- "Tonight Tonight" is also the name of a song by Finnish band The Rasmus from the album "Hell of a Tester."
"Tonight, Tonight" is a song by The Smashing Pumpkins written by the band's frontman, Billy Corgan. It was the fourth single and second track from their third album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, and was released in April 1996. "Tonight, Tonight" was critically acclaimed and commercially well-received upon its release. Also the music video accompanying the song was successful, and has won several awards.
A shorter acoustic version of the song, titled "Tonite Reprise", was included as a b-side to the single and on the triple LP version of Mellon Collie. This single also later appeared in an extended form on the box set The Aeroplane Flies High.[3] Additionally, the song appears on the band's greatest hits release, Rotten Apples.[4]
Song history
Billy Corgan began writing for the follow-up to Siamese Dream after the tour in support of that album;[5] however, the recording of "Tonight, Tonight" first began while the Pumpkins were still on the Siamese Dream tour when Corgan booked the band into a local Chicago studio to record all of their song ideas on tape.[6]
Composition and lyrics
"Tonight, Tonight" is written in the key of G, performed on instruments tuned down a half-step so the actual pitch is G♭. In the original recording sessions, "Tonight, Tonight" was initially written in the key of C instead of G.[6] However, Corgan was not able to sing the song in C, so he wrote a version during the Mellon Collie recording sessions to suit his range.[6] The strings for the song were recorded with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.[7] Billy Corgan said that recording with a 30-piece string-section for the song "was probably one of the most exciting recording experiences I have ever had."[6]
Lyrically, "Tonight, Tonight" hangs together with the rest of the Mellon Collie, which is a concept album, as a symbol for the cycle of life and death.[8] The lyrics of the song have been called a "story of urgency and longing" and were compared to Robert Herrick's poem "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time."[9]
Reception
"Tonight, Tonight" was met with positive critical acclaim. Allmusic reviewer Amy Hanson stated that the song "packs an emotional punch."[9] Jim Alexander of NME regarded the song as "swirling [and] grand."[10] Time's reviewer Christopher John Farley called the song "an expansive rock anthem, complete with soaring guitars and a 30-piece string section."[11] Entertainment Weekly's reviewer David Browne praised the use of strings in the song, saying that it was "whipped into a frenzy by hurricane-like strings."[12] On Mellon Collie's entry on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, "Tonight, Tonight" was praised as "the Pumpkins at their finest."[13]
While "Tonight, Tonight" never approached the chart success of "1979," it was among the most successful singles from Mellon Collie. Its highest position on any national chart was a number two peak on the New Zealand Singles Chart. Its highest position in the United States was at number four on Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks.[14] It also achieved number five on the Modern Rock Tracks and a number 36 on The Billboard Hot 100.[14] The song also charted in other countries, peaking at number seven on the UK Singles Chart (and became the bands Signature Song in that country) and peaking at number 21 on the Australian Singles Chart on June 9, 1996. Other countries where it charted inlcude The Netherlands where it peaked at #46, Belgium where it peaked at #39,and Sweden where it peaked at #58. [15]
Music video
A scene from the "Tonight, Tonight" music video.
The music video was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and starred Tom Kenny and Jill Talley. The original idea for the music video was for a Busby Berkeley-style video, complete with "people diving into champagne glasses."[16] The band was set to begin production on the video, when they discovered that the Red Hot Chili Peppers had done a similarly styled video for their song "Aeroplane," which was almost identical to what they had wanted to do.[16] The second idea for the video was that as the band played on a surreal stage, the camera would go into audience members' eyes and the viewer would see that person's vision of the song.[17] The third and final concept, inspired by Georges Méliès's silent film A Trip to the Moon, came from directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who got the idea for the video because the album cover for Mellon Collie reminded them of early silent films. Hence, the video was filmed in the style of a turn-of-the-century silent film using theater-style backdrops and primitive special effects.
Dayton and the production crew initially had problems locating costumes for the video because the movie Titanic was being shot at the same time in Los Angeles.[19] Titanic director James Cameron rented nearly every turn-of-the-century prop and costume in the city, leaving the "Tonight, Tonight" production crew little to work with.[19] Directors Dayton and Faris compromised by renting the leftover costumes and hiring designers to remake them into the elaborate period clothing seen in the video.[19] The video took three days to shoot.[20]
The video, which debuted in May 1996, begins with a group of people celebrating the launch of a zeppelin to the moon. Tom Kenny's character kisses Jill Talley's character's hand as the two enter the zeppelin, which is lifted off the ground by people dressed as sailors using rope and a pulley. The zeppelin approaches the Moon, which has a face like the Moon's face in A Trip to the Moon. Shots of the band performing in similar, turn-of-the-century attire using older, acoustic instruments are interspersed. The two characters jump off the zeppelin and fall on the Moon's surface. Suddenly, several hostile humanoid aliens appear, surrounding the couple. Jill Talley's character defends herself by hitting a few of creatures with her umbrella, which vaporizes them, but the two are trapped and tied. The two form a plan, and then break free of the ropes and attack the aliens with their umbrellas. The couple escapes on a rocket similar to the one in A Trip to the Moon and land in the sea, where a merman sends them back to the surface in a bubble.
