Being Beige

2014 single by The Smashing Pumpkins

"Being Beige"

Single by The Smashing Pumpkins
from the album  Monuments to an Elegy
Released| October 20, 2014
Recorded| 2014
Genre| Pop rock[1]
Length| 3:39
Label| BMG/Martha's Music
Songwriter(s)| Billy Corgan
Producer(s)|

* Billy Corgan
* Jeff Schroeder
* Howard Willing

The Smashing Pumpkins singles chronology
| "Panopticon"
(2012)  | "Being Beige"
(2014)  | "One and All (We Are)"
(2014)

|
|

"Being Beige" is the first single from The Smashing Pumpkins' tenth album Monuments to an Elegy. The track was released through SoundCloud on October 20, 2014.[2][3][4]

## Background and recording[edit]

The song was first mentioned on the Smashing Pumpkins' website under the working title "World's On Fire," and later under the title "Being Beige (World's On Fire)."[5][6]

Speaking of the song with Rolling Stone, band leader Billy Corgan said "People always ask me to explain songs, and honestly I can't. But if there's honesty in this lyric, it's that there's something amiss in our cosmos. Yet still, we must love."[7]

## Music video[edit]

As early as November, Billy Corgan alluded to a new Smashing Pumpkins music video, posting several pictures from a shoot on the Smashing Pumpkins' Instagram account.[8] On January 16, the Smashing Pumpkins announced via Twitter that the music video was made for "Being Beige" and that it would premiere on January 19.[9]

Directed by Brian and Brad Palmer the video magnifies the surreal, dreamlike space of lost love experienced through the moment of an embrace, as twin bodies merge into one. It explores transcendence of oneself - into a new, limitless body of existence.

## Reception[edit]

The song has received fairly positive feedback. Rolling Stone said that though the song "has a simple title... its acoustic guitar and drum machine intro builds toward an urgent, memorable chorus."[10][11][12]

Chicago Reader said "Corgan seems remarkably placid on this new cut. It sounds like Monuments... won't be a retread of the Pumpkins' "rat in a cage" days. Corgan's putting his rage behind him in favor of a slow, piano-accented build toward the heights of songs like "Perfect" or the more energetic selections from his early-aughts stint with Zwan."[13]

The 405 said "the track features some pretty acoustic guitar arpeggios over mist-like drum machine sounds in its quieter moments, livening up to a crashing wave kineticism with sweeps of distorted guitar and aching melodies, as the vocals paint a stumbling melody over these sounds, layering towards the end in a maintained crescendo."[14]

## Personnel[edit]

The Smashing Pumpkins

* Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards and synthesizers
* Jeff Schroeder – guitar

Additional musicians

* Tommy Lee – drums

## References[edit]

1. ^ Doherty, Charlie (November 25, 2014). "Music Review: The Smashing Pumpkins – 'Monuments to an Elegy'". Blogcritics. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
2. ^ "Smashing Pumpkins Release Being Beige From 'Monuments To An Elegy' - Stereoboard". stereoboard.com. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
3. ^ ""Being Beige" - The Smashing Pumpkins [SoundCloud Audio Stream + Lyrics] | Zumic". zumic.com. October 20, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
4. ^ "Smashing Pumpkins announce 'Monuments to an Elegy' album, stream 'Being Beige'". DIY. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
5. ^ "The Official Smashing Pumpkins". smashingpumpkinsnexus.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
6. ^ "The Official Smashing Pumpkins". smashingpumpkinsnexus.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
7. ^ "Hear Smashing Pumpkins' Rousing New 'Being Beige' | Rolling Stone". rollingstone.com. October 20, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
8. ^ "Instagram".
9. ^ Pumpkins, The Smashing (January 16, 2015). "Get ready for the Worldwide premiere of the Being Beige video this coming Monday on @Vevopic.twitter.com/IqxJiqhlLL". Retrieved November 2, 2019.
10. ^ "Hear Smashing Pumpkins' Rousing New 'Being Beige' | Rolling Stone". rollingstone.com. October 20, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
11. ^ "Smashing Pumpkins share new single "Being Beige" — listen | Consequence of Sound". consequence.net. October 20, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
12. ^ "Smashing Pumpkins Release 'Being Beige,' First Track Off 'Monuments To An Elegy'". huffingtonpost.com. October 20, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
13. ^ "Smashing Pumpkins crank the neutrals on new song 'Being Beige' | Bleader | Chicago Reader". chicagoreader.com. October 20, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
14. ^ "Smashing Pumpkins share new song 'Being Beige (World's On Fire)'". thefourohfive.com. Retrieved November 6, 2014.

* v
* t
* e

The Smashing Pumpkins

* Jimmy Chamberlin
* Billy Corgan
* James Iha
* Jeff Schroeder

* D'arcy Wretzky
* Melissa Auf der Maur
* Nicole Fiorentino
* Mike Byrne

Studio albums|

* Gish
* Siamese Dream
* Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
* Adore
* Machina/The Machines of God
* Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music
* Zeitgeist
* Oceania
* Monuments to an Elegy
* Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.
* Cyr
* Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts

Extended plays|

* Lull
* Peel Sessions
* American Gothic

Live albums|

* Earphoria

Compilation albums|

* Pisces Iscariot
* The Aeroplane Flies High
* Rotten Apples
* Judas O

Singles|

* "I Am One"
* "Tristessa"
* "Siva"
* "Cherub Rock"
* "Today"
* "Disarm"
* "Rocket"
* "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
* "1979"
* "Zero"
* "Tonight, Tonight"
* "Thirty-Three"
* "The End Is the Beginning Is the End"
* "Ava Adore"
* "Perfect"
* "The Everlasting Gaze"
* "Stand Inside Your Love"
* "Try, Try, Try"
* "Untitled"
* "Tarantula"
* "That's the Way (My Love Is)"
* "G.L.O.W."
* "Freak"
* "The Celestials"
* "Panopticon"
* "Being Beige"
* "Drum + Fife"
* "Run2me"
* "Solara"
* "Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)"
* "Cyr/The Colour of Love"
* "Beguiled"

Promotional singles|

* "Rhinoceros"
* "Drown"
* "Muzzle"
* "Eye"
* "Crestfallen"
* "Doomsday Clock"
* "Widow Wake My Mind"
* "Owata"
* "One and All"

Other songs|

* "Soma"
* "Mayonaise"
* "Landslide"
* "Let Me Give the World to You"
* "FOL"
* "A Song for a Son"
* "Quasar"

Promotional releases|

* The Smashing Pumpkins 1991–1998

Videos|

* Vieuphoria
* Greatest Hits Video Collection (1991–2000)
* If All Goes Wrong

Tours|

* The End Times Tour

Touring personnel|

* Katie Cole
* Dennis Flemion
* Lisa Harriton
* Jonathan Melvoin
* Ginger Pooley
* Sierra Swan
* Mark Stoermer
* Mark Tulin
* Matt Walker

Related articles|

| Bands|

* Catherine
* The Frogs
* Starchildren
* Zwan

|

Albums|

* Let It Come Down
* Life Begins Again
* TheFutureEmbrace
* Teargarden by Kaleidyscope
* Look to the Sky
* Ogilala
* The Parable
* Cotillions

Other|

* Discography
* Songs
* Band members
* Awards and nominations
* Constantinople Records

* Category

Authority control |

* MusicBrainz release group
* MusicBrainz work

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template