How Siamese Dream Nearly Broke Billy Corgan
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The Smashing Pumpkins were formed in 1988 Chicago by frontman Billy Corgan and guitarist James Iha. Not long after, bassist D'Arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain joined up as well. Almost immediately, the band began attracting local buzz, boasting an incredibly distinctive sound. Smashing Pumpkin's 1991 debut Gish, produced by the legendary Butch Vig, was a promising start for the band. Featuring hard rock flair coupled with Shoegaze sensitivity. Gish was a unique album, released just ahead of the Grunge movement that would soon take over the rock world. But the Pumpkins were a different breed.
Coming off Gish, The Smashing Pumpkins were signed to a major label. This was a significant turning point for the band, which brought massive pressure. The follow-up had to take the Pumpkins to the next level, there was no other way around it. This pressure not only led to internal conflict within the band, but conflict within it's core songwriter. Billy Corgan went through a rough period, riddled with depression, along with writer's block that rendered him creatively bankrupt. But fortunately, this dark period would lead to a huge breakthrough for Billy, as he channeled his angst into the track "Today." A song that would ignite the airwaves at a time in which Alternative Rock was booming.
Though a troubled time for Smashing Pumpkins, their 1993 sophomore record, Siamese Dream, was not only a successful follow-up to Gish. But a huge hit that contained some Alt Rock classics. "Cherub Rock", "Disarm" and "Today" took the band to rock's upper echelon, effectively making them a household name.
The Siamese Dream era of Smashing Pumpkins history was tumultuous, but ultimately rewarding. Not only commercially, but creatively. Once again at the production helm, Butch Vig along with Billy Corgan created a rock masterpiece that still holds up 30 years later.
CHAPTERS |
0:57: Formation
2:44: Gish
5:40: The Troubled Making of Siamese Dream
10:12: The Songs
13:30: Conclusion
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Пікірлер: 147
He wanted a masterpiece, and we got one! If there was ever an album that could sing to my adolescence, it would be this! ❤ Mayonnaise is pretty much a love letter to the person I used to be before the world got ahold of me..
@jacksonscott690
3 ай бұрын
That last sentence is beautifully tragic. Nobody can prepare us for life… it’s brutal.
By far their best album. I remember going through a break up and falling asleep listening to the album. Waking up on and off. Idk the feeling it gave me was intense and really made me feel less alone.
He nearly lost his mind from all the acid they were doing at that time ❤❤
Thank you for this!! I remember the 90's myself almost shocked after having listened this album for the first time and needing to breath before listening again to it... Now I understand why it sounds so deep and intense. Congratulations!
I'm a Gish guy. It's a nearly perfect first record. Up there with the Cars first record. Way ahead of its time: absolute perfection 👌
@lasttime1372
6 ай бұрын
Gish is fantastic! Jimmy had all the freedom in the world to play whatever he wanted😂 Lots of great drum chops there❤️
@tylerbrunton7696
6 ай бұрын
Gish is still my favourite, and the Cars is, imo, the best rock debut ever.
@mordaciousfilms
6 ай бұрын
Same. It's so underrated - but it's got a solid sound.
@aisle_of_view
6 ай бұрын
Have a listen to Sparklehorse "Viva dixie submarine..." It's another near perfect debut album. Beautiful and diverse.
@stevezilla68
6 ай бұрын
Totally agree. I was a huge metalhead at the time and Gish blew me away.
To me Siamese Dream is a 10/10. Not the most original or important record of the 1990's but quite possibly the best. I know Billy doesn't really like to repeat himself but I always wished the Pumpkins would return to that epic and dreamy sound they had on Siamese Dream even if it was very produced.
Great review on this, as always. It’s a great collection of songs.
Excellent video! It really shows the effort you put into it!
@TheMusicNarrative
6 ай бұрын
Much appreciated!
Life's a bummer when you're a hummer.
Wisconsin is north of Illinois, so they went UP to Wisconsin
@cropcircle5693
6 ай бұрын
There are at least two of us who know and care...🤣
@magnetmountain33
5 ай бұрын
Up is down! And east is, up some would say……….. either way north is in the middle and south is every straight line from it😂
So excited to see more traction coming your way, big fan of your work x
It’s perfect. A masterpiece.
My girlfriend and I used to drive around in my '67 Pontiac listening to this album. Mayonnaise was always my favorite.
Great video, man.
A MASTERPIECE from first note to last!
Billy & Butch = Greatness!!
@kai326
5 ай бұрын
Butch does what a lot of producers could learn to do. Let the artist be themselves
Way he goes bald after
@debomb721
6 ай бұрын
Why did he do that??
