Bullet with Butterfly Wings
Encyclopedia
"Bullet with Butterfly Wings" is a song by American alternative rock
band The Smashing Pumpkins
. It was the lead single from the band's 1995 double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
. The song won the 1997 Grammy Award
for Best Hard Rock Performance
. This song was the band's first Top 40 U.S. hit, peaking at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100
. It also spent six weeks at number 2 on the Modern Rock Tracks
chart, and peaked at number 4 on the Album Rock Tracks chart. The song was named the 91st best hard rock
song of all time by VH1
. The song was ranked number 70 on the list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time" of Rolling Stone
.
The song came second in the Triple J Hottest 100, 1995
, lead singer of the group, has stated that the line "but can you fake it/for just one more show" refers to the band's headlining slot on the 1994 Lollapalooza tour, where they supposedly became disillusioned with the idea of "alternative" rock
. This interpretation is also supported by the fact that the first fully played incarnations of the song occurred at a few Lollapalooza shows, as well as on demos recorded early that year. A very embryonic version was apparently recorded during the recording of Siamese Dream
; according to Corgan, "somewhere, I have a tape of us from 1993 endlessly playing the 'world is a vampire' part over and over." It was not until 1995 that Corgan finished writing the "rat in a cage" chorus section of the song.
", "Stand Inside Your Love
", and "Today", metamorphosed dramatically during and after every tour. "Bullet" in particular, verified by Corgan himself, comes in five different versions.
During the tour in support of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
, the band often performed the song with an audio clip intro welcoming concertgoers to "the only circus of its kind in the world", after which Corgan would shout the opening line. Later, the band would drop the intro, starting off the song with a drum beat, a style reminiscent of the variation adopted for the "Sacred & Profane" tour. A third and fourth version showed dramatic variations of the song, both of which were adopted for the Adore tour. The former was an extended and extremely distorted electric version, including several other instruments outside of the ones used for the studio track, such as a 7-string Ibanez
electric guitar and additional percussion. The latter was a nine minute or longer version of the song. During the "Sacred & Profane" tour, the fifth variation of "Bullet" started off with an extended bassline and drumbeat build-up into the main song. This version is similar to the newest versions the band has been using on its 2007 tour.
Also to be noted is that later renditions of "Bullet" used the C tuning of "The Everlasting Gaze
" and "Heavy Metal Machine", making the song sound heavier. As a result, the chorus was so low in Billy's register it sounded almost spoken. They then preceded non-stop with a cover of "Once in a Lifetime
" by Talking Heads
. Post-reformation renditions restore the original tuning.
for the song, directed by Samuel Bayer
, is a performance video with heavy conceptual elements. The visual look of the video was inspired by the work of Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado
on diamond mining, while, in contrast, the band used the video to debut their new glam rock
wardrobes - notably, Billy Corgan's black shirt with the word "Zero
" written in silver, and silver pants. The video also marks the last filmed appearance of Billy Corgan prior to his decision to shave his head
.
The band advertised in the media that they were accepting extras for the video and got an overwhelming response and had almost 2000 extras for the video.
"...Said Sadly" features Nina Gordon
of Veruca Salt
on vocals.
1996 Re-issue
US 7" double A-side single
reality television series Whale Wars
, which follows the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as they chase Japanese whalers
in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
. The song is also used in the South Park
episode "Whale Whores
", which parodies Whale Wars.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
performed the chorus in "The Alternative Polka" from his Bad Hair Day
album. The song is a playable track in the video game Guitar Hero 5
.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
. It was the lead single from the band's 1995 double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is the third album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released October 24, 1995 on Virgin Records. Produced by frontman Billy Corgan with Flood and Alan Moulder, the twenty-eight-track album was released as a two-disc CD and triple LP...
. The song won the 1997 Grammy Award
Grammy Awards of 1997
The 39th Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.- Award winners :*Record of the Year**Babyface & Eric Clapton for "Change the World"*Album of the Year...
for Best Hard Rock Performance
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, for works containing quality performances in the hard rock music genre...
. This song was the band's first Top 40 U.S. hit, peaking at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. It also spent six weeks at number 2 on the Modern Rock Tracks
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
chart, and peaked at number 4 on the Album Rock Tracks chart. The song was named the 91st best hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
song of all time by VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
. The song was ranked number 70 on the list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time" of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
.
The song came second in the Triple J Hottest 100, 1995
Triple J Hottest 100, 1995
The 1995 Triple J Hottest 100, counted down in January 1996, was a countdown of the most popular songs of the year, according to listeners of the Australian radio station Triple J. A CD featuring 32 of the songs was released...
Recording and composition
Billy CorganBilly Corgan
William Patrick "Billy" Corgan, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet best known as the frontman and sole permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins. Formed by Corgan and guitarist James Iha in Chicago, Illinois in 1987, the band quickly gained steam with the...
