The Smashing Pumpkins: a Top 30

[Back One Out]

28 - Rhinoceros (Gish - 1991)

Meanders for a little too long but the climax is fantastic.

Definitely one of their best songs.

There is nothing "meandering" about it.

Personally, I'd have this and 'Cherub Rock' and no.1 and no.2

 

[DIG]

Countdown so far:

1. 
   
2. The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete
3. Hummer
4. Stand Inside Your Love
5. 1979
6. Disarm
7. **** you
8. Zero
9. Cherub Rock
10. Tonight, Tonight
11. Thru the eyes of Ruby
12. Oceania
13. Starla
14. Here is no why
15. Bodies
16. Ava Adore
17. Where boys fear to tred
18. Soma
19. A song for a son
20. Tear
21. Pinwheels
22. One diamond, one heart/33
23. Drown
24. Today
25. Bullet with Butterfly Wings/The Everlasting Gaze
26. Snail
27. The Beginning is the end is the beginning
28. (The meandering) Rhinoceros
29. Rocket
30. 7 shades of black

 

[DIG]

I put this order together after listening to all the contenders. Hindsight maybe Rocket should've been higher, and Muzzle probably should've been in there somehow. Adore deserves more representation but they'd at least have many of the next 10. Others still seem pretty much ok to me.

Top 4 was a lock from pretty early on.

If I'd gone out to about a top 50 here's the songs that would've been then listed (in album order only)

Gish
- Siva

Siamese Dream
- Spaceboy
- Silver......
- Luna

Mellon Collie
- Muzzle
- In the arms of sleep
- X.Y.U
- Galapogos

Adore
- Perfect
- Once Upon a time
- Crestfallen (amazing sounding piano)
- Behold! The nightmare
- Pug (cracking first half especially)
- For Martha

Machina
- I of the mourning (very close to top 30)

Zeitgeist
- Doomsday Clock

Oceania
- Violet Rays

Monuments
- I dunno, being beige maybe.

 

[DIG]

I'll get to 1 shortly but firstly, in some very timely news for this countdown, the rumours are building for an original lineup reunion. Obviously inspired by this thread. (Headline's misleading)



SMASHING PUMPKINS SHARE MAJOR UPDATE ON CLASSIC LINEUP REUNION!

NEWS
by Carla Morton on July 24, 2017


The Smashing Pumpkins have offered a major – albeit silent – update on the heavily-rumored reunion of their classic lineup.

Firstly, the band’s official site – SmashingPumpkins.com, which was not operational for the past few years – is back on track featuring the classic SP logo.

Secondly, the group updated its social channels to feature that same classic-SP imagery.

Fueling the fire even further, the band’s Instagram page was purged of content, now featuring only a single post – a photo of the band’s announcement of Madison Square Garden show back in 1996.

Back in January, frontman Billy Corgan told Mancow Muller:

“I just talked to [original Pumpkins guitarist James Iha] the other day – things look good for us getting together to play, we’re talking about it.

“Being honest – there’s a willingness for us to play, but also – the world has changed a lot since we didn’t play.

“The reunion thing is always a bit weird, because then people come in with their expectations. So my whole thing is: if we’re going to do it, I think we do it to make people happy, and not go against the tide of what people would want to hear and that type of stuff.

“But my interest in it is sort of limited – I’m not going to do it for 14 years of my life.”

Via ultimate-guitar.com

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

My favourite song hasn't got a guernsey yet. Interested to see if it's in your top four.

Ooh my favourite is still there and wasn't on your next 50 list

*Getting excited*

 

[DIG]

1. Mayonaise (Siamese Dream - 1995)

Fool enough to almost be it
Cool enough to not quite see it....

Back when i saw them for the first time in '96 they played 3 encores. The crowd was nuts, so loud. The second encore was this song alone and it was magic.

