[Spaldz]

From: "hummer23"
Subject: Song Project Post 2/17 ////////////` "Spaceboy"
Date: Monday, August 27, 2001 8:51 PM

The 2nd of 17 posts chronicling the bands explanations of individual
Smashing Pumpkins tracks.

SPACEBOY: Some excellent versions of this song (Siamese Dream) have been
recorded on acoustic radio shows. "[The song is] about my little brother. He
's an interesting character. It's kind of about how he's different. He has
physical handicap, it's hard to explain. He has a rare chromosomal disorder,
it gives him a some what different genetic make up. He has different
physical and mental problems and yet somehow by all accounts, I'm physically
and mentally OK. But I feel our lives are the similar." Similar in what way?
" Freaks of nature, freaks of society, I always keep going back to something
by Henry Miller. No matter how much he smiled, told jokes, shook hands,
patted people on the back. People still looked at him funny, they still
sensed something wasn't right. I've always felt that way, that no matter how
normal I appear, I was treated differently.

Billy in a Guitar World tuition: "Why am I writing a song like this? At that
point, I was supposed to be writing rock songs for the album; the last thing
I needed was another quiet acoustic song. As I continued to mess with the
riff, it occurred to me that I was writing about something that had to do
with a certain kind of alienation, an 'out-of-touchness.' I began to think
about my brother, and the fact that he and I share a certain identity by
virtue of the similar experiences we had growing up. I felt there have been
handicaps in my life that reflect the handicaps he has experienced in his.
Suddenly, I had stumbled upon feelings and thoughts that moved me, and the
song kind of wrote itself."

"In and of itself, 'Spaceboy' doesn't seem to be anyone's favorite song. Our
producer, Butch Vig, didn't think it was an album track, and the band didn't
think so either. Nevertheless, the spirit of the song--what it meant to me,
and what it ended up being about--made it worth putting on the album. This
is a good example of where inspiration turned just another song into
something that I'm proud of. Of course, if I assess 'Spaceboy' on the
criterion of, was it a hit song? the answer is no. Did it have a video? No.
Do people cite it as their favorite song? No. Do they scream for it at
concerts? No. But does it mean something to me? Yes. Would I do it again?
Yes. "

"The obvious things are always easy to see. The day after I wrote 'Today,'
my manager heard it and said, 'It's a hit,' and I guess in a way, it was.
The success of 'Disarm' was no mystery to anyone, either. 'Spaceboy' doesn't
have the same qualities as those songs; it's different, and that's what I
like about it. It grew from a unique kind of inspiration."


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