Zero is a song by the Smashing Pumpkins. It was the third single from their third album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. It was released as a EP album on April 23, 1996. 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. The cover artwork features photography by Corgan‘s then-girlfriend, Yelena Yemchuk, who also directed the music video.
Zero was released as an EP and includes Pastichio Medley, a medley of parts of songs from Siamese Dream and the Mellon Collie sessions that mostly remain unreleased. The medley runs almost 23 minutes long and features 73 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.
Commercially, Zero reached number one in Spain and number three in New Zealand. In North America, the song reached number one on Canada’s RPM Alternative 30, number 15 on the US Mainstream Rock chart, and number nine on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. In the United States, the song was released as an extended play (EP) and charted on the Billboard 200 instead of the Hot 100 due to the EP containing more than four songs, which was Billboard‘s limit for single releases. The EP reached number 46 on the Billboard 200.
The song was featured on Homerpalooza, the penultimate episode of The Simpsons‘s seventh season.
Tracklist:
- Zero
- God
- Mouths of Babes
- Tribute to Johnny
- Marquis in Spades
- Pennies
- Pastichio Medley
The music video was directed by Yelena Yemchuk. 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 with the room’s vibrant wine-stained colors that are associated with the Roman period.
The Smashing Pumpkins
Jimmy Chamberlin: drums
Billy Corgan: lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar
James Iha: rhythm and lead guitar
D’arcy Wretzky: bass guitar
