Song
Frontman Billy Corgan said of the song,
| “ | At one point I found myself going, "I can't write a song about Batman, I'm in an alternative band." And I thought this is stupid, if I can write a song about Batman and it serves the purpose, which is to make it happen and connect with the movie, and connect with something that is unique and original, then, why not? For me, it was a great kind of artistic thing to do because it was very freeing. I wasn't talking about myself or trying to represent the Smashing Pumpkins. I was trying to represent Batman. | ” |
He further commented that the song's lyrics were meant to represent the Batman of the 1940s, when he was a "darker character".
Many fans saw the new metal guitar and electronica-driven sound of "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" as a taste of the sound of the next Smashing Pumpkins album, with Corgan himself saying the sound is "probably like what you would expect from us in the future." However, the loud guitars of "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" are relatively nowhere to be found on the band's next album, Adore.
Despite its Grammy win and a strong promotion in conjunction with Batman & Robin, "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" has not had a strong commercial legacy in the US. While it was well received by American rock radio, the song found particularly strong chart success in other countries, reaching the top ten of both the Australian and UK Singles Charts. The band performed the song live several times around its release in 1997, but never again.
Since the single and video were released under Warner Bros. Records, the band were unable to use them for future releases, leaving them notably absent from their Greatest Hits DVD and CD releases.
Read more about this topic: The End Is The Beginning Is The End
Famous quotes containing the word song:
“Writing, madam, ‘s a mechanic part of wit! A gentleman should never go beyond a song or a billet.”
—George Etherege (1635–1691)
“Thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.”
—Bible: Hebrew Song of Solomon, 7:4.
“How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.”
—Bible: Hebrew Psalm CXXXVII (l. CXXXVII, 4–5)