Released April 23, 1996 Recorded 1995 Length 2:41
EP length: 40:53 | Format CD, Cassette Genre Grunge Label Virgin | |
"Zero" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the third single from their third album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. "Zero" was written by Billy Corgan and was the first song recorded for Mellon Collie. The song has six rhythm guitars, with two line-in twelve string acoustics.
Contents
The cover artwork features photography by Corgan's girlfriend at the time, Yelena Yemchuk, who also directed the music video.
Music video
The music video was directed by Yelena Yemchuk and described by NME as "very cinematic and creepy at times". The concept of it was to set it in a Roman mansion, with lounging guests, while the band acts as their entertainment. The band predominantly wears black, which contrasts the room's vibrant wine-stained colors that are associated with the Roman period.
B-sides
Unlike most singles, "Zero" was released as an EP and included "Pastichio Medley", a medley of parts of songs from the Mellon Collie sessions that mostly remain unreleased. The medley runs over 23 minutes and features over 70 songs. The medley also features snippets of songs that actually were released; the snippet of the song "Disconnected" is a riff from an early version of "The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)" (originally B-side from the "Thirty-Three" single) and the riff called "Rachel" ended up being worked into the album track "X.Y.U." Eventually, 2012's reissue of Mellon Collie saw a number of tracks from the "Medley" released in full versions.
The track "Tribute to Johnny" is an instrumental, a homage to guitarist Johnny Winter.
EP track listing
All songs written by Billy Corgan unless noted.
- "Zero" – 2:39
- "God" – 3:09
- "Mouths of Babes" – 3:46
- "Tribute to Johnny" (Corgan/James Iha) – 2:34
- "Marquis in Spades" – 3:17
- "Pennies" – 2:28
- "Pastichio Medley" (Corgan/Iha/D'arcy Wretzky/Jimmy Chamberlin) – 23:00