"Tristessa" is a song by American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...

. The

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was the Pumpkins' second ever release, and their first, and only, release on

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

. Sub Pop released it as their "Single of the Month". It was written by

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 ...

and later re-recorded for their debut album, ''

Gish ''Gish'' is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins, released in May 1991 through Caroline Records. Frontman Billy Corgan has variously described ''Gish'' as a "very spiritual album" and "an album about spir ...

''. The title is a direct allusion to

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian a ...

's 1960 novella of the same name. There were about 4,000 of the original 7" single pressed in pink vinyl,Chuck Miller, Tracy L. Schmidt (2004). ''Warman's American records: identification and price guide''. Krause Publications. p. 36. . while the rest were pressed in black vinyl. A failure to change the wax color between pressings resulted in about 100 that were pressed in grey-colored wax. These are especially rare and have sold for several hundred dollars apiece. Following the release of "Tristessa", the Smashing Pumpkins were targets of a bidding war by multiple record labels, and ended up signing to

Caroline Records Caroline Records is a record label originally founded in 1973. Initially founded in the United Kingdom to showcase British progressive rock groups, the label ceased releasing titles in 1976, and then re-emerged in the United States in 1986. ...

.Ali, Lorraine (October 17, 1993). "Gourds a-Flyin': Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan doesn't really expect the band's alternative rock to take anyone completely by surprise. He just unleashes his emotions and tries to deliver a sonic assault diverse enough to match", ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', p. 60. Unlike "

I Am One "I Am One" is the debut single by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. It was the band's first ever release and remains the only single issued by the band with co-writing credits to both Billy Corgan and James Iha. It charted o ...

", which was also re-recorded for ''Gish'', "Tristessa" did not receive a second single release, and neither version of the song appears on the 2001 greatest hits collection, ''

Rotten Apples ''Rotten Apples'' (''The Smashing Pumpkins – Greatest Hits'' as titled on the album's cover) is a greatest hits compilation album by alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. In the US, it was released on November 20, 2001, along with a b ...

''.

Critical reception

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'' called it "a grinding, drawled-out, lascivious rocker with a chisel-sharp pop aesthetic". The ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' said it was an "epic rocker". In 2007,

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wrote, "a decade after the onset of diminishing returns, 'Tristessa' remains an absolute monster".Sullivan, James (January 29, 2007).
IFLTS: 'Tristessa,' Smashing Pumpkins
,

. Retrieved August 31, 2011.

Track listing

All songs written by Billy Corgan #"Tristessa" – 3:40 #"La Dolly Vita" – 4:15 #"Honeyspider" – 2:55 (present on UK 12" only)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tristessa (Song) The Smashing Pumpkins songs 1990 singles Songs written by Billy Corgan Song recordings produced by Billy Corgan Song recordings produced by Butch Vig 1990 songs Sub Pop singles Alternative metal songs American hard rock songs Grunge songs