"Today is the greatest" was sarcasm. He was in a really dark place, and suicidal at the time. The contrast of heavy music and light vocals was intentional. A lot of people misinterpreted it as a positive song.
@@altruismfirst6489 he has stated in many interviews that it was a sarcastic song. He was having the worst day of his life and sarcastically said "today is the greatest."
I find it absolutely hilarious when newlyweds use the song at their Wedding. And yes, they have. only actual fans of the band would know the true meaning/story of the song.
He's singing the title w/ softness because he's being sarcastic. Irony and sarcasm (and trying to be disturbing to an extent) are some of the common hallmarks of early 90s alt/"grunge" as well as heavy and soft sections repeating one after another in songs. Nirvana did that in Teen Spirit and it's a common feature of other songs. Soundgarden did it in The Day I Tried To Live. Alice In Chains did it in The Rooster. He's saying today is the greatest and some of the other lyrics are darker and sound like they refer to existentialism, depression, regret, the boredom of regular life sucking, having to save face instead of getting out of life what one truly desires, pink ribbon scars seem to allude strongly to cutting scars from people who do that to themselves. I don't know if Corgan ever did arm cutting, but he does (or has) had depression for a long time, which he's talked about.
With the lyric, "today is the greatest day," some listeners misinterpreted this as a hopeful song, when it was just the opposite. Billy Corgan said: "I was really suicidal. I just thought it was funny to write a song that said today is the greatest day of your life because it can't get any worse."
Definitely, most suicidal people will seem happy in the days and weeks before trying because they feel they have found the obvious solution to everything. This song highlights it perfectly, it sounds happy but is about the darkest thoughts a person can have.
This album is one of the best music albums I have ever heard from ANY band. Just the sheer number of amazing songs, the way they all fit together. Listen to the whole album in one sitting, it is amazing.
I totally agree. I think this has to be my number one alt rock album. And I just love watching Lex react to SP. They're literally so unique and I love their music. Corgan is an amazing musician and songwriter. His vocals are like no other really. Pumpkins, Oasis, and Tori Amos are my favorite artists/bands hands down from the 90s. I don't think I've come across a reaction video to Tori Amos from Brad and Lex yet, but they seriously need to get with that 🖤🔥
Arguably the best band of the 90s, and in my opinion they were. I'm a child of the 60s and 70s but ultimately the 90s is my favorite music decade and SP are the 90s band that speaks the most to me, though there are a LOT of other bands that are only a whisker behind them. It was a prolific decade before everyone just started stealing music and before digital production tools made talent optional.
Born in 85 here and grew up with SP, (but also raised with a lot of incredible music from the 60's and 70's) and I completely agree. To me, the 90's were the last decade of truly great music.
If you love this sound, and want to hear some truly astonishing songwriting, check out the album "Feels Like You"(2019) from the band Whirr. That album has gotten me through my days at least once a week ever since it dropped, and to my ears it feels like a genuine sanctuary. That said, Pumpkins definitely were one of the greats, ans Siamese Dreams, as well as Adore have been with me for some time now too...
Perfect mix of hard songs like X.Y.U. or An Ode To No One and chill songs like 1979, Tonight Tonight, etc... the way the album ends and begins on a perfect loop is the cherry on top. *Chef's Kiss* amazing record lol
the official video is very tripped out. It shows them going out to the flower fields and tripping out. They are finger painting themselves and groovin. The colors in the video haunt. That is why it’s not harder sounding. It would crush the groove
This is true, there’s videos of Billy Corgan talking about it on TH-cam: he was going to end his life on a Friday. Friday came along and he didn’t “have it in him”. He ended up writing two songs that day, “Today” and “Disarm”. Two monumental songs. His despair ended up helping thousands and thousands of people dealing with mental illnesses.
Billy Corogan the singer was going through depression and was in therapy for suicidal thoughts when he wrote this song. Today is the greatest day cause he thought it couldn’t get much worse.
Heavy and light really nails it, Lex. They could be as hard as almost anyone and as delicate. “Bullet with butterfly wings” was a good description of their entire vibe.
Born and raised in the super ghetto (a place where even hood people don't wanna go) and in high school in the 90's this was the band that opened up rock for me and so this band holds a special place for me... 'the eye' & literally the entire "Mellon collie and the Infinite sadness" album should be next
I was 10 years old when this song came out, and I remember the exact moment I saw this music video and heard the song for the first time. They have been my favorite band since that very moment. You should really listen to Bodies, or Thru the Eyes of Ruby. Billy is really good at creating a juxtaposition between soft and harsh sounds. He also tends to write lyrics that are poetic and open to wide interpretation.
