"Eye" 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 mainstream or commerci ...

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 Ch ...

, released in 1997 on the soundtrack to the David Lynch film '' Lost Highway''. Along with the song "

The End Is the Beginning Is the End "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" is a Grammy Awards of 1998, Grammy Award-winning song by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. Released as a single by the Smashing Pumpkins in the aftermath of their 1995 album ''Mellon Col ...

" from '' Batman & Robin'' and "Christmastime" from '' A Very Special Christmas 3'', "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 ''Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness'' is the third studio album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on October 24, 1995, in the United Kingdom and a day later in the United States on Virgin Records. Produced by ...

'' and '' Adore''. It also appeared on their 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 ...

''. It was the band's first song released after the firing of drummer

Jimmy Chamberlin James Joseph Chamberlin (born June 10, 1964) is an American drummer and record producer. He is best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. Following the 2000 breakup of the band, Chamberlin joined Pumpkins fro ...

the previous summer.

Song history

In the aftermath of the quadruple-platinum ''

'', Smashing Pumpkins’ lead singer Billy Corgan’s music publisher suggested he collaborate with basketball superstar and rapper Shaquille O'Neal, 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 Ea ...

''.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 mastermind

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...

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 concert. The performance featured

Twiggy Ramirez Jeordie Osbourne White (born June 20, 1971), better known Twiggy Ramirez or simply Twiggy, is an American musician, mostly known as the former bassist and guitarist of the rock band Marilyn Manson. Previously, he was the bassist for A Perfect C ...

and Marilyn Manson. 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,

, 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 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