From SPCodex, The Smashing Pumpkins wiki
"Freak" (also titled as "Freak U.S.A.") is the second single from The Smashing Pumpkins' scrapped 44-song project, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, and the first song released for the second accompanying EP The Solstice Bare. Like all other songs on the EP, "Freak" was released as a free download on their official website.[1] The song was first played live on July 24, 2009, at the first Spirits in the Sky show in memoriam of Sky Saxon.[2] It was a staple at live shows throughout their 2010 tours.
Critical reception
Spin praised the song, noting that "the catchy chorus of bright guitars and cheerful na na na na nas recall his short-lived pop-rock side-project Zwan; the heavy, distorted bass lines revisit the goth-rock moments of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness; and his lyrics are all early-Pumpkins."[3] PopMatters's reviewed that "Freak" "largely explores and builds on The Smashing Pumpkins’ earlier, mid-1990s sound while also very subtly hinting at the newly pointed and cultish, lysergic musical atmosphere."[4]
Lyrics
they poison our sweet mother earth
destroy our sacred bodies
to fill our mouths with junk and
they call this knowledge
but knowing nothing means knowing far, far too much
they let our children starve in the name of peace
they march to the beat of a killing machine
life is not a dream when you can’t
wake up from the dream you wanted
life is not a dream when you can’t
wake up from the dream you wanted
oh, they’ll pour the salt from your soul
oh, they’ll pour the salt from your soul
scars and bars and 51 stars
and faith and milk and
i’m drinking filth and disease
oh pretty please, i’m begging freedom
there’s lives to be blinded
servants un-kinded
before we’ve paid
and then we’ll pay some more
do you know the score? 'cause i’m so fuckin' bored
life is not a dream when you can’t
wake up from the dream you wanted
life is not a dream when you can’t
wake up from the dream you wanted
oh, they’ll pour the salt from your soul
oh, they’ll pour the salt from your soul
they’ll sell your wounds as evidence of your holes
life is not a dream when you can’t
wake up from the dream you wanted
life is not a dream when you can’t
wake up from the dream you wanted
life is not a dream
life is not a...
life is not a dream
life is not a dream
Charts
| Chart (2010)
|
Peak
position
|
| US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[5]
|
34
|
| US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[6]
|
27
|
| US Active Rock Songs (Billboard)[7]
|
38
|
Availability
Tour stats
- Total plays: 64 plays (63 full, 1 tease, 3 soundcheck), 10 acoustic, 3 artists
- First performance: Spirits in the Sky 2009-07-24 at Echoplex, Los Angeles, CA, US
- Last performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 2010-12-12 at Viejas Arena, San Diego, CA, US
Release
| Released
|
Label
|
Catalog ID
|
Format
|
Country
|
External sites
|
|
| July 2010
|
Rocket Science
|
|
CD (promo)
|
US
|
Discogs
|
|
[1]
|
| July 6, 2010
|
Self-released
|
|
Digital
|
Worldwide
|
|
|
[1]
|
References
External links