@alexmalch
6 ай бұрын
He goes bald after Mellon collie
@dasjerkstore
6 ай бұрын
He's always been bald
@cle9146
6 ай бұрын
@@dasjerkstore he’s literally got hair in this video bruh
@dasjerkstore
6 ай бұрын
@@cle9146 bald billy
Billy and D'arcy had a fight that made her join the band. I love these quirky stories. 😊
It would break anyone carrying a whole band on his shoulders
Disarm…one of the greatest songs ever written/performed. Period. Beatles +.
Siamese dream is an absolute masterpiece, the trio of albums up to Adore is untouchable with the latter being my favorite by them - lots of hate for the stylistic change but criminally overlooked awesome songwriting.
Billy had great bone structure and a very romantic look.
For those of us alive at the time, Gish was their breakthrough.
Great stuff as always, I dig your channel. Id love to see you talk about Steve Albini.
@TheMusicNarrative
6 ай бұрын
Appreciate it! I'll talk about Steve Albini at some point for sure. Big Black and Shellac are both great bands
@antongrillo
6 ай бұрын
@@TheMusicNarrative That Rapeman record "Two nuns and a pack mule" is amazing as well, though the name is unfortunate, as Albini himself has later acknowledged and apologized for. Most of the people on their label didn't agree to working with the band due to the name and the group dissolved pretty quickly, but the material on the album as well as The Budd EP (named after Budd Dwyer the allegedly corrupt politician who shot himself live on TV) is some of Albini's best work, along with David Sims (future Jesus Lizard) and Rey Washam (former Scratch Acid). Truly recommend checking it out if you haven't already. The band molds together the aesthetics of both Big Black and Shellac in a way and is totally unique in many other ways. (And to those wondering; the band was named after a manga that Albini was handed when he was touring with Big Black in Japan. He felt that the idea of a superhero that doesn't have any superpowers and rapes as a form of vigilantism was so bizarre and screwed up that he decided to name his next band after it. Later he has said that this decision is one of the biggest regrets of his career and that he feels that it's completely reasonable to hold him accountable for it. He's also written a pretty great article about feminism in rock music circles, though I don't remember which publication it was for.)
@FlamingSwordful
6 ай бұрын
@@antongrillo wow you just write lik scripts dawg
@user-ho3pp8pk9o
6 ай бұрын
@@antongrillo yeah, its too bad that rapeman is rarely brought up when discussing albini. It makes sense, obviously the name is crass, but i really think its albini’s best work. Budd is just such an insanely killer song.
@fuckcensorship69
6 ай бұрын
@@antongrillo the name is "unfortunate" . Nah, people without a sense of humor sharing the planet with yours truly is unfortunate
That album got me through a dark time
Good review, enjoyed it. Siamese Dream is a masterpiece but I do prefer Mellon Collie. Adore is also a criminally underrated album by them. Love the Pumpkins 🎃
@TheMusicNarrative
6 ай бұрын
Thanks! I agree, Adore is slept on way too much.
@dsxa918
6 ай бұрын
I wonder meow meow
@eatassonthefirstdate
6 ай бұрын
Mellon collie is the best album of 95. well, rock album. Tupac and Mobb Deep dropped albums that year that blow away any rock album. also tho, Offspring "Smash" became an instant classic that still holds up today, even lyrically.
I respect Billy pushing into new sonic realms but I want them to revisit this kind of thing, find new angles maybe Siamese Dream with a little electronic like Ava but more along these lines aestethic wise.
What an album ❤❤
Depending on my mood, SiameseDream is my 1a or 1b favorite album ever (Rush-Hemispheres) and Gish is definitely in my top 10-15
@alukuhito
6 ай бұрын
What do you mean by "1a" or "1b"?
@ronponce8238
6 ай бұрын
@@alukuhito I can't decide which one is my favorite since it changes with my mood, so it's a tie for #1. So my list is 1a, 1b, then #3, #4 and so on...
@alukuhito
6 ай бұрын
@@ronponce8238 Oh. Is Disintegration in your top 5?
@ronponce8238
6 ай бұрын
@@alukuhito I never got into the Cure, but I do like some of their songs. I've always been into more harder rocking stuff.
Gish was the shit
Every major city in the world needs a statue of William Corgan. His face needs to be put on huge billboards. The ego of Billy must be satisfied.
His best album.
No wonder I always cried at Today.
Ahem, that would be "UP TO WISCONSIN"... 😁
Siamese Dream absolutely gorgeous, fantastic tunes,tight af, beautiful musicianship. Yet most people praise the unlistenable (to me) sprawling mess of melancholy
@eatassonthefirstdate
6 ай бұрын
umm, ur high. sales don't lie. dude, Bullet with Butterfly Wings had more radio and MTV play than ANYTHING they ever made before that. that song hit almost as hard as smells like teen spirit did. like it was up there with say, Bulls on Parade or Take em out and Play by Offspring. and those tracks took OVER music airwaves. I respect your opinion and your choice on music, were all entitled to that. but I consider myself kind of a music buff. what aspects of Siamese would you say give it such good playability, versus what you think Makes Mellon Collie 'unlistenable'?
