| Panopticon | |
| Cover: | Panopsingle.jpeg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | The Smashing Pumpkins |
| Album: | Oceania |
| Released: | September 15, 2012 |
| Recorded: | 2011 |
| Genre: | Alternative rock |
| Length: | 3:52 |
| Label: | EMI/Caroline |
| Producer: | Billy Corgan, Bjorn Thorsrud |
| Prev Title: | The Celestials |
| Prev Year: | 2012 |
| Next Title: | Being Beige |
| Next Year: | 2014 |
"Panopticon" is the second single from The Smashing Pumpkins's eighth album Oceania.[1] It was originally released as a promotional single to radio airplay on September 15, 2012.[2]
In an interview with MusicRadar, Corgan stated, "It's similar to Quasar in that we had the opening riff and didn't know what to do with it. It sat for a while, but everybody felt strongly about it. It had a, dare I say, 'modern-feeling' to it, but still in the style of guitar that I like to play. Ultimately, I just sat down and wrote the song on the piano. Sometimes, when you've got a riffy song, it helps to just play the chords with no rhythm, and then you hear the 'song' in it. It's those very Paul McCartney/Wings-type chords – Broadway-type chords. What I'm most proud of from a songwriting standpoint is how it goes from D major to A minor. It goes from a very 'majorly' feel into something sorrowful, almost a Spanish feel. I don't know how the heck I did that, but it's one of my favorite things in the song, how you can keep the key but change the emotion."[3]
NME described the song as "elegant and dreamy".[4] Consequence of Sound declared that it was "heroic".[5] Spin magazine's review of Oceania focused on Byrne's drumming on Panopticon, stating "the impressive, tom-heavy rumble of "Panopticon" quickly asserts his lithe, explosive, decidedly Jimmy Chamberlain-esque ferocity, a deft balance of muscle and sinew."[6] Artistdirect also emphasized Byrne's contribution by describing his drumming as "flawless percussive propulsion".[7]
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer noted Nicole Fiorentino's "highly musical bass lines".[8]