Smashing Pumpkins
They say that every teenager wakes up at one point and realizes that everything they’ve always known to be wrong. This inspires them to buck the system and walk their own path. For me, that moment came when I turned to Triple J and heard Smashing Pumpkins’ 1979 for the first time.
Taking yet another lead from my sister Kate, my brother Cameron and my friends at the time, I made the jump to Triple J. This came at a point where I was disillusioned with music and all that I heard on the radio at the time was absolute rubbish (Take That? Joshua Kadison? Bryan Adams?! Good Lord no!!!). Fortunately my salvation came with Triple J: Finally this was real music, with well-crafted songs played on real guitars, and it rocked hard - without any sense of treacle whatsoever. It also opened up a wealth of material from the previous decade that I had missed out on. It goes to show that the grass is indeed greener on the other side: A philosophy I’ve taken to heart.
So about the Smashing Pumpkins – I got into them thanks to Cameron playing me the excellent Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. And this was a treasure trove in itself: The loudest guitars I’ve ever heard competing with some bizarre arrangements ultimately provided me with all the music I had been missing out on for the past decade in a nutshell. After all, any band that samples DOOM can’t be that bad.
Key Album: Siamese Dream (1993) Mellon Collie had the impact but Siamese Dream is still my fav. For me, this album represents the pinnacle of the alt-rock explosion of the early nineties. It rocks hard, it’s got some great songs and stands as the reason why I always hold alternative rock in such high esteem. Favourite Song? Soma. No other song really inspires feelings of smugness.....
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