Lex is literally an alien; sent to earth to use the most random collection of sensations and experiences to synthesize an almost perfect representation of legit emotional responses. fukkin send it.
You guys definitely are pounding the 90's. Siamese Dreams is an amazing album. Soma is my favorite off of it, however, Hummer, Silver F**k and Chrrub Rock are fantastic songs off of this album.
Okay, listen guys. To me, Siamese Dream is one level with Jaggee Little Pill, Blood, sugar, sex, magik, Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast, Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance, Motley Crue - Too Fast for Love and WASP Inside the Electric Circuit. That should give you an idea or where I rate this album.
I feel so lucky dude when the teenager during the time that this kind of music was coming out. It was a real special time, especially if you are young.
This song immediately takes me back to the mid-90s and how the world was back then. By now rock was starting to shift away from the Seattle Grunge to more "alternative" rock and the Pumpkins were selling out shows and adored by the new goth kids.
Was in high school when alt rock, grunge, ska punk, nu metal, punk and rap music were blowing up! On radio, tv, concerts, parties. '90s. It was great! GenXers love these genres. Smashing Pumpkins were big during the '90s and '00s. They were very psychedelic, shoegazy alt rock. Amps , feedbacks and pedal effects. Walls of distortions sound. Kind of an ethereal sound. Loud fuzzy guitars. 🎸 Groups like My Bloody Valentine, Silversun Pickups, Sonic Youth, Hammock, Slowdive are the same too.
Shoot... looks like I missed one heck of a stream! Great songs being posted today. Great Smashing Pumpkins song to check out *Ava Adore.* BTW, the album on Lex's shirt was structurally modeled after Pink Floyd's album, Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness... double album, one side was the sun and the other was the moon.
I frickin love Ava Adore. The weird thing is I grew up a huge SP fan but for some reason, just stopped listening to their "new" stuff after Mellon Collie. I don't even know why, but I didn't listen to the Adore album at all until about a year ago, and as different as it is, it's become one of my favorite albums of all time. Mellon Collie and Siamese Dream will always be incredibly important to me because they were a significant part of my childhood and teen years, but damn, Adore just moves me in a way very few things do.
@@ninja_tony I can somewhat relate to that. I bought the Adore album when it was initially released and it was so different that I had to walk away from it for a bit and then come back to it. I had an expectation based on their other albums of what I thought it should be. Once I shook off the expectation, I was able to enjoy it.
I still remember being 17-18 years old around 93-94, tripping on mushrooms, and sitting in the middle of a field where we had set up a bunch of band equipment and blasting this through the PA. It was a beautiful summer day in North Carolina, with blue skies, and this song blasting so loud that I could feel it in my soul. Almost 30 years later, every time I think about the greatest days of my life, this is one of the moments that is still embedded in my brain.
Tons of great Smashing Pumpkin songs: Muzzle, Cherub Rock, Mayonaise, Disarm, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Here Is No Why and Tonight, Tonight, Tonight. Just for starters.
On the Works of Spike Jonze DVD, the Beastie Boys do a commentary track and mention being on the Lolapalooza tour and playing basketball before the shows, and Billy Corgan dominated everyone even though he was wearing combat boots and polyester pants. And then it devolved into a story about Adrock starting a fight with Guided by Voices.
I always understood this song to be about someone who survived a suicide attempt (pink ribbon scars)....classic example of juxtaposition of an upbeat sound about dark subject matter
In a way, it is. Not an active attempt (afaik), but Billy Corgan has said that he was in a very dark place in life and heavily contemplating it when he wrote this song.
Heavy, then Light, then Heavy, and then Light. Someone mentioned, Pixies started that trend, and many followed. Billy Corgan has no bass to his voice. It's all treble, but he does have levels of inflection in his use of grit, and volume. He can add emphasis to a phrase by how long he holds a note, or if he sings through clenched teeth, and whatnot.
Billy Corgan played all the instruments on this record (the drums were by Jimmy Chamberlain) in 1993... At the time, James Iha (guitar) and D'Arcy Wretsky (bass) were a couple and split up... so neither were in the studio, and Corgan decided to finish all the tracks until they decided to show up to rehearse together again. 'Siamese dream' was a huge hit in the grunge era, selling 4 million copies in the US, produced by Butch Vig, who also produced Nirvana's 'Nevermind' album.
