1979 (song)

"1979" is a song by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. It was released on January 23, 1996, as the second single from their third studio album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995). "1979" was written by frontman Billy Corgan, and features loops and samples uncharacteristic of previous Smashing Pumpkins songs. The song foreshadows the synth-pop sound the band would embrace more openly on Adore and its singles "Ava Adore" and "Perfect".

"1979" reached number two in Canada and Iceland, number six in Ireland, number nine in New Zealand, and number 12 in the United States. It charted within the top 20 in several other countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom. The song was nominated for the Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 39th Annual Grammy Awards, and won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video. In 2012, it was voted the second-best Smashing Pumpkins song by Rolling Stone readers.

Recording

According to statements in interviews, Corgan worked nonstop after the Siamese Dream tour, and wrote about 56 songs for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the last of which was "1979".

The song that would become "1979" evolved out of a demo called "Strolling". As the Mellon Collie sessions came to a conclusion, this song was just a couple of chord changes and a snippet of a melody without words. When the time came to choose the songs that were to appear on the album, producer Flood said that the song was "not good enough" and wanted to drop it from the record. Inspired, Corgan took this as a challenge, and he wrote "1979" that night in about four hours. The next day, Flood heard the song once and decided immediately to put it on the album.

The song features a sample of Corgan's voice repeated throughout. During recording, Corgan was singing "today" as the melody line, so he and Flood decided to record him singing to a tape. The pair electronically manipulated several samples and looped them against a drumbeat. "1979" is partly influenced by "Pleasure", an unreleased song by the Frogs, whom Corgan had liked after seeing them perform in Madison, WI, in 1993. Corgan later performed during the band's encore at Lollapalooza in the summer of 1994, and Dennis Flemion of the Frogs would replace recently deceased keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin during the Infinite Sadness tour.

Reception

"1979" is the Smashing Pumpkins' highest-charting single, reaching number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and on the Modern Rock Tracks charts. Virgin credited the inclusion of the single's bonus tracks for driving sales. The song was nominated for the Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 1997 Grammy Awards. Pitchfork Media included the song at number 21 on their "Top 200 Tracks of the 90s" and said "'1979' was Billy Corgan asking, 'You know this feeling?' and the second you heard that guitar line the immediate answer was, 'I do—tell me more.'"

In a 1996 Spin interview, Corgan indicated that "1979" was probably the only indication he had for what the next Pumpkins album would sound like, "something that combines technology, and a rock sensibility, and pop, and whatever, and hopefully clicks. Between 'Bullet with Butterfly Wings' and '1979' you have the bookends of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. You've literally [heard] the end of the rock thing, and the beginning of the new thing".

In Australia, the song was voted number 13 on Triple J Hottest 100 in 1996. It was later voted number 71 on the Hottest 100 of All Time in 1998, number 35 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time in 2009, and number 21 on the Hottest 100 of the Past 20 Years in 2013.

Music video

The music video for "1979" was directed by the team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who had previously directed the music video for "Rocket". Originally, the band approached another director (possibly Spike Jonze

Upon finishing the video shoot, the band flew to New York to perform. However, all tapes of the footage were accidentally left sitting on top of a car, and were lost as the driver departed. The group later flew back to re-shoot the party scene.

1996 maxi-CD re-issue

US 7-inch double A-side single

1979 Mixes

Tracks 1, 2, and 4 are remixed by Roli Mosimann. Track 3 is remixed by Moby.

Charts

Weekly charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!scope="col"|Chart (1996)

!scope="col"|Peak<br />position

!scope="row"|Benelux Airplay (Music & Media)

|11

!scope="row"|Estonia (Eesti Top 20)

!scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

|44

!scope="row"|European Alternative Rock (Music & Media)

!scope="row"|European Hit Radio Top 40 (Music & Media)

|26

!scope="row"|France Airplay (Music & Media)

|10

!scope="row"|Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)

!scope="row"|Latvia (Latvijas Top 40)

|18

!scope="row"|Poland Airplay (Music & Media)

!scope="row"|Quebec Airplay (ADISQ)

!scope="row"|Spain Airplay (Music & Media)

|12

!scope="row"|US Cash Box Top 100

|11

Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!scope="col"|Chart (1996)

!scope="col"|Position

!scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)

|94

!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)

|77

!scope="row"|Canada Top Singles (RPM)

|15

!scope="row"|Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)

|35

!scope="row"|Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)

!scope="row"|Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)

|34

!scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100

|44

!scope="row"|US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)

|10

!scope="row"|US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard)

|30

Certifications

Release history

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:left"

!scope="col"|Region

!scope="col"|Date

!scope="col"|Format(s)

!scope="col"|Label(s)

!scope="col"|

!scope="row"|United States

|January 23, 1996

|CD

|Virgin

!scope="row" rowspan="2"|United Kingdom

|January 29, 1996

|rowspan="2"|

|March 11, 1996

Licensed uses

The song appears in the film Clerks II (2006) and during the credits of the video game Gran Turismo 5 (2010). It was also released as part of a Smashing Pumpkins-themed DLC pack for the rhythm game Guitar Hero World Tour. It was also part of the soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto IV, playing on the fictional Liberty Rock Radio station until it was removed in an April 2018 update when Rockstar Games' ten-year license to the song expired. The song's guitar riff was also interpolated by American boy band Why Don't We in their song "Slow Down".