Sunday, March 21, 2010

#360: Siamese Dream- The Smashing Pumpkins


Listened to: CD

My dad got my into The Smashing Pumpkins when I was a kid, and I’ve always been equally annoyed and enamored by Billy Corgan’s scratching, wailing howl, but there’s no denying that it’s put to it’s best use on the tortured anthems and nostalgic heart-songs (or as close to those as the Pumpkins can play) of Siamese Dream.

The album kicks off on “Cherub Rock”, which after a drum roll and an intro riff worthy of the Red Hot Chili Peppers starts up one of the most anthemia tracks of the 90’s, at least for me. The direction I’d prayed the rock and roll would go in, the style of music pussyfied by Muse and Radiohead. I love how they dampen the crackling growl of Corgan’s voice behind that metallic filter, making it yet another instrument in the grunge-psychedelic symphony of “Cherub Rock”. “Quiet” keeps the spirit of the last track, hard rock and roll that strikes you to your core and makes you turn the stereo till the knob breaks off. Just listen to that bass, or the way at the mid-point it just picks up and breaks into a shredding guitar solo.

Of course, the track everyone remembers off this album is “Today”, the album that takes the Pixies formula of soft verse, loud chorus and brings it into an even more mainstream radio friendly format than Nirvana ever did. Siamese Dream was the Pumpkins major label debut, and “Today” is what brought them to the attention of the general public. One of the most upbeat suicidal songs of all time, the guitars twist and turn and want desperately to turn you on. Blender said it best, declaring “Today” “achieved a remarkable status as one of the defining songs of its generation, perfectly mirroring the fractured alienation of American youth in the 1990s.”

I love the Eastern opening to “Hummer”, which gives the song a sexy sway, and for some reason makes me think of that scene in Blue Velvet where the chick is dancing on top of the car. I’ll be quite frank, I like “Hummer” even better than today, it’s true rock and roll mysticism at it’s finest, If you ask me, serene in it’s grit and distortion. The guitar work on this song is so subtly brilliant that it’s hard to imagine how much work went into it’s composition.

“Rocket”, when I read the title, recalls the Herbie Hancock track of a similar name, or the Def Leppard track, but the songs could not be more different. Billy’s trying to free himself from being grouped in with the other rockers of his day, and the song shows it. It’s nothing like any Pearl Jam or Jane’s Addiction track you’ll ever hear, and Billy really claims and proves his creative individuality on it. “Disarm”, with it’s timpani intro, seems to allude to what masterwork was to come (Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness), and though I’ve read time and again it’s not an anti-abortion song, or even an abortion song, it’s still a more lamenting “Brick” to me. The sweeping orchestration in the background had ought to show any non-believer that the Pumpkins were truly unique, and were a cut above their grunge 90’s contemporaries in certain ways.

“Soma”, named after the drug in Brave New World, has a soft guitar intro and almost whispered vocals by Corgan that seem to be the direct converse of the prior track. It’s also the first of only two tracks on the album Corgan co-wrote with James Iha, the guitarist, and features R.E.M.’s Mike Mills. It’s so bleak, so sensual, so gentle, breaking into hard rock distortion in the middle, yet another example of the Pumpkins setting themselves apart from their contemporaries. Once again destroying the previous vibe of their track, “Geek U.S.A.” is probably the heaviest, most hard-core track on the album thus far. The song never stops tearing at you mind, ripping each chord and playing one of the sickest guitar solos of all time, and even when it goes soft toward the middle, it still pulls at your soul.

From there we move into “Mayonaise”, a track a lot of people love, but I’ve got to be honest, I’m indifferent on. “Spaceboy”, a track composed about Billy’s step-brother, is a nice departure from the album, because we have an acoustic, that’s right, and acoustic guitar. Corgan comes out sincere, and almost sadly beautiful. Of course, all compassion of beauty you feel gets, well, silverfucked by the next track, who’s intense strumming and dark-beating drums set up one of the more intense rock tracks on the album. Honestly, I fail to see why “Silverfuck” gets ignored by most people in place of a bland track like “Mayonaise”. “Silverfuck is much more dynamic, ad the band rips that fucker up like hell towards the end.

“Sweet Sweet” is short but endearing, and a great segue between the epic “Silverfuck” and the album’s final track, “Luna”. Another moment of Corgan’s softer side, with Iha playing an ethereal guitar.

So, overall, Siamese Dream definitely deserves a place on the list. It’s one of the most daring hard-rock albums of the 90’s, and perhaps of all time, and Corgan’s sense of composition, especially incorporating orchestral instruments, cannot be rivaled. Please give this one a listen.

-Mike

See you tomorrow for a special St. Patrick’s Day album, #445: Rum, Sodomy, And The Lash by The Pogues.

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