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The Smashing Pumpkins — Set the Ray To Jerry
Album: Judas O (Rotten Apples disc 2)
Avg rating:
6.1

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1078









Released: 2001
Length: 4:07
Plays (last 30 days): 2
born to please, every simple need
i stand alone, and my thoughts indeed hate you
for ever making me
i'm in you, i'll be anything

and i want you
and i need you
and all you are is brand new
and i need you

come to me, let me hold you still
i'm so tired, just as tired as you
take me for anyone but me
all that you feel is never true

and i want you
and i need you
and all you are is brand new
and i need you

when you say that you are
forever my star
i'll never let you go, no, no
i'll never let you know

let roar these feelings
to the whore of my tears
pure as a light, poured into your eyes
suck you like the sap from a tree
honey from the dew, from the bumblebees, yeah yeah

and i want you
and i need you
and all you are is brand new
and i need you

when you say that you are
forever my star
i'll never let you go, no, no
i'll never let you know

and i want you
and i need you
and all you are is brand new
and i need you
Comments (152)add comment
I find Corrigan's voice grating and insufferable.  Great musicians, outstanding harmonies, the voice totally ruins it for me.   Sounds like a teenage boy yelling at a customer service representative about his XBox
Drumming and bass really make this song special.  [can see how his voice may not do it for many]  
One of their best B sides, the drumming and bass line play out just beautifully 
A solid 2
Thanks for playing  this 
 thaidirect wrote:

Hmm, i never heard this one before. Billy Corgan is a gifted songwriter. He would be much more successful if he actually had a good singing voice.




His voice and singing style generally fits the feel of the SP songs. And how much more successful could the SP have been?
One of their best tunes  {#Drummer}
beautiful tunes! 
 thaidirect wrote:

Hmm, i never heard this one before. Billy Corgan is a gifted songwriter. He would be much more successful if he actually had a good singing voice.



He can't sing very well but this comment is ridiculous. There was a point in the 90s where his band were arguably the biggest in the world. He did fine.
Billy Corgan was so prolific back then and the Pumpkins had some stellar b-sides, this among them. It's a treat to hear this here!
Hard to listen to this guy's terrible  ragged voice. Ear pollution.
 keller1 wrote:
I wanted to say "Jimmy Chamberlin is Smashing Pumpkins" but that wouldn't make any sense.
Suffice it to say that without him Billy Corgan would quite likely have had to find employment in the food service industry ... I mean, there's just not a big market for funny looking bald guys modeling skirts.
 
Really?  Oh, well, so much for that idea.
This band doesn’t have that much range...
So painful to hear the terrible vocals. Changing to Groove Salad for 5 minutes until I can be sure this is over. 
If you don't know the words it sounds like "And I need you to die" instead of "And I need you and I ....".  A bit more enunciation would keep it sending the message completly the opposite direction.
Good drummer!
I was going to go on about Corgan's horrible voice but I'm late on that train. 
But holy crap does he have a horrible voice. Still a 7 for me though.
 sirdroseph wrote:


Yea, but Dylan just had a bad voice, Corgan takes bad voice to a whole other level!!!!{#Stop}
 
Bob Dylan just plain did not know how to sing. But got better with age. This singer intentionally sings like this.
One of my favorite Pumpkins' tracks- happy to see it here on RP.  Always enjoyed Jimmy's drumming!
Mr. Burns of The Simpsons

"Set the button to PSD!" 

  
More like buzzing than singing.
Nice song when the singer should shut his mouth...! {#Taped-shut}
Yes, you do not have to have a trained professional voice, but it also helps if your voice does not sound like fingernails on a chalkboard!!!!{#Stop}
 sirdroseph wrote:

My cat is untrained as well, but I don't reckon I like to hear him sing neither.

 

Got it in one. Actually I like Billy Corgan, but that is one hilarious frickin comment!

Whatever, everything about this works for me. . . 
 
