"Panopticon" 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 ...

's eighth album ''

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''. It was originally released as a

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to radio airplay on September 15, 2012.

Background and recording

In an interview with MusicRadar, Corgan stated, "It's similar to Quasar in that we had the opening riff and didn't know what to do with it. It sat for a while, but everybody felt strongly about it. It had a, dare I say, 'modern-feeling' to it, but still in the style of guitar that I like to play. Ultimately, I just sat down and wrote the song on the piano. Sometimes, when you've got a riffy song, it helps to just play the chords with no rhythm, and then you hear the 'song' in it. It's those very

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

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-type chords –

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-type chords. What I'm most proud of from a songwriting standpoint is how it goes from D major to A minor. It goes from a very 'majorly' feel into something sorrowful, almost a Spanish feel. I don't know how the heck I did that, but it's one of my favorite things in the song, how you can keep the key but change the emotion."

Reception

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'' described the song as "elegant and dreamy".

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declared that it was "heroic". '' Spin'' magazine's review of ''Oceania'' focused on Byrne's drumming on Panopticon, stating "the impressive, tom-heavy rumble of "Panopticon" quickly asserts his lithe, explosive, decidedly Jimmy Chamberlain-esque ferocity, a deft balance of muscle and sinew."

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also emphasized Byrne's contribution by describing his drumming as "flawless percussive propulsion". The ''

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'' noted Nicole Fiorentino's "highly musical bass lines".

References

{{Smashing Pumpkins 2012 songs Songs written by Billy Corgan The Smashing Pumpkins songs Song recordings produced by Billy Corgan 2012 singles EMI Records singles Caroline Records singles