The Everlasting Gaze

"The Everlasting Gaze" is the first single from The Smashing Pumpkins' 2000 album Machina/The Machines of God. The song was released as the lead North American single on December 9, 1999. It was also originally going to be released internationally in January 2000 but despite the heavy rotation of the Jonas Åkerlund-directed music video, it was rejected in favor of "Stand Inside Your Love".

While planning the Machina reissue, it was discovered the master reels of the recording have been lost. However, Alan Moulder's original mix from a two-track analog tape was still in possession and will see a modern conversion for the reissue.

Song information
The unique guitar sound in the song was achieved by using a small Crate practice amp. Corgan has said that this song "has a lot to do with spirituality and trying to find my place in the universe and sort of humbly accepting limitations and the things I've been graced with. It's more of a humanistic world view. I'm not writing anymore for the tortured teen—both me and whoever was listening. I'm writing with the idea that everybody's experiencing these things all the time, and even if they're not experiencing them personally, they're affected by them. You can live in the street and write about the garbage, or you can try to get up a little higher and look down and try to see the bigger picture."

During the recording of Machina/The Machines of God, an early version of this song with very different lyrics had the working title of "Disco King". There were around four other versions with varying lyrics and chord structures. The final version of the song retains Chamberlin's consistent use of offbeat hi-hat beats. The final chorus was cut, though an a cappella section was added.

The song was originally not intended to be a single, but after a desperate call from executives at Virgin, Corgan agreed to release it as the lead single in the US because of the growing popularity of nu metal at the time, saving the release of the softer "Stand Inside Your Love" for a later date.

Music video
The music video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund and is a performance-based music video, the first to feature Melissa Auf der Maur, playing bass with the band after the departure of D'arcy Wretzky. Originally, the band had considered Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris to direct the video.

The video was recorded at an abandoned office building in London on a low budget while the band was on tour. The location was chosen solely as the band was asked to rush to film it to ensure the song's release as the lead single in the US. Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin received a three hour massage before recording commenced, causing him to develop a fever. Combined with the bright florescent lights, and the chaos of the set that resulted in his hand being hurt, he described the experience as less than pleasant.

Corgan historically was against the idea of music videos simply depicting the band performing live, as evidenced by all the previous videos released by Smashing Pumpkins. This format was likely chosen because of the time constraints and budget. In an effort to at least do something different, Corgan insisted the video end with destruction of the equipment. To make the scene more prominent, there were upwards of eight guitars, four basses, and one drum set, with each band member being repeatedly filmed destroying their gear. Corgan, who knew the building was abandoned, took a "chance at getting electrocuted or possibly setting the building on fire" by throwing his guitar through the roof.