I still love this song, even though it was 1) massively overplayed on MTV, radio, and every house party back in the day, but more importantly 2) the opening chords were what every first-time guitar player learned first and played over and over and over and over! Siamese Dream was a truly formative album for me - it's part of the soundtrack to my High School years. If you want a truly unbelievable song, check out Mayonnaise. It wasn't released as a single, but it is to this day one of my favorite songs!
Lex rocking the Pumpkins gear love it…my favorite band ever maybe time to be introduced to the range of their sound…Ava adore, eye, perfect, cyr, crestfallen..so many
if you want to check out what is quite possibly their heaviest and honestly lyrically creepiest song, check out the song called X.Y.U. smashing pumpkins have such an interesting range of sound between light and heavy, but X.Y.U. is the heaviest they go, i think
As many have pointed out - Give The Pixies a chance. Hey - Gigantic - Debaser - Monkeys Gone to Heaven - I could go on. They have a ton of great songs. David Bowie and Kurt Cobain were fans of the Pixies. If you watch the movie Zack and Miri make a Porno "Hey" is used really well in it.
Yooo she got a Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness t-shirt! :o love that album to death as well as The Smashing Pumpkins altogether lol. Tonight Tonight is another amazing song that has a unique but awesome vibe when you watch the official video
I think the sound engineers compress Billy Corgan's voice so it stays the same volume if he's singing, yelling or whispering. It's never loud or quiet.
This song was officially released as a single in 1993. I was 17 at the time. I'm still a fan to this day. People don't often talk about Billy Corgan's solo work. Check out the song Mina Loy from the album TheFutureEmbrace. I was hooked on that song for a while. That album incorporated a bit of shoegaze style.
She has that part of her brain intact that usually fades as we leave childhood. It's great, and I think a lot of creative types are this way. Perhaps her pineal gland hasn't calcified yet.
When Billy Corgan wrote "Today," it was in reference to him suffering through writer's block. A beautiful song! Listen to "Disarm," "Tonight, Tonight, "Jelly Belly," and "Zero." The first two are in the melancholy /reflective category, the latter two just really rock.
One of the few songs I can recall hearing for the first time, where I was, who I was with. Must have been one of the first times it came over the radio in my little town when it was released.
What you're describing with the soft vocals and loud guitars is what's called shoegaze. If you find it interesting check out the band My Bloody Valentine. Listen to the songs 'Only Shallow' or 'Soon' from their epic album Loveless.
I wasn't a Smashing Pumpkins fan back in the day, but you couldn't not know this song because the video was on MTV constantly. It takes me back to my high school years.
You should deep dive their albums Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness. Everything about the double album was absolute art including the CD art. Disc one, Melancholy, was more fast paced harder pumpkins. Disc two, the Infinite Sadness, was a lot more of the chill laid back pumpkin vibes. Many of the songs on both discs have displays of aspects of the other but they are definitely two different feels between the discs. I highly recommend the following from each disc: Melancholy: 1) Tonight, Tonight 2) Zero 3) Bullet with Butterfly Wings 4) Cupid de Locke 5) Galapogos 6) Porcelina of the Vast Oceans The Infinite Sadness: 1) Thirty-Three 2) 1979 3) Stumbeleine 4) We Only Come Out at Night 5) Beautiful 6) Lily (My One and Only) 7) By Starlight These 13 songs will give you just about everything you need to know to instantly recognize the Smashing Pumpkins when you hear them. Such a distinct sounding band! I love them so much!
Love it. Billy doesn't have a voice that carries, so it dictated his style. It's unique. Reminds me of Elliott Smith. Not someone you'd say has a great voice, but everything else is great
I love Billy's voice so unique and weird. It works best for his alternative rock days tbh. That shows ya how talented he is who would have ever thought someone with a high pitched voice like that would be a famous singer?
I don't know that his voice doesn't carry, if you listen to Bodies or X.Y.U the dude has a pretty powerful voice. Obviously he's not a very technical singer, but I've always preferred a unique voice to a perfect voice. The exception to that is Chris Cornell who had both lol
@@connor2294 yeah, Carrys maybe not the right word. But I get what you mean. I love his voice too.I love a high voice with a major and minor fall. his voice is the reason he does his own stuff, cause it's such an untraditional style. I've read he is pretty uncompromising in the studio with band mates
Billy's voice has always been an acquired taste. if you're a fan of the band, you'll get used to his voice pretty quickly. His voice is very distinguishable. you know you're listening to Billy/SP within the first few seconds of the vocals.
