1979

"1979" is a song by the American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. Released in 1996 as the second single from their third studio album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, "1979" was written by frontman Billy Corgan, and features loops and samples that were uncharacteristic of previous Smashing Pumpkins songs. The song was popular with critics and fans; Allmusic's Amy Hanson called it a "somewhat surprising hit". The song was nominated for the Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the Grammy Awards, and won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video. "1979" was the Smashing Pumpkins' highest-charting single, reaching number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and on the Modern Rock Tracks charts. It peaked at number fifty-four on the U.S. Hot Digital Songs in 2005, nine years after first being released. The song was nominated for the Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the Grammy Awards. 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 the end of the rock thing, and the beginning of the new thing".

1979 Lyrics The Smashing Pumpkins [Verse 1] Shakedown 1979 Cool kids never have the time On a live wire right up off the street You and I should meet Junebug skippin' like a stone With the headlights pointed at the dawn We were sure we'd never see an end To it all [Chorus] And I don't even care To shake these zipper blues And we don't know Just where our bones will rest To dust I guess Forgotten and absorbed Into the earth below [Verse 2] Double-cross the vacant and the bored They're not sure just what we have in store Morphine city slippin' dues Down to see [Chorus 2] That we don't even care As restless as we are We feel the pull In the land of a thousand guilts And poured cement [Bridge] Lamented and assured To the lights and towns below Faster than the speed of sound Faster than we thought we'd go Beneath the sound of hope [Verse 3] Justine never knew the rules Hung down with the freaks and ghouls No apologies ever need be made I know you better than you fake it To see [Chorus 1] That we don't even care To shake these zipper blues And we don't know Just where our bones will rest To dust I guess Forgotten and absorbed Into the earth below [Outro] The street heats the urgency of now As you see there's no one around Produced By Flood, Alan Moulder & Billy Corgan Written By Billy Corgan Video Director Dayton & Faris Mastering Engineer Howie Weinberg Arranger Billy Corgan Guitar Billy Corgan & James Iha Assistant Mixing Engineer Barry Goldberg Recording Engineer Alan Moulder, Barry Goldberg, Chris Shepard, Flood, James Iha & Billy Corgan Assistant Recording Engineer Dave Kresl & Claudine Pontier Mixing Engineer Flood, Alan Moulder & Billy Corgan Label Virgin Records Drums Jimmy Chamberlin Bass D’arcy Wretzky Vocals Billy Corgan Release Date January 23, 1996