 FluorideFreeMN wrote:


Same was said about Bob Dylan- his career turned out alright~
 

Yea, but Dylan just had a bad voice, Corgan takes bad voice to a whole other level!!!!{#Stop}

Normally find the Pumpkins grating. But this track is cool I must admit.
 thaidirect wrote:
Hmm, i never heard this one before. Billy Corgan is a gifted songwriter. He would be much more successful if he actually had a good singing voice.
 

Same was said about Bob Dylan- his career turned out alright~
 lemmoth wrote:


Because he's a flippin ingenious, diverse, inspired, poetic, masterful songwriter.

And it's Rock and Freaking Roll people -  stick to show tunes and opera if you want trained voices.
 
My cat is untrained as well, but I don't reckon I like to hear him sing neither.

...must...find...uzi...

 
 ick wrote:

+1... for the life of me I can't understand how people could pay their hard earned money to hear his caterwaulin'. 
 

Because he's a flippin ingenious, diverse, inspired, poetic, masterful songwriter.

And it's Rock and Freaking Roll people -  stick to show tunes and opera if you want trained voices.
 Ljenny wrote:
i really hate his voice.
 
+1... for the life of me I can't understand how people could pay their hard earned money to hear his caterwaulin'. 


Hmm, i never heard this one before. Billy Corgan is a gifted songwriter. He would be much more successful if he actually had a good singing voice.
i really hate his voice.

 
rdo wrote:
I think something is amiss when Cherub Rock, or Rocket, do not get played on a station, yet this song does. What gives?  I cannot understand it.   I have nothing against this song.  It is OK.  The best of this band is not played here.  No wonder so many people complain about the pumpkins here.
 
try FM radio stations for Cherub Rock.

I think something is amiss when Cherub Rock, or Rocket, do not get played on a station, yet this song does. What gives?  I cannot understand it.   I have nothing against this song.  It is OK.  The best of this band is not played here.  No wonder so many people complain about the pumpkins here.
(image available)
judas o
 keller1 wrote:

I wanted to say "Jimmy Chamberlin is Smashing Pumpkins"  . . . .

 
Well, it seems kind of wasteful, but as long as they're his pumpkins, I suppose he's free to do it.  If it's other people's pumpkins he's smashing, then he really needs to learn to respect others' property.

{#Mrgreen}

Great song...off the 5 disc box set following the Mellon Collie release.  Some of their best (yet rarely heard) stuff made its way to this collection.

Some of those cuts included Ugly, Pennies, etc

Sweet!
 keller1 wrote:

I wanted to say "Jimmy Chamberlin is Smashing Pumpkins" but that wouldn't make any sense.

Suffice it to say that without him Billy Corgan would quite likely have had to find employment in the food service industry ... I mean, there's just not a big market for funny looking bald guys modeling skirts.



 
too funny


I wanted to say "Jimmy Chamberlin is Smashing Pumpkins" but that wouldn't make any sense.

Suffice it to say that without him Billy Corgan would quite likely have had to find employment in the food service industry ... I mean, there's just not a big market for funny looking bald guys modeling skirts.



