Joy/Tears/Friendship/Love/Loss

Blake Indianapolis, IN, US

This album was everything at a time I most needed it.  It had more than an impact, it forged my path in many ways.  Struggles, hope, faith… everything. My best friend and I are forever connected because of it.  

From my crush to Cancun

Chio Cancun, MX

MCIS was my first aproach to SP. I listened Tonight in my crushed’ car and I fall inmediatly in love. Months later I moved on at the other side of the country, Cancun  and it was the soundtrack of this new life. I was listening Porcelina during a travel boat to Cozumel, and a group of dolphins came out, jumping near the boat!!! My tattoo is from the art of MCI.

Stateside

Gregg Elkridge, MD, US

I returned from 4 years in Germany serving in the US Army on October 26, 1995. I landed in Boston setting foot on US soil for the first time in 4 years and insisted in the ride home to N.H. That we stop at a record store so I could pick up MCIS. The next 7 days as I reacquainted with home, friends and family I also acquainted with this masterpiece! Thank You!

An album as my savior

Guillermo Larios Veracruz, MX

I was battling crippling depression during high school, I was presented with MICS and once I picked it up, couldn’t put it down. Made me understand that it was okay to be depressed and that things would get better. I’m a doctor now and help those with mental health issues on my free time. Thanks, SP!

Power

Sanithna Atlanta, GA, US

The night before the release, I remember sitting in front of my radio, my face inches away from the speakers, eagerly listening to the broadcast of the Riviera Theatre concert. The excitement of hearing the band in real time, “live,” just on the other side of the radio, playing with such energy and ferocity, filled me with so much excitement. Even my anticipation hadn’t been enough to prepare me for the new songs. When the power went out in Chicago, I scrambled to find extra cassettes to keep recording. I knew that I would run out of tape and I didn’t want to miss a single minute. At one point, my dad came in to my room and I was smiling from ear to ear, staring at the EQ lights, overflowing with joy, and he sat with me to listen to the entirety of “X.Y.U.” Looking back now, that night made it pretty clear that MCIS was an entirely different beast. It was, from ambition to execution, levels and evolutions beyond everything that had come before it (even my beloved “Drown”).

I spent all of my saved money on the tour’s merch, which gave me a pretty heavy rotation of shirts to wear, but the one in this picture was my absolute favorite.

my boy wearing MCIS shirt

Agung Nugroho Jogjakarta, ID

I have a son and his name is Abisatya Nugroho..we used to call him ATA….my boy was born in 17th March 2012…so whenever Billy Corgan celebrate his B-Day, I celebrate two events… my boy’s and Billy’s…and you know what,… whenever I play 1979 in my car while we’re going to work and school, my boy loves this song sooo much… that’s why i wanted to buy him an SP shirt as a Birthday Gift…so i found this shirt and took a picture of my boy wearing it..by the way, i want my SP collectibles item would be a legacy to my son someday

I stopped the idea of killing my self because of Billy

Michelle Dvorak Connecticut , US

Billy Corgan  literally saved my life by being so public about his depression 

Small Night Club

Anna DeVicariis San Diego, CA, US

Seeing a big band at a small night club. I was so happy to hear that the band was playing a local club that my friends and I frequent at. Even better to get a rare ticket with art done by the band. A one of a kind ticket that was limited. Smashing Pumpkins helped me get through my teen year’s. No matter what mood they had a song. Thank you SP for always being there. 

Sing a Long

Aaron Wait Adelaide, South Australia , AU

As a teen my friend was lucky enough to be looking after his uncles $40,000 professional karaoke machine. We used to sing the whole double album from beginning to end.

Only good memory from my high school years

Luz Yalj Buenos Aires, AR

My high school years were hard. Not many friends, different interests and background from that of my classmates. My best friend of those years passed away this very day, Oct 23rd, in 2012. Her name was Sole, and when MCIS came out we were 15 and we used to play. it day and night. I treasure this album enormously and will play it today as usual, as an homage to both SP and Sole.

