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Geek U.S.A.

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"Geek U.S.A."
Song

"Geek U.S.A." is a song from The Smashing Pumpkins second and breakthrough album, Siamese Dream. "Geek U.S.A." was written by Billy Corgan. It was ranked number 54 in Guitar World's list of the 100 greatest guitar solos of all time. Ironically, the solo from the demo version of the song is significantly longer than the one from the subsequent album version and live performances of the song, and Corgan even considered dropping it altogether, as he felt it didn't add that much to the already roller coaster-style dynamics of the song. These dynamics led Corgan to call "Geek U.S.A." "Gish all in one song."[1] Jimmy Chamberlin's drum performance in this song has been ranked among the greatest of all time,[2][3] including by Siamese Dream producer Butch Vig, who called it "one of the most amazing drum performances [he] had ever heard."[4]

Although it was never released as a single, it was featured on the Triple J compilation album Eleven. "Geek U.S.A." was reworked from an earlier song by the band entitled "Suicide Kiss". A live version of "Geek U.S.A." appears on the album Earphoria and companion video Vieuphoria.

A live performance of the song also appears on the band's official Greatest Hits Video Collection. This concert footage, filmed for a Seattle television special, was the band's first experience with directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who shot several more videos for the band in subsequent years. The concert was notable for the presence of 50 professional clowns on-stage with the Pumpkins, after the band was told they would be presented however they wished on tour.[5] Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and director Jonathan Dayton (who was also dressed as a clown to be able to film close-ups of the band) agreed that the performance turned very dangerous when the clowns began performing stage dives.

"Geek U.S.A." was performed by the band from 1992 to 1996, with a brief re-appearance in the repertoire in 1999.

The Progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me covered this song on their 2006 album "The Anatomy Of..."

Meaning of the song

The meaning of the lyrics of Geek U.S.A has never been revealed, neither by Billy, James, D'arcy or Jimmy but some fans speculate that the song is about drug addiction, which seems to be the most probable one since by that time Billy Corgan had tried a lot of drugs, even though he never got addicted. Another possible meanings is that the song is about having sex for the first time, about a "good girl gone bad" and about the first chapter of the Bible titled "Genesis" since the songs makes possible references to the story of Adam and Eve and how they lost the paradise because of eating the forbidden fruit. It is also thought by many to center around a character who lives in a world where none of the real world problems exist.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Unsell, Kevin. "Smashing Pumpkins: Living the Dream", Illinois Entertainer. August, 1993.
  2. ^ "Stylus Magazine's 50 Greatest Drummers".
  3. ^ "100 Greatest Rock Drum Performances".
  4. ^ Azzerrad, Michael. "Smashing Pumpkins' Sudden Impact ", Rolling Stone. October 1, 1993
  5. ^ Commentary for "Geek U.S.A." live video. The Smashing Pumpkins 1991–2000: Greatest Hits Video Collection (Virgin Records, 2001).
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