God save billy córgão!!{#Mrgreen}
FlatCat wrote:
Yes, I've always hated this guy's voice.
Me too. I can't stand the back and forth breathy/abrasive/breathy/abrasive/breathy/abrasive...
Well I like it.
Pyro wrote:
I'll concede your point, as I do appreciate Neil Young, who can't sing. Corgan is just whiney and nasal. At least Neil belts it out with his every fiber.
Oh, and Corgan doesn't belt it out ... right.
Yes, I've always hated this guy's voice.
Jimmy Chamberlin is just incredible!
love the voice and the outstanding drums... have always one or two CDs from the pumpkins in the car. ever listened to 'Adore' in the night on a highway?
I can't help myself, I have to join in the whining. This guy's voice is awful .
I agree with Comic Book Guy, for the most part. You either love sushi and wasabi, or you don't. You either enjoy the vocals of Smashing Pumpkins, or you don't. But that's what makes it eclectic, as mainstream as they were. I also agree that folks that listen to RP have less tolerance for garbage on FM radio. I can't stand it. Thank goodness for Bill and Rebecca.
dmick wrote:
...You'd think people drawn to eclectic non-mainstream music would have an ounce of tolerance for a vocal style that doesn't fit their narrow parameters for "good"...
I know this is from an older post, but I think an important point to make here is that a fair amount of people drawn to eclectic non-mainstream music actually have less tolerance for certain musical short-comings. The same high standards that drove us away from Cox and Clear Channel make it hard to swallow grating vocals or meandering guitar solos or whatever musical issue you may think of. Many times I can get past it, many times I can't. In this case, it lowers the rating to a 6 (still positive) where it could've been an 8 with a different vocalist, perhaps. And then there are those times when the vocals can be ignored (Ben Folds, Weezer) and only individual taste can explain the double standard.
I gave it a 7 cause the drumming is damn good.
dmick wrote:
it's just incredible what a bunch of whiners RP attracts. You'd think people drawn to eclectic non-mainstream music would have an ounce of tolerance for a vocal style that doesn't fit their narrow parameters for "good". jeez. I don't like the way you *type*, ok?
Yeah, I agree. All the whiners make me think of this guy for some reason:
abysmal
it's just incredible what a bunch of whiners RP attracts. You'd think people drawn to eclectic non-mainstream music would have an ounce of tolerance for a vocal style that doesn't fit their narrow parameters for "good". jeez. I don't like the way you *type*, ok?
AliGator wrote:
I love this song. The bass line makes up for Corgan's voice, which - hey! - isn't THAT bad.
Yes. It is.
Wisercrowe wrote:
what album is this song off of?
The Aeroplane Flies High. It's a 5CD boxset. I don't believe it's actually sold in stores anymore. You'd have to buy it from a used record store, eBay, Amazon, etc.
what album is this song off of?
What an AMAZING set of songs! The combination on RP is one of my favorite aspects of this gem dead > lyle lovitt (covering dead) > wp > this jerry song. cool.
I LOVE IT...because my name is JERRY and how many songs have MY name in them?? (OK..so I'm self-absorbed but we're all entitled to that from time to time!!!) --Jerry
I love this song. The bass line makes up for Corgan's voice, which - hey! - isn't THAT bad.
JohnDoeKyrgyz wrote:
Some of the greatest songwriters of recent history have had what most of us would term bad voices. Bob Dylan, Niel Young, and now Billy Corgan have all been criticized for their vocals, but their songs are still quite good. Of course there are songwritters who have good voices, but I like the ones with bad voices just as much.
I'll concede your point, as I do appreciate Neil Young, who can't sing. Corgan is just whiney and nasal. At least Neil belts it out with his every fiber.
apd wrote:
were these guy's ever even considered "fake" punk?
Not that I have EVER heard before... I actually like his voice, it's unique.
Some of the greatest songwriters of recent history have had what most of us would term bad voices. Bob Dylan, Niel Young, and now Billy Corgan have all been criticized for their vocals, but their songs are still quite good. Of course there are songwritters who have good voices, but I like the ones with bad voices just as much.
I never got the allure of this band, and believe me, I listened to them a lot (thanks to a friend). Corgan's voice is just plain awful.
islander wrote:
meh. I used to love these guys, but they haven't really held up so well over the years. Give us some REAL punk.
were these guy's ever even considered "fake" punk?
