"Eye" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released in 1997 on the soundtrack to the

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

film '' Lost Highway''. Along with the song " The End Is the Beginning Is the End" from '' Batman & Robin'' and "Christmastime" from ''

A Very Special Christmas 3 ''A Very Special Christmas 3'' is the third in the '' A Very Special Christmas'' series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was released on 23 September 1997, and production was overseen by ...

'', "Eye" represented a period of work on compilations done by the Pumpkins in between the release of the two albums '' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness'' and '' Adore''. It also appeared on their greatest hits collection '' Rotten Apples''. It was the band's first song released after the firing of drummer Jimmy Chamberlin the previous summer.

Song history

In the aftermath of the quadruple-platinum '' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness'', Smashing Pumpkins’ lead singer

Billy Corgan William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the lead singer, primary songwriter, guitarist, and only permanent member of the rock band the ...

’s music publisher suggested he collaborate with basketball superstar and rapper

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...

, who had begun work on ''

You Can't Stop the Reign ''You Can't Stop the Reign'' is the third studio album by American basketball player and rapper Shaquille O'Neal. It was released on November 19, 1996, and features production from the likes of DJ Quik, Poke and Tone, Mobb Deep, Chris Large, and ...

''.Thomas, Richard.
to Noise: The Sonic Diary of the Smashing Pumpkins''
. EQ Magazine. October 2008. Corgan began work on a programmed backing track loosely inspired by Dr. Dre, but the collaboration fell through. Meanwhile, Lynch and

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

mastermind Trent Reznor were assembling the soundtrack to Lynch's new film, ''Lost Highway''. Lynch, who later would call Corgan a "magical musician", rejected Corgan's submission, "Tear", which would eventually be included on ''Adore''. Corgan quickly finished off "Eye" and Lynch loved it, using it in a nightclub scene in the film. An acoustic version of the song was performed in 1997 at the

Bridge School Benefit The Bridge School Benefit was an annual charity concert usually held in Mountain View, California, every October at the Shoreline Amphitheatre from 1986 until 2016 with the exception of 1987. The concerts lasted the entire weekend and were organ ...

concert. The performance featured Twiggy Ramirez and

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...

. So far, "Eye" has been performed live by the band on their 1997, 2008, 2010, 2013, and 2016 tours, opting for a guitar-driven sound with live drums (by Matt Walker, Jimmy Chamberlin, and Mike Byrne, respectively) in lieu of a drum machine. It has also been played in their 2018 and 2019 tour with Jimmy Chamberlin.

Reception

The song reached number eight on the US

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart in 1997. Corgan later said the surprise success of "Eye" as a single inspired the band to continue with the new electronica-tinged direction as they began work on ''Adore''.Corgan, Billy.
Coming Down the Mountain
". ''The Confessions of Billy Corgan''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eye (Song) The Smashing Pumpkins songs Songs written by Billy Corgan Interscope Records singles 1997 singles Song recordings produced by Billy Corgan Songs written for films Techno songs