The Smashing Pumpkins: a Top 30

[Agent13]

13 - Starla (Pisces Iscariot - 1994, originally the B side to "I Am One" - 1992)

No more words just you and I, high in the sky

Speaking of Pisces.....Pisces Iscariot was a collection of B sides and outtakes released between the titanic Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie albums. Has a more intimate and raw feel to it and despite its various sources is very cohesive.

Starla's a massive, epic song, that would fit comfortably on Siamese Dream but for its enormous length. I love its dreamy feel - like you're floating through space, and the acoustic interlude in the middle before its big piercing guitar finale is magic.

Watch at least the last few minutes of this live version. The solo's insane, culminating in Corgan pulling his guitar apart on stage (and it still sounds good!)

Damn, that's about as left field as I could have possibly imagined. If you'd given me a hundred guesses I still wouldn't have come close. That said, I'm sure you'd say the same about some of the tracks I'd have high on my list. Also, we're down to 12 already? I'm thinking this should have been a 50-1.

 

[DIG]

Damn, that's about as left field as I could have possibly imagined. If you'd given me a hundred guesses I still wouldn't have come close. That said, I'm sure you'd say the same about some of the tracks I'd have high on my list. Also, we're down to 12 already? I'm thinking this should have been a 50-1.

I love Starla and i reckon it and Landslide are clearly the best songs on Pisces.

I was originally gonna do a top 20, then it went to 30 (..or so) to include some more interesting picks that were in that range. Maybe I'll come up with a 31-50 list after the countdown. It gets hard to split down there, more groups of songs I'd rate pretty equally.

I hope people (and i don't mean you), don't get too hung up about the order, it's more about the journey, not the destination!

 

[Agent13]

Yeah, we all have our favourites, and will defend them to the end of the Earth. A little gentle ribbing is fine though I reckon. At the end of the day music is bloody awesome and that's why we're here, to celebrate it.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

And yep I excluded Landslide as it's a cover, but it's a beautiful version and I love it also. It would've been top 10 for mine, around 6-8.

I also love the version they did of Dancing In The Moonlight

 

[DIG]

12. Oceania (Oceania - 2012)

My mistake as the last remaining soldier was to take the place of you.

Their finest work this side of 2000 in my opinion. This epic song is crafted superbly with several changes along the way. The drumming of Mike Byrne throughout it is sensational. He was the best drummer Corgan has worked with since Jimmy Chamberlin and even sounded like him. If you're unfamiliar with this song it's kind of Porcelina of the Vast Oceans meets Starla.

 

[Blue1980]

Damn, that's about as left field as I could have possibly imagined. If you'd given me a hundred guesses I still wouldn't have come close. That said, I'm sure you'd say the same about some of the tracks I'd have high on my list. Also, we're down to 12 already? I'm thinking this should have been a 50-1.

Here is a very leftfield one from 1988, would of liked them to have brought out an album of this kind of stuff, Cure tinged goth rock.

 

[DIG]

Yeah The Cure were one of their inspirations. Pink Floyd another.

 

[DIG]

11. Thru the Eyes of Ruby (Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness - 1995)

My love for you just can't explain why we're forever frozen, forever beautiful, forever lost inside ourselves.

That's some heavy s**t right there! Completing a trio of lengthy epics at this stage of the countdown, comes this beautiful song about young love and existentialism. It's the pinnacle of Mellon Collie. May or may not be its greatest song, either way everything builds towards it. Lyrically it's one of Corgan's finest, almost outdoes himself really.

Album Version (my preferred):



Live version (1996 of course!) for those who know the song already:

 

[Blue1980]

Yeah The Cure were one of their inspirations. Pink Floyd another.

They do a good cover of the cures A Night Like This as well

 

[DIG]

10. Tonight, Tonight (Mellon Collie - 1995)

The indescribable moments of your life, tonight.

I remember buying Mellon Collie the day it came out and putting in the CD player. My mate was gonna listen to cd 2, I was to listen to cd 1, then we'd ring each other. This song came on after the piano piece to start and I instantly loved it - it's such a strong album opener the way it promises so much.

Strings have been done to death in pop rock but here they were used in an excessive and uplifting way instead of over a tragic ballad like typical. Still a unique sounding song that gets radio play today.

Who remembers the trippy film clip?

 

[DIG]

9. Cherub Rock (Siamese Dream - 1993)

Who wants honey?

Hipsters unite! Not sure what "hipsters" meant back in 1993 but there you go. Such a great rock song this, great start, cracking finish, guitar solo, catchy tune. Wonderful start to a classic album, an anthem of its time.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Thought that was a chance for No 1!

 

[Agent13]

Thought that was a chance for No 1!

Interesting, I know it's a fav out there but I put together my top thirty over the weekend and it just missed the cut. Music really is so personal. My list is completely different to DIG's thus far so it will be interesting to see how many of the top ten we have in common.

 

[DIG]

8. Zero (Mellon Collie - 1995)

Cleanliness is Godliness

Such a cracking song, unusual structure too given it doesn't really have a chorus does it?

The strange riff drives the song in a jerky sort of way, the final guitar solo is all over the shop - it's James Iha's chance to shine in this song, and then it just hits an extra gear and Corgan unloads at the end with so much emotion and anger.

Didn't grab me at first listen like some of their others but loved it so much eventually.

This 2 minute clip (it's a short song!), shows how magnificently tight these guys were on stage even at a faster tempo than on the album - as a lot of their heavier songs are live.

