Tarantula is a song by The Smashing Pumpkins. It is the first single from their seventh album, Zeitgeist, and their first release since their 2006 reunion. Tarantula was released as single album in May 21, 2007. Billy Corgan mentioned during a concert of June 5 in Berlin that Tarantula was titled in honor of the German rock band Scorpions, with whom Corgan had recently collaborated on the Scorpions song “The Cross”.
The intro and the outro of the song are inspired by the song “Dark Lady” of Scorpions, while Corgan stated that he wrote the solo of the song thinking how Uli Jon Roth could have played it. Corgan and Chamberlin believe the song is a culmination of music they’ve been listening to all their lives, specifically the Scorpions and UFO.
A 30-second clip of the song was released on May 14, 2007. On May 21, 2007, the single was released on iTunes for the United States, followed by the United Kingdom and Canada on May 22. On this date, Tarantula was played for the first time live in Paris at the Pumpkins’ first show in seven years. The song was also played on the Late Show with David Letterman on July 9, 2007.
On July 2, a single was released on CD and 7-inch in the UK, both containing the B-side “Death from Above”. Both covers have a black-and-white photo of Paris Hilton holding a BlackBerry with the Zeitgeist album cover on the screen, and a low-resolution image of a mushroom cloud in the background. A separate 7-inch was released in a clear plastic sleeve on white vinyl. On July 15, Tarantula entered the UK Rock Singles Chart at number one.
Tracklist:
- Tarantula
- Death From Above
- Zeitgeist
The music video debuted on July 2, 2007 on Spinner.com. It features the band (dressed primarily in the white outfits of the 2007 tour) playing with multiple extra people, in front of a psychedelic visual collage, and is partially shot in 3D. The video was directed by P.R. Brown.
In July 2007, it was announced via the Smashing Pumpkins‘ official website that the green screen files for the video would be released online. Fans with video editing skills will be allowed to make their own version of the Tarantula video and enter it into a contest via the website.
Two winners were announced in August 2007. 1st place was awarded to Levi Ahmu and 2nd place was awarded to Mason Williams. Both videos consisted of vast amounts of visual effects. Honorable mention was made for Ryan Webber for his live action take on the music video.
The Smashing Pumpkins
Billy Corgan: vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, production
Jimmy Chamberlin: drums, percussion, production
Production
Roy Thomas Baker: production and recording
Bjorn Thorsrud: recording
P. R. Brown: director “Tarantula” video
