High School and a Record Shop
Duncan Lang Toronto, Ontario, CA
Back in high school, my parents separated. On a weekend I was spending with my dad, he took me to a big record shop in Toronto and I stumbled across the CD. He told me he thought I’d like it based on the music I’d been really jiving with at the time, so he bought it for me. The album helped me through some of the toughest periods in my teenage years and I still think of that day in the record shop with my dad every time I listen to the album.
The perfect mixtape
Tu Montréal, Québec, CA
Having no CD player in ’96, I made a mixtape at my friend’s place. I was constantly listening to Here Is No Why and Muzzle back-to-back because they are the same length and they were exactly on the opposite side of each other… They still are to this my favorite Pumpkins songs.
A melancholy October
samantha OH, US
In the summer of 1996, my parents met. My Dad was nineteen years old; musically into post-grunge, nu-metal, and horrorcore rap. My Mom was thirty-six, just recently went through a very bad divorce. Her ex-husband was a real asshole who left her for another woman (he had cheated on her with) because she was willing to have numerous threesomes with any female at the local bar. Well, despite the age gap, they fell in love. My Mom’s favorites artists were Bob Dylan and The Moody Blues. My Dad, fond of the Smashing Pumpkins unconsciously created a bond between their music tastes. Probably like most boomer parents of the 1990s; she admired the ’70s nostalgia of the pumpkins. She always collected vintage antiques and toys; victorian aesthetics were always a part of her. So to no surprise, the album also caught her attention. “That album was the soundtrack to our life, that played as we fell in love.”
She used to draw pictures of him with his exact features before he was ever born. He resembled a young Chino Moreno from Deftones, in my opinion. We have a home video from october of 1996 and during the last few seconds, a recording of the local radio announces the popularity of ‘mellon collie & the infinite sadness’ as the camera focuses on him working on an automobile. Years later, as I claim mellon collie as my favorite album (and smashing pumpkins being my favorite band) I can’t help but feel it was always fated.
Time is never time at all
Noah Sidel Montreal, Quebec, CA
Johanna and I met in camp 1997 & didn’t see each other for exactly 10 years. We re-connected & our first date was to see SP play Osheaga in Montreal in 2007.
They played Tonight, Tonight and I said randomly “Time is never time at all, you can never ever leave without leaving a piece of youth” was my high school yearbook quote… she looked at me at said “me too!” We didn’t go to the same school and had no idea.
13 years and 3 kids later, we’ve been all over North America to see the Pumpkins (Seattle, Boston, Toronto & of course Montreal).
Our story will always be connected to MCIS.
Becoming a Man with Music
Alan Passman Lakewood, CA, US
In ’95, something wonderful happened. I had my Bar Mitzvah and got a $25 gift certificate. I used it the day MCIS came out. Listening, I remember thinking, “I have a favorite band now.” This is 10th Grade-me about 3 years later in a bootleg shirt from the MCIS-era when I first saw the band.
A possible piece of MCIS history from southern Illinois
Brandon Metropolis, US
This cassette was given to me by a friend who is a care giver here in Metropolis. It was passed to her by someone who knew Billy’s grandmother and also his uncle James, as Karnak and Metropolis were home to them, I have no way to prove it is legit, but this cassette was supposedly given to Billy’s grandmother by Billy. I’m gonna believe that it’s legit and it will always be taken care of. It only amplifies the love I have for the album itself.
Headlight Pointed at the Dawn
Brian Passey Phoenix, AZ, US
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was released shortly after my 17th birthday, and it quickly became the soundtrack to my junior year of high school. Every time I hear “1979,” I’m whisked back in time to a particular memory of cruising around rural Idaho with friends in my father’s 1995 Camaro.
Absolutely pivotal
Kevin Lennon Brisbane, Australia, AU
When I was 10 I loved Rhinoceros whenever it came on the weekend music shows. When I was 12 I had a copy of Disarm & played it until the tape died. But when I was 13, Mellon Collie flicked a switch in my brain that turned me into a musician, helped me accept being an outsider & turned me into me.
1995
Josh Anderson, IN, US
Jr. year of high school, 1995. Had been listening to SP for over a year now. Had finally gotten past the death of Kurt and was wanting something new. Heard Gish, Siamese Dream, and Pisces…loved it all. First saw it he video of “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” on MTV and had found what I had been searching for as a 16 year old kid could. Blown the fuck away by the visuals and sounds. When Mellon Collie finally dropped, my mom bought the album on cassette tapes, and they were played to death. That album helped shape who I would become later in life. I still have the first CD copy of it. This band, their music has saved me from myself numerous times, even to this day. I’ll forever be grateful for them saving me even though “I still believe that I cannot be saved”.
