Today (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Today" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by The Smashing Pumpkins | ||
| from the album Siamese Dream | ||
| B-side(s) | Apathy's Last Kiss (7") | |
| Released | September 30, 1993 | |
| Format | Vinyl record (7" & 12"), cassette, and CD | |
| Recorded | 1993 | |
| Genre | Alternative rock | |
| Length | 03:21 | |
| Label | Virgin Records | |
| Writer(s) | Billy Corgan | |
| Producer(s) | Butch Vig & Billy Corgan | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| The Smashing Pumpkins singles chronology | ||
| "Cherub Rock" (1993) |
Today (1993) |
"Disarm" (1994) |
| Siamese Dream track listing | ||
| "Quiet" (2) |
"Today" (3) |
"Hummer" (4) |
"Today" is a popular song by The Smashing Pumpkins (then known as simply Smashing Pumpkins), and was written by lead vocals/guitarist Billy Corgan. It originally appeared on their 1993 album Siamese Dream, from which it was the second single. It is considered the breakthrough song that shot the Pumpkins into mainstream stardom. It was the first song written for "Siamese Dream". During the recording sessions for the album, representatives from Virgin Records came to visit the band in Triclops Studios in Atlanta, Georgia to check on the progress of the album. During the time Billy Corgan was experiencing a debilitating case of writer's block and had only been able to successfuly complete this song. The representatives loved the song so much that they voiced their anticipation for the rest of the album, believing the other songs would match the charm of it. This created even more stress for Corgan, who felt that "Today" was a success he would be expected to repeat for the entire album.
The first single Cherub Rock was chosen by Corgan; he explained, "When Siamese Dream was finished, the people of the record company immediately wanted to talk about the first-single choice. I wanted Cherub Rock as first single, they wanted Today. I mean, I created a monstrous emotional piece of art of an hour and the only thing people wanted to talk about was a song I wrote in 10 minutes". The song also appeared on the band's greatest hits album Rotten Apples. It was once performed on Saturday Night Live as the second performance. A live version also appears on Earphoria and its companion video Vieuphoria.
The song is seemingly upbeat, containing the lyrics "Today is the greatest day I've ever known." In truth, the lyrics are actually gloomy in attitude; songwriter Billy Corgan wrote the song about a day in which he was having suicidal thoughts (exemplified by the self-mutilatory reference in the lines "pink ribbon scars/that never forget/I tried so hard/to cleanse these regrets"). Still, this darker side of the song is partially hidden in the soft instrumental part that is played in the verses, which made many listeners unaware of the song's tale of depression and desperation.
Corgan writes in his online auto-biography, Confessions... , "The Texas Two-Step", of the famous instrumental intro, "...I suggest trying to come up with an interesting intro, and all agree that the blunt start (with the band just blasting in at the top) is boring and obvious...as is often the case of a good intellectual concept, musical silence ensues, shoes are stared at, and all I get in response to my suggestion is the buzz of the amps...frustrated, I look down at my guitar, and without hesitation, place my left hand on the 11th fret, high up on the top two strings...the first thing I feel immediately clicks, a dumb schoolhouse take on "la-dee-dah, la-dee-dah"...I look up, and no one says much, but then again, no one says no...without comment, I play it again, and at the appointed moment, the band kicks in full power".
The music video, directed by Stephane Sednaoui, brought even more mainstream success to the band. Shot in black and white and then colored manually, it shows Billy Corgan driving through an isolated road in an ice cream truck, dressed in an ice cream man's suit, and picking up other members of the band. Corgan said that the plot of the video was inspired by a memory he had of an ice cream truck driver who, upon quitting his job, gave out his remaining stock of ice cream to the neighborhood children.
The "Today" video was also featured on the Beavis and Butt-head episode "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Huh-Huh", where it was commented on, like many other music videos. The memorable ice cream truck caused Beavis to remark, "he thinks it's the greatest day because he, like, stole an ice cream truck" link.
"Today" was later featured on the Cold Case episode "Detention", as well as in the movie Hostel.
The two girls on the cover of the single are D'arcy Wretzky's sisters.
Contents |
[edit] Live performance
"Today", like many other Pumpkin singles, would go under constant change during and after every tour. During the tour in support of Siamese Dream, the song remained mostly the same, minor differences were up-tempo performance and Corgan's intonation, which were more forced and guttural than the vocals on the studio track. Occasionally the song would be played acoustically with a slightly altered intro. The tour for Mellon Collie... showcased a variation that dropped the opening intro, which appeared more prominently as the song hit towards its end, as well as bringing a stronger attack: Corgan simply started singing the song immediately, the band would soon after "blast" into the song. The Adore tour rarely had a performance of the song until late into the tour dates, even then it was only played acoustically. The Sacred & Profane tour saw the return of the song, albeit a variant, which was an extended down-tempo version, which replaced the distorted fuzz guitars with the instrumental intro which lasted the entire song throughout. The song was usually performed acoustically during the Pumpkins' last tour in fall 2000.
[edit] Single track listing
All songs written by Billy Corgan.
- "Today" - 3:22
- "Hello Kitty Kat" - 4:32
- "Obscured" - 5:20
- The Japanese version of the single also includes "Apathy's Last Kiss" and "French Movie Theme".
[edit] Personnel
- Billy Corgan - Producer, Vocals, Guitar
- Jimmy Chamberlin - Drums
- Butch Vig - Producer