I’m a big fan of the Smashing Pumpkins there’s so many songs to listen to. Zero, The beginning is the end is the beginning,Tonight Tonight, JellyBelly and more much more.
I bet Lex would enjoy Rocket - similar upbeat sound with the same production, but there's alllll kinds of guitar stuff and sounds going on in there. Also an extremely 90s kid video
“pink ribbon scars that never forget, i tried so hard to cleanse these regrets” fuckin poetry
"Today is the greatest" was sarcasm. He was in a really dark place, and suicidal at the time. The contrast of heavy music and light vocals was intentional. A lot of people misinterpreted it as a positive song.
can be read it as make the most of it now rather than wait till later aka cease the day. The tunes pulled him out of his darkness at the time
@@altruismfirst6489 he has stated in many interviews that it was a sarcastic song. He was having the worst day of his life and sarcastically said "today is the greatest."
I find it absolutely hilarious when newlyweds use the song at their Wedding. And yes, they have.
only actual fans of the band would know the true meaning/story of the song.
was that when courtney came sniffing around
I thought it was about overcoming writer's block? Can't remember where I first heard that, but for years I took it as gospel.
Siamese Dream was their masterpiece, IMO. Disarm was another hit from this amazing LP✌
I agree Ben, an amazing record!
Gish is amazing as well.
Mellon Collie is their master piece.😒
You know the band is special when people can't decide which album is their "Master Piece."
YES!!! Disarm is my favorite Smashing Pumpkins song.
He's singing the title w/ softness because he's being sarcastic. Irony and sarcasm (and trying to be disturbing to an extent) are some of the common hallmarks of early 90s alt/"grunge" as well as heavy and soft sections repeating one after another in songs. Nirvana did that in Teen Spirit and it's a common feature of other songs. Soundgarden did it in The Day I Tried To Live. Alice In Chains did it in The Rooster. He's saying today is the greatest and some of the other lyrics are darker and sound like they refer to existentialism, depression, regret, the boredom of regular life sucking, having to save face instead of getting out of life what one truly desires, pink ribbon scars seem to allude strongly to cutting scars from people who do that to themselves. I don't know if Corgan ever did arm cutting, but he does (or has) had depression for a long time, which he's talked about.
yes, above all, I remember sarcasm in the 90s.
With the lyric, "today is the greatest day," some listeners misinterpreted this as a hopeful song, when it was just the opposite. Billy Corgan said: "I was really suicidal. I just thought it was funny to write a song that said today is the greatest day of your life because it can't get any worse."
It's like a sarcastic song.
Spot on!
Definitely, most suicidal people will seem happy in the days and weeks before trying because they feel they have found the obvious solution to everything. This song highlights it perfectly, it sounds happy but is about the darkest thoughts a person can have.
What a great song, I love it! I put it into my "Shellshocked Radio - Recommendations" List: th-cam.com/video/OfZjxA_g2X8/w-d-xo.html Very well done!
Heavy
This album is one of the best music albums I have ever heard from ANY band. Just the sheer number of amazing songs, the way they all fit together. Listen to the whole album in one sitting, it is amazing.
Top 5 Albums from the 90s hands down
Gish is their greatest achievement
@@keithkramarz7572 Gish=the Terminator Siamese Dream= T2.
I totally agree. I think this has to be my number one alt rock album. And I just love watching Lex react to SP. They're literally so unique and I love their music. Corgan is an amazing musician and songwriter. His vocals are like no other really.
Pumpkins, Oasis, and Tori Amos are my favorite artists/bands hands down from the 90s.
I don't think I've come across a reaction video to Tori Amos from Brad and Lex yet, but they seriously need to get with that 🖤🔥
Arguably the best band of the 90s, and in my opinion they were. I'm a child of the 60s and 70s but ultimately the 90s is my favorite music decade and SP are the 90s band that speaks the most to me, though there are a LOT of other bands that are only a whisker behind them. It was a prolific decade before everyone just started stealing music and before digital production tools made talent optional.
Born in 85 here and grew up with SP, (but also raised with a lot of incredible music from the 60's and 70's) and I completely agree. To me, the 90's were the last decade of truly great music.