, lead singer of the group, has stated that the line "but can you fake it/for just one more show" refers to the band's headlining slot on the 1994 Lollapalooza tour, where they supposedly became disillusioned with the idea of "alternative" rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
. This interpretation is also supported by the fact that the first fully played incarnations of the song occurred at a few Lollapalooza shows, as well as on demos recorded early that year. A very embryonic version was apparently recorded during the recording of Siamese Dream
Siamese Dream
Siamese Dream is the second album by the American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 27, 1993 on Virgin Records. The album fused diverse influences such as shoegazing, dream pop, grunge, classic rock, heavy metal, and progressive rock.Despite recording sessions fraught...
; according to Corgan, "somewhere, I have a tape of us from 1993 endlessly playing the 'world is a vampire' part over and over." It was not until 1995 that Corgan finished writing the "rat in a cage" chorus section of the song.
Live performance
"Bullet with Butterfly Wings", like "DisarmDisarm
"Disarm" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the third single from their second album, Siamese Dream. "Disarm" was written by Billy Corgan and is one of the band’s most highly regarded songs...
", "Stand Inside Your Love
Stand Inside Your Love
"Stand Inside Your Love" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the second single released from their fifth album, Machina/The Machines of God . The song was written by Billy Corgan...
", and "Today", metamorphosed dramatically during and after every tour. "Bullet" in particular, verified by Corgan himself, comes in five different versions.
During the tour in support of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is the third album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released October 24, 1995 on Virgin Records. Produced by frontman Billy Corgan with Flood and Alan Moulder, the twenty-eight-track album was released as a two-disc CD and triple LP...
, the band often performed the song with an audio clip intro welcoming concertgoers to "the only circus of its kind in the world", after which Corgan would shout the opening line. Later, the band would drop the intro, starting off the song with a drum beat, a style reminiscent of the variation adopted for the "Sacred & Profane" tour. A third and fourth version showed dramatic variations of the song, both of which were adopted for the Adore tour. The former was an extended and extremely distorted electric version, including several other instruments outside of the ones used for the studio track, such as a 7-string Ibanez
Ibanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...
electric guitar and additional percussion. The latter was a nine minute or longer version of the song. During the "Sacred & Profane" tour, the fifth variation of "Bullet" started off with an extended bassline and drumbeat build-up into the main song. This version is similar to the newest versions the band has been using on its 2007 tour.
Also to be noted is that later renditions of "Bullet" used the C tuning of "The Everlasting Gaze
The Everlasting Gaze
"The Everlasting Gaze" is a song written by Billy Corgan and recorded by The Smashing Pumpkins. It is the opening track from the band's 2000 album Machina/The Machines of God...
" and "Heavy Metal Machine", making the song sound heavier. As a result, the chorus was so low in Billy's register it sounded almost spoken. They then preceded non-stop with a cover of "Once in a Lifetime
Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads song)
"Once in a Lifetime" is a song by New Wave band Talking Heads, released as the first single from their fourth studio album Remain in Light. The song was written by David Byrne, Brian Eno, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth, and produced by Eno...
" by Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
. Post-reformation renditions restore the original tuning.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song, directed by Samuel Bayer
Samuel Bayer
Samuel David Bayer is an American commercial, music video and film director, and cinematographer.-Early life:Bayer was born in Syracuse, New York...
, is a performance video with heavy conceptual elements. The visual look of the video was inspired by the work of Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado
Sebastião Salgado
Sebastião Salgado is a Brazilian social documentary photographer and photojournalist.-Biography:Salgado was born on February 8, 1944 in Aimorés, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. After a somewhat itinerant childhood, Salgado initially trained as an economist, earning a master’s degree in...
on diamond mining, while, in contrast, the band used the video to debut their new glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
wardrobes - notably, Billy Corgan's black shirt with the word "Zero
Zero (song)
"Zero" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the third single from their third album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, and was a return to the familiar angsty rock of the first single, "Bullet with Butterfly Wings". This style of their music was called...
" written in silver, and silver pants. The video also marks the last filmed appearance of Billy Corgan prior to his decision to shave his head
Head shaving
Head shaving is the practice of shaving the hair from a person's head. At different times and places people have shaved their heads for very diverse reasons: practical, religious, cultural, or aesthetic—so a shaven head has widely varying connotations depending on the context.-Early...
.
The band advertised in the media that they were accepting extras for the video and got an overwhelming response and had almost 2000 extras for the video.
Track listing
Original US/UK CD single"...Said Sadly" features Nina Gordon
Nina Gordon
Nina Rachel Shapiro Gordon is an American rock singer, and is the co-founder of the band Veruca Salt, having written the songs "Seether" and "Volcano Girls"...
of Veruca Salt
Veruca Salt (band)
Veruca Salt is an alternative rock band founded in 1993 in Chicago, Illinois. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included vocalist-guitarist Louise Post. Guitarist Stephen Fitzpatrick has been with the band since 1999 and drummer Kellii Scott has worked with the group on and off since 1999...
on vocals.
