"Owata" is the second single from

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 ...

' aborted music project, ''

Teargarden by Kaleidyscope ''Teargarden by Kaleidyscope'' is a music project by alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins that was started in late 2009 by frontman Billy Corgan following the second departure of original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The project initially w ...

'', and tenth song released from the project.

History

The song has a fairly long history prior to its official release. The song was performed, for the first time, on ''

The Chris Isaak Hour ''The Chris Isaak Hour'' is a one-hour talk show that aired in 2009 on The Biography Channel, in which singer Chris Isaak interviews and plays alongside other musical artists such as Stevie Nicks and Glen Campbell. The channel currently airs re-ru ...

'' on April 4, 2009, when

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 ...

was still in the band. Subsequently, it was performed throughout 2009 with Billy Corgan's

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-inspired supergroup,

Spirits in the Sky 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 ...

, which featured future Smashing Pumpkins drummer Mike Byrne. As well, the song was performed with the Smashing Pumpkins throughout 2010, prior to its official release on ''

''. These early live versions are considerably different musically than the final studio version, with the studio version featuring a different drum arrangement, and a noticeably larger amount of synthesizers.

Music video

A 12-minute

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

featuring an in-depth look at two female underground wrestlers was released in July, 2011. The video was directed by Robby Starbuck and stars

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, Raven and

Alissa Flash Melissa Anderson (born August 17, 1982) is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Cheerleader Melissa. She is best known for her work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where she worked as Alissa Flash and Raisha Saeed. ...

, which was subsequently edited and released in a traditional music video format. It was the first-ever video to be filmed with Red Digital Cinema Camera Company technology.

Critical reception

One Thirty BPM ''Beats Per Minute'' (formerly ''One Thirty BPM'') is a New York City– and Los Angeles–based online publication providing reviews, news, media, interviews and feature articles about the music world. ''Beats Per Minute'' covers a variety of g ...

rated "Owata" 5/10, calling it "a sleekly produced pop-rocker characterized by acoustic guitar melodies and upbeat synths straight out of the 80s" and "a pleasant song and an admirable effort, but it’s a little too glossy and not quite catchy enough to achieve the anthemic heights for which it aims."

References

{{Authority control 2011 singles The Smashing Pumpkins songs Songs written by Billy Corgan Song recordings produced by Billy Corgan 2011 songs