Thirty-Three (song)

"Thirty-Three"
Single by The Smashing Pumpkins
from the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Released November 11, 1996
Format CD
Recorded 1995
Genre Alternative rock, dream pop
Length 4:10
Label Virgin
Songwriter(s) Billy Corgan
Producer(s) Flood, Alan Moulder, and Billy Corgan
The Smashing Pumpkins singles chronology
"Muzzle"
(1996)		 "Thirty-Three"
(1996)		 "Eye"
(1996)
Alternative cover
UK CD single 2

"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 Billboard Hot 100 in late 1996.[1]

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".[2]

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".[3]

When the band released their greatest hits collection in 2001, Thirty-Three made neither the international nor the US version.[4] It was included, however, for the Greatest Hits Video Collection.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]

B-sides

The B-side "The Last Song" features a guitar solo by Corgan's father, Billy Corgan, Sr.[8] and was performed live only once, at the Pumpkins final show at Chicago's Cabaret Metro.[9]

The B-side "My Blue Heaven" features piano by Keith Brown,[10] a song written in 1927 by George A. Whiting and Walter Donaldson.[11]

Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Ivy fame contributed piano for the B-side "The Bells".[10]

Track listing

US and UK promo CD singles
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Thirty Three"Corgan4:09
US and UK maxi-CD singles
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Thirty Three"Corgan4:09
2.""The Last Song""Corgan3:55
3."The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)"Corgan8:31
4."Transformer"Corgan3:25
UK CD single CD2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Thirty Three"Corgan4:09
2."The Bells"James Iha2:17
3."My Blue Heaven"George Whiting/Walter Donaldson3:20
CD single from the Aeroplane Flies High box set and Japanese promo CD single
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Thirty Three"Corgan4:09
2.""The Last Song""Corgan3:55
3."The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)"Corgan8:31
4."Transformer"Corgan3:25
5."The Bells"James Iha2:17
6."My Blue Heaven"George Whiting/Walter Donaldson3:20

Chart positions

Chart Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 39[1]
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 18[1]
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 2[1]
New Zealand Singles Chart 7[12]
UK Singles Chart 21[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness". Allmusic. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  2. ↑ Guitar World, 1997
  3. ↑ "Pumpkins' Billy Corgan Pulls Back Curtain For 'Storytellers'". MTV News. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Greatest Hits - Smashing Pumpkins | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  5. ↑ "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.
  6. ↑ "Smashing Pumpkins: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Retrospective". AlternativeNation.net. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  7. ↑ Commentary for "Thirty-Three" music video. The Smashing Pumpkins 1991–2000: Greatest Hits Video Collection (Virgin Records, 2001).
  8. ↑ "Thirty Three [US] - Smashing Pumpkins | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  9. ↑ Smashing Pumpkins Live at Metro on 2000-12-02 : Free Download & Streaming, retrieved October 26, 2015
  10. 1 2 "The Aeroplane Flies High - Smashing Pumpkins | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Thirty-Three [6 Track EP] - Smashing Pumpkins | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  12. ↑ http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Smashing+Pumpkins&titel=Thirty%2DThree&cat=s
  13. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
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