“Disarm” is a song by the Smashing Pumpkins, written by vocalist and guitarist Billy Corgan. It was released on February 21, 1994 as the third single from their second album, Siamese Dream (1993), and became a top-20 hit in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
The BBC banned “Disarm” from Top of the Pops because of the lyric “cut that little child”, and it received little radio airplay in the United Kingdom. Corgan has stated that the song reflects the shaky relationship he had with his parents while growing up.
The song peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart. In the U.S., the song failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100 but it peaked number forty-eight on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, it also peaked at number five on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number eight on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Two versions of the single were produced. Each version (Heart and Smile) featured different artwork and different B-sides.
The B-sides to the Heart version were both covers of classic rock songs from the 1970s. “Landslide” was later included on the compilation album Pisces Iscariot, after which it received significant airplay on U.S. Modern Rock stations, peaking at number 3 on that chart. “Dancing in the Moonlight” performed well in Australia, where it charted at number 90 on the Triple J Hottest 100 in 1994, while “Disarm” did not chart.
The UK 7-inch purple vinyl single features an exclusive B-side “Siamese Dream”. In 2005, the track was released as a download as part of the Rarities and B-sides compilation.
The music video, directed by Jake Scott, is mainly in black and white and shows the members of the band floating over images of a house, an old man walking through an underpass while home movie-esque, color footage shows a young boy playing outside. The video premiered on MTV in early 1994 and was immediately placed into heavy rotation and spent a month as an MTV Exclusive video. Later that year it was nominated for Best Alternative Video and Best Editing in a Video at the MTV Video Music Awards, the Pumpkins‘ first MTV Video Music Awards nominations.
Tracklist:
- Disarm
- Landslide (Stevie Nicks)
The Smashing Pumpkins
Billy Corgan: lead vocals, guitars, bass guitar, string arrangements, production, mixing
James Iha: guitars, backing vocals
D’arcy Wretzky: bass guitar, backing vocals
Jimmy Chamberlin: drums
