The Smashing Pumpkins - “Hello Kitty Kat”
If I were to pick a definitive Smashing Pumpkins song, it would be the overlooked nugget “Hello Kitty Kat”, originally released as a b-side to the single “Today” in 1993, and later rounded up as part of the 1994 rarities compilation Pisces Iscariot. To me, the best Pumpkins songs always resembled huge swaths of color. The group was never afraid to be vulnerable or full-on rock monsters, and often did both in the same song, all while constructing walls of melodic guitar fuzz that built up to explosive finishes. “Hello Kitty Kat” is the Pumpkins at their best, incorporating all those factors while firing on all cylinders on a roller coaster of a song until the track practically collapses in on itself.
Speaking of melodic guitar fuzz, “Hello Kitty Kat” is sick with it. It’s no coincidence that frontman Billy Corgan’s best material was written between 1990 and 1996, a period when the man seemed inseparable from his Big Muff guitar pedal. Unlike lesser alt-rock guitarists, Corgan knew how to use the pedal in a way that the tone it generated enhanced his guitar parts instead of overwhelming them. The sounds Corgan coaxed out of his Fender Stratocaster thus served as the perfect missing link between psychedelia and grunge. That’s why I can never get hung up on Corgan’s nasally vocals like many of the band’s detractors do. At their artistic height the Pumpkins’ chief strengths were A) the guitars, and B) the arrangements. The more focus on both of those aspects, the better the song generally turned out. On “Hello Kitty Kat”, Corgan’s vocals are mixed unusually low, sounding insubstantial next to the architectural wonder he has constructed with his arsenal of guitar tracks.
The basic riff for the song is catchy enough that Corgan could’ve based the entire song around it. But he didn’t, instead writing a track that seems intent on progressively topping itself. “Hello Kitty Kat” really begins to kick in when the band hits the chorus. There, Corgan sings the lines “Yeah, yeah / You know I hate to say / Oh no, I always stay / I don’t want to be like the others please” with a swooping, winding delivery. It’s unbelievably hook-laden, to the point where I don’t understand why this song wasn’t released as a single, much less not included on the tracklist for the band’s second album, Siamese Dream (1993). Still, that’s just the first verse and chorus. Corgan drives the band into the second verse with a screeching psychedelic guitar fill, upping the angst factor with the lyrics “Slit my wrist and die a whore / Love to love to love what you adore”. After the second chorus’ cry of “Who’s sorry now?”, the song kicks into overdrive as Corgan unleashes a new pummeling riff and seethes “My love is sadness / My love is oh so wrong / My love is sadness / My love is oh so strong”.
After the barest of pauses, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin knocks out some tom fills and Corgan launches into quite possibly his greatest guitar solo ever. As the backing riff lurches back and forth, Corgan strangles his Strat to conjure a gradually ascending set of licks that threaten to turn into white noise at any moment. Then at the precipice of the section, Corgan’s solo dives up and down like a bomber, soaring back into the final chorus. Even after all that, the song’s not about to pull back. Corgan repeatedly screams “Who’s sorry now?” louder than he has any other line in the song, then lets loose every remaining guitar fill he’s been holding back before the song collapses in a heap. Amid the errant notes at the end, what else could Corgan do but shrug out the words “Song’s over”?
It’s because of songs like this I’m willing to put up with dreck like Zeitgeist.
Comments
how bout geek usa? sweet song tho.
Comment by Asromeburns33 — October 11, 2009 @ 4:21 pm
This song wasn’t included on a proper album because the whole point of things like Pisces Iscariot and Judas O for example is to give “lost” songs a home. Billy knew what he was doing with his track choices.
Comment by Ivan from Earth — October 11, 2009 @ 4:50 pm
Regarding the solo, I read Billy used a Fender Blender Fuzz guitar pedal as the basis of that sound.
Comment by Nelson from Chicago, IL — October 11, 2009 @ 5:00 pm
great article, and agree muchos that the track should have been a single
Comment by Jess from Juneau AK — October 11, 2009 @ 5:04 pm
Yes, I like Hello Kitty Kat too, and it’s one of my favorite b-sides, but the last three words of your article completely invalidated the rest of it.
Comment by E.S. — October 11, 2009 @ 5:45 pm
great article :)
Comment by marcela — October 11, 2009 @ 5:56 pm
Nice article but I agree with E.S. Zeitgeist is not dreck, but if you don’t like it, don’t listen to it. Why do you have to “put up with it”?
I haven’t liked a Pearl Jam album since Vitalogy, I’m not gonna call their entire catalog dreck though. Why do a positive article on the band just to crap it up with an unnecessary dig at the end?
Comment by K. Sullivan — October 11, 2009 @ 7:56 pm
“Yes, I like Hello Kitty Kat too, and it’s one of my favorite b-sides, but the last three words of your article completely invalidated the rest of it.”
Yes I agree. AJ praises the the screeching psychedelic guitar fill of “Hello Kitty Kat” and then in the last 3 lines of the article dismisses the harmonized squeals in “7 Shades of Black” as “dreck like” ... interesting… I guess in 16 years it will be cool to like Zeitgeist.
