Rocket

From SPCodex, The Smashing Pumpkins wiki
"Rocket"
Single by The Smashing Pumpkins
Album
Lyrics
Lyrics
Tabs
Video
Spotify
ReleasedJuly 1994
Format
  • CD
  • 7" vinyl
Studio sessions
GenreGrunge[1]
Length4:06
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Billy Corgan
Producer(s)Butch Vig, Billy Corgan
The Smashing Pumpkins singles chronology
"Disarm"
(1994) 		"Rocket"
(1994) 		"Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
(1995)
  1. Cherub Rock
  2. Quiet
  3. Today
  4. Hummer
  5. Rocket
  6. Disarm
  7. Soma
  8. Geek U.S.A.
  9. Mayonaise
  10. Spaceboy
  11. Silverfuck
  12. Sweet Sweet
  13. Luna

"Rocket" is the fourth and final single from The Smashing Pumpkins' 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[edit | edit source]

"Rocket" was the first song written for Siamese Dream. It was performed during the Gish tours, even before the lyrics had been completely written, so Corgan would make them up at each show.[2]

Corgan once commented,

Composition[edit | edit source]

"Rocket" is a rock song.[3] 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.[4]

Release and reception[edit | edit source]

A seven-inch 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 single included the same cover of "Never Let Me Down Again". 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.[5] 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.[6] It also charted within the top 30 on the US Album Rock Tracks chart and the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart in 1994.[7][8] On January 1, 1995, the single made its only appearance on the UK Singles Chart, debuting and peaking at number 89.[9]

Music video[edit | edit source]

The music video features a group of scientifically-minded children who receive an interplanetary broadcast sent by the Smashing Pumpkins. They set out to build a rocket to fly to another planet to see the Pumpkins perform. They build the advanced rocket piece-by-piece, with no help from their indifferent parents, and fly into outer space. When they arrive on the planet, they discover that the band members have grown old since their first transmission, much to the children's surprise. 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.

Live videos[edit | edit source]

Live debut at Metro, June 22, 1991

Lyrics[edit | edit source]

Bleed in your own light
Dream of your own life
I miss me
I miss everything I'll never be
And on, and on

I torch my soul to show
The world that I am pure
Deep inside my heart
No more lies

A crown of thorns
An image formed deformed
The mark I've borne
A mark of scorn to you

Consume my love, devour my hate
Only powers my escape
The moon is out, the stars invite
I think I'll leave tonight

So soon I'll find myself alone
To relax and fade away
Do you know what's coming down
Do you know I couldn't stay free?

I shall be free
I shall be free
I shall be free
I shall be free
I shall be free free
Free of those voices inside me
I shall be free
I shall be free

Track listing[edit | edit source]

UK/Australia single
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rocket"Billy Corgan4:05
2."Never Let Me Down Again"Martin Gore4:01
New Zealand cassette
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rocket"Billy Corgan 
2."Today"Billy Corgan 

Release history[edit | edit source]

Released Label Catalog ID Format Country External sites
July 1994 Hut Recordings HUTL 48 • 7243 8 92723 7 6 7" UK Discogs MusicBrainz [1]
1994 Virgin 8927232 CD Australia Discogs MusicBrainz [1]
1994 Virgin 4349894 Cassette New Zealand Discogs [2]

More releases: Discogs • MusicBrainz

Charts[edit | edit source]

Chart (1994–1995) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[8] 29
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[6] 26
UK Singles (OCC)[9] 89
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[7] 28

Availability

TitleNotesType
Quiet and Other SongsDemo • Bootleg
Siamese Dream (promo)UK and France CDPromotional
Siamese DreamOriginal releaseStudio
Unplugged: 100% Pure Acoustic PerformancesBootleg
Mashed PotatoesBootleg
Siamese SinglesRocketBox set
3 Feet HighBootleg • Live
Mayonaise DreamBootleg • Live
The Cutting EdgeJune 30, 1993 – Hilversum, NL (studio / acoustic)Bootleg
Acoustic SeriesBootleg
RocketUK/Australia singleSingle
PluggelectricJune 30, 1993 – Hilversum, NL (studio / acoustic)Bootleg
ONXRT: Live from the Archives Volume 3Compilation
The Aeroplane Flies High2013 Reissue CD 6: Live Inside the Dark GlobeBox set
Greatest Hits Video Collection (1991–2000)Video
MySpace Smashing Pumpkins TributeTribute
Inside the Dream MachineBootleg • Live
Mayonaise Dream: Broadcast from Tower Records. July 1993Bootleg • Live
Siamese Dream (Fruit Bats cover)Tribute
Smashing Pumpkins 4/21/94Live

Tour stats

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ McTaggart, Ross (October 17, 2018). "Live Review: Smashing Pumpkins at SSE Wembley Arena, London, 16/10/2018". Gigwise. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  2. ↑ Billy Corgan, Siamese Dream remaster liner notes, November 2011
  3. ↑ Calvert, John (December 6, 2011). "Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream". The Quietus. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  4. ↑ True, Chris. "Smashing Pumpkins - Rocket". AllMusic. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Smashing Pumpkins Unlock Adore to New Sound." Undercover Magazine, June 1998. Retrieved on September 23, 2007.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Charts.nz – The Smashing Pumpkins – Rocket". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "The Smashing Pumpkins Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2585." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 9, 2019.

External links[edit | edit source]

Retrieved from "https://spcodex.wiki/index.php?title=Rocket&oldid=79020"