The music video received positive reactions and won several awards. Corgan remarked that "I don't think we've ever had people react [like this]...it just seemed to touch a nerve."[16] It won six awards at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1996: Video of the Year, Best Direction, Best Special Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Breakthrough Video.[21] "Tonight, Tonight" was nominated for Viewer's Choice and Best Editing,[21] and was also nominated for Best Short Form Music Video at the 1997 Grammy Awards.[22] It is still considered one of the greatest music videos of all time, ranking number 40 on Stylus Magazine's list of the top 100 music videos of all time.[23]
Single track listings
The Tonight, Tonight single was released with two different versions containing different b-sides, one as a standard single and the other as a CD included in the singles box set, The Aeroplane Flies High. All songs written by Billy Corgan.
- "Tonight, Tonight" - 4:15
- "Meladori Magpie" - 2:41
- "Rotten Apples" - 3:02
- "Medellia of the Gray Skies" - 3:11
- The Aeroplane Flies High track listing[3]
- "Tonight, Tonight" - 4:15
- "Meladori Magpie" - 2:41
- "Rotten Apples" - 3:02
- "Jupiter's Lament" - 2:30
- "Medellia of the Gray Skies" - 3:11
- "Blank" - 2:54
- "Tonite Reprise" - 2:40
Personnel
All information taken from Allmusic.[1]
Footnotes
- ^ a b "Tonight, Tonight: Credits". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:azfixqujld0e~T2. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ Jahlmar, Joakim (2002-09). "Counting Out Time: Smashing Pumpkins". Dutch Progressive Rock Page. http://www.dprp.net/proghistory/index.php?i=1995_03. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Aeroplane Flies High". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jxfuxqehld6e. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ "Rotten Apples: Greatest Hits". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ajftxqeald0e. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
- ^ Kot, Greg (1995-10-22). "Double Take: Smashing Pumpkins raises the stakes with 'Mellon Collie'". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ a b c d Corgan, Billy (January 1997). "King B's". Guitar World.
- ^ Spevak, Jeff (01/23/97). "Super Angst Sunday". Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.
- ^ Kelly, Christina (1995-12-01). "Smashing Pumpkins-The Multi-Platinum Band is over the infighting but can the harmony last?". US Magazine.
- ^ a b Hanson, Amy. "Tonight, Tonight: Song Review". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:d9fqxztjldhe. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ Alexander, Jim. "Smashing Pumpkins : Rotten Apples". NME.com. http://www.nme.com/reviews/smashing-pumpkins/5854. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
- ^ Farley, Christopher John (1995-11-13). "A JOURNEY, NOT A JOYRIDE". Time.com. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,983707,00.html. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
- ^ Browne, David (1995-10-27). "PUMPKIN BATCH: Smashing Pumpkins". EW.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,299271,00.html. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
- ^ "487) Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness". Rolling Stone. November 2003. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6627652/487_mellon_collie_and_the_infinite_sadness. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ a b "The Smashing Pumpkins Artist Chart History". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=5700&model.vnuAlbumId=177262. Retrieved 2007-02-10.
- ^ "THE SMASHING PUMPKINS - TONIGHT, TONIGHT (SINGLE)". Australian-Charts.com. http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Smashing+Pumpkins&titel=Tonight%2C+Tonight&cat=s. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
- ^ a b c Corgan, Billy. Interview. Smashing Pumpkins Videography. MTV. 1996.
- ^ Daher, Karl (1998-05-29). "Listessa Interviews Billy Corgan". Listessa. http://www.spfc.org/online/qualityposts.html?content_id=542. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
- ^ a b c Haring, Bruce (1997-09-12). "A 'Smashing' Wardrobe Run" (http). Yahoo! Music. http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12037752. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
- ^ de Barros, Adriana. "Smashing Pumpkins vs. George Méliès". Scene360.com. http://www.scene360.com/EDITINGroom_article_melies.html. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
- ^ a b "1996 13th MTV Video Music Awards". latimes.com. http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/year/1996/1996mtvv.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ "Rock On The Net: Grammy Awards: Best Music Video". rockonthenet.com. http://www.rockonthenet.com/grammy/videos.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ Stylus Staff (2006-07-20). "Stylus Magazine's Top 100 Music Videos of All Time". StylusMagazine.com. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/stylus-magazines-top-100-music-videos-of-all-time1.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ "Tonight, Tonight [US]". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:azfixqujld0e. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