Comment by dave — October 11, 2009 @ 9:29 pm
I wouldn’t go so far as to that Zeitgeist is just “dreck.”
I think Zeitgeist has some moments that capture some of the same energy and fuzz, but maybe that’s just me.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this article! I loved the descriptions of the song and it’s elements. It’s always been one of my favorite Pumpkin gems!
Have you heard the demo version? It’s nuts! It has a slightly different composition, but the guitar solo is probably one of my favorites of all time. Almost ridiculous at times!
Comment by EasternMind — October 11, 2009 @ 9:40 pm
“Yes I agree. AJ praises the the screeching psychedelic guitar fill of ‘Hello Kitty Kat’ and then in the last 3 lines of the article dismisses the harmonized squeals in ‘7 Shades of Black’ as ‘dreck like’”
No, I didn’t. I dismissed the album as a whole as dreck, drawing no parallels between specific songs. To be fair, I do like “Tarantula”.
The main difference between “Hello Kitty Kat” and the Pumpkins’ more recent material is that over the years Corgan seems to have lost his ability to craft his ideas into interesting arrangments. Much of <i>Zeitgeist</i> sounded like dull workmanlike riffing. Occasionally you get some good tunes like “Tarantula”, but Corgan by and large seems to have lost his spark. Even though the Pumpkins are my favorite band, I can’t ignore the drop in quality.
Comment by AJ Ramirez from California — October 12, 2009 @ 2:06 am
“Have you heard the demo version? It’s nuts! It has a slightly different composition, but the guitar solo is probably one of my favorites of all time. Almost ridiculous at times”
No I haven’t, but I’ll try and track it down!
Comment by AJ Ramirez from California — October 12, 2009 @ 2:10 am
‘Hello Kitty Kat’ was probably the first Pumpkins b-side that I ever loved. It really was one of those songs that converted me from casual fan to hardcore. However, as great as the song is, I would say that over the years that it doesn’t hold quite as well as some of the others b-sides. That’s not to say it’s not still awesome because it clearly is.
It may be cliched to say but for me ‘Starla’ is still the definative Pumpkins’ b-side and dare I say it, the definitive Pumpkins song. It’s definitely a special one.
As for the Zeitgeist ‘dreck’ debate. I disagree with AJ and really enjoy the album, I think it holds up much better with the accompanying b-sides incorporated into the running order (The silver DVD Zeitgeist running order with the song ‘Zeitgeist’ thrown in at the end). Tracks like ‘Stellar’, ‘Tarantula’, ‘Ma Belle’ and ‘Doomsday Clock’ definitely hold water when compared with Pumpkins catalogue.
Zeitgeist is the sound of a band finding their place (again), I’m just not sure everyone wanted (or wants) to take the journey with the band. I’m sure that ‘Teargarden by Kaleidyscope’ will be very different, progressive album which in term will either be treated in much the same way as Zeitgeist (unfairly dismissed by critics and the masses because it wasn’t Smashing Pumpkins old line-up) or given some credit by the critics/hardcores. Whether the record reaches the masses (and is appreciated) by the means of free downloads remains to be seen.
Comment by takerdemon from WX UK — October 12, 2009 @ 2:54 am
I agree that Hello Kitty Kat is definitely one of the pumpkins hidden gems, I only heard it once I found a second hand copy of the today single at a local record store. I didn’t have pisces iscariot at this point and from the moment I heard it, I was hooked. Obscured is a rather good track aswell. However I have to disagree with the last three words of your article. To hand off Zeitgeist as “dreck” is harsh. Zeitgeist may not be the best pumpkins album, but it’s only because of how good previous pumpkins material is that it’s got this reputation. There are many stand out tracks on Zeitgeist, Bleeding the Orchid is in my opinion a fantastic track and is in my top 10 pumpkins tracks. Tarantula, 7 Shades of Black and That’s The Way My Love Is are other tracks on the album that are good, standout songs. I think the reason it was weaker is because let’s be honest he’d had a break from the pumpkins for just over five years. I guess we’ll see when the first 4 songs are released from Teargarden. But yeah, Hello Kitty Kat is awesome.
Comment by Andrew — October 12, 2009 @ 5:55 am
What’re you people on? “The band finding their place again”?! It’s just Billy Corgan in the studio. It’s not a bunch of people trying to get used to playing with each other, find a sound, get something amazing. It’s ONE GUY overdubbing. God almighty.
Comment by Cody from Windsor, CA — October 12, 2009 @ 9:08 am
It may have only been Billy and Jimmy in the studio but it has still been nigh of 7 years since they’d been in a studio together performing Smashing Pumpkins material. Granted, the two of them had never really stopped performing together but still, they were getting back into the mindset of creating a SMASHING PUMPKINS record which is an entirely different beast from their work outside the band regardless of whether they performed it together or no. Case in point, Zwan.
The Smashing Pumpkins brand (that’s what it is) holds more weight that the individuals alone or as Zwan. That is why ‘Zeitgeist’ was a crucial record for them because they knew it had to sound like ‘Smashing Pumpkins’ so that the masses wouldn’ crap all over it but then it needed to sound new and fresh to satisfy their artisic drive and stop people from saying this was a glorified reunion based solely on past success.
