The Smashing Pumpkins Forum: werideatdusk - Viewing Profile - The Smashing Pumpkins Forum

(this is not about me, it's about why i have loved this band constantly since age 12 and have never looked back)

"Shot down, I stood, withstood my neighborhood..." From a tortured upbringing he sought literal escape through the success of a band that could be or do anything, a band that would be called “the Smashing Pumpkins”. The need for escape and release carried through in his lifestyle and songwriting, leaning towards mysticism and psychedelia as a means of self-sacrifice and spiritual ascension ("Gish"). But awakening takes time, and soon the old demons came back to haunt him. Trapped by the tragedies of his past, and the bitter romances of his present, he confronts the reality of his life ("Siamese Dream"). Acknowledging the fact that his teenage worldview that catapulted him to global success among alienated youths, he finally purged his adolescent anger on the world stage while hinting at the otherworldly beauty that had always pulled him through (“Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness”). With his old rapport with fame lying in tatters, his band in ruins, his personal life rife with new tragedy, he withdrew into isolation, capturing hidden worlds of silent awe and sorrow from beyond the beyond (“Adore”). But the dream of “the Smashing Pumpkins” was still a powerful one, and he wanted one last chance to examine what it meant, all his ambitions, delusions, beauty, and sadness, on the world stage, as he waved goodbye to the adventure of the lifetime (“Machina”).

A profound shift took place around the turn of the millennium. Around this time, he abruptly stopped using any/all substances. "And every light I've found is every light that's shining down on me." The music made since then has reflected a new, more integrated perspective in which pain can be examined from a distance by the healed heart. (It could also be said that the quality of the songwriting has declined, but I prefer to focus on the positive) In Zwan and as a solo artist, he embraced a fully positive, faithful view. But he had to admit that he was not meant to happily fade into the sunset just yet. He had more to say, more to give to the world, and he could only do that by returning to the platform that he stood upon his whole life. Bringing back the Smashing Pumpkins meant could engage the main stream again, to challenge them and reward them in a heightened environment. To use his own path as a map for other lost souls to find their footing and remember who they are - "I'm never lost / there's just one way across." Finally, in the current lineup he has been able to effectively restart the entire project for a new generation of listeners. And already patterns are repeating themselves – anger at the world must be purged (“Zeitgeist) in order to show a better way forwards, united in Spirit and light (“Teargarden” 1-3), but at the center, the artist must return to a place of solitude and truth, exploring himself and his world as the purest form of expression (“Oceania”). The echo rings forever on…

Favorite songs (random order) - Cherub Rock / Here is No Why / Stand Inside Your Love / Window Paine / Untitled / Tonight, Tonight / Starz / Behold! The Night Mare / Hummer / Tom Tom / Galapogos / Wound / Gossamer / Rocket / Porcelina of the Vast Oceans / United States / Oceania / Glass and the Ghost Children / Geek USA / Freak / Starla / Muzzle / Soma / To Sheila / Age of Innocence / Thru the Eyes of Ruby / With Every Light / Thirty-three