"Rocket" 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 ...

. It was the fourth and final single from their second album, ''

Siamese Dream ''Siamese Dream'' is the second studio album by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 27, 1993, on Virgin Records. Despite recording sessions fraught with difficulties and tensions, ''Siamese Dream'' debuted at num ...

'', and 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 ...

. The song charted in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, as well as on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart. It was one of the few singles that did not appear on the Smashing Pumpkins' greatest hits album ''

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 ...

''.

Background

Corgan once commented,

Composition

"Rocket" is a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

song. Being more melodic than ''Siamese Dream'' single "

Cherub Rock "Cherub Rock" is a song by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. It is the first single from their second album, ''Siamese Dream'' (1993) and is the opening track. It was written by lead vocalist and guitarist Billy Corgan. It w ...

" and the band's ''

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 ...

''-era work in the vein of the track, it was described as a "standard Pumpkins fuzzed-out heavy blissness." The song also features a repetitive guitar line pulsing through, creating a

wall of sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...

effect.

Release and reception

A 7" vinyl record was released in the United Kingdom as part of the ''Siamese Singles'' box set, and on its own. Its B-side (not taken from the album) was a cover version of the

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

song "

Never Let Me Down Again "Never Let Me Down Again" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released as the second single from their sixth studio album, ''Music for the Masses'' (1987), on 24 August 1987. It reached No. 22 in the UK, No. 2 in West ...

." The CD single was commercially released only in Australia and is considered a valuable rarity by fans of the band. Promo CD singles, with no B-side songs, were also released in the United States and Spain. The song was recorded by request of bassist

D'arcy Wretzky D'arcy Elizabeth Wretzky-Brown (born May 1, 1968) is an American musician. She is the original bass player of the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins and is credited on their first six studio albums. She left the band in 1999. Biograph ...

who is a long-time Depeche Mode fan. It was recorded at the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, perhaps in one take.Smashing Pumpkins Unlock ''Adore'' to New Sound
" ''Undercover Magazine'', June 1998. Retrieved on September 23, 2007. It featured on the Depeche Mode tribute album ''

For the Masses ''For the Masses'' is a 1998 tribute album to the British band Depeche Mode, specifically the works of Martin Gore. The album charted in America and reached the Top 20 in Germany, making it the most successful Depeche Mode tribute album of all ...

'', as well as the soundtrack for the film ''

Not Another Teen Movie ''Not Another Teen Movie'' is a 2001 American teen parody film directed by Joel Gallen and written by Mike Bender, Adam Jay Epstein, Andrew Jacobson, Phil Beauman, and Buddy Johnson. It features an ensemble cast including Chyler Leigh, Chris Eva ...

''. "Rocket" spent five weeks on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

, peaking at number 26. It also charted within the top 30 on the US

chart and the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Top Singles chart in 1994. On January 1, 1995, the single made its only appearance on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, debuting and peaking at number 89.

Music video

The music video features a group of scientifically-minded children who receive an interplanetary broadcast sent by the Smashing Pumpkins and set out to build a rocket to fly to another planet to see the band perform. They build the advanced rocket piece-by-piece themselves and fly into outer space. Upon arrival on the planet, the children are greatly surprised to discover that the band members have grown old since their first transmission. The band's 2001 ''

Greatest Hits Video Collection Greatest may refer to: * ''Greatest!'', a 1959 album by Johnny Cash * ''Bee Gees Greatest'', a 1979 album by Bee Gees * ''Greatest'' (The Go-Go's album), 1990 * ''Greatest'' (Duran Duran album), 1998 * Greatest (song), a song by Eminem * "Greate ...

'' DVD also includes a different cut of the video with only the band's performance. It was directed by

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris Jonathan Dayton (born July 7, 1957) and Valerie Faris (born October 20, 1958) are a team of American film and music video directors who received critical acclaim for their feature film directorial debut, ''Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006). Later the ...

, who would go on to direct more videos for the Smashing Pumpkins.

Track listing

# "Rocket" (Billy Corgan) - 4:05 # "

" (

Martin Gore Martin Lee Gore (born 23 July 1961) is an English songwriter, musician, singer, record producer and DJ. He is one of the founding members of the electronic rock band Depeche Mode and is the band's main songwriter. He is the band's guitarist an ...

) - 4:01

Charts

References

External links

* * {{Authority control The Smashing Pumpkins songs 1994 singles Songs written by Billy Corgan Song recordings produced by Billy Corgan Song recordings produced by Butch Vig Music videos directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris Virgin Records singles 1993 songs Grunge songs Shoegaze songs