I remember as a kid hearing Bullet with Butterfly Wings on the radio all the time during long car trips. When I became a teenager and began to really get into music I remembered that cool band and looked for them in my dad's cd collection. What I found was Siamese Dream, which would end up being like the soundtrack to my years in high school. So as I bought more of their cd's I found that the one I listened to the most at a time was the one that represented what my life was like then.
The lyrics just seemed to say what I had trouble saying.
The Pumpkins strive to be something different. If you take them as a whole, they are not a rock, metal, pop, alternative, techno, or instrumental. They are the Smashing Pumpkins. Constantly reinventing themselves, constantly reinventing rock.
Also.... the artwork is simply amazing, my friends hate the band which makes me like them more, some of the videos make me want to pursue a career in film, and their songs are so fun to play on guitar.