beautiful song
His voice is always something I have to get use too ... Iam not sure do I like it or do I dislike it ... sound interresting
meghan89 wrote:
Billy Corgan obviously never got slapped by his mom for whining. Mrs. Corgan, you owe us all an apology for inflicitng your son on us!
Agreed. Nails on chalkboard! Shut up already!
meh. I used to love these guys, but they haven't really held up so well over the years. Give us some REAL punk.
Billy Corgan obviously never got slapped by his mom for whining. Mrs. Corgan, you owe us all an apology for inflicitng your son on us!
amb599 wrote:
The whinny voice sounds as if a group of vietnamese tourists was slowly being put to death by rubbing them against a giant cheese grater.
Oh thanks a lot, I was liking it until you slapped that unforgettable mini-movie onto my lobe!
That's right, turn the knob all the way past Ben. BWAHAHAHA!
physicsgenius wrote:
Sure, Hitler killed a lot of Jews. At least he wasn't running his chancellorship as a popularity contest.
Go back to sleep!
physicsgenius wrote:
Sure, Hitler killed a lot of Jews. At least he wasn't running his chancellorship as a popularity contest.
Genocide - NOT to be talked of lightly. It's not hard to choose different words for comparisons -
elokin2141 wrote:
Jimmy Chamberlin got his new band and i hear their new album is pretty good
It IS. I have a signed copy and it's one of my favorite albums of the year. Check out the tracks "Streetcrawler," "PSA" and "Owed to Darryl".
victorias_mom wrote:
Judas O was the 2nd disc that came with the Smashing Pumpkins greatest hits collection that came out last November. There were a bunch of b-sides and some tracks from Machina II on it as well. A great listen
Ah. Anyone got links for this? The amazon ones here are dead end..
physicsgenius wrote:
Sure, Hitler killed a lot of Jews. At least he wasn't running his chancellorship as a popularity contest.
Another well thought out, balanced comparison by Physicsgenious 8O
physicsgenius wrote:
Sure, Hitler killed a lot of Jews. At least he wasn't running his chancellorship as a popularity contest.
Even for you, this is moronic. Not just stupid, but moronic. Despite considerable evidence to the contrary, you're above this. moronic adj : having a mental age of between eight and twelve years Really a likeable tune from the ever-so-dynamic Pumpkins.
jeremydgreat wrote:
At least it's different. At least he's not trying to match his voice to any "standard" type sound. Gotta mix it up sometimes.
Sure, Hitler killed a lot of Jews. At least he wasn't running his chancellorship as a popularity contest.
deepwoodskev wrote:
If Jimmy Chamberlin had not been the drummer in SP, they would have never been as big as they were. He made them go. That dude could drum!
Jimmy Chamberlin got his new band and i hear their new album is pretty good
I'm a huge SP fan, and I'm even a fan on BC's voice on 90% of his songs, but this track is detestable. It's a beautiful song, beutifully arranged, but made impossible to like. The whinny voice sounds as if a group of vietnamese tourists was slowly being put to death by rubbing them against a giant cheese grater.
If Jimmy Chamberlin had not been the drummer in SP, they would have never been as big as they were. He made them go. That dude could drum!
jeremydgreat wrote:
At least it's different. At least he's not trying to match his voice to any "standard" type sound. Gotta mix it up sometimes.
So to mix it up, I'll sing while I have strep throat...that'd sound great. Wait - nope, it'd sound wretched. I think a more indistinct voice doesn't meand SP would've been generic, but it would have been a lot more sonorous.
I'm loving this
Bill_Kunsler wrote:
yeah, as in i want sharks with frickin phasers on their heads
Jerry was a racecar driver...and this is a likeable tune.
At least it's different. At least he's not trying to match his voice to any "standard" type sound. Gotta mix it up sometimes.
fortyonejb wrote:
...his voice really just seems vulnerable and open, which is what his music was all about...
I'll tell you how his voice is vulerable...it's vulnerable to attack! It's grating. Open? No, his voice is not open - that's the easy thing to hear...he's singing in his throat and straining all the way up through his nose. So even though I disagree with you about his voice (staunchly, and with reasons), the music of Smashing Pumpkins has alwasy been cool enough for me that I scarce could rate any of their songs I've heard lower than a 6. I gave this one a 6, but I've rated other songs of theirs much higher.
