There is Always Hope
Chris Morris Middleton, US
When MCIS came out, my life was in shambles. In brief: I had just moved into my grandmother’s apartment after my mom’s drinking got us kicked out of my step-dad’s house (rightfully so – long story there), I lost my long-time girlfriend as she left for college along with a lot of my friends, I was working at McDonald’s and getting into all kinds of trouble…among other things.
I was depressed. Lost.
But help was around the corner. I listened to this non-stop during this time and eventually made one of those decisions that seem small at the time, but in the end, absolutely transformed my life. I decided to join the Army and start over. Completely. I listened to this album as I studied for my GED. I listened to it as I drove through Chicago and the burbs endlessly for the last time. I listened to it as I said goodbye to my old self.
I love these songs because they are great, but more so, when I hear them now, they remind me there is always hope. When life isn’t going the way you want, you can take control. You can change and evolve.
A very special era of a very special band.
Matthew Palmer Christchurch, NZ
I first heard SP at my friends birthday party in Dec 1995 when my other friend showed us the Bullet With Butterfly Wings video. Then for my eleventh birthday in May 1996 my parents bought me Mellon Collie on tape as well as a stereo. This was the first music I ever owned & remains my favourite album of all time. This album perfectly encapturlates the spirit of youth & for me it is very special because it is the only time in my life when something I was passionate about was extemely popular and considered cool. Very rarely does something truely alternative become that successful and mainstream like MCIS and the Pumpkins became for a short while. It also remains in my view the greatest contemporary body of work from any rock band that I have come across from a songwriting stand point I have not known of 50+ songs that were written & recorded all in the same time frame to such a high & consistant standard of excellence. Mellon Collie and the other SP albums inspired me to learn how to play the guitar and sing in order to write & record my own songs which has become a lifelong passion .
I want to thank Billy Corgan & the band for creating such a special album & moment in time. Like so many others I continue 25 years on to enjoy all the songs of the Smashing Pumpkins.
Living Memories
Thomas Dalton Sugar Land, TX, US
At 23, the songs were singing my heart and head. I listen now and they continue to sing my heart. Simultaneously, I remember how I felt then in different situations and relationships. Like a novel, MCIS is a collection of marvelous chapters where each is a journey through space,time and innerspace.
Tales of a scorched book
Andrew H Westminster, US
In 2005, a friend of mine moved to St. Thomas and took my MCIS guitar book with him. A couple weeks later, the house he was renting burned to the ground. One of the few items that didn’t get destroyed was my MCIS guitar book. It was scorched around the edges, but amazingly, it survived.
My most highly anticipated christmas gift!
Rachel Sandy, UT, US
I was 13 when MCIS came out and begged my parents for it. I knew it would be waiting for me under the christmas tree and dug it out as soon as I could. My parents and sister got the pleasure of listening to the album all day long on our very nice sound system. It was a christmas gift for all 🙂 I still remember holding the packaging for the first time. I was so mesmerized!
Mellon Collie saved my life
Michael Baltimore, MD, US
18 and my first semester at college. An unforgiving time, separated from everyone close to me, spiraling into recurring suicidal ideation. I got help. Whatever feelings emerged, I found reflections in these tracks, a tether to hope, and to this world more than once. Thank you just sounds so small.
Memories of my teenage years
Djulzz Le muy, FR
I was searching in all disc sellers the bootlegs. In the mid 90’s…echo of my scratched heart …burn life
Here is my collection.
I saw them in lyon at the halle t’ont Garnier in 2000. Hudge gig
Zero Girl
Carly Brisbane, Queensland, AU
I was a moody teenager who wore my Zero shirt everywhere. MCIS defined my teenage years and I loved having so many songs to fall in love with. I really miss those days!
