I’ve listened to The Smashing Pumpkins since I’ve discovered them in 1993 when they released the Siamese Dream album. The song that caught my attention is “Today.” Shortly after that, I saw the video for “Disarm,” and absolutely loved the song. Since then, I’ve been a reverent fan of the band for almost a decade. Every album they put out, I enjoyed immensely. Until the album, Ava Adore, came out. That’s when The Smashing Pumpkins started to shift into a darker and then techno-ish style of music. It’s understandable that after so many years, you want to experiment, but why break a good thing that didn’t need fixing? I’ll always respect any decision the band made. Unfortunately, they decided to break up, which wasn’t entirely surprising given that the band started to want to try new things after doing something for so long.

However, Billy Corgan, the lead singer wanted to continue what he enjoyed doing which The Smashing Pumpkins had done for so long; create good music. He put a band together, named it Zwan, and you can imagine how excited I was to hear the songs and recognize the genius of Billy Corgan in them. The songs, while unique and refreshing, had a slight Smashing Pumpkins feel to it. Sonic riffs, Billy’s unique voice, penetrating lyrics, and catchy rhythms are all there. Unfortunately, once again, Zwan was disbanded after a short stint. Alas, all good things come to an end.

I took a break from listening to The Smashing Pumpkins as I explored new musical territories, because my taste changes too. I was listening to ambient music a lot, and sometimes rockabilly when the mood was right. Mostly ambient though. Today I saw a Siamese Dream CD in the bargain bin at Best Buy and snatched it up. My old Siamese Dream CD was lost years ago, and I haven’t had the motivation to replace it, until today. I ripped the CD and converted them into the new lossless compression format that Apple has made available in the new iTunes, and as I listen to the songs now as I type this, I realize how much I miss The Smashing Pumpkins and their songs. Now I need to find my collector’s edition of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and The Aeroplane Flies High and rip them into the new format.

“And spaceboy I’ve missed you
Spinning round my head
And any way you choose me
You’ll break instead”