Thirty-Three
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates
"Thirty-Three" | ||||
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Single by The Smashing Pumpkins | ||||
Released | November 11, 1996 | |||
Format | CD | |||
Recorded | 1995 | |||
Length | 4:10 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) | Billy Corgan | |||
Producer(s) | Flood, Alan Moulder, and Billy Corgan | |||
The Smashing Pumpkins singles chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
UK CD single 2 | ||||
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"Thirty-Three" is a song by American alternative rock band 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. The song peaked at 39 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number seven in New Zealand and the top 30 in Canada and the United Kingdom. In Canada it coincidentally finished at number 33 on the RPM Alternative 30 year-end chart for 1997.
Background
About the song, Billy Corgan said it was "A simple song in a country tuning" and was the first song written by Corgan after the Siamese Dream tour. The guitars recorded in the song are tuned to EGBGBE half a step down. The drum machine track is exactly the same track Corgan recorded when he laid down the demo version of the song, because he "couldn't remember how to recreate it".[1]
Corgan joked on an August 24, 2000 taping of VH1 Storytellers that he planned on making "Thirty-Three", "Sixty-Six", and "Ninety-Nine", but only finished "Thirty-Three".[2]
When the band released their greatest hits collection in 2001, Thirty-Three made neither the international nor the US version.[3] It was included, however, for the Greatest Hits Video Collection.[4]
Single release
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.[5]
Music video
The music video for "Thirty-Three", directed both by Billy Corgan and then-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. Because the group's videos so often avoid the literal interpretation of lyrics, the video for "Thirty-Three" was created with images closely related to the words of the song, as an intentional stylistic departure.[6]
B-sides
The B-side "The Last Song" features a guitar solo by Corgan's father, Billy Corgan, Sr.[7] and was performed live only once, at the Pumpkins final show at Chicago's Cabaret Metro.[8]
The B-side "My Blue Heaven" features piano by Keith Brown,[9] a song written in 1927 by George A. Whiting and Walter Donaldson.[10]
Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Ivy fame contributed piano for the B-side "The Bells".[9]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Thirty Three" | Billy Corgan | 4:09 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Thirty Three" | Billy Corgan | 4:09 |
2. | ""The Last Song"" | Billy Corgan | 3:55 |
3. | "The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)" | Billy Corgan | 8:31 |
4. | "Transformer" | Billy Corgan | 3:25 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Thirty Three" | Billy Corgan | 4:09 |
2. | "The Bells" | James Iha | 2:17 |
3. | "My Blue Heaven" | George Whiting/Walter Donaldson | 3:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Thirty Three" | Billy Corgan | 4:09 |
2. | ""The Last Song"" | Billy Corgan | 3:55 |
3. | "The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)" | Billy Corgan | 8:31 |
4. | "Transformer" | Billy Corgan | 3:25 |
5. | "The Bells" | James Iha | 2:17 |
6. | "My Blue Heaven" | George Whiting/Walter Donaldson | 3:20 |
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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References
- ↑ Guitar World, 1997
- ↑ "Pumpkins' Billy Corgan Pulls Back Curtain For 'Storytellers'". MTV News. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Greatest Hits - Smashing Pumpkins | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Smashing Pumpkins: Greatest Hits Video Collection | Reviews @ Ultimate-Guitar.com". www.ultimate-guitar.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Smashing Pumpkins: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Retrospective". AlternativeNation.net. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
- ↑ Commentary for "Thirty-Three" music video. The Smashing Pumpkins 1991–2000: Greatest Hits Video Collection (Virgin Records, 2001).
- ↑ "Thirty Three [US] - Smashing Pumpkins | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
- ↑ Smashing Pumpkins Live at Metro on 2000-12-02 : Free Download & Streaming, retrieved October 26, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "The Aeroplane Flies High - Smashing Pumpkins | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
- ↑ "Thirty-Three [6 Track EP] - Smashing Pumpkins | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
- ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7766." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ↑ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 9795." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ↑ "Charts.nz – The Smashing Pumpkins – Thirty-Three". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ↑ "The Smashing Pumpkins Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ↑ "The Smashing Pumpkins Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ↑ "The Smashing Pumpkins Chart History (Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ↑ "The Smashing Pumpkins Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ↑ "RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
External links
- Songs
- Singles
- The Smashing Pumpkins singles
- Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness songs
- The Smashing Pumpkins songs
- 1996 singles
- 1996 songs
- Canada Top Singles (RPM) songs
- Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM) songs
- New Zealand Top 40 songs
- Scotland (OCC) songs
- UK Singles (OCC) songs
- UK Rock and Metal (OCC) songs
- Billboard Hot 100 songs
- Billboard Adult Alternative songs
- Billboard Alternative songs
- Billboard Mainstream Rock songs
- 1995 songs
- Songs written by Billy Corgan
- Song recordings produced by Flood (producer)
- Song recordings produced by Billy Corgan
- Rock ballads
- Virgin Records singles
- Songs produced by Alan Moulder