The Celestials (song)

2012 single by The Smashing Pumpkins

"The Celestials"

Single by The Smashing Pumpkins
from the album  Oceania
Released| June 19, 2012
Recorded| 2011
Genre| Alternative rock
Length| 3:58
Label| EMI/Caroline
Songwriter(s)| Billy Corgan
Producer(s)|

* Billy Corgan
* Bjorn Thorsrud

The Smashing Pumpkins singles chronology
| "Owata"
(2011)  | "The Celestials"
(2012)  | "Panopticon"
(2012)

|
|

"The Celestials" is the first single from The Smashing Pumpkins' ninth album Oceania. It was originally sent to radio airplay as a promotional single on June 21, 2012. The band performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on August 23, 2012.[1]

## Background and recording[edit]

In an interview with MusicRadar, Corgan stated, "I have all of these vintage keyboards that we just crank out when I need something, so I don't really know what's on here. It's some super, highly obscure '70s keyboard." He added, "The arrangement is kind of like classic MTV, circa 1994. You start with the acoustic and then the band kicks in grunge."[2]

## Reception[edit]

The track has received positive reviews. Tree Riddle of Loudwire praised the track's sound, stating "Acoustic guitar and orchestral swells dominate the beginning, along with Corgan’s tortured vocals (which actually have a better, more polished sound than on other recent works). Once the full band kicks in, you realize that this is the standout track on the album. 'The Celestials' employs all the elements that make a classic Pumpkins song, and is likely the best released under the name in over a decade. Corgan caps off the tune by matching the line "Everything I want is free" with a beautifully reserved lead guitar riff."[3] RedEye favorably compared it to one of the band's biggest songs, "Disarm", from their album Siamese Dream, calling it a "...nod to the Pumpkins' past. Its acoustic guitar and orchestration make it, if not a sibling, then a distant cousin to the classic "Disarm".[4] Similarly, CraveOnline compared it to the most acoustic aspects of their Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness album and said that "...The song is catchy but with a injection of prog-rock that keeps it from collapsing on itself."[5]

The track was included on Loudwire's list of "Best Rock Songs of 2012."[6]

## Charts[edit]

Chart (2012)  | Peak
position

|

Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[7] | 62
US Rock Songs (Billboard)[8] | 45

## References[edit]

1. ^ Smashing Pumpkins To Perform On Jay Leno This Week
2. ^ Joe Bosso (June 13, 2012). "Interview: Billy Corgan talks The Smashing Pumpkins' Oceania track-by-track". MusicRadar. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
3. ^ Riddle, Tree (April 3, 2012). "The Smashing Pumpkins, 'Oceania' – Album Review". Loudwire. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
4. ^ Moore, Brian (June 15, 2012). "Album review: Smashing Pumpkins, 'Oceania'". RedEye. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
5. ^ Robinson, Iann (June 20, 2012). "Review: Smashing Pumpkins - Oceania". CraveOnline. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
6. ^ Hartmann, Graham. "Smashing Pumpkins, 'The Celestials'". Loudwire. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
7. ^ "ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". ultratop.be. July 21, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
8. ^ "Chart Highlights: The Killers Strike on Alternative Songs". Billboard. July 16, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2012.

## External links[edit]

* "The Celestials" at Discogs (list of releases)

* v
* t
* e

The Smashing Pumpkins

* Jimmy Chamberlin
* Billy Corgan
* James Iha

* D'arcy Wretzky
* Melissa Auf der Maur
* Jeff Schroeder
* 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
* Rotten Apples

Box sets|

* The Aeroplane Flies High

Singles|

* "I Am One"
* "Tristessa"
* "Siva"
* "Cherub Rock"
* "Today"
* "Disarm"
* "Rocket"
* "Mayonaise"
* "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"
* "Spellbinding"

Promotional singles|

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

Other songs|

* "Soma"
* "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
* Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour

Touring personnel|

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

Related articles|

| Bands|

* Catherine
* The Frogs
* Starchildren
* Zwan
* A Perfect Circle

|

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 databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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