If you love this sound, and want to hear some truly astonishing songwriting, check out the album "Feels Like You"(2019) from the band Whirr. That album has gotten me through my days at least once a week ever since it dropped, and to my ears it feels like a genuine sanctuary. That said, Pumpkins definitely were one of the greats, ans Siamese Dreams, as well as Adore have been with me for some time now too...
"so heavy... but so light" - kinda sums up a lot of what made Smashing Pumpkins so unique back then. Some people definitely didn't get it.
The double album Meloncholy and the infinite sadness is a masterpiece. One of the greatest releases of all time.
You have no idea how many depressed nights I sat alone in the dark listening to that double album.
@@jack-of-all-trades1234
We probably do TBH.
It definitely is and I wore it out but for me Siamese Dream is the greatest alternative rock album of all time. It’s perfection.
Perfect mix of hard songs like X.Y.U. or An Ode To No One and chill songs like 1979, Tonight Tonight, etc... the way the album ends and begins on a perfect loop is the cherry on top. *Chef's Kiss* amazing record lol
FOR SURE
the official video is very tripped out. It shows them going out to the flower fields and tripping out. They are finger painting themselves and groovin. The colors in the video haunt. That is why it’s not harder sounding. It would crush the groove
Lex just described one of my best friends in the 90s in high school! And she loved this album!
Lex. Don't forget the flannel shirts and boots or Chuck Taylor shoes! 😆
Brad yes many skated to Pumpkins, alt rock, punk, ska, rap. Anything.
One of the defining rock groups of the 1990s. These guys were multilayered in their music and sound and I really just love the hell out of them!
This is true, there’s videos of Billy Corgan talking about it on TH-cam: he was going to end his life on a Friday. Friday came along and he didn’t “have it in him”. He ended up writing two songs that day, “Today” and “Disarm”. Two monumental songs. His despair ended up helping thousands and thousands of people dealing with mental illnesses.
Billy Corogan the singer was going through depression and was in therapy for suicidal thoughts when he wrote this song. Today is the greatest day cause he thought it couldn’t get much worse.
Heavy and light really nails it, Lex. They could be as hard as almost anyone and as delicate. “Bullet with butterfly wings” was a good description of their entire vibe.
Definitely my favorite song from them!
Lmao by the title of the thumbnail, I thought they were reacting to the song "Perfect" by Smashing Pumpkins... Also I'd love them to react to "Disarm"
Extra props for wearing a pumpkins shirt. We are doing a Top 50 SP songs series on our channel. SP FOREVER!
Born and raised in the super ghetto (a place where even hood people don't wanna go) and in high school in the 90's this was the band that opened up rock for me and so this band holds a special place for me...
'the eye' & literally the entire "Mellon collie and the Infinite sadness" album should be next
I was 10 years old when this song came out, and I remember the exact moment I saw this music video and heard the song for the first time. They have been my favorite band since that very moment. You should really listen to Bodies, or Thru the Eyes of Ruby. Billy is really good at creating a juxtaposition between soft and harsh sounds. He also tends to write lyrics that are poetic and open to wide interpretation.
I recommended several times to listen to Bodies but they never listen.
Oh yeah. Thru the Eyes of Ruby live in London is so epic. My All-Time Favorite
Bodies is so overlooked. Probably my favorite song of the 90's.
First time I heard this song was immediately a fan of the smashing pumpkins. Love it
Lex is literally an alien; sent to earth to use the most random collection of sensations and experiences to synthesize an almost perfect representation of legit emotional responses.
fukkin send it.
You guys definitely are pounding the 90's. Siamese Dreams is an amazing album. Soma is my favorite off of it, however, Hummer, Silver F**k and Chrrub Rock are fantastic songs off of this album.
Cherub rock has been done. A reaction to the full version of Drown or The Aeroplane Flighs High would also be cool.
Rocket
@@thegoodrevtim rocket alternative version from the MCIStour, its on youtube, still have the bootleg vhs of that concert, amazing version.
Geek USA was always my favourite on the album there isn't a bad song on there, one of those rare albums you can't skip a track.
Okay, listen guys. To me, Siamese Dream is one level with Jaggee Little Pill, Blood, sugar, sex, magik, Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast, Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance, Motley Crue - Too Fast for Love and WASP Inside the Electric Circuit. That should give you an idea or where I rate this album.
Brad didn't pause it becasue Pumpkins is good music. It draws you in! lol
Pure alternative rock. The purest form. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!