 

[DIG]

7 - An Ode to No One (Mellon Collie - 1995)

Scratch my face with anvil hands
And coil my tongue around a bumblebee mouth.

Almost the complete rock song, driven by a machine gun-like riff, it escalates throughout and even stops midway after slowing the tempo down.

This HD footage is superb, you can actually see how hard Iha is concentrating in the verses with his strange technique, to make sure he doesn't miss a single note with his tremolo picking.



Album version here (slightly slower than live of course!):

 

[DIG]

6 - Disarm (Siamese Dream - 1993)

I used to be a little boy, so old in my shoes

It's tricky trying to rate songs you've heard too many times, and far too easy to just push others ahead of them in the countdown. But listening to Disarm, putting all that aside, it really is a terrific ballad and quite moving in parts, with a simple but powerful message. Corgan's mummy issues really come to the fore here!

 

[rumply]

Mother's, cant live with em cant live without em...

Great ******* song btw

 

[DIG]

5 - 1979 (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - 1995)

We don't know just where our bones will rest, to dust i guess, forgotten and absorbed to the earth below.

Like Disarm, I've heard this song so much but i just don't tire of it. Sounded almost ahead of its time when it came out, has a nostalgic feel to it and very smooth transitions. It's dem feels that gets it such a high ranking for me. Still gets radio play today, although....it's slightly depressing how Gold 104 FM gradually gets more appealing as the years go by and your old favourites start appearing on it

Always loved the film clip too:

 

[Agent13]

5 - 1979 (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - 1995)

We don't know just where our bones will rest, to dust i guess, forgotten and absorbed to the earth below.

Like Disarm, I've heard this song so much but i just don't tire of it. Sounded almost ahead of its time when it came out, has a nostalgic feel to it and very smooth transitions. It's dem feels that gets it such a high ranking for me. Still gets radio play today, although....it's slightly depressing how Gold 104 FM gradually gets more appealing as the years go by and your old favourites start appearing on it

Always loved the film clip too:

Damn, you really do love Mellon Collie! With four to go my top thirty only has ten songs in common with yours but then I was never a massive fan of Mellon Collie so no major surprise. Fascinated by what will make up the top four. Are there any surprises to come?...

 

[DIG]

The last 4 i put in a class of their own slightly above the next lot, but that's just for personal reasons - they each strongly resonate with me in their own way.

Only one of them is obscure, but none of the rest are massively popular either except maybe to some other sp fans.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

My favourite song hasn't got a guernsey yet. Interested to see if it's in your top four.

 

[DIG]

4. Stand Inside Your Love (Machina/The Machines of God - 2000)

But for the last time,
You're everything that i want and ask for,
You're all that i dreamed.
Who wouldn't be the one you love?

The second single and standout track on Machina is one of their most uplifting songs. Flows so smoothly and fluently from the very first note and is a superb love song.

It reminds me a little of 1979 despite their vastly different meanings. Some songs you know a band has just nailed right from the start and this is one of them, i love the tune, the lyrics and the passion in this one.

The film clip is...weird but I prefer the album versions over live at this end of the countdown so just listen if you don't want to look!

 

[DIG]

3. Hummer (Siamese Dream - 1993)

Life's a bummer when you're a hummer...

Ok we're getting into the crazily good stuff now. Hummer epitomises everything Smashing Pumpkins from that era.

After a strange but cool start, the first minute is just music perfection, what a start to a song. The bulk of Hummer surfs so well over wailing guitars. There's so much depth and layers to the song, its crescendo too is awesome. I love the long outro to finish too. Absolute classic.

 

[DIG]

2. The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete (Adore - 1998).

And she calls to him

Let the waste cross the ancient trails to you,
Far out beneath the sorrow clouds
Let them taste the bitter lost mistake of you,
Let them cry out through your rusted scars

I don't know what the hell that all means but how's that for a chorus?

So here's the curve-ball in my countdown. Not trying to be clever putting this rather obscure song from Adore so high, I just think it's as close to perfection as they've ever got, it was almost my number 1.

Right from the moment he starts singing, it's pure velvet. Like I said, I can't quite put my finger on what the tale exactly is, something about lovers killing each other, with some afterlife undertones too. It has such a tragic and remorseful feel to it that it's almost brought me to tears before. It's amongst his finest work lyrically, and musically it's flawless (even with the help of a drum machine!), and matches the words perfectly. That last verse and chorus in particular, sublime.

I guess from some of the comments in this video, I'm not alone in my admiration for this hidden gem.

 

[Agent13]

2. The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete (Adore - 1998).

And she calls to him

Let the waste cross the ancient trails to you,
Far out beneath the sorrow clouds
Let them taste the bitter lost mistake of you,
Let them cry out through your rusted scars

I don't know what the hell that all means but how's that for a chorus?

So here's the curve-ball in my countdown. Not trying to be clever putting this rather obscure song from Adore so high, I just think it's as close to perfection as they've ever got, it was almost my number 1.

Right from the moment he starts singing, it's pure velvet. Like I said, I can't quite put my finger on what the tale exactly is, something about lovers killing each other, with some afterlife undertones too. It has such a tragic and remorseful feel to it that it's almost brought me to tears before. It's amongst his finest work lyrically, and musically it's flawless (even with the help of a drum machine!), and matches the words perfectly. That last verse and chorus in particular, sublime.

I guess from some of the comments in this video, I'm not alone in my admiration for this hidden gem.

Great song, always interesting to see which deep cuts make it to the top of these lists. It comes in at no. 24 for me so plenty of love from over here too. As far as the lyrics are concerned, well, I have no clue either.