The Smashing Pumpkins

I was sifting through some music I'd found on an old harddrive on Friday and stumbled across some Smashing Pumpkins tracks. They've really made some fantastic music.

I can remember being into the whole Nirvana and Pearl Jam thing when I was at school (around 91, 92), not the scene particularly but the music definately. Sure, I had a check-shirt, but I wasn't into guitar and I didn't hate my parents. Anyway, I think like a lot of people I hadn't really gotten wind of the Pumpkins back then (even though they had an album out, Gish, by that point) and I continued to unfortunately overlook them for a number of years. Around 95, 96 a friend of mine picked up Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and I gave it a listen. The attraction of the heavy guitars and ferocious vocals pulled me in, but I don't think I gave it much listening time as I was going through a Neil Young Zuma, Freedom, Weld kind of phase at the time.

When I hit University, and musical interests became a common topic of conversations/distraction, their name would pop up and I'd be able to convey my meagre knowledge of some of their music and at least know enough to know that around 96, 97 and on the back of their epic double album Melon Collie, their popularity was at a high. So I revisited that album, became hugely drawn to it, and with it came the usual process of buying up the back catalouge and soaking myself in it until I was drenched! Siamese Dreams effected me the most at the time, and had a big influence for me personally with regards to the music I was experimenting with. You see, around 97 I guess, I'd finally picked up the guitar. I'd always been into guitar driven music and now I craved being able to replicate my favourites - and in turn make something of my own. There's alot to be said for coming up with a chord sequence, or a melody, or even a noise that YOU made and that you like the sound of. It's writing to your own taste, and you can get more whenever you like. I don't pretend to be profecient or even intermediate some many years later, but I still get a kick out of it, and I still enjoy it bashing away the best I can.

Pumpkins were'nt the only band I liked the sound of around that time, with my love for Nirvana, Perl Jam, Metallica, Neil Young, and Foo Fighters all playing their part for my musical soul, but the Smashing Pumkins had so much energy in their music - so many layers - that I was quickly a huge fan.

Back to finding some Pumpkins tracks on a lost harddrive. There weren't many of them (I had the albums on CD anyway, right), but as I flicked through I remembered a dear favourite of mine, the track "Hummer" on Siamese Dreams. It's much easier to find music online than it ever has been, and in particular when I want to check out a track quick without the rigimors of finding them on sneaky sites and downloading copies that turn out to be a completely differnt band or porn, I fired up YouTube and did a quick search. Obviously loads of results, and to my delight there were a handsome amount of music videos and live performances. I poured over them for hours, happening on some rare footage and some documentaries to boot. The guitar came out, the tablature for Hummer was sought, and although I'd get no-where near replicating it in full or even well, I managed enough of the intro chords to fill me with that same enthausiasm I had for them over 10 years ago.

And once again I find the drive to work all that more acceptable, as Gish resolves around and around in my CD player, with Adore having never left the glove box, and when I finally locate my lost copy of Siamese Dreams I'm sure it will once again become a permanent resident until I've attacked my ear drums with it so much that I start thinking in rich swirls of melon collie and wallowing in fuzz soaked waves of guitar...