The End Is the Beginning Is the End
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| “The End Is the Beginning Is the End” | |||||
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| Single by The Smashing Pumpkins from the album Music from and Inspired by the Batman & Robin Motion Picture |
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| Released | June 2, 1997 | ||||
| Format | Cassette tape and CD | ||||
| Recorded | 1997 | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock | ||||
| Length | 5:07 (song) | ||||
| Label | Warner Bros. | ||||
| Writer(s) | Billy Corgan | ||||
| Producer | Nellee Hooper & Billy Corgan | ||||
| The Smashing Pumpkins singles chronology | |||||
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| Alternate Version Cover | |||||
"The Remixes" cover
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"The End Is the Beginning Is the End" is a Grammy Award Winning song by The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the first full-band song released as a single by the Pumpkins in the aftermath of their 1995 album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. It was the first release to include a performance by drummer Matt Walker; he would later perform on several tracks on Adore and all of James Iha's Let It Come Down.
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[edit] Song
The song was released on the Batman & Robin soundtrack and was written by Billy Corgan. The song won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance.
Billy Corgan said of the song,
| “ | I found myself going, 'I can't write a song about Batman, I'm in an alternative band.' And I thought, this is stupid, if I can write a song about Batman and it serves the purpose, which is to make it happen and connect with the movie, and connect with something that is unique and original, then, why not? For me, it was a great kind of artistic thing to do because it was very freeing. I wasn't talking about myself or trying to represent the Smashing Pumpkins. I was trying to represent Batman.[1] | ” |
He further commented that the song's lyrics were meant to represent the Batman of the 1940s, when he was a "darker character."[2]
Many fans saw the new metal-guitar and electronica-driven sound of "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" as a taste of the sound of the next Smashing Pumpkins album, with Corgan himself saying the sound is "probably like what you would expect from us in the future."[1] However, the loud guitars of "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" are relatively nowhere to be found on the band's next album, Adore.
Despite its Grammy win and a strong promotion in conjunction with Batman & Robin, "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" has not had a strong legacy in the US. While it was well-received by American rock radio, the song found particularly strong chart success in other countries, reaching the top ten of both the Australian and UK single charts. The band performed the song live several times around its release in 1997, but did not perform it again until their 2008 tour of the United States.
"The End Is the Beginning Is the End," along with "Eye," released on the Lost Highway soundtrack, and "Christmastime," from A Very Special Christmas 3, is one of three Pumpkins songs released on "various artists" compilations between Mellon Collie and Adore.
The single contained three other versions of the song, although they are titled as different tracks. Two are electronica-inspired instrumentals of the song, while the other ("The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning") is a more melancholy version with different lyrics. "The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning" was used in a trailer for the 2009 film adaptation of Watchmen (which, coincidentally, made its first appearance attached to the 2008 Batman film The Dark Knight). Its appearance in that trailer helped the song break into the iTunes Top 100 during the summer of 2008.[3] For his part, Billy Corgan "love[s] the way it’s used in the trailer" but "can only imagine this terrifies" his fans who "seem to be confused when the outside world appreciates our work".[4] Prior to its inclusion in the trailer, it was "a version of that song that never seemed to get any notice", but as Corgan ultimately discovered, "[certainly] the massive jump in on-line sales seems to indicate it might be worth it for us and for the movie."[5]
Since the single and video were released under Warner Bros. Records, the band were unable to use them for future releases, leaving them notably absent from their Greatest Hits DVD and CD releases. Ironically, the band is now signed with sister label Reprise Records.
[edit] Music video
The music video was directed by Joel Schumacher, Jonathan Dayton, and Valerie Faris. It features the members of the Pumpkins flying in front of images from the Batman film. The video is notable for being only one of two Smashing Pumpkins videos to have a different drummer besides Jimmy Chamberlin (Kenny Aronoff is briefly visible during the Perfect video) and is the only video with Matt Walker on the drums before his departure. The video was also nominated at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Special Effects and Best Direction.
The music video for this song appears on the second disc of the Batman and Robin: Special Edition DVD (also on the Batman: The Motion Picture Anthology 1989-1997 DVD boxset), released in October 2005.
Billy Corgan has expressed interest in releasing a new music video for "The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning" to tie in with the upcoming 2009 film Watchmen, but he said he is "Still waiting on that one".[6]
[edit] Track listing
[edit] Single track listing
- "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" (Corgan) 5:09
- "The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning" (Corgan) 5:04
- "The Ethers Tragic" (Corgan) (Instrumental) 2:47
- "The Guns of Love Disastrous" (Corgan) (Instrumental) 4:11
[edit] The Remixes single track listing
- "The End Is the Beginning Is the End (Stuck in the Middle with Fluke Vox Mix)" -6:44
- "The End Is the Beginning Is the End (Stuck in the Middle with Fluke Alternative Mix)" -5:39
- "The End Is the Beginning Is the End (Rabbit in the Moon's Melancholy & the Infinite Madness Mix)" -9:28
- "The End Is the Beginning Is the End (Hallucination's Gotham Ghetto Beats)" -6:15
- "The End Is the Beginning Is the End (Rabbit in the Moon's Infinite Radio Edit)" -5:13
[edit] References
- ^ a b "The Week in Rock for May 2, 1997." Mtv Online. Retrieved on 2007/09/23.
- ^ "Billy Corgan on the Watchmen". SmashingPumpkins.com. 2008-07-19.
- ^ "Smashing Pumpkins Song Boosted by Appearance in Watchmen Movie" Gigwise.com. 2008-07-22.
- ^ "Hero Complex: Corgan Talks 'Watchmen' Music" Los Angeles Times. 2008-07-29.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Ibid.
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