Seriously.. next road trip. Hit it off with this tune.
I feel so lucky dude when the teenager during the time that this kind of music was coming out. It was a real special time, especially if you are young.
best band of the 90's ,most melodic voice and songs next to depeche mode
Man this song really brings me back to great times in my twenties, where has the time gone...
As they say, time flies like an arrow… but fruitflies like a banana.
You gotta watch out for those time flies. They really sneak up on you.
I actually like how you don't stop the song every 10 seconds. It's nice to see yall actually listening to song then talk about it. Good job
Pumpkins's famous "wall of sound"
geek USA is a must
Geek USA hss to be in their top 10.
Tripped some balls with this album back in the early '90s. It was very gentle. A+ for that purpose. Recommend.
This song immediately takes me back to the mid-90s and how the world was back then. By now rock was starting to shift away from the Seattle Grunge to more "alternative" rock and the Pumpkins were selling out shows and adored by the new goth kids.
If you want to hear a dark, very heavy, smashing pumpkins song, then "xyu" is it.
Was in high school when alt rock, grunge, ska punk, nu metal, punk and rap music were blowing up! On radio, tv, concerts, parties. '90s. It was great!
GenXers love these genres. Smashing Pumpkins were big during the '90s and '00s. They were very psychedelic, shoegazy alt rock. Amps , feedbacks and pedal effects. Walls of distortions sound. Kind of an ethereal sound. Loud fuzzy guitars. 🎸 Groups like My Bloody Valentine, Silversun Pickups, Sonic Youth, Hammock, Slowdive are the same too.
Shoot... looks like I missed one heck of a stream! Great songs being posted today.
Great Smashing Pumpkins song to check out *Ava Adore.* BTW, the album on Lex's shirt was structurally modeled after Pink Floyd's album, Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness... double album, one side was the sun and the other was the moon.
I frickin love Ava Adore. The weird thing is I grew up a huge SP fan but for some reason, just stopped listening to their "new" stuff after Mellon Collie. I don't even know why, but I didn't listen to the Adore album at all until about a year ago, and as different as it is, it's become one of my favorite albums of all time. Mellon Collie and Siamese Dream will always be incredibly important to me because they were a significant part of my childhood and teen years, but damn, Adore just moves me in a way very few things do.
@@ninja_tony I can somewhat relate to that. I bought the Adore album when it was initially released and it was so different that I had to walk away from it for a bit and then come back to it. I had an expectation based on their other albums of what I thought it should be. Once I shook off the expectation, I was able to enjoy it.
I still remember being 17-18 years old around 93-94, tripping on mushrooms, and sitting in the middle of a field where we had set up a bunch of band equipment and blasting this through the PA. It was a beautiful summer day in North Carolina, with blue skies, and this song blasting so loud that I could feel it in my soul. Almost 30 years later, every time I think about the greatest days of my life, this is one of the moments that is still embedded in my brain.
Tons of great Smashing Pumpkin songs: Muzzle, Cherub Rock, Mayonaise, Disarm, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Here Is No Why and Tonight, Tonight, Tonight. Just for starters.
I think that perfectly sums up and distinguishes the Smashing Pumpkins: heavy but light. Glad you finally "got" one of their songs.
Fun fact, singer Billy Corgan is a hulking 6'3" giant. If you liked this, check out "Tonight, Tonight."
On the Works of Spike Jonze DVD, the Beastie Boys do a commentary track and mention being on the Lolapalooza tour and playing basketball before the shows, and Billy Corgan dominated everyone even though he was wearing combat boots and polyester pants. And then it devolved into a story about Adrock starting a fight with Guided by Voices.
The Pumpkins were the soundtrack to my childhood
I always understood this song to be about someone who survived a suicide attempt (pink ribbon scars)....classic example of juxtaposition of an upbeat sound about dark subject matter
In a way, it is. Not an active attempt (afaik), but Billy Corgan has said that he was in a very dark place in life and heavily contemplating it when he wrote this song.
Heavy, then Light, then Heavy, and then Light. Someone mentioned, Pixies started that trend, and many followed.
Billy Corgan has no bass to his voice.
It's all treble, but he does have levels of inflection in his use of grit, and volume.
He can add emphasis to a phrase by how long he holds a note, or if he sings through clenched teeth, and whatnot.
Loud Quiet Loud. It was a classic 90's theme started by the Pixies, presented by Nirvana, perfected by the Smashing Pumpkins.
