Cherub Rock is a song by the Smashing Pumpkins, released in June 21, 1993. It is the first single from their second album, Siamese Dream (1993) and is the opening track. Written by lead vocalist and guitarist Billy Corgan. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance.
Cherub Rock was one of the last songs written for the album, and the lyrics relate to Corgan‘s relationship with his perception of the indie rock community and larger media.
The song was performed in standard tuning with an E octave played at the 7th fret, a technique which the band used on other songs, such as “Drown”, “Tristessa”, and “Starla”. Corgan describes this as the “Pumpkin Chord”, saying:
“We basically stole that from Jimi Hendrix. But Jimi Hendrix probably stole it from Wes Montgomery.”
The prominent effect on the solo was achieved by recording the guitar solo to two different tapes which were then run simultaneously, with the speed of one tape slightly altered. Cherub Rock contains various overdubs influenced by the genres of shoegazing as well as 1970s classic arena rock.
According to Corgan, the song’s introductory drum riff is a direct lift from Rush‘s 1975 song “By-Tor and the Snow Dog”.
Tracklist:
- Cherub Rock
- Pissant
- French Movie Theme
The video features footage of the band performing the song live in a forest setting. It was shot outside San Francisco entirely on Super8 film on a modest budget. The director, Kevin Kerslake, employed various destructive techniques when developing the film to give the video a broken and dirty look. Corgan was reportedly extremely unhappy with the shooting experience, and the band never worked with Kerslake again until the video for ‘Empires’, the third single from the 2023 album Atum A Rock Opera in Three Acts.
The Smashing Pumpkins
Billy Corgan: lead vocals, guitars, bass guitar, arrangements, production, mixing
James Iha: guitars, backing vocals
D’arcy Wretzky: bass guitar, backing vocals
Jimmy Chamberlin: drums
