the Smashing Pumpkins
from the album Siamese Dream
B-side"Never Let Me Down Again"
ReleasedDecember 1994[1]
Recorded1993
Genre
Length4:06
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Billy Corgan
Producer(s)
The Smashing Pumpkins singles chronology
"Disarm"
(1994)		 "Rocket"
(1994)		 "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
(1995)
Music video
"Rocket" on YouTube

"Rocket" is a song by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. It was the fourth and final single from their second album, Siamese Dream, and was written by Billy Corgan. The song charted in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, as well as on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. It was one of the few singles that did not appear on the Smashing Pumpkins' greatest hits album Rotten Apples.

Background

Corgan once commented,

There's this line from the song 'Rocket', 'Bleed in your own light'. I wanna fuckin' bleed in my own light, not in Kurt Cobain's, not in Perry Farrell's. I wanna go down in my own fuckin' ship. That's what I'm about.

Composition

"Rocket" is a rock song.[6] Being more melodic than Siamese Dream single "Cherub Rock" and the band's Gish-era work in the vein of the track, it was described as a "standard Pumpkins fuzzed-out heavy blissness." The song also features a repetitive guitar line pulsing through, creating a wall of sound effect.[7]

Release and reception

A 7" vinyl record was released in the United Kingdom as part of the Siamese Singles box set, and on its own. Its B-side (not taken from the album) was a cover version of the Depeche Mode song "Never Let Me Down Again." The CD single was commercially released only in Australia and is considered a valuable rarity by fans of the band. Promo CD singles, with no B-side songs, were also released in the United States and Spain. The song was recorded by request of bassist D'arcy Wretzky who is a long-time Depeche Mode fan. It was recorded at the BBC, perhaps in one take.[8] It featured on the Depeche Mode tribute album For the Masses, as well as the soundtrack for the film Not Another Teen Movie.

"Rocket" spent five weeks on the New Zealand Singles Chart, peaking at number 26.[9] It also charted within the top 30 on the US Album Rock Tracks chart and the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart in 1994.[10][11] On January 7, 1995, the single made its only appearance on the UK Singles Chart, debuting and peaking at number 89.[12]

Music video

The music video features a group of scientifically-minded children who receive an interplanetary broadcast sent by the Smashing Pumpkins and set out to build a rocket to fly to another planet to see the band perform. They build the advanced rocket piece-by-piece themselves and fly into outer space. Upon arrival on the planet, the children are greatly surprised to discover that the band members have grown old since their first transmission. The band's 2001 Greatest Hits Video Collection DVD also includes a different cut of the video with only the band's performance. It was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who would go on to direct more videos for the Smashing Pumpkins.

Track listing

  1. "Rocket" (Billy Corgan) - 4:05
  2. "Never Let Me Down Again" (Martin Gore) - 4:01

Charts

Chart (1994–1995) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 29
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] 26
UK Singles (OCC)[12] 89
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[10] 28

References

  1. ↑ "The Great Rock Discography". p. 757.
  2. ↑ McTaggart, Ross (October 17, 2018). "Live Review: Smashing Pumpkins at SSE Wembley Arena, London, 16/10/2018". Gigwise. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Bassett, Jordan (November 11, 2018). "The 20 best Smashing Pumpkins songs". NME. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  4. ↑ Sacher, Andrew (July 8, 2020). "30 essential songs from the shoegaze / heavy crossover". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  5. ↑ Burrows, Marc (August 6, 2018). "Shiny And Oh So Bright: Smashing Pumpkins Live In Baltimore". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  6. ↑ Calvert, John (December 6, 2011). "Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream". The Quietus. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  7. ↑ True, Chris. "Smashing Pumpkins - Rocket". AllMusic. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Smashing Pumpkins Unlock Adore to New Sound." Undercover Magazine, June 1998. Retrieved on September 23, 2007.
  9. 1 2 "The Smashing Pumpkins – Rocket". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  10. 1 2 "The Smashing Pumpkins Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  11. 1 2 "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2585." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  12. 1 2 "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
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