1996 Re-issue
US 7" double A-side single
Cover versions
- Swedish singer Frida Snell performed an acoustic rendition of the song on her 2002 debut album Black Trillium.
- Melodic hardcoreMelodic hardcoreMelodic hardcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on vocal melody. The genre is commonly defined with fast hardcore drum beats, complex guitar riffs and melodic singing with occasional screaming and shouting.-History:...
band Four Year StrongFour Year StrongFour Year Strong is an American pop punk band from Worcester, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalists and guitarists Dan O'Connor and Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss, and drummer Jackson Massucco...
covered this song on their 2009 album Explains It AllExplains It All-Notes:The end of the song, "Spiderwebs" is taken from the song, "This Love" by Pantera.-External links:*...
which is a cover album tributing songs that were made famous by groups in the 1990s. - Sigue Sigue SputnikSigue Sigue SputnikSigue Sigue Sputnik were a British new wave band created in 1982 by the former Generation X bassist Tony James. The band had three UK Top 40 hit singles, including the song "Love Missile F1-11".-Early years:...
made a cover of the song for the 2001 compilation album A Gothic – Industrial Tribute to The Smashing Pumpkins. - Groove metalGroove metalGroove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It was often used to describe Pantera and Exhorder.- Characteristics and origins :Pantera's Cowboys from Hell album from 1990 was described as "groundbreaking" and "blueprint-defining" for the groove metal genre...
band SkinlabSkinlabSkinlab is a groove metal band formed in 1994 in San Francisco, California by vocalist/bassist Steev Esquivel and guitarist Mike Roberts, now with San Francisco Bay Areas RAZE the STRAY, guitarist Gary Wendt Skinlab is a groove metal band formed in 1994 in San Francisco, California by...
covered this song on their 2004 compilation album Nerve DamageNerve DamageNerve Damage is a compilation album by Groove Metal band Skinlab, released in 2004. It is a 2CD collection of rare and unreleased material, including a live set, demos, remixes, alternate mixes, and two new tracks.-Disc 1:# "Losing All" – 4:04...
. - Nu metalNu metalNu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop...
band Ill NiñoIll NiñoIll Niño is an American six-piece metal band from New Jersey founded in 1998. The band has sold over 3.3 million units worldwide; they have 5 studio albums and 10 music videos.-History:...
covered this song on their 2010 album Dead New WorldDead New World- Personnel :Cristian Machado: VocalsDiego Verduzco: Rhythm GuitarAhrue Luster: Lead guitarLazaro Pina: BassDave Chavarri: DrumsDaniel Couto: Percussion...
. - The Ghost and the GraceThe Ghost and the GraceThe Ghost and The Grace is an American indie folk project for Daniel Anderson. The live band consists of singer-songwriter Daniel Anderson along with several other rotating musicians from the Bellingham, Washington music scene...
covered this song and released it as a one-off single in 2009. - Hawthorne HeightsHawthorne HeightsHawthorne Heights is an American rock band from Dayton, Ohio, formed in 2001. Their line-up currently consists of lead-singer and rhythm guitarist JT Woodruff, lead-guitarist and vocalist Micah Carli, bassist and backing vocalist Matt Ridenour, and drummer Eron Bucciarelli...
made a cover of this song.
In other media
The song is used, slightly edited, as the title song for the Animal PlanetAnimal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
reality television series Whale Wars
Whale Wars
Whale Wars is a weekly American documentary-style reality television series that premiered on November 7, 2008 on the Animal Planet cable channel. The program follows Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, as he and his crew aboard their various vessels harass Japanese...
, which follows the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as they chase Japanese whalers
Whaling in Japan
Whaling in Japan may have begun as early as the 12th century. During the 20th century, Japan was heavily involved in commercial whaling until the International Whaling Commission moratorium on commercial whaling went into effect in 1986...
in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is an area of 50 million square kilometres surrounding the continent of Antarctica where the International Whaling Commission has banned all types of commercial whaling...
. The song is also used in the South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
episode "Whale Whores
Whale Whores
"Whale Whores" is the eleventh episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 192nd overall episode of the series. It aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 28, 2009...
", which parodies Whale Wars.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
performed the chorus in "The Alternative Polka" from his Bad Hair Day
Bad Hair Day
Bad Hair Day is the 9th studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1996. This album was the third studio album self-produced by Yankovic. The musical styles on Bad Hair Day are built around parodies and pastiches pop and rock music of the mid 1990s, targeting alternative rock and hip-hop...
album. The song is a playable track in the video game Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero 5 is a music video game and the fifth main entry in the Guitar Hero series. The game was developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision, and released internationally in September 2009 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, 3 and Wii consoles...
.