Drum + Fife

"Drum + Fife" is the third single from The Smashing Pumpkins' ninth studio album Monuments to an Elegy. The track was premiered through NME on November 21, 2014.

Background and recording
In an interview with the NME, Billy Corgan said "'Drum + Fife' was originally a folk song. We really had a problem getting it off its almost dour Irish balladeer aspect. And I must give a lot of credit to Tommy Lee, because he's the one who turned the corner. Without saying it he was reacting in a way that told me he thought it was a bit boring. Tommy loves energy. Tommy wants to feel excitement. So he's playing the song and he's like 'I know this is a good song but it's just not working.' And he said to me 'Do you mind if I tinker around with it?' And so he got on the computer and used his experience in dance music and kind of turned the corner and found some loops and some beats and suddenly I was like...'wow'. It's almost like mid 80s new wave or something and it reminded me a little bit of early U2 or Big Country. The open strut made the Irish ballad part of the song come alive and have more of a expansive quality and from there on it got a lot easier."

The cover art shows a young Billy Corgan playing a drum, believed to aged 13 months based on the date of the photo. However, the UK single apparently states "And yes, that is Billy Corgan on the cover! Aged 5…".

Reception
The song was received positively. Consequence of Sound described it as "a melodic, yet rallying rocker", and went on to describe Corgan's vocals as "tenacious". Radio.com stated "Our latest taste is track 'Drum + Fife', a mid-tempo, melodic rock song, structured and accessible like all their best work. Essentially, the Smashing Pumpkins are not still in their experimental period. They are back to crowd-pleasing—and many are, appropriately, pleased."

Music video
The music video was directed by Jimmy Alhander and Robin Antiga, and produced by Good Company. It takes place in a rocky desert, with a group of boys carelessly playing a drum, before being interrupted by exploding mines. This serves as a metaphor to post-traumatic stress disorder and the after-effects of war. "I asked, albeit in an allegorical way, for the video to represent what our returning soldiers are going through with PTSD, and I feel that the directors [Ahlander/Antiga] captured that with poignancy", Corgan said. "I couldn't be more proud of the message we’re sending that we care what happens to those that are out there hurting."

The directors said in a statement, "Our aim was to create a film which was poetic and yet made a very direct statement about war, conflict and how we acclimatize ourselves from an early age to this course of action".

Personnel

 * The Smashing Pumpkins
 * Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards and synthesizers
 * Jeff Schroeder – guitar


 * Additional musicians
 * Tommy Lee – drums