Spin the Black Circle

Infobox Single|
Name = Spin the Black Circle


Artist = Pearl Jam
from Album = Vitalogy
B-side = "Tremor Christ"
Released = November 8, 1994
Format = CD single, Cassette, Vinyl
Recorded = January 1994 – February 1994 at Bad Animals Studio, Seattle, Washington
Genre = Grunge
Length = 2:48
Label = Epic
Producer = Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam
Writer = Dave Abbruzzese, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Eddie Vedder
Chart position =
Last single = "Dissident" (1994)
This single = "Spin the Black Circle" (1994)
Next single = "Not for You" (1995)Extra tracklisting
Album = Vitalogy
Type = studio
prev_track = "Last Exit"
prev_no = Track 1
this_track = "Spin the Black Circle"
track_no = Track 2
next_track = "Not for You"
next_no = Track 3"Spin the Black Circle" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 8, 1994 as the first single from the band's third studio album, "Vitalogy" (1994). The single peaked at number 11 on the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart and at number 18 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The song was included on Pearl Jam's greatest hits album, "".

Origin and recording

Guitarist Stone Gossard had originally written the song's guitar riff as slower, however frontman Eddie Vedder asked him to speed it up.Fricke, David. [http://web.archive.org/web/20040319071152/http://thisladyluck.tripod.com/required/evrs03.html "Eddie Vedder's Combat Rock"] . "Rolling Stone". May 29, 2003.] Vedder on the song:

I remember wanting everything to be faster...Stone gave me a tape with this riff [hums it at slow speed] . I had a speed control on my machine. I speeded it up, came back and said, "Can we do it this way?"

Guitarist Mike McCready on the song:

That's me trying to do Johnny Thunders leads. I actually overdubbed those leads, but when I do it live, that riff is so hectic and frantic, I have to be warmed up or it sounds really shitty. [Gilbert, Jeff. [http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/gs0595.shtml "Prime Cuts: Mike McCready - The Best of Pearl Jam!"] . "Guitar School". May 1995.]

Composition

The song begins with one guitar playing fast power chords, and then the second guitar kicks in and Vedder begins singing aggressively through the rest of the song. The main guitar riff for the song is reminiscent of the one for Hüsker Dü's "Beyond the Threshold" from the album "Zen Arcade".

Lyrics

According to Vedder, the track is about his and the band's love for vinyl records. At the band's July 1, 2003 show in Bristow, Virginia, Vedder proclaimed "This song is about old records, old records, anyone remember old records?" [Vedder, Eddie. (Speaker). (2003). "7/1/03, Nissan Pavilion, Bristow, Virginia". [Audio Recording] . Epic.]

The lyrics play on the similarities between drug addiction and addiction to records and music, as many of the lyrics may be interpreted either way. It is unclear to what extent this is intended to be a serious comparison of different types of addiction and to what extent it is just intended to make the lyrics interesting. Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" referred to "Spin the Black Circle" as "one of the few songs from Seattle in which a needle has nothing to do with heroin." [Pareles, Jon. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E0DC1030F937A35751C1A962958260 "RECORDINGS VIEW; Pearl Jam Gives Voice To Sisyphus"] . "The New York Times". December 4, 1994. Retrieved on December 13, 2007.]

Release and reception

The song peaked at number 18 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, number 16 on the "Billboard" Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and number 11 on the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart. "Spin the Black Circle" was the band's first single to enter the "Billboard" Hot 100. Because of the Hot 100's tracking methods, this high position reflects the single's sales preceding the album's delayed release on compact disc, as well as the album's furious sales during its first week on CD.

Outside of the United States, the single was released in Australia, Austria, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. "Spin the Black Circle" reached the top ten in the UK, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and Norway. "Spin the Black Circle" reached the top 20 in Sweden, the top 30 in the Netherlands, and charted at number 92 in Germany. The song remains the band's highest charting single in the United Kingdom to date.

Al Weisel of "Rolling Stone" called the song a "revvedup thrash tribute to vinyl."Weisel, Al. [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/pearljam/albums/album/106536/review/5945968/vitalogy "Vitalogy" review] . "Rolling Stone". December 15, 1994. Retrieved on March 1, 2008.] David Browne of "Entertainment Weekly" said that it sounds "a little flabby, like dinosaur rockers trying to prove they're into Green Day." [Browne, David. [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,304817,00.html "Vitalogy"] . "Entertainment Weekly". December 9, 1994. Retrieved on May 17, 2008.]

"Spin the Black Circle" won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance,cite web
url = http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1996/grammys.htm
title = 38th Grammy Awards
publisher = Rockonthenet
accessdate = 2007-09-05] the only Grammy Award which Pearl Jam have ever won. During the band's acceptance speech, Vedder famously said, "I don't know what this means. I don't think it means anything." [Travers, Peter. [http://www.rollingstone.com/blogs/traverstake/2008/02/grammy-the-movies.php "Grammy & The Movies"] . "Rolling Stone". February 8, 2008.]

Live performances

The song was premiered live at the band's March 6, 1994 concert in Denver, Colorado. [ [http://pearljam.com/songs/song.php?song=SpinTheBlackCircle "Pearl Jam Songs: "Spin the Black Circle""] . pearljam.com.] A live performance of "Spin the Black Circle" can be found on the "Live at the Gorge 05/06" box set. A performance of the song is also included on the DVD "Live at the Garden".

Track listing

;Compact Disc Single (US, Europe, Australia, Canada, UK, and Austria), 7" Vinyl Single (The Netherlands and US), and Cassette Single (UK and Australia)
#"Spin the Black Circle" (Dave Abbruzzese, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Eddie Vedder) – 2:48
#"Tremor Christ" (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 4:10

Chart positions

References

External links

* [http://www.pearljam.com/songs/song.php?song=SpinTheBlackCircle Lyrics]