Comment by takerdemon from WX UK — October 12, 2009 @ 9:28 am
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like the last comment poster said, billy and jimmy in the studio, laying down track after track, overdubbing blah blah blah. new pumpkins = suck. it’s not the pumpkins without james and darcy. i know billy pretty much wrote the songs but james and darcy were a part of it too. i could have drank a gallon of x-lax, had to take a dump and had nothing to wipe my ass but a copy of zeitgeist someone had tried to sell back to the local record store only to get banned forever for trying to sell what they thought was music but was 1,000,000 year old feces, and i would gladly wipe my ass with that petrified poo sending it down the pipes to my city’s sewage system where it belongs. i don’t consider there to be any smashing pumpkins albums after james left. in the name of Iha i’m out, peace. billy get over yourself you ego driven dried up old prune. blah ,thanks
Comment by justin from davis, ca — October 12, 2009 @ 9:54 am
“Kitty Kat” has always been one of my favourite Pumpkins tunes, thanks for the article… but I completely disagree with you on Zeitgeist. I still listen to it all the time (along with Corgan’s most recent stuff), simply because I keep hearing new things on subsequent listens. The arrangements are much more interesting than you give them credit for, so I’d give the new stuff a few more spins—in five years you may find yourself writing an article like this about “Gossamer,” “Death from Above,” “Sunkissed,” “Superchrist,” or one of the other many recent gems. In my opinion, Corgan has never lost it, and I would much rather hear a brand new song than listen to the old songs (which, quite frankly, are already burned into my brain).
Comment by Dave — October 12, 2009 @ 1:12 pm
@justin from Davis
WOW, just WOW. That was possibly the best argument I’ve ever heard. You should run for office.
Comment by takerdemon from WX UK — October 13, 2009 @ 2:14 am
hey justin….. you sound a litle bitter. it’s not 1991 anymore and james iha was hardly a big part of the band in terms of songwriting. get over it.
how come everyone freaks out that billy reunited without the band without james and d’arcy yet trent reznor changes the NIN lineup every few years and nobody bats an eyelash? reznor is doing the exact same thing and nobody seems to really care who the other band members are in NIN. explain this to me.
corgan is a musical genius who has written a staggering amount of killer material. zeitgeist isn’t on a level with the best Pumpkins work but it’s far from “dreck”. i personally love all of Corgan’s work all the way from “Spiteface” to “As Rome Burns”.
stop living in the past and let the band move forward.
Comment by scott — October 13, 2009 @ 9:34 pm
Firstly, brilliant article!... anyone plugging b-sides is alright by me. Like everyone else here I’m a bit affected by you denouncing Zeitgeist, in the context of an album it pales in comparison to previous work, granted!... but it can’t be denied that when Doomsday Clock drops it feels as if they never left. Songs like 7 Shades Of Black, Bleeding The Orchid, Tarantula and United States are more than enough to bring a credibility far above and beyond any other band making a comeback.
I’d imagine that Billy Corgan was probably facing the proverbial double-edged sword with the release of Zeitgeist, I think it’s safe to assume that his relationship with James and D’Arcy fell apart because of dominating the song writing process resulting in the demise of The Smashing Pumpkins as we know them. This is all speculation of course, but I’d imagine that Billy probably wanted to avoid a repeat of this with the new incarnation and probably took a lot of Jeff and Ginger’s ideas on board resulting in an unfamiliar direction on some of the tracks. So to explain… Write a typically great Smashing Pumpkins album and choke creative input from the band or embrace a creative relationship and face the wrath of the purist.
back to topic I’d say that Hello kitty Kat, as brilliant as it is, probably didn’t make Siamese Dream because sounds like it belongs to Gish and I must agree with @takerdemon on this one, Starla is hands down the single greatest Pumpkins b-side.
Comment by Gaz@NokiaMusic from London — October 14, 2009 @ 3:39 am
When revisiting Pisces Iscariot I usually stick to the acoustic songs and “Plume.” But hearing “Hello Kitty Cat” after reading the article, it really is a hidden gem. By the way, Zeitgeist does have some fine moments but definitely not their (or his) best album.
Comment by Andrew from El Paso — October 18, 2009 @ 9:46 pm
@Gaz
“I’d imagine that Billy probably wanted to avoid a repeat of this with the new incarnation and probably took a lot of Jeff and Ginger’s ideas on board resulting in an unfamiliar direction on some of the tracks”
Doubt it since they weren’t hired until after the album was recorded. Zeitgeist was Billy and Jimmy.. just like the good old days.
Don’t think anyone beats Corgan on depth of quality non-album material. Sure enough, the best stuff from the Zeitgeist era wasn’t on the album proper; Ma Belle, Stellar, Death from Above. Unless you bought every version that is. They really fucked their fans with the multiple versions.
Zeitgeist was just disastrously marketed. Don’t know what they were thinking with single choices. Though not the best songs by a long shot, Starz and Bring the Light were made for radio. or even (come on) let’s go.
Comment by bob from London — October 19, 2009 @ 4:54 am