Spin the Black Circle
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| “Spin the Black Circle” | ||||||||||||||
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| Single by Pearl Jam from the album Vitalogy |
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| B-side | "Tremor Christ" | |||||||||||||
| Released | November 8, 1994 | |||||||||||||
| Format | CD single, Cassette, Vinyl | |||||||||||||
| Recorded | January 1994–February 1994 at Bad Animals Studio, Seattle, Washington | |||||||||||||
| Genre | Grunge | |||||||||||||
| Length | 2:48 | |||||||||||||
| Label | Epic | |||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Dave Abbruzzese, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Eddie Vedder | |||||||||||||
| Producer | Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam | |||||||||||||
| Pearl Jam singles chronology | ||||||||||||||
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"Spin the Black Circle" is the first single from Pearl Jam's third studio album, Vitalogy (1994). The single was released on November 8, 1994 and peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was included on Pearl Jam's greatest hits album, rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991–2003.
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[edit] Origin and recording
Guitarist Stone Gossard had originally written the song's guitar riff as slower, however frontman Eddie Vedder asked him to speed it up.[1] Eddie Vedder on the song:
I remember wanting everything to be faster...Stone gave me a tape with this riff [hums it at slow speed]. I had a speed control on my machine. I speeded it up, came back and said, "Can we do it this way?"[1]
Guitarist Mike McCready on the song:
That's me trying to do Johnny Thunders leads. I actually overdubbed those leads, but when I do it live, that riff is so hectic and frantic, I have to be warmed up or it sounds really shitty.[2]
[edit] Composition
The song begins with one guitar playing fast power chords, and then the second guitar kicks in and vocalist Eddie Vedder begins singing through the rest of the song. The main guitar riff for the song is reminiscent of the one for Hüsker Dü's "Beyond the Threshold" from the album Zen Arcade.
[edit] Release and reception
The song peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 16 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and number 11 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. "Spin the Black Circle" was the band's first single to enter the Billboard Hot 100. Because of the Hot 100's tracking methods, this high position reflects the single's sales preceding the album's delayed release on compact disc, as well as the album's furious sales during its first week on CD.
Al Weisel of Rolling Stone called the song a "revvedup thrash tribute to vinyl."[3] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly said that it sounds "a little flabby, like dinosaur rockers trying to prove they're into Green Day."[4]
"Spin the Black Circle" won the 1996 Grammy award for Best Hard Rock Performance,[5] the only Grammy which Pearl Jam have ever won. During the band's acceptance speech, Vedder famously said, "I don't know what this means. I don't think it means anything."[6]
[edit] Lyrical meaning
According to Vedder, the track is about his and the band's love for vinyl records. At the July 1, 2003 show in Bristow, Virginia, Vedder proclaimed "This song is about old records, old records, anyone remember old records?"[7]
The lyrics play on the similarities between drug addiction and addiction to records and music, as many of the lyrics may be interpreted either way. It is unclear to what extent this is intended to be a serious comparison of different types of addiction and to what extent it is just intended to make the lyrics interesting. Jon Pareles of The New York Times referred to "Spin the Black Circle" as "one of the few songs from Seattle in which a needle has nothing to do with heroin."[8]
[edit] Live performances
The song was premiered live at the band's March 6, 1994 concert in Denver, Colorado.[9] A live performance of "Spin the Black Circle" can be found on the Live at the Gorge 05/06 box set. A performance of the song is also included on the DVD Live at the Garden.
[edit] Formats and track listing
Information taken from various sources.[10][11][12]
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[edit] Chart positions
Information taken from various sources.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | New Zealand Singles Chart | 2 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 3 | |
| Norwegian Albums Chart | 5 | |
| Irish Singles Chart | 6 | |
| UK Singles Chart | 10 | |
| Swedish Albums Chart | 16 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 18 | |
| US Modern Rock Tracks | 11 | |
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 16 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 60 | |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 21 | |
| German Singles Chart | 92 |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Fricke, David. "Eddie Vedder's Combat Rock". Rolling Stone. May 29, 2003.
- ^ Gilbert, Jeff. "Prime Cuts: Mike McCready - The Best of Pearl Jam!". Guitar School. May 1995.
- ^ Weisel, Al. Vitalogy review. Rolling Stone. December 15, 1994. Retrieved on March 1, 2008.
- ^ Browne, David. Vitalogy. Entertainment Weekly. December 9, 1994. Retrieved on May 17, 2008.
- ^ 38th Grammy Awards. Rockonthenet. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
- ^ Travers, Peter. "Grammy & The Movies". Rolling Stone. February 8, 2008.
- ^ "Pearl Jam Shows: 2003 July 1, Nissan Pavillion Stone Ridge Bristow, Virginia". pearljam.com.
- ^ Pareles, Jon. "RECORDINGS VIEW; Pearl Jam Gives Voice To Sisyphus". The New York Times. December 4, 1994. Retrieved on December 13, 2007.
- ^ "Pearl Jam Songs: "Spin the Black Circle"". pearljam.com.
- ^ Spin the Black Circle. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ Spin the Black Circle Single. Lukin.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ pjcollectors.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ EveryHit.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
- ^ Pearl Jam Artist Chart History. Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ Pearl Jam – Billboard Singles. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
- ^ PEARL JAM - SPIN THE BLACK CIRCLE (SINGLE) (12661). Australian-charts.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
- ^ The Irish Charts - All there is to know. Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
- ^ Chartverfolgung / Pearl Jam / Single. musicline.de. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
- ^ PEARL JAM - SPIN THE BLACK CIRCLE (SONG). New Zealand-charts.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
- ^ Swedish Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
- ^ Norwegian Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
- ^ Dutch Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
- ^ Billboard.com / Pearl Jam / Longplay. Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
