This week’s request was submitted by Tom Bruckner, of the Physical Sciences department, who writes:
After several weeks of politically-charged songs, I’d like to play a feel-good song. The song is “1979” by the Smashing Pumpkins. This is one of my all-time favorite songs.
I also enjoy the video which, according to Wikipedia; “…follows a day in the life of disaffected suburban teenagers driving around in a Dodge Charger. It is based on a concept [Billy] Corgan [the lead singer] created, featuring an idealized version of teenage life, while also trying to capture the feeling of being bored as a teenager.”
1979 was released in 1996 and was nominated for a Grammy for best Rock song. The video won an award at the MTV Video Music Awards for best alternative video.
2 years later, in a very rare move, the Smashing Pumpkins made a sequel to this song and video called “Perfect” and featured 4 of the 5 teenagers (the 5th was in jail).
The video for Perfect can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq4zp-g2Jec
The original 1979 music video can’t be embedded (the code has been “disabled by request), but you can click this link and watch it on YouTube.
Meanwhile, though it isn’t Tom Bruckner’s choice, I thought some of you might enjoy this live performance of the song. It offers a very different interpretation of the song. Watch the original video first!
What do you want to hear to start the week? Let us know by using the Monday Morning Music link in the Suggestion Box to the left or just click here.