Thread: Favorite Albums
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Old 2012.01.08, 07:18 PM   #54
Tokyo Jihad
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#5: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness


In 1994, a subtle move caused a seismic shift in the trend of popular music. The headline act for the ’94 Lollapalooza festival was set to be Nirvana – easily the biggest and most revered band on the scene. However, due to personnel issues that spring, Nirvana had to back out. The organizers had to promote another act as the headliner, but this decision proved to be more symbolic than it seemed at the time. This wasn’t just about Lollapalooza – this was Nirvana, the band whose album knocked off Michael Jackson on Billboard, the band that subverted rock and killed the hair band, the band that defied commercial expectations even at the great expense that it proved to be. Nirvana had abdicated it’s thrown, and now Lollapalooza was unwittingly dubbing an heir. They turned to the next act on the bill, and one of the hottest acts at the time, the Smashing Pumpkins.

The band was riding the wave of their sophomore smash, Siamese Dream, on the backs of big singles like “Today,” and “Disarm.” While Smashing Pumpkins was an acceptable alternative for Lollapalooza organizers, it didn’t sit as well with other acts on the bill. Kim Deal of The Breeders (and the Pixies,) in particular was irritated at the idea; she understood the symbolism and didn’t like it one bit. See, even then, Billy Corgan and the rest of the Pumpkins had a reputation. Questions of artistic integrity particularly swirled around the band; accusations of being sell outs were frequent. Many of the acts on the tour, who belonged to the subsection of grunge and underground music that were evolving into what would soon be dubbed “alternative,” were happy to make music affront to serving popular commercial appeal (including Nirvana.) The Pumpkins, who with “Today” had just experienced commercial success, made no qualms with seeking more. Ever the prideful Billy Corgan also wanted to prove his detractors wrong if he could while he was at it. As he stomped around aloof at the festival, he got to work.

For what my two cents are worth, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is a perfect record. It is huge: 2 discs, 28 songs, 2 solid hours, and don’t forget its companion piece The Aeroplane Flies High! It touches so many emotional states; every song is noteworthy and pulls you in a different direction. It is a huge album that launched the band into the stratosphere. Mellon Collie, the Smashing Pumpkins were the biggest rock band around – to visualize: after Siamese Dream the band was featured on Beavis & Butthead, after Mellon Collie the band was featured on The Simpsons. The Simpsons! (Homer even later referred to it as “the time I toured with the Smashing Pumpkins!”) Masterful songwriting, an ambitious and inclusive soundscape, critical recognition, and a huge bump in reputation, as well as a transcendent sound that passes the test of time are my metrics for a perfect album. Mellon Collie passes each handily (and only one other album on this list do I consider perfect, maybe two, but we’ll get to that later.)

The album was a bit above me when it debuted in late ’95, but I was very aware of it and the Smashing Pumpkins – even if I didn’t realize it. The name “Smashing Pumpkins,” “Today” and the video with the ice cream van and the man in the dress, all the Mellon Collie singles, and the iconic album art for Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie I was all very aware of, but for a good long while I had absolutely no idea that they were all related, let alone the product of one band. Needless to say it blew my mind when I found out. I picked up my copy of Mellon Collie in 8th grade, which would have made me 13 or 14. This is the appropriate age to experience this album. In fact, I think that in 9th grade high school orientation they should issue every student a copy. At that age, the Billy Corgan we hear on this record is speaking to directly to you. You are at that age where your angry and anxious at everything and lines like, “love is suicide,” “God is empty just like me,” “suffer my desire for you” and even a more advanced line like “speak to me in a language I can hear” precisely explicate what is deepest in your soul. (And then you grow up, realize these lines are overly hyperbolic and silly, but still secretly dig it.)

Mellon Collie may not be as personal a record as its predecessor, but I always felt that was because Billy Corgan was trying to channel something greater than his self. Soon after the album’s release he shaved his head and with his trademark Zero shirt (his “superhero costume”) looked as other worldly as you could find. Bolstered by his previous success, he approached the situation with almost fanatical confidence and wrote the album from the point of view as a kind of pied piper for all the misguided “fresh faced youths,” -- a rally cry of denouncement, rage, disgust, but also jubilation, excitement, and common weakness and failings. We don’t learn so much about Mr. Corgan so much as we do about yourself. Everyone can identify the moments in their life that “Zero,” “Here is no Why,” “In the Arms of Sleep” and even “XYU” or “Tales of a Scorched Earth” represent.

Mellon Collie is such an admirably bold statement. Every song has its place and serves a purpose on the album. While it’s not a particularly difficult album, my ear did need some experience to really adore some of the songs that I might have glossed over in high school. For instance, there will be times I just queue up “Cupid de Locke,” “Take me Down,” “We Only Come out at Night,” and “Farewell and Goodnight.”

This list is inevitably going to tell a mini-narrative of 90’s music simply because I’m just a 90’s guy. If Nevermind was act one, then Mellon Collie was act two (and act three…we’ll get to later.) Mellon Collie was the nudging of the grunge/alternative aesthetic back into the arenas and back into the commercial handlers that could never get a grip on Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Sonic Youth. Soon acts like Bush and Garbage would put an even shinier and sweeter coat on angst, and Live and even the Foo Fighters would spin grunge into a sound even your dad could like. The Pumpkin’s fellow lollapalooza contemporaries were at least a little right in their apprehension.

What I take away from Mellon Collie every time I hear it is what great feats someone can accomplish with some (or a lot) of self-assurance, and at least a little help. Unlike Siamese Dream, James Iha and D’arcy play on the songs so this more than any was a collective accomplishment. It’s an album that sounds like someone trying to conquer the world and emboldens me the listener that I could do it too. A lot of great albums sound imposing and otherworldly. Shiina Ringo’s Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana for example, is great in many similar ways to Mellon Collie, but not at any point do I feel “a person like me created this, and so can I.” The work is too intimidating. Mellon Collie sounds like a very small group of people, playing instruments that I’m mostly familiar with, and a voice that I understand (ignoring language barriers.) This album constantly inspires me to pick up a guitar and try my hand at it. I think that is one of the better qualities a piece of art can have. A perfect album.
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