Billy Corgan played all the instruments on this record (the drums were by Jimmy Chamberlain) in 1993... At the time, James Iha (guitar) and D'Arcy Wretsky (bass) were a couple and split up... so neither were in the studio, and Corgan decided to finish all the tracks until they decided to show up to rehearse together again.
'Siamese dream' was a huge hit in the grunge era, selling 4 million copies in the US, produced by Butch Vig, who also produced Nirvana's 'Nevermind' album.
this was a big comfort song during a time when my depression was really bad
I still love this song, even though it was 1) massively overplayed on MTV, radio, and every house party back in the day, but more importantly 2) the opening chords were what every first-time guitar player learned first and played over and over and over and over!
Siamese Dream was a truly formative album for me - it's part of the soundtrack to my High School years. If you want a truly unbelievable song, check out Mayonnaise. It wasn't released as a single, but it is to this day one of my favorite songs!
I second that. Extra mayo please!
One of the Pumpkins best songs
Music was super chill especially to come down off of something which I'm not supporting that but that's what I used it for back in the day
I like her vision of a fashion savvy, juicy fruit chewing '90s girl sneaking out to her boyfriend's house. "Ya know what I mean?" LOL 😂
Great analysis Lex!
Lex rocking the Pumpkins gear love it…my favorite band ever maybe time to be introduced to the range of their sound…Ava adore, eye, perfect, cyr, crestfallen..so many
Tonight Tonight is essential Pumpkins listening, it takes *that* soundscape you like to whole new levels. It's a beautiful sounding song.
My brother-in-law worked for the bassist doing work around her house at one time
Great song. Love your shirt Lex!
if you want to check out what is quite possibly their heaviest and honestly lyrically creepiest song, check out the song called X.Y.U. smashing pumpkins have such an interesting range of sound between light and heavy, but X.Y.U. is the heaviest they go, i think
As many have pointed out - Give The Pixies a chance. Hey - Gigantic - Debaser - Monkeys Gone to Heaven - I could go on. They have a ton of great songs. David Bowie and Kurt Cobain were fans of the Pixies. If you watch the movie Zack and Miri make a Porno "Hey" is used really well in it.
Yooo she got a Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness t-shirt! :o love that album to death as well as The Smashing Pumpkins altogether lol. Tonight Tonight is another amazing song that has a unique but awesome vibe when you watch the official video
'1979' is the best they put out....the vibes on that one. wow.
Songs about...coming of age.
Its also a perfect entire album! I hope you guys get to hear more of it, I really think you'd trip out on it!!!
I think the sound engineers compress Billy Corgan's voice so it stays the same volume if he's singing, yelling or whispering. It's never loud or quiet.
This song was officially released as a single in 1993. I was 17 at the time. I'm still a fan to this day.
People don't often talk about Billy Corgan's solo work.
Check out the song Mina Loy from the album TheFutureEmbrace. I was hooked on that song for a while. That album incorporated a bit of shoegaze style.
Mina Loy is brilliant.
Same age. I hear their hits on radio and they still sound like they could be current songs. Easily.
This whole album rocked. I loved it in high school
Punnnnkiiinnnnssssss!!!! Quite smashing. 😉 Billy Corgan is a musical genius.
Lex wearing a plastic trench coat, a fur hat with a care bear emblem and chews juicy fruit gum. I sometimes wonder where she comes up with this stuff.
Was great lol
She has that part of her brain intact that usually fades as we leave childhood. It's great, and I think a lot of creative types are this way. Perhaps her pineal gland hasn't calcified yet.
i dunno it's hilarious.
Pure imagination. Love it.
Best analogy. Love it!
When Billy Corgan wrote "Today," it was in reference to him suffering through writer's block. A beautiful song! Listen to "Disarm," "Tonight, Tonight, "Jelly Belly," and "Zero." The first two are in the melancholy /reflective category, the latter two just really rock.
don't forget An Ode to Noone, Bodies, X.Y.U and Ruby. if we're talking about Mellon Collie.
those songs are killer.
Best free Block E concert they went long in 90's in Minneapolis
One of the few songs I can recall hearing for the first time, where I was, who I was with. Must have been one of the first times it came over the radio in my little town when it was released.
90s music where bi-polar became art.