man either people hate or love billys voice. gotta say i love it. dunno but i identified alot with his music in highschool. his voice really just seems vulnerable and open, which is what his music was all about. damn i miss that voice, i need to pull out some pumpkins! thanks RP you can play all the pumpkins you want! oh and i dont like Neil Young, so i guess the two arent mutually exclusive...
This is for some reason one of my favorite pumpkin songs ever. I can't believe this is a b-side. 10 in my book!
the pumpkins got it
Billy Corgin just makes me want slap him upside the head :P
Bill_Kunsler wrote:
yeah, as in i want sharks with frickin phasers on their heads...what?? rumour is that this song is some sort of a nod to Jerry Garcia...
Not meant as a slam, I'm just a TREK purist, and have only ever heard the term 'set your Phasers to stun'...nice imagery though. Just hit me...the Dr, Evil line...gotcha. Slow on a Monday.
japanmoran wrote:
Why is it that I totally dig this song but can't stand Neil Young's singing? I should hate this song. I love this song. Great drum and bass groove. Cool guitars.
Looks like the song has grown on you since October.
Why is it that I totally dig this song but can't stand Neil Young's singing? I should hate this song. I love this song. Great drum and bass groove. Cool guitars.
trekhead wrote:
.... uh, "lasers"?
yeah, as in i want sharks with frickin phasers on their heads...what?? rumour is that this song is some sort of a nod to Jerry Garcia...
The music is good but the vocals make this song awful
eval wrote:
As in set the lasers to stun.. etc, set the &%@# alarm clock so i wake up on time!! etc etc.
.... uh, "lasers"?
I love this music - not too keen on the singing but hey. Some people like Neil Young's singing - they probably like this too. :-)
the_om wrote:
I generally like non-traditional singers (dylan, neil young, tom petty, bjork, the Midnight Oil guy, even alanis) but I just cannot get into Billy Corgan's voice. I think I could get into SP if there had been a different vocalist.
I cannot get into Alanis, but that's her call. I can't stand her music, but she's easy on the eyes.
When Mr. Corgan sings, I picture rodents being tortured.
i just saw Billy out with Robert Smith after the Cure gig here in Chicago--he was kicking it at Smartbar....
AlleyKoolestKat wrote:
A misquote
Quoting is a be-atch
Pipes wrote:
Plain and simple, Corban cannot sing!
good thing that Corgan guy can sing, though. whew!
stubbsz wrote:
BILLY IS AMAZING....AND YOU SHOULD GET OVER IT You are the pathetic one my friend. Just read what you write.
bc wrote:
This is the first time I've ever felt the need to use one of these icons, but when I hear Billy whine, I just want to slap the pathetic whiny brat. Every song has the same whiny vocals crying about how tough his life is. Get over yourself, Billy.
You are the pathetic one my friend. Just read what you write.
Plain and simple, Corgan cannot sing! :roll:
aharamanx wrote:
Shite
Huh. I didn't know you were Muslim. You left out an "i", though.
Background music is fabulous, voice isn't, unfortunatly, even if I kinda like SP and Cogan. They ruined that one.
Originally Posted by lily33: thanks, that clears it all up for me. ok, i'll try to be a little more precise in my question: what "ray" ? and who is "jerry"? i simply didn't understand what it means to "set the ray" to anyone. better?
As in set the lasers to stun.. etc, set the &%@# alarm clock so i wake up on time!! etc etc.
I like it, I just wanted to use it.
I\'ve never like SP, but I actually liked this song, and Billy Corgn\'s terrible voice/vocals was an interesting counter-balance to the beautiful music and good drumming.
I always liked this song... Rock on Billy!
I generally like non-traditional singers (dylan, neil young, tom petty, bjork, the Midnight Oil guy, even alanis) but I just cannot get into Billy Corgan\'s voice. I think I could get into SP if there had been a different vocalist.
Originally Posted by ridiculous_fish: One of my Pumpkins favorites! If you think the song is boring, try listening to the drums.
If this is so great, why was the "singer" allowed to spoil it?
This is the first time I\'ve ever felt the need to use one of these icons, but when I hear Billy whine, I just want to slap the pathetic whiny brat. Every song has the same whiny vocals crying about how tough his life is. Get over yourself, Billy.
This would be enjoyable as an instrumental track. Sound is quite OK. But: this \"singer\" spoils it all. Who allowed this guy to sing in a band?
If this was the only song of SP\'s that I\'d heard, I\'d say this was pretty cool. But I\'ve got a couple of their albums, and I think this is one of the more forgettable tracks. It\'s not groundbreaking for them, in fact is interchangeable with several other tracks. (yawn) sorry.