Poetry

Cheyney Idyllwild-Pine Cove, US

When I was a teenager I was always hungry for new music, but I was not happy with what was popular at the moment. One day I found a Melon Collie album cover missing its CDs but I read the lyrics of all this songs because it was like poetry. When I finally heard it, it was better than I imagined. It remains a major influence on me and a standard of what a great album should be like; deep and diverse.

THE album

Libertad Larrieu Hollywood, FL, US

When I was 20years old (2015) I was at the Swap Shop in sunrise, south Florida. I knew of the Smashing Pumpkins by hit songs my friends had mentioned but as I passed a random stand, there was the 2 cd, Mellon collie and the infinite sadness album. I bought it for $2. When I later opened it, there was a 1997 concert ticket from their Mellon collie and the infinite sadness tour date in American Airlines Arena Miami. I later fell in love with the music, I still have and play the cds, and to this day I say if I could only listen to one album for the rest of my life it would be Mellon collie and the Infinite Sadness. 

Thank you Smashing Pumpkins, you’ve made my heart beat different.

Teenage machine

Aurora Cano Dublin, IE

This album was my first contact with the band.

I was 14 and on a trip from my small town to Madrid, where my cousin showed me the double LP (Vynil) When I saw the artwork, I was immediately impressed and I felt a connection to it. He recorded it for me in two tapes and listened to them over and over again in my walkman on the bus on the way back to my town.

Once there I ran to buy the CD, photocopied the booklet and created the folder in the picture with my favourite lyrics and some other pictures to bring to school. 

Since then, I’ve been a huge fan of the band!  I was able to see them live for the first time in Bilbao’s guggenheim museum in ’98 and have seen them 7 more times since then! Last one  in London only a couple of years ago.

SP forever! <3

Grade 6 spring photo

Jennifer F Cleveland, OH, US

I wore my Zero shirt in my grade 6 spring photo in 1996. I listened to MCIS on my bedroom 3-disc CD changer every night as I went to sleep.

The end of Endless.

Kégyne Saunders Cape Town, ZA

I grew up in Cape Town, South Africa. Mostly consumed by the freedoms of childhood and being in close proximity of the beach, I grew to be fascinated by the ocean and nature. 

As I aged, the experiences of life came to fruition, the real experiences – good and bad. Amazing … Somr awful.

During a hard time, my uncle exposed me to Siamese Dream. I started playing guitar. I would go to parties, friends, and play Cherub Rock, Mayonaise .. On whatever I could get my hands on.

Some time passed, time changed, and I grew. I knew one day I would return but I had what I wanted from the music. 

Again, times of trouble came my way … I found Ava Adore, and MCIS. Again … These songs helped me heal, I felt that I related to the messages and stories told. Not in a Manson way but at least emotionally, and with the real feelings embedded into every song.

Thank you. Sorry for the long message. SP has inspired me, and contributed to my healing. Towards continuing the adventures with a smile.

First SP concert

Jaclyn Boston, MA, US

I went to my first SP concert on 9/8/96. I was 14 yrs old. My life has changed over the years, but the one thing that remains the same is my love for them.  I met them (minus Jimmy) on July 1998 where I had them sign this poster. It is the greatest item I own.  

Thank you Billy

Mike Buffalo, NY, US

Back in 1996 when I was just 15 years old, I fell in love with the Pumpkins after hearing 1979 on the radio. My cousin Billy was a huge fan that I didn’t get to see much, and he made me a cassette copy of CD 2 on a random visit that I listened to non-stop in my walkman for the entire summer. I knew every single word to every song on that tape. Eventually I was able to save up and buy the entire album, and was finally able to listen to CD 1! I really think hearing an album that way made it extra special, and while Billy is no longer with us today – I think about him whenever I hear a song from MCIS. RIP Billy. 

Forever a ZERO

Gary Bingaman II Mishawaka, US

25 years ago, today, an album was released that … in no exaggeration…. shaped my mindset and became the soundtrack to my adolescence and beyond.  MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS by THE SMASHING PUMPKINS is an album that comes around once in a lifetime and leaves an impact like an atom bomb.  It defined an era… it resonated with it’s generation and inspired future ones.  It’s melodic songs are beautiful and it’s rock is raw and powerful.  It’s empowering… tragic…. inspiring…. heartbreaking and honest.  It’s life in it’s true and honest form.  Nothing sounded like it  before…. nothing has since.

