Background
The song was described by Billy Corgan as "a simple song in a country tuning", and was the first song that he wrote after the '' Siamese Dream'' tour. The guitars in the song are tuned to EGBGBE half a step down, and the drum machine track is exactly the same track Corgan recorded when he laid down the demo version of the song, because he was unable to recreate it. In a taping of '' VH1 Storytellers'' on August 24, 2000, Corgan joked that he planned on making "Thirty-Three", "Sixty-Six", and "Ninety-Nine", but only finished "Thirty-Three". When the band released their greatest hits collection in 2001, ''Thirty-Three'' made neither the international nor the US version. It was included, however, on the '' Greatest Hits Video Collection''.Single release
At the time of its release, the plan to release the song as the album's final single was a point of disagreement for insiders. Sources close to the band claim that " Muzzle" was in fact due to be released as the final single, as is evidenced by the fact that a promotional single for the song was issued to radio stations worldwide.Music video
The music video for "Thirty-Three", directed both by Billy Corgan and then-girlfriend Yelena Yemchuk, is a series of images shot in stop-motion, ending with a re-enactment of the ''Mellon Collie'' album cover. Jimmy Chamberlin is notably absent from shots of the band. Although the group's videos habitually avoid the literal interpretation of a song's lyrics, the video for "Thirty-Three" was created with images closely related to the words of the song, as an intentional stylistic departure.B-sides
The B-side "The Last Song" features a guitar solo by Corgan's father, Billy Corgan Sr. and was performed live only once, at the Pumpkins' final show atTrack listings
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thirty-Three (Song) The Smashing Pumpkins songs 1995 songs 1996 singles Hut Records singles Rock ballads Songs written by Billy Corgan Song recordings produced by Alan Moulder Song recordings produced by Billy Corgan Song recordings produced by Flood (producer)