Ozphoria / Song of the Moment: Muzzle

[sunky]

So was thinking about getting some more discussion going on SP and the forum, about things we know and have opinions on ... the songs of the Smashing Pumpkins.

So I was thinking we could do this as a Ozphoria Monthly thing? or Weekly? or Fortnight?

Basically every (whatever time period we choose) I'll choose a song for us to discuss, talk about the meaning behind, mention random facts, find good live videos of it, good shows of the song, what it means to you, the videoclip if it has one, first time you heard it, love it? hate it? should it be moved where it is on the album? ... ANYTHING to do with the song.

Then once the time period is finished we'll lock the thread and start a new one.

Of course if there is a song you'd like to suggest just throw it my way.

Shall we take it for a test run? ... I'll go with fortnight at this stage yeah?

The song is ... Muzzle.




... discuss ...

[Steve]

The glorified single that never was (along with Mayonaise)

A big fan fave, it feels like a song where Bill just decided to pen whatever came into his head at the time...the lyrics seem very unpolished (not in a bad way, just Billy on a bit of a roll)

some great drum work by JC also!

Ok i haven't got too much right now...will post something better when brain function betterer

[sunky]

Have to agree there Steve, sure it got a radio promo (like mayo) but I think the band could have released it as a 6th single from MCIS if they wanted to. Even though all the troubles towards the end of MCIS I always though this would have finished the commercial life of the record on a positive note. 33 was great, but it was a somber way to finish the songs from MCIS ... anyway, maybe 5 singles were enough.

Something else about Muzzle I've always wanted to happen when the band play it live is for it to be played right before Bullet with Butterfly Wings ... so it would go like this with Billy singing:

" ... and I know the silence of the world ... is a vampire!"

hahah! ... never going to happen.

[ok I need sleep, more to come on this song Im sure ... ]

[sunkissed]

My favourite live version of this song is from the United Centre show (second last show) - this video , though not from the United Centre, comes closest.


au.youtube.com/watch?v=_wboMEHnHKU

Although Mellon Collie received criticism for it's lyrical content, I believe that alot it was misinterpreted. As far as I see it, I think the record, and specifically this song, is heavily steeped in Romanticism and the Romantic ideology (see here on Romanticism as a period: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticism)

The ineffable moments in our lives that stand beyond expression, beyond representation, moments which we all feel or have intuitive senses of, I think this is what the song is attempting to describe

The Romantic period primarily focussed on love and Nature; (Nature as Spirit - essentially a representation of divinity which displaced the concept of God following the Enlightenment period and the emergence of scientific rationalism). Interestingly, we also see an explicit relationship between the pumpkins and Romanticism with the Machina record/Machina Mystery with the influence of William Blake on both the story and the artwork present on the album. William Blake being one of the primary Romantic figures.

Anyhow, the Romantic poets felt a sense of urgency to engage with life, and in doing so, they felt an urgency to access the divine via standing in awe of it, as opposed to trying to understand it; in essence they sought the sublime, jouissance.


I think this song captures all primary facets of the Romantic ideology, that is, a focus on love as a redeeming fundamental part of life, but also it's inherent trajedy, that is, it's inevitable end.

A point is reached in the song where "one can see it all"; a series of Natural images coupled with expressions of enlightenment or insight,
the poignant expression of a romantic heart realising that the world in which he emerged cannot contain his spirit, his heart, which will never allow what he as a human desires the most, and this is everlasting love. The world which one cannot live without, nor ever understand, is the world which allowed him, however temporarily, love, and this is the existential dilemma.

I think the,

"and in my mind as i was floating
far above the clouds
some children laughed i'd fall for certain
for thinking that i'd last forever
but i knew exactly where i was
and i knew the meaning of it all
and i knew the the distance to the sun
and i knew the echo that is love
and i knew the secrets in your spires
and i knew the emptiness of youth
and i knew the solitude of heart
and i knew the murmurs of the soul",

clearly expresses one's sense of embaressment in this age to state that you truly believe in love as a transcendental emotion, those who laugh at you for being so 'naive' or 'idealistic' - however, in the song the protagonist asserts that he knew exactly where he was, and that he knew the meaning of it all, it's this 'moment' that is described in the song that so perfectly expresses the Romantic sentiment, this is the moment which the Romantic poets sought, this is the sublime.