Thank You, Billy and company for this gift… and everything that you’ve given us before and since.  You are Artists in the truest sense. 🖤 I look forward to everything that you have in store for us in the future.  THANK YOU 

Starting Her Early

Jared Gulfport, MS, US

Fell in love with Smashing Pumpkins when I was 12 (1995) and I first saw the Tonight, Tonight video. I wanted my daughter to hear it too.

Babies

Erika Covina , US

This album came my senior year, and it was everything, shortly after high school I had my first child and I played it while in labor. My doctor said he was pleasantly shocked he expected something hard core by the name of the band. My son now an adult thinks it’s so awesome that he was born to great music and has said this was his introduction to music. 

Becoming a musician with MCIS

Igor Madrid , ES

This is a little bit of my instrumental cover of “To Forgive” from this awesome album MCIS. I played at home in 2017 , not great sounding then but enough to feel this masterpiece, and I think is a good memory to share now… 

Texture + Sound

Howie Los Angeles, US

This album is very special and important because it raised the bar in the grunge era from strong and angst  albums to fully realized rock art pieces. The depth and texture hidden around corners on this record arw once in a generation. There are iconic radio hits, Shakespearean fairytales, ballads, and longform epic jams. Whatever inroads siamese dream created, MCIS cemented the pumpkins in their own, singular world. I bought this record the day it came out and still listen to it fairly regularly. There are times when I’m away from it for a while and miss songs like old friends. The clearest memories it brings back are living in a shoebox dorm room in the UK in 1996 with MCIS as my only record. 

Healing

Chris Carlson Hollister, Missouri , US

MCIS has been with me my entire adult life. It spoke to me at 18, and it speaks to me now. In 2015, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. As we waited in the doctor’s office, 1979 came on. For a while after, I hated it. But now it’s a reminder of healing. I’m happy to say that my wife was healed of her cancer. We are blessed. MCIS is as meaningful now, as it ever has been.

Blessed and Cursed and Won

Jonathan Ness Rockford, Minnesota, US

I’ll never forget getting stuck in Duluth, MN during a blizzard, keeping my dad and I from getting home. I was supposed to be at school the next morning, but after being bullied by the faculty, neither my dad or I were too bothered by me missing a day. My memory comes from the drive home, where I first found my love of the Smashing Pumpkins. We left early at 7 AM, and we blasted Rotten Apples the entire way home. There’s nothing more glorious than hearing Tonight, Tonight while driving through Duluth. Ever since my pumpkins love has only grown, and now I can’t think of a band I love more. After years of struggle, I’ve always related to the lyrics of Muzzle, because it’s true for me. After all I’ve been through, my life has been “blessed and cursed and won.” 

A Collage of Teenage Obsession (detail)

Andrew Grande Prairie, AB, CA

I was very into the MCIS motif. Once, I was reprimanded in school for (hand)writing all my assignments in the Mellon Collie font.

Magic at night

Elena Vardon Toronto, Ontario, CA

I remember being 12 years old, visiting my cousins, who lived in a large, old house overlooking a ravine. At one point I went upstairs to get something, and I was all alone on the top floor of the house as the muted sounds of everyone else enjoying themselves floated up from the distance outside. One of the bedrooms had its door open and a radio was playing from inside, and “Tonight Tonight” came on just as I was about to head back downstairs. When I heard the opening of the song, I stopped in the middle of the hall. I knew the song. I’d heard it a couple times before, and it was magical. I couldn’t just walk away from it—especially since this was before the internet and streaming and “on-demand” everything—because it was playing then, in that moment, just for me. So I stood there, alone on the quiet, dark top floor of the house, and I listened to the whole song as it emanated from the tinny speakers of an old alarm clock radio. I could still hear the sounds of people having fun in the distance below me, but it seemed worth missing out for a few minutes to spend that time in audial splendour.

I got the album not long after, and I would listen to it as I fell asleep at night, thinking about the wide and distant world beyond me, and remembering that day when I stood alone as that song entered my heart and stayed there.