The day I became a fan
Karina Padula Parra São Paulo SP, BR
I was listening to the radio in 2001 and I thought, oh, I love this song! The radio didn’t say the name of the song, but the melody was in my mind and I knew it was the Smashing Pumpkins. A few days later I was at a store and I found one SP album there. I read the songs titles trying to identify the song I heard, and I bought it anyway. I went home and on the bus I opened the CD and loved all the arts and drawings, I read the lyrics and fell in love with it before even listening to the album. When I got home and finally listened to the CD, I found out the song was not in it, but I fell in love with the band. The song I was looking for was Tonight Tonight, and I bought Machina 😂. Later I looked for MCIS and it was the second album I bought, and from that time my love for the band grows everyday. ❤️
MCIS ‘96 Tour Memorabilia
Robert Philadelphia, PA, US
Of all the music I own, MCIS will always be the most personal to me. Spring of 1996 I was going through a rough patch. I was a sophomore in high school and experimenting with lots of substances. My girlfriend at the time introduced me to MCIS and the album became the soundtrack to our relationship. Long story short, a few weeks later my mother discovered my drug use and sent me to live in Texas with my father. I was basically uprooted and separated from my first love and my friends and family. This was very traumatic for me and I cried just about every day for the first few months. MCIS was heartbreaking to listen to at times, but it ultimately helped me get through a very rough period in my life. Not sure where I would be without the album. MCIS means so much to me still to this day. Just wanted to say thanks to William and the rest of the band for blessing us with this landmark album. I love you all SO much.
25 Years Looking Back
Jon CA
Twenty-five freakin’ years? Has it really been that long?
So, its the 25th anniversary of the Smashing Pumpkins ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’, the first album I ever owned. There are many stories I have with this album, it was the album that opened my mind up to so many variety of music and art, this album will forever mean a great deal to me.
This album has stood the test of time. Throughout the years this album has been a constant in my life, a soundtrack to many highs and lows and everything in between, I have moved around a lot in my life, and have gained and lost many friends throughout the years, been through hell and back many many countless times, much like the themes of this album which are cycles of day and night, its not all bad, there have been many great memories I’ve shared with these songs too, I have made life long friendships within the SP community, and some enemies too, haha, online drama never really ends does it? Especially when you are an outsider observing the never ending war between over zealous self flagellating Sad Machines and group therapy Netphoria. Its interesting to see the vast dynamics of opinions that range in the SP community, having used to dive heavily into the online battles myself once upon a time.
Its been a few years since I’ve really partaken in any online community, but I’ve remained close to many friends who still do and its cool to see the online community still thriving even though I’ve since distanced myself, mainly just for mental health reasons, just can’t see myself getting caught up in the arguments and debates anymore, it gets exhausting (and I was once an admin on the largest Facebook group, and lemme tell you- you get caught up in a lot of needless drama between casual and over zealous fans, and it just gets in the way of the music). But in the end that’s all find and dandy I guess, the music is what I came here for. And looking back it just doesn’t feel like its been 25 years since this album was released. It was the very first album I ever owned, I got it as a belated birthday present as my 11th b-day just went by a few weeks earlier. I still remember the feeling I got when I put on this album for the first time, putting my headphones on and listening tot his album on my Walkman back in the day, I still get the same feeling now as I did when I was a kid when I listen to these songs. This album opened my mind to a lot of different things, different music genres and different styles of art in general, it was an eye opener for sure. I can go on about this album and what its meant to me throughout the years but I guess I’ll leave this at that.
I will talk about one more thing, a rather personal thing, as what I’ve said earlier about forming life long friendships, one thing this album reminds me heavily of is of my two friends Dean and Chad, both whom I met through the SP community back in 2006 & 2007, they both passed away in September & November 2018, this album reminds me so much of both them. Upon hearing it was the 25th anniversary the other day I put the album on and listened to it on repeat for awhile thinking about both of my brothers who are no longer here, Thirty-Three & 1979 are their songs. And I will always play them loud for them, for their memory. These aren’t just songs for some of us, for some of us these are beacons of light who help us out of our own personal hells, sometimes all we have is our music. And looking at the other memories that are shared on here there are many, many stories to tell, there is always a story to tell.
Thank you, WPC, James, D’arcy & Jimmy for Mellon Collie. Some of us wouldn’t be here without the music.
Thanks again.
– Dandy Jon
Wedding Day
Shannon Calgary, Alberta, CA
I walked down the aisle to “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” piano piece (track 1) on June 5, 2006. Still married to my best friend to this day. Than you being a part of our special day!
Thanks for being there
William Roberts Brooklyn, US
I remember high school was often awful, as high school is, but it felt espeacially excruciating in 2013, when I really started to make steps into caring for my mental health. When I struggled to find a safespace in real life, MCIS gave me a sonic safespace. Many albums are satisfied in acknowleging the burdens of life, but MCIS acknowledges the burdens, joys, and everywhere-in-betweens that life has to offer as well. This album not only helped me come to terms with who I am, it helped me become better than who I was too.
Thank you guys.