Well tonight’s blog post is influenced by a post I made on Facebook last night. As I do quite frequently I was watching random videos on YouTube, letting the “suggestions” tab take me on a musical journey. As I watch, I post links to Facebook as I come across ones I like and would like to share with my Facebook world. On a typical night I will post 3-6 videos, and as a result get 4-5 “likes” as a result. (and sometimes a random comment or two). We last night I posted a video by the alternative band, Smashing Pumpkins. It was one of my personal favorites, 1979, off the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The result of this one post got 5 likes all by itself! So what is it about this song, or even this band that so many more people seem to care about?
One thing I noticed right away was the age group these people fell into was exactly the one that would have been about 15-18 years old when Mellon Collie came out back in 1995. So it’s safe to that these individuals all probably have some connection with the band or song at this point in there lives. I know for me this is close to the core of it, although my real love and connection with the Smashing Pumpkins and Billy Corgan’s songwriting really started with Siamese Dream. I think to most Mellon Collie is probably consider that band crowning achievement.
So that leads me to my next question, (for those it applies to anyway), which Smashing Pumpkins album did you hear first, and are you inclined to consider it your favorite as a result? I know it does for me. Not only in the case of just this band either. My first experience with the Ramones happened to be with the live album Loco Live, not even a proper album, and I still consider it my favorite Ramones listens. I guess its just because these are the recordings that made me fall in love with these bands in the first place.
Well its late and my brain is telling me to stop thinking and go to bed, so I just leave saying I hope you share your thought with me. Oh yeah, below I will post both Smashing Pumpkins video Today, and an audio track Beat on the Brat from the Ramone’s Loco Live.
*Update – for some reason the Today video will mot post on here, but you can view the video on YouTube by clicking the address to it above.
KidAJoe 
Not really sure I have a favorite pumpkins album But I do have a favorite song. I wasn’t really even a song ( or a band) on my radar and it really came about as a coincedence. The first time I met my future wife (Melissa) we went out on a date with some friends. The typical high school date, walk around the mall , get some food, and go see a movie. On said date, I purchased the single for “Bullet with butterly wings” the B-side being “…Said Sadly”. The night progressed, ending with what I assumed to be the one and only kiss I would ever receive from Melissa, seeing as she lived in Massachuetts, and I in Maine. I felt very attached to her in the short 24 hours we had spent together. Having trouble grasping at the fact I would never see her again, I sat down to listen to my new disc. “…Said Sadly” summed up the feelings I had at the time. Still to this day the song brings up a sadness, then I realize that it also brings me joy because I got the girl.
You will have to play “…Said Sadly” for me sometime. I don’t think I have ever heard that one. It’s definitely a touching story, but as you pointed out since the result turned out good. It really makes the story more romantic than anything. With Andrea and I, I had a similar thing happen with a song. We started dating and at the time I was working at LL Beans. LL Beans had this wonder music playlist that included Ray Lamontagne’s “You Are the Best Thing”. During these early days of dating, it reminded me of Andrea. This was also during a time in my life when I was still going though some pretty big changes in my life, so it meant a lot to me.
The thing I like about 1979, and what makes it so evocative for me, is that it sounds exactly like early New Order (think “Procession” or “Ceremony.”) Corgan should have heard this growing up (being a mere 2 years older than I).
Since I wasn’t really familiar with New Order I had to do some listening research to hear what you meant. I can certainly hear what you mean, especially with “Ceremony”. This is a band I’ll have to spend some time with in the future it seems. It is also interesting to hear the prospective of someone the same age as Corgan and to imagine what artists may have influenced him. The Pumpkins were a pretty big part of my high school years and had I made music, they surely would have been an influence on me.