Silverfuck – I don’t know what the hell to call this thing. I can say for sure it is influenced by LSD. Billy has openly admitted that during the Gish years he was so hopped up on acid he has few detailed memories. Of course, they recorded the album in Madison Wisconsin, so why not be fucked up?
Sweet sweet – alright, truth be told this is pure filler. I mean, it is listenable… but barely.
Luna – strange, sweeping, beautiful piece to gently walk us out of the album on a high. Let the record reflect, though there is longing this song is not that depressing. Ah, who am I kidding. It’s a downer like all of them.
Anyhow, over the years I have come to regard Billy C as a mentor. I have seen them several times over the years. I am excited to meet him finally. Not for an autograph or picture or any bullshit like that. I simply want to say Thanks! End note, Billy is finishing up his solo album right now, to be released around Christmas time. He has a fledging website here, which is actually more like a blog.
Take care, and thanks for your patience. This piece has been 10 years in the making. If history is anmy indication, there are about a zillion Smashing Pumpkin commercials right below this. Pick this album up!
Article comments
1 - Harald
I saw the Smashing Pumpkins in '92, on our local Metropolis festival. They all wore dresses. Only when James Iha said something did we realise he was a guy :)
2 - visualsimplicity
Am I taking crazy pills here or are those lyrics you linked for "Disarm" not the lyrics for "Disarm?"
3 - Tom Johnson
He is the best drummer of his era without peer, except the amazing Danny Carey from Tool. Everyone else is a pussy.
I would REALLY love to see people stop using aggrandizations like this. It's just stupid and fanboyish. Jimmy Chamberlain, as well as Danny Carey, is a killer drummer, but there's a TON of other equally skilled drummers (and better - look to jazz for the best drummers.) Here's a hint: there is no one "best" anything in the world. Anyone claiming one particular person is the best is suffering from hero-worship, unless he is somehow the only person in the entire world to engage in that behavior. All critics, and everyone in general, would do themselves a favor if we stopped saying and believing crap like this.
Anyways, yes, Siamese Dream is a great album.
4 - Mark Saleski
yea, 'best' is a pretty meaningless description. because everybody's looking for something different.
heck, i saw Pat Metheny play with Roy Haynes once...Haynes did a 'drum' solo using nothing but sticks and his hi-hat...and it was friggin' amazing.
but: i'm certain that others would have found it boring, 'lame', whatever.
5 - Lono
Though you may be taking crazy pills, those are absolutey NOT the lyrics to Disarm. Caught me doing a rush job. What is interesting is those lyrics look hauntingly familiar (and hauntingly bad).
6 - Eric Olsen
Chamberlain really IS one of the great rock drummers, though a total unreliable flake in the real world: Keith Moon anyone?
7 - particleman
Siamese Dream has been getting heavy rotation on my stereo as well. It's great at work too. I put on the headphones and go to town.
8 - visualsimplicity
Don't rush into what you're saying this time around either Lono. The so-called "Disarm" lyrics may not be lyrics of the song "Disarm," but are indeed Smashing Pumpkins' lyrics. They belong to "Daphne Descends" off of the Adore album.
9 - Bob A. Booey
I remember being a freshman in high school in Chicago and seeing the Pumpkins play Today on Saturday Night Live. That was when alternative rock was still edgy and dangerous and cool.
I mean, you know they had to be a great band if they seemed edgy on Saturday Night Live, of all places. They rocked the show and it reminds me of those early Nirvana appearances on MTV playing live in dresses with every other word bleeped.
"Today" was just the right mix of the grunge, hard guitars and the uplifting lyrics and it made Chicago seem like the coolest place in the world at the time. Everyone talked about it being the "next Seattle," although that never really happened. Everyone had a story about their older brother or sister growing up and meeting Billy, whom I've met a couple of times since. But it was different then: they were on their way to becoming the biggest band in America for a short while and represented the indie smart kids' triumph over commercial radio. That kind of vibe continued through Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness, which was kind of the other bookend for my high school years, along with the Cobain suicide maybe a year or two earlier. I'm not really sure how the Pumpkins dropped off the cultural radar after that. Someone smarter than I should write that story.
10 - Lono
as an end note, I did finally get to meet Billy. I shook his hand and said thank you for Siamese Dream, it changed my life.
So, I'm all better now.
11 - Matt
D'arcy used a pick.