Changing of the guard
Robert Pa, US
I beg my friend to go see the Smashing Pumpkins. As soon as the hit the stage I new there was something different!!! Coming from the 80s with all the hair band music there was something different. I was lucky enough to see Alice Chains open for Van Halen and people were Booing !!! They new bands did not give a fuck!!! The rest is history!!! Hair bands dried up over night!!
Smashing Pumpkins: Why I’m still alive at 42
Mone't Ha-Sidi Sacramento, CA, US
I was 18 years old, a Black Girl, depressed, and alienated. I saved my paychecks from Chuck-E-Cheese to buy a ticket for the MCIS show in Sac. I was in the 27th row and alone, but excited to see my favorite band for the first time. Today I have 37 SP, tattoos, including ALL the MCIS lyric booklet symbols, and Love is Suicide.
25 Years of Infinite Fandom
Chelsi Schriver West Sacramento, CA, US
This record has been the catalyst to so many important moments of my life. As my introduction to The Mighty SP in 1996, it opened my eyes to all of the wondrous and magical butterfly effects that loving a band, and so many pieces of music with all your heart, can evoke. From making lifelong friends, to cross-country travel, and getting deeply lost in ephemeral sonic moments you wish could last forever, it’s *all* because of MCIS.
Mellon Collie 1996 NYC
Erek Brooklyn, NY, US
At the very beginning of the Mellon Collie tour the Pumpkins played three intimate shows at The Academy in NYC on Jan. 11th, 12th, & 13th, 1996. I was fortunate to attend all three shows. 1st sets were primarily beautiful soft acoustic, 2nd sets were full blast electric, multiple encores. Stage lighting and setting were simple and pure, such as the 8ft flower on the stage. No cellphone days, crowd was fully immersed, captured by the raw power and elegance of the Pumpkins unique creative force. For me, a true snapshot of a more simpler/innocent time, experiencing a groundbreaking band gaining momentum/notoriety that were ready to unleash a true identity body of work for the world to absorb. Pic shown is the commemorative ticket designed by James Iha. Happy 25th Anniversary Mellon Collie!!!
Greatest Album of All Time
jdodson Portland, US
MCIS is the greatest album of all time and is one of those things that you have a great relationship over the years. Dawn to Dusk it’s a beautiful ride and one I’ll always be happy to be on from time to time. My young son and I tried to draw it this morning and whereas it looks very embarrassing there is something quaint in trying to collaborate with a four year old as Muzzle is blazing in the background.
French Them
Leroy Luc Bastia, FR
J’ai découvert MCIS au printemps 1996, adolescent à cette époque, l’album et ses mélodies m’accompagna tout au long des chaudes nuits de cet été là, rythmant mes jours et mes nuits, mes doutes et mes faiblesses, mes humeurs et mes amours… Telle une fièvre qui monte et se répand, il contamina mes amis les plus proches, sans ne plus jamais nous quitter, aujourd’hui encore, 25 ans après l’adulte que je suis devenu ne peut plus se passer de l’écouter, de temps en temps ou plus souvent, ses textes et musiques refaisant vivre en moi ces années si loin déjà, mélancolie mêlée de tendresse et de joie. Merci pour ces 25 ans et pour les années à venir.
Luc.
The Crowning Achievement of the Four OG Band Members
Lora San Diego, CA, US
My brother and I co-purchased “MCIS” 50/50 on the night it came out, from The Wherehouse down the street from where he lived with my dad and stepmom at the time. I ended up taking the “Twilight to Starlight” (“the blue one”) home while he kept “Dawn to Dusk” (“the pink one”), which always makes the former feel like the “first” disk to me – even though that’s out of order and makes it so the title track and “Farewell and Goodnight” don’t sync up as ‘bookends’ to the album, as intended.
The band’s crowning achievement, “Mellon Collie” was the Pumpkins at the top of their game, and how Billy could write so many incredible songs and lyrics in such short period of time I still don’t understand. The uninitiated call Kurt Cobain the voice of our generation, but with all due respect and love for him, it’s ultimately Billy who spoke for us and to us through the Pumpkins’ music.
Paul and I saw SP tour “Mellon Collie” twice in 1996, at a small club and at a big arena. Years later he gave away our MCIS copy without my knowing – he backed up the files for me first – sure wish I still had our OG physical copy bought that night at the La Mesa Wherehouse.
Leaving A Piece Of Youth
Kenleigh G Asheville, NC, US
When I was younger my dad introduced me to Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. I have memories of being a small child and riding in his truck listening to songs like “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”. My dad works a lot but some of my favorite memories with him are connected to this album.
Fast forward to this year and I started college and adopted an ESA kitten, Sal, who sadly passed away due to unknown complications. One of my last memories with him is resting in my bed with him sitting on my chest listening to “Tonight, Tonight” and him purring. Even though these things are in the past now, they shaped me into the person I am today. Thank you for being part of the journey.
A Zero in Brazil
Eddie Thomaz Dallas, TX, US
In 1994, when I was 13 years old, my family and I moved to São Paulo, Brazil. I barely spoke the language, did not know how to read or write in Portuguese and was put into public school. I did not fit in at all, people made fun of me because I was different. I felt like a complete outsider. I loved SP from the beginning of their career, their music made me feel better about myself and get through those difficult times. When MCATIS came out in 1995, CDs in Brazil, especially imports were super expensive ($40). I got a job as a waiter, it took me two months working to save up the money just to buy the album, I remember running to the cd store grabbing a copy of the album rushing home and putting it on CD 1 track 4, Zero. I must have listened to that track a thousand times, then, to my unexpected surprise, I was blown away by the rest of the album. So much diversity, complexity / simplicity, love/anger in each song, it made me feel accepted. One of my favorite memories to this day is listening to Porcelina on my headset in a beach in Brazil, up to then, I had never felt so at peace. Your music made a difference in my life. People associate your music to me, I constantly get messages, “Eddie, every time I listen to Smashing Pumpkins, I think about you”. It influenced me to become a musician. I even had the opportunity in 2010 to open a show for the Smashing Pumpkins and meet all of them in 2010. Thank you for being a part of my life.