It's Corgan's masterpiece. Dated yes but still my favourite SP song of all. The dual guitar start is stunning, even on first listen, reminiscent of Wish you were here. The lyrics are powerful, the crescendo is immense, and the outro is just as beautiful as the intro. I don't know why it's called Mayonaise, they sure do have some creative titles!

Album version


Live version ('93)


Live version - 2016 - acoustic reunion with Iha:


Well, that's a wrap. Hope it was an ok read and listen.
And remember the order is just mine, it's "a" top 30 after all

Might do another one of these for some other band one day but jeez not for a quite a while.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Oh well mine didn't make it



The drums!

 

[DIG]

Oh well mine didn't make it



The drums!

Oh man yeah that would be top 50 too. The drums are sick in that song - Chamberlin's such a great drummer and his style suited the rest of the band so well.

 

[Agent13]

Man, it's amazing how we can both love a band but have vastly different favs. Three of my top five didn't make your list at all and only thirteen of my top thirty are in yours.

Just wondering if you mind me adding my list to this thread or if you'd prefer I opened a new thread. I just think there are too many great tracks not listed here that casual fans should check out.

 

[DIG]

Go for it mate!

One other song I meant to put in the top 50 at least that b side to 33:

The aeroplane flies high, looks left, turns right.

Guarantee I'll like your list too. They've got so many decent songs.

 

[Blue1980]

I might do a Cure one of these top song thingies

 

[Agent13]

Cheers mate, It's fair to say unlike you I'm not much into the heavier, grungier stuff that dominated much of Mellon Collie. That said, I think Siamese dream is an absolute masterpiece, just grungy enough. Oceania is a ripper album too, it really reignited my passion for the Pumpkins. Anyway, here's an alternate top thirty...

 

[Agent13]

Well thirty-one, if it's good for the goose...

I couldn't leave either of these tracks out so in the end why not cheat?

Equal 30. Rocket (Siamese Dream - 1993) Whir (Pisces Iscariot - 1994)

Whir is the stand out track from Pisces Iscariot for mine. Clearly it didn't fit the tone of Siamese dream and was thus left off but it's still a hell of a track, just such a chill sound.



29. Widow Wake my Mind (Teargarden by Kaleidyscope Vol 1 - 2010)

This is a pretty divisive track, at least according to the Youtube comments. Sure, it aint revolutionary music or lyrics wise but so what?



28. Pin Wheels (Oceania - 2012)

I have to agree with DIG about this track, the opening three and a half minutes are pure gold and just when it needs to go to the next level it doesn't. A little refinement and this song could have been truly epic.

27. Rhinoceros (Gish - 1991)

26. Being Beige (Monuments to an Elegy - 2014)

Monuments wasn't great as a whoie but it did have a couple of pretty awesome tracks. This is one of them.

 

[Agent13]

25. Panopticon (Oceania 2012)

Oceania is just such a great sounding album, the rhythm section really kill it on this one.



24. The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete (Adore - 1998)

23. Crestfallen (Adore - 1998)

Just a stunningly beautiful track with some pretty amazing lyrics, well, they certainly connected with me.



22. My Love is Winter (Oceania 2012)

Another ripper from Oceania.



21. Try, Try, Try (Machina/The Machines of God - 2000)

Great song, great message, great music video.

 

[DIG]

Loving your top 30 so far. They really have some very diverse music don't they. The earlier stuff benefits from his younger emotion and angst which he just didn't have post Adore, but I do really like Oceania too

 

[Agent13]

20. One and All (We Are) - (Monuments to an Elegy - 2014)

The standout track from Monuments, this one rocks...



19. Perfect (Adore - 1998)

Some great lyrics from Billy here and some pretty handy music to go with it.



18. The Celestials (Oceania- 2012)

So many layers to this one, strings and acoustic to begin with gradually building to some great guitar work in the second half of the song.





17. Soma (Siamese Dream - 1993)

16. A Song for a Son (Teargarden by Kaleidyscope - 2009)

 

[Agent13]

15. Neverlost (Zeitgeist - 2007)

I'm not a great fan of Zeitgeist but it does contain a hidden gem.



