Released October 24, 1995 Recorded 1995 | Format CDcassette Length 4:16 | |
Genre Alternative rockgrungealternative metal | ||
"Bullet with Butterfly Wings" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the lead single from the band's 1995 double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. This song was the band's first Top 40 U.S. hit, peaking at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also spent six weeks at number 2 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, and peaked at number 4 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The song was named the 91st best hard rock song of all time by VH1 in 2009. The song was ranked number 70 on the 2008 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time" of Rolling Stone. The song came second in the Triple J Hottest 100, 1995, later was voted #51 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time, 2009 and #25 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of the Past 20 Years, 2013.
Contents
Background
The song had its origins during the recording of 1993's Siamese Dream. According to frontman Billy Corgan, "somewhere, I have a tape of us from 1993 endlessly playing the 'world is a vampire' part over and over". It was not until 1995 that Corgan finished the song with the noted chorus "rat in a cage", on an acoustic guitar during the same session that "Landslide" was recorded. The lyrics "Can you fake it, for just one more show?" may refer to the band's experience headlining the 1993 Lollapalooza festival, with Corgan calling it the "old job". Along with other parts of the album, Corgan appears to compare himself to Jesus Christ, with the line "Jesus was an only son / Tell me I'm the chosen one".
The B-side song, "...Said Sadly", is one of a small number of Smashing Pumpkins songs written by and featuring the vocals of James Iha, rather than Corgan, who is the band's primary songwriter and vocalist. The 1996 re-issue, included in the Aeroplane Flies High box set, featured a number of extra b-sides that are all covers versions of songs by popular '70s and '80s rock bands.
Music video
The music video for the song, directed by Samuel Bayer, is a performance video with heavy conceptual elements. The visual look of the video was inspired by the work of Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado on diamond mining, while, in contrast, the band used the video to debut their new glam rock wardrobes - notably, Billy Corgan's black shirt with the word "Zero" written in silver, and silver pants. The video also marks the last filmed appearance of Billy Corgan prior to his decision to shave his head. (The band's first promotional performance of the song, as musical guests of Saturday Night Live on November 11, 1995, also was the first public appearance of Corgan without hair, a look which he has consistently maintained ever since, as of 2016.)
When asked why the band chose Bullet for the first video, Corgan responded "the record company did a survey of K-Mart shoppers between 30 and 40 and this is the song they came up with". "This is the blue light special", said Chamberlin.
Track listing
Original US/UK CD single
"...Said Sadly" features Nina Gordon of Veruca Salt on vocals.
1996 Re-issue
US 7" double A-side single
Cover versions
In other media
The song is used, slightly edited, as the title song for the Animal Planet reality television series Whale Wars, which follows the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as they chase Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. The song is also used in the South Park episode "Whale Whores", which parodies Whale Wars.
"Weird Al" Yankovic performed the chorus in "The Alternative Polka" from his Bad Hair Day album.
The song was featured as a playable track in the video game Guitar Hero 5.
It was also used in the launch trailer for Dead Space 2 and TV spot for Battlefield 1.
The song was the TNA Lockdown wrestling pay-per-view theme song for 2009.
UFC also used it for the Anderson Silva vs Nick Diaz fight in UFC 183's short trailer.