"Widow Wake My Mind" is a 2010 song by the

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 ...

. It is the second track released from the band's 34-track 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 ...

''. The song was released as a promotional CD single for radio play and was added to the rotation of several major-market stations. Additionally, the band performed the song live with an

Up With People Up with People (UWP) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Up with People stages song and dance performances promoting themes such as multiculturalism, racial equality, and positive thinking. History Archives The UWP Archives ...

choir on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' on April 20, 2010 to promote the ''Songs for a Sailor'' EP release.

Critical reception

The song received mixed reviews. William Goodman of '' Spin'' gave it a positive review, describing it as "a well-crafted

pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

song with spare piano interludes, never-overbearing drums, and a big, song-capping vocal with polished guitar solos." According to Goodman, the song opens with a funk-inspired jangly guitar riff and drops into a bass guitar and keyboard section, accompanying Billy Corgan's nasal singing. He also praised Mike Byrne's drumming skills. Nevertheless, Sean Highkin of ''

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'' panned the song. He wrote that "Widow” is clearly trying to be a guitar-driven anthem in the “

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by multiplying digits to the left of 0 by the radix, usual ...

”/”Here is No Why” vein, but the annoyingly clean production makes it sound like a rejected Zeitgeist Best Buy bonus track." He also criticized Byrne's drumming in contrast to Goodman and called the song as "worse Mellon Collie disc-two duds like “X.Y.U.”."

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also indicated that the song has a "mid-career Beatles-like feel, with a bright melody and expansive production." The song was also compared to

D'yer Mak'er "D'yer Mak'er" () is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, from their 1973 album ''Houses of the Holy''. The title is a play on the word "Jamaica" when spoken in an English accent. Overview This song was meant to imitate reggae and its ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

Personnel

;Musicians * Mike Byrne – drums * Billy Corgan –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, keyboards *

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–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

;Technical personnel * Kerry Brown – production *

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California, United States. He has been mastering music since 1979. Biography Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at ...

– mastering *

Bjorn Thorsrud Bjorn Thorsrud (October 7, 1963 – October 19, 2021) was an American music producer, programmer, and audio engineer who produced film scores and albums for rock and pop artists. He also engineered, mixed, or contributed production or programmi ...

– production,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control The Smashing Pumpkins songs Songs written by Billy Corgan Song recordings produced by Billy Corgan 2010 singles 2010 songs American pop rock songs