14. Glissandra (Oceania - 2012)

I have no idea what this song is about, but damn if it don't sound awesome.



13. Hummer (Siamese Dream - 1993)

12. A Stitch in Time (Teargarden by Kaleidyscope Vol 1 - 2010)

The early Teargarden material is massively underrated IMO. The sitar use on this track is pretty cool.



11. 1979 (Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness - 1995)

 

[DIG]

Great to see you also love dusty, pinwheels and some of the others on my list hehe. I need to re-listen to a couple of these other ones that I don't know so well like the Zeitgeist one.

 

[Agent13]

10. Tom Tom (Teargarden by Kaleidyscope Vol 2 - 2010)

I really love this track, it's just a beautifully crafted piece of music. As is often the case Billy's lyrics here are more than a little esoteric but, hey, whatever. Sha la la la la.



9. Ava Adore (Adore - 1998)

8. Today (Siamese Dream - 1993)

7. Violet Rays (Oceania 2012)

Violet Rays is one of those tracks I just can't stop playing. Some really nice drumming and a great guitar sound.



6. Tonight, Tonight (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - 1995)

 

[Dixie Flatline]

I probably stopped listening to Smashing Pumpkins after Ava Adore, so I don't really know much of their more recent works.

I marked out for Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness the most of the albums I did listen to. I love Tonight Tonight and I'm pleased that Thru the Eyes of Ruby got a gig. I would also have Porcelina of the Vast Oceans up in the top 10 at least, as well as We Only Come Out at Night and By Starlight.







I'm not a fan of 1979, and I would have it a lot lower than fifth.

I'm glad to see Starla inside the top 15. Really enjoy that song and it's really underrated.

The Beginning is the End is the Beginning is the only redeeming feature of that Batman movie. Even Arnie as Mr Freeze wasn't enough to save that dog of a movie.

 

[Agent13]

5. Eye (Lost Highway Soundtrack - 1997)

Unfortunately Eye got hidden away on a soundtrack and thus has gone under the radar of many. It sounds bloody awesome whether it's in its recorded electronica influenced version, played with a big guitar sound or just to piano backing. A massively underrated song.

 

[saintal]

Great thread guys. Whilst I don’t listen to SP enough these days, they are a hugely sentimental band for me. A quick top 20 in a very rough order would be..

Stand Inside your Love- You could say I met my wife due to a mutual interest in the band, and we played this song at the wedding, so has to be #1!
Ava Adore
Rhinoceros
Disarm
I of the Mourning
1979
Soma
Tear
Muzzle
Thru The Eyes Of Ruby
Starla
Quiet
Today
We Only Come Out At Night
Age of Innocence
Bodies
Snail
Aeroplane Flies High
Slow Dawn
Blank Page

 

[G.O.B]

You could replace every one of those 30 songs and it would still be an impressive list. How there was no room for XYU and Muzzle staggers me a little but that's the beauty of lists such as this. Would've also made room for Beautiful and Geek USA. Despite this small critique, I appreciate your effort and anything that inspires me to dust off the Pumpkins and reacquaint myself with songs as good as these is a good thing. There was never going to be a number 1 that wasn't Mayonaise. Simply perfect and one of my favourite songs from any band, from any era.

Edit: Oh, and Rocket should certainly have been higher than 29. Stunningly good song.

 

[Agent13]

4. One Diamond, One Heart (Oceania - 2012)

Oceania just keeps on giving, this track is a masterpiece both musically and lyrically. A pure love song accompanied by some awesome guitar and a killer synth sound. Shame it's only 3:50, lucky I've got a repeat button.

 

[Agent13]

3. The Fellowship (Teargarden by Kaleidyscope vol 2 - 2010)

My fav Teargarden track is just a glorious layer of sound built on top of an insane synth riff. Pretty catchy chorus too.