"Try, Try, Try" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by The Smashing Pumpkins | ||||
from the album Machina/The Machines of God | ||||
B-side | "Here's to the Atom Bomb" | |||
Released | September 11, 2000 | |||
Recorded | 1999 | |||
Length | 5:09 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) | Billy Corgan | |||
Producer(s) | Flood and Billy Corgan | |||
The Smashing Pumpkins singles chronology | ||||
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"Try, Try, Try" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the third and final single from the band's fifth studio album, Machina/The Machines of God , and was released on September 11, 2000. It was written by Billy Corgan, as was the B-side "Here's to the Atom Bomb".
An alternate version of "Try, Try, Try" appears on the third EP of the album Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music and the "Untitled" single. The alternate version is a more sparse version of the song, orchestrated on acoustic guitar with a repeating keyboard part, as opposed to the piano, synth, and electric guitar-heavy Machina version.
"Try, Try, Try" replaced "Landslide" on the international release of the band's greatest hits album Rotten Apples .
The single cover was designed by Vasily Kafanov and features alchemic symbols such as the 18th century Figuarum Aegyptiorum Secretarum and references to Christianity and Hermes Trismegistus. [1]
The music video for "Try, Try, Try" was a very different approach for a Pumpkins video, featuring only Corgan seated in a chair, despite instrumentation in the song from the other band members. The video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund and was adapted from a short film he made entitled Try, which followed the story of two homeless drug addicts named Linda and Max in Sweden. The video juxtaposes the somewhat upbeat music with graphic footage of a drug overdose, prostitution, and larceny. In contrast, there is also a very vibrantly happy dream sequence past the middle of the video, featuring a "perfect family" that suddenly takes an extreme turn for the worse. The video ends with Linda in hospital, now recovering from a heroin overdose and having suffered a miscarriage with Max holding her hand and hugging her. The fifteen-minute short film version, Try, expands the footage of the music video greatly; Linda is also heard in a voiceover waxing philosophically about her situation during the entire film. Sparse ambient sections of the song are used in this version of the video and Corgan is nowhere to be seen. The long version also features an alternate ending, where Linda dies of her overdose and when Max goes to her hospital room (which is mirrored from the music video edit), but it is empty, making him realize that he is too late. Linda's funeral takes place after this, where the coffin goes into the incinerator and the incinerator is sealed shut, ending the video. Both the music video and the short film are available on the DVD version of the Pumpkins' Greatest Hits Video Collection .
Pitchfork called it one of the album's strongest tracks, opining that it sounds like "New Order in a crystal convertible flossed out with chrome." [2]
All tracks are written by Billy Corgan
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Try, Try, Try" | 5:09 |
2. | "Here's to the Atom Bomb" | 4:26 |
Chart (2000) | Peak position |
---|---|
Italy (FIMI) [3] | 36 |
UK Singles (OCC) [4] | 73 |
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, the band has undergone several line-up changes since their reunion in 2006, with Corgan being the sole constant member since its inception. The current lineup consists of Corgan, Chamberlin, and Iha.
William Patrick Corgan Jr. is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the co-founder, lead singer, primary songwriter, guitarist, and only constant member of alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. Corgan himself is credited with helping popularize the alt rock genre. He has also been the owner and promoter of the National Wrestling Alliance since 2017.
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