What you're describing with the soft vocals and loud guitars is what's called shoegaze. If you find it interesting check out the band My Bloody Valentine. Listen to the songs 'Only Shallow' or 'Soon' from their epic album Loveless.
Big Pumpkins hits:
Tonight Tonight
Zero
Rhinoceros
Disarm
Ava Adore
I wasn't a Smashing Pumpkins fan back in the day, but you couldn't not know this song because the video was on MTV constantly. It takes me back to my high school years.
This band goes between chill and a little hard
This is a chill one
Prob one of the best bands to come out of the USA
'Zero' is literally their best song...DO IT!
please keep doing what you're doing! much love from out here in Sacramento CA
You should deep dive their albums Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness. Everything about the double album was absolute art including the CD art. Disc one, Melancholy, was more fast paced harder pumpkins. Disc two, the Infinite Sadness, was a lot more of the chill laid back pumpkin vibes. Many of the songs on both discs have displays of aspects of the other but they are definitely two different feels between the discs. I highly recommend the following from each disc:
Melancholy: 1) Tonight, Tonight 2) Zero 3) Bullet with Butterfly Wings 4) Cupid de Locke 5) Galapogos 6) Porcelina of the Vast Oceans
The Infinite Sadness: 1) Thirty-Three 2) 1979 3) Stumbeleine 4) We Only Come Out at Night 5) Beautiful 6) Lily (My One and Only) 7) By Starlight
These 13 songs will give you just about everything you need to know to instantly recognize the Smashing Pumpkins when you hear them. Such a distinct sounding band! I love them so much!
Definitely a great album from my high school days
I love the fact you're almost ready for Pavement. 😁
This song brings me a lot of nostalgia from my years in high school in those wonderful years 90ts. More precisely from 93 this song
Love the Pumpkins… they are for sure one of the 90s sounds for me. quiet and heavy is what makes it awesome!
If you want Pumpkins with Heavier vocals, try the song Fuck You (an ode to no one)
Mellow music that ROCKS
Love it. Billy doesn't have a voice that carries, so it dictated his style. It's unique. Reminds me of Elliott Smith. Not someone you'd say has a great voice, but everything else is great
I love Billy's voice so unique and weird. It works best for his alternative rock days tbh. That shows ya how talented he is who would have ever thought someone with a high pitched voice like that would be a famous singer?
I don't know that his voice doesn't carry, if you listen to Bodies or X.Y.U the dude has a pretty powerful voice. Obviously he's not a very technical singer, but I've always preferred a unique voice to a perfect voice. The exception to that is Chris Cornell who had both lol
@@connor2294 yeah, Carrys maybe not the right word. But I get what you mean. I love his voice too.I love a high voice with a major and minor fall. his voice is the reason he does his own stuff, cause it's such an untraditional style. I've read he is pretty uncompromising in the studio with band mates
Billy's voice has always been an acquired taste. if you're a fan of the band, you'll get used to his voice pretty quickly. His voice is very distinguishable. you know you're listening to Billy/SP within the first few seconds of the vocals.
Maybe Seether by Veruca Salt or Stars by Hum. You could even do something from the band TripleFastAction to fleshout that Chicago sound.
Some good songs today, all summer songs.
Muzzle and Rocket,and 1979 are my favs by them
Great song by a great 90s group! Taking me back to late high school early college years.
Who knew Brad would get so confused. Could be on loop through all reactions👊🤣🤣
This song brings back so many memories of my early teen years. great choice of song!
Mayonnaise was the best song on Siamese Dream. Great album. Great memories.
If you were alive in 1993 '94 you could not escape this song on K- Rock and the music video on MTV when they showed music videos back then lol
I’m a big fan of the Smashing Pumpkins there’s so many songs to listen to. Zero, The beginning is the end is the beginning,Tonight Tonight, JellyBelly and more much more.
Looking at your list of recent videos, you guys are on a tear with the great songs... helps I grew up in the 90s.
The idea of the girl with the plastic trench coat and care bare hat sneaking out was so spot on😂. These were my older sisters in the 90’s.
My favorite band from highschool
Sometimes I really wish I could go back to being in my early 20s when this came out. So much I could warn myself about the future too.
Siamese Dreams...one of the greatest albums ever.
This song is also one of my favorite videos of all time. MTV back in the day was the best!
"Mayonaise" is another good track.
I bet Lex would enjoy Rocket - similar upbeat sound with the same production, but there's alllll kinds of guitar stuff and sounds going on in there. Also an extremely 90s kid video