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Tarantula (The Smashing Pumpkins song)

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"Tarantula"
Song

"Tarantula" is a song by The Smashing Pumpkins. It is the first single from their sixth album, Zeitgeist, and their first release since their 2006 revival.

Song

The song is played in E♭ tuning, which is customary for later Smashing Pumpkins songs. It features a shuffle beat with heavy distortion, ripping guitar solos, and a catchy pop/rock chorus.

A 30-second clip of the song was released on May 14, 2007.[1] The song was played in its entirety on the radio for the first time on May 18 2007 when KROQ aired the world premiere. WBRU in Providence Rhode Island aired "Tarantula" twice in 15 minutes the same day. It was leaked onto the Internet soon after. On May 21, 2007 the single was released on iTunes for the United States, followed by the United Kingdom and Canada the May 22. On this date, "Tarantula" was played for the first time live in Paris at the Pumpkins' first show in seven years. The song was also played on the Late Show with David Letterman on July 9, 2007.

Songwriter Billy Corgan mentioned during a June 5 concert in Berlin that "Tarantula" was titled in honor of the German rock band Scorpions, with whom Corgan had recently collaborated on the Scorpions track "The Cross".

On July 2, a single was released on CD and 7" in the UK, both containing the b-side "Death From Above". Both covers have a black-and-white photo of Paris Hilton holding a BlackBerry with the Zeitgeist album cover on the screen, and a low-resolution image of a mushroom cloud in the background. A separate 7" was released in a clear plastic sleeve on white vinyl.

On July 15, 'Tarantula' entered the UK Rock Singles Chart at Number One.

Music Video

The music video for "Tarantula" debuted on July 2, 2007 on Spinner.com.[2] It features the band (dressed primarily in the white outfits of the 2007 tour) playing with multiple extra people, in front of a psychedelic visual collage, and is partially shot in 3D. The video was directed by P.R. Brown.[3]

In July 2007, it was announced via the Smashing Pumpkins' official website that the green screen files for the video would be released online. Fans with video editing skills will be allowed to make their own version of the Tarantula video and enter it into a contest via the website.

Two winners were announced in August 2007. 1st place was awarded to Levi Ahmu and 2nd place was awarded to Mason Williams. Both videos consisted of vast amounts of visual effects. Honorable mention was made for Ryan Webber for his live action take on the music video. [4]

Track listing

  1. "Tarantula" - 3:51
  2. "Death From Above" 4:06
  3. "Zeitgeist" - 2:49 [only on some European CDs]

Chart positions

Chart (2007)[6] Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 2
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 6
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs 44
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 50
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 54
U.K. Singles Chart[7] 59
Latvian Airplay Top[8] 13
Irish Singles Chart[9] 44

References

  1. ^ "FMQB: Available for Airplay". FMQB.com. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
  2. ^ "Tarantula Music Video".
  3. ^ "Tarantula video news".
  4. ^ "Tarantula video news".
  5. ^ "Tarantula [CD-Single] [Import]". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
  6. ^ "Artist Chart History - The Smashing Pumpkins". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2007-06-02.
  7. ^ "The Official UK Charts Company : TOP 100 SINGLES CHART". theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
  8. ^ "Latvian Airplay Top 50, 2007.07.08". Lanet.tv. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
  9. ^ ">> IRMA << Irish Charts - Singles, Albums, & Compilations >>". Irma.ie. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
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