"Perfect" | ||||
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![]() US/UK CD1 cover | ||||
Single by the Smashing Pumpkins | ||||
from the album Adore | ||||
B-side |
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Released | September 7, 1998 | |||
Genre | Synth-pop | |||
Length | 3:22 | |||
Label | Virgin, Hut | |||
Songwriter(s) | Billy Corgan | |||
Producer(s) | Billy Corgan, Flood, Brad Wood | |||
The Smashing Pumpkins singles chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
![]() UK CD single 2 |
"Perfect" is a song by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. It was released as the second single from their fourth album, Adore (1998), on September 7, 1998. It was the final commercial single from the album, although "Crestfallen" and "To Sheila" were subsequently released as promotional singles.
Upon release, the song received positive reviews. Rolling Stone notes that the song "picks up on the synth-pop echoes of the 1996 Pumpkins hit 1979." [1] Feldman of website Musiccritic.com called the single "an irresistible slice of candy-coated pop" [2] while website Rockmusicreview.com praised it for its "glimmering shine." [3]
To expand on the similarities between "Perfect" and "1979", the band released a music video which continued the story of the characters in "1979". They were able to find and use four out of the five original actors from the "1979" video, including Giuseppe Andrews. The fifth was in jail. [4] The same directors were hired, husband-and-wife team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. It was the fifth and final collaboration between them and the Smashing Pumpkins.
The conclusion of the video, in which a tape falls off a car and is crushed, is probably a reference to the fate of the first tapes of the "1979" music video, which had to be re-taped because they were left on the roof of a car and destroyed when the car drove off. [5]
The video also contains footage of the band performing at The Masque in L.A. for selected fans. [6] The set played at the taping included heavier songs the band was not performing during regular concerts at the time, such as "Where Boys Fear to Tread", "Bodies", and "Pug".
The video debuted on MTV's 120 Minutes on September 16, 1998.[ citation needed ]
All songs were written by Billy Corgan, except "Summer", written by James Iha. Drums provided by Joey Waronker. [7]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Perfect" | 3:27 |
2. | "Summer" | 3:14 |
3. | "Perfect" (Nellee Hooper Mix) | 4:14 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Perfect" | 3:23 |
2. | "Perfect" (Perfecto Mix) | 7:00 |
3. | "Daphne Descends" (Kerry B. Mix) | 3:53 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Album Version" | 3:23 |
2. | "Nellee Hooper Mix" | 4:14 |
3. | "Nellee Hooper Instrumental" | 4:12 |
4. | "Perfecto Mix" | 7:00 |
5. | "Electro Breakbeat Mix" | 6:02 |
6. | "Perfecto Dub" | 7:04 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Perfect" | 3:23 |
2. | "Summer" | 3:14 |
3. | "Daphne Descends" (Kerry B. Mix) | 3:53 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | July 28, 1998 | Contemporary hit radio | Virgin | [27] |
United Kingdom | September 7, 1998 | CD |
| [28] |
United States | October 6, 1998 | Virgin | [29] | |
Japan | October 28, 1998 | CD | [30] |
The Smashing Pumpkins is an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The band has undergone several line-up changes since their reunion in 2006, with Corgan being the primary songwriter and sole constant member since its inception. The current lineup consists of Corgan, Chamberlin, and Iha. The band is known for its diverse, densely layered sound, which evolved throughout their career and has integrated elements of gothic rock, heavy metal, grunge, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, shoegaze, dream pop, and electronica.
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