Anyone know the background track at 7:00ish?
In regards to everything you’re saying about this band, the answer is NO there not!!!!
What's the instrumental song at the end of this??? Great vid btw deserves 100x more views.
Gish < Siamese Dream < Mellon Collie 🖤🖤🖤
You forgot about the part when he moved to Florida!
Did the other band members contribute anything ?
@Gab-espartac
Ай бұрын
Their sound basically, the music was all Billy but they were a great band live
@theironshiek
Ай бұрын
@@rufus231 I think James wrote the chord progression to mayonnaise and soma and he completely wrote another and I'm sure there are small parts here and there which the others contributed but every song you hear is 98% corgan
SP or Weezer? SP: Like Weezer: Comment
When will the rock hall induct them???? 2025?
Every album nearly broke Billy Corgan....
The original bass player Darcy threw away a great opportunity to thrive with the Smashing Pumpkins. During her off hours from the band she refused to work on her craft by practicing and attempting to contribute to the collective effort to really succeed as a band. I can’t blame Billy for giving Darcy the Axe…
@kai326
5 ай бұрын
If I had to work with Billy I’d lose enthusiasm for the band as well.
@tommeredith7462
5 ай бұрын
@@kai326 And you’d also be broke..
@kai326
5 ай бұрын
@@tommeredith7462 been there done that
@KBizzy
Ай бұрын
@@tommeredith7462 I saw them twice during the earlier days and she was awful live. Mistake after mistake on the bass.
@tommeredith7462
Ай бұрын
@@KBizzy All of the band members and the roadie’s doinked her.
Its unbelievably awkward how you dont play even tiny snippets of each song as you describe them. I know all about copyright strikes, but i also know there are tons of content creators who navigate those legal technicalities. Its just weird.
@TheMusicNarrative
6 ай бұрын
I’m just playing it safe man. I’ve had videos blocked worldwide for using short video/song clips. I know it technically falls under fair use, but bad experiences in the past have led me away from using song snippets for now. Not to mention even if those videos are good for a while, they could be struck randomly at any time. You only get 3 copyright strikes before your channel is permanently deleted.
@ryanfelvus2423
6 ай бұрын
I like these tunes in the background what is it?
@davidgalinat4257
6 ай бұрын
I think you can get away with under 5 seconds for a music clip.
@starlodear2987
6 ай бұрын
@@TheMusicNarrative But aren't songs automatically detected and royalties paid to the authors? So why are they still blocked?
@TheMusicNarrative
6 ай бұрын
@@starlodear2987 It depends on the artist/copyright holder. Some allow the video to stay up and others block it worldwide. There’s even cases where you can share revenue with the copyright holder. An Alice in Chains video I made a few months ago was blocked worldwide for using a short clip. So I had to trim it out for the video to stay up. But that’s only one example.
Who wants honey?
So when DID he lose it and become a conspiracy nut bag? 🤔 Shame too because this was easily my top 3 most listened albums of the 90’s.
@kevinbond8966
6 ай бұрын
Naw, he's not a nut job. You're just not used to hearing the truth.
@outofthenorm7292
3 ай бұрын
So when did having an open mind and questioning things make you a nut bag, I think people that accept things at face value are the problem. You obviously want people to do your thinking for you.
Good pictures and video, but weird writing.
Not a perfectionist, the music is mediocre best.
@ASMRGaming.X
Ай бұрын
But you have done absolutely nothing with your life so…😂🔫
@acidburn1969
Ай бұрын
@@ASMRGaming.X You as well.....Well I'm a well know Network Systems Engineer for Intel... dumbshit🤣😂🤣😂🤣
@acidburn1969
Ай бұрын
@@ASMRGaming.X Your a funny bitch🤣😂🤣😂
@acidburn1969
Ай бұрын
@@ASMRGaming.X At least, I'm a successful Network Systems Engineer. Dumbsh!t
The most overrated band from the most overhyped decade.
@jasonwonkawich5275
6 ай бұрын
Oh, STFU kid. If you lived it, you would swallow those words. Jeeze, the nerve of the youth of today. NEVER poke a Gen-Xer ... fair warning. Now go run along and figure out what your pronouns are.
@JohnSmith-rk6jy
6 ай бұрын
O yea? What was the best decade?
@ThePferro
6 ай бұрын
I know bro. They didn’t even wear spandex. They had no hair and didn’t shred on the guitars. What a bunch of goofs