Oh, furthermore I think this excerpt from Fuck You as an added tidbt compliments my suggestion:

"The disenchanted, the romantics, The body and face and soul of you is gone down that deep black hole.
Destroy the mind-destroy the body-but you cannot destroy the heart."

The cartesian distinction between mind and body, the disenchanted romantics all falling down the "deep black hole" of scientific knowledge, human constructions, the dominant truth telling discourses providing a Newtonian mechanised understanding of the world that arguably will never be able to express the myriad of emotional intensities of a human being and it's relation to the world, universe, Nature, whatever. You can destroy the mind, the body, but you will never be able to destroy the heart, the spirit, love.

[middleearthguy]

I'm pretty sure I have muzzle on you tube from one of the recent shows

edit yep

Auckland NZ, It was the last song of the set and I filmed Billy coming up to the crowd after, who were chanting Dive Dive Dive wanting him to jump in!

[boelsen]

we could ahve heard it twice in australia, but hear it zero times

[scotopic lux]

really cool idea for a thread simon, after my exam is over i will try and post some thoughts/info. I hope we can keep this idea going!

[AlmostOz]

Osullivan I'm fairly certain that is from the united centre show, as I have the whole show as an mpeg and it's exactly the same when he plays muzzle including the fan banter. That's a great show.

Muzzle meant a lot to me through my early teen years, "I fear that i'm ordinary just like everyone" struck a big chord with me, as I was always trying to be different, I didn't like to do what everyone else did, and don't get me wrong I wasn't the wierd guy with no friends, I just strove to not be another sheep, which was easy to be in a school of 3000 students.

It's not on my regular pumpkins playlist now, but it's still a great song, like someone said it's the unpolished lyrics, like just a stream of conciousness that make it such a great song

[foxy]

I really like the live versions from the MCIS tour, more powerful than the study versions, especially when the drums come kicking in.

[sunkissed]

Well, according to the actual youtube video it is in L.A and the United Centre is not.
It's not the version I remember from the United Centre show either because he didn't try and change the lyrics toward the end and end up sounding a little silly, it's always a hit and miss thing with me when he tries that stuff.

You have the United Centre as an mpeg? I didn't realise that it was available! Gimme Gimme!

[boelsen]

only mpeg from UC show i have is some dude filing first hour from the stands.. high up and far back, from very side on.. dont think muzzle was on that

[Steve]

Oct 16, 2008 20:11:16 GMT 7 sunky said:

Something else about Muzzle I've always wanted to happen when the band play it live is for it to be played right before Bullet with Butterfly Wings ... so it would go like this with Billy singing:

" ... and I know the silence of the world ... is a vampire!"

Oh my lord

[blue_june_destroyer]

I've always taken Muzzle to be one of the songs lyrically that describes the moment of clarity when you realise you're destined for something greater in life and the answers are there for you to know - if only you want to work for them.
You make mistakes, you love, you cry, you do it all again and that's the meaning of it all - there's conscious thought in subconscious movement. Everything happens for a reason and it's only when you see that you have nothing left to lose that you start to appreciate how to live again. You just get on with it and say to the world 'here I am'.

Oh and this is Billy's explanation:

"People were saying they didn't really hear songs," Corgan says, still stung by the criticism. "So the Mickey Rooney part of me kicked in. You know, 'They said I couldn't write pop songs!' So I went out and wrote pop songs ... the '90s version of Tin Pan Alley songs."

Though Corgan's music became more accessible, the public perception of him was still as a dour loner, a rock mope for whom sadness was the only muse.

Corgan points to "Mellon Collie's" "Muzzle" as a joke at his expense. "It was one of the last things I wrote for the album," he recalls. "And by that time, I was really aware of the repetition in terms of theme. ... So when I wrote the lyrics of 'Muzzle,' I was thinking: 'People were going to tell me to shut up. Might as well have fun with it myself.' "

Source: starla.org - www.starla.org/articles/ocr2.htm

[sunky]

Live on Conan ...

[sunkissed]

and better:

au.youtube.com/watch?v=UOXqPpX0Q-w