Not your moms SP

Joseph Grigsy Chicago, US

Got me the SP were my mom’s music. She had Gish and Simease Dream in our CD/cassette collection. As a kid melancholie songs weee played on MTV all the time and at my first dance. Adore marked the first SP album I was aware of. Bring a vampire fan (Go Buffy!) I immediately loved the synth sound and music video involved with the Adore single. It was goth/emo pride before it was in style. I saw it as an embrace of a new style and rejection (or expansion/evolution)of my moms’s type of music. 

The beginning of a great friendship.

Miguel RM Mexico City, MX

The beginning of a great friendship.

I’m from Mexico. In high school I discovered the Smashing Pumpkins with their album Adore, in fact I attended their concert on this tour that was at the sports palace. In high school I used to take my book on the cd to do translations of the lyrics. One day a classmate came to the classroom with the Adore CD in his hands. Obviously I approached and we started talking. That was the beginning of one of the best friendships I have created in this world. Today I can say that he is my brother and Adore was the bridge that united us forever. Adore is my favorite record. Is incredible.

Adore

Sean B. New York, NY, US

Picked up Adore first day. Popped disc in and said “make me cry”. Then To Sheila plays…

FIRST SP CONCERT!

Rebecca Ottawa, CA

Back in 1998 – you had to line up and actually purchase your Ticketmaster tickets in person. My friend and I lost the original draw for the line space – but the winner didn’t show up. So they re-drew and suddenly, these two giddy 15 year olds were 2nd in line, getting 9th row tickets at Massey Hall in Toronto – Toronto even declared it Smashing Pumpkins Day. Now 25 years later, I’m taking my kid to SP for 12th row in September! 

Perfect memories

Ta Dallas tx, US

Adore. I can’t believe 25 years has gone by. When I played perfect over and over. 22 years old. One of the best years of my life. I play it and it takes me right back to those moments 

Adore, two times the first

Edgar Zamora Orpinel Guatemala, GT

As a teenager in 1998, my first Smashing Pumpkins CD was Adore. It was the album that made me a fan of the band. There was something about its sound and its boldness that simply blew my mind. 

In 2011, I traveled to LA for work and stopped at a record store. I looked in the used pile and found a 1998 mint-condition Adore vinyl copy. It was my first Smashing Pumpkins vinyl and my first vinyl ever; then, I didn’t even have a turntable to play it. 

There is something special about that album. Adore was and still is like a balm for my brain, heart, and soul.

Ava Adore poster

Lady Love mexico city, MX

this was august 11,1998

My first concert!  We had low budget but thanks to my brother he split the budget in to 3 so  we(sis,brother and I) could go to the concert.

outside the venue there were different radio stations giving away stuff related to The Smashing Pumpkins. So we were in the crowd of a radio booth and they say we will giveaway the Adore CD! to the person who jumps high! and my brother was jumping really high, they called him to the stage and they say ok well it wont be so easy . Would you shave your head like Billy in this moment? and he said yes of course! well they took his hair off!! and we were so happy ! they were throwing some poster just when the rain was starting to pour and i took one, all smashed and damaged cause i had to win it between different fans. Since that they i treasure this poster like gold, it is my motivation to some day i will make the poster concert of my beloved SP and guess what!! DREAMS COME TRUE!!! I LOVE YOU SMASHING PUMPKINS!

All at once, but not at all

Sean P SLC, Utah, US

I was touring on a bus when Adore was released. At the first stop during business hours 3 of us purchased the CD, sat down in our seats away from each other on the bus, but together counted down to synchronize play. Glances and smiles shot across the rows as we were wowed with what we all heard, which was nothing like we had ever heard. 

Perfect

Brian speer Lake stevens ,wa, US

I was 13 at the time i herd the song “perfect” and looked back on my amazing childhood , the song and album cemented those memories for me for life . Thanks smashing pumpkins !

Etching one of my favorite albums on my skin for life

Chloë Birmingham, GB

I remember being a teenager and finding this album and it always helped me find the calm in the storm. I wanted it with me forever. 

A grower

Marc B Montreal, QC, CA

I was 15 when Adore was released. Had been an SP fan since the release of Siamese. It was such a disconnect from what I knew from the band’s previous work  that I couldn’t relate at all with the album when it came out. Took me at least 10 years to finally get with it. I’m 40 now, Adore is 25 and this is one of their best albums in my opinion. Love this one. 

Homeless, and Adore

Quentin Yslas Pueblo, CO, US

This was only a year or so ago, me and my family were homeless staying with family members, we moved in with my grandma for some time. Throughout that time I would get up super early in the morning, before everybody was awake, and I’d listen to Adore using Winamp, those are some of my favourite memories with the album. Thank you Billy Corgan and everybody else who helped you create this album, I’m only a 13 year old, (Yes, I put I was over 18, but I just really want to share this, just in case Corgan does see it.), but you’ve still made a good impact on my life.

Transition

Robert Kimes Jonesboro, IL, US

Adore came out 4 days before my high school graduation. Just as the Pumpkins evolved, so did I, into a college freshman ready for the next phase of my life! 25 years later, SP is STILL my fave band, and I have been for almost 29 years! 

J’Adore Adore

Verona London, GB

A die hard Pumpkins fan. I was keen to see how SP could top Mellon Collie. After the death of BC’s mother, the album was sublime. Melodic, melancholic and a wonderful ode to someone. The gig was interesting as the album was released afterwards but the full band was like nothing I had ever seen before! Fab x

Twilight Fades

Liam Norwich, GB

I remember it well. Riding in the back of a friends car after the release, it’s night and the seats were low so I could rest my head back and watch the stars zip by above whole Adore washed over us from the car stereo. 

Adore, always

McLambo Ermelo, NL

Of the 25 years I know and love this band, SP is the only one that can give me this unique sense of melancholy; little sad (dont know why), longing and thankful feeling. ❣️

SP saved my life

Amanda C Los Angeles, CA, US

I apologize beforehand for any dramatics – haha!
My tale is not new or very good- My family moved to Texas when I entered the 8th grade.  I lost all my friends, everything.  I desperately tried to fit in to all of the pre-established cliques- jocks, brains, etc.  Finally, I tried “country”- boots, hat, you name it!- all to no avail.  I still had no real friends and felt alone and misunderstood.  By the time I was in 10th grade, I’d become moody, angry, and finally suicidal.  (Country music did NOT help this feeling!)  I didn’t tell anyone- had no one TO tell!- finally a girl in my homeroom class, Mary Climer (I will NEVER forget her!) must have sensed something was off & I unloaded everything.  She then told me 2 things: 1) “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem” and 2) Listen to Smashing Pumpkins’ Adore cd.  She was a HUGE Billy fan and loaned me her disc.  I went home and listened to the whole thing in one sitting.  Then I played it again, and again, and again.  I returned hers and made my parents take me to the record store to buy my own copy.  For the first time, I felt that my pain and feelings and angst were understood.  I found my outlet.  I no longer cared about fitting in and very slowly, I found myself.   Once I did that- I found people who liked me for me.  I’ve been a SP fan ever since.  (And Mary was in my group of friends to go to our senior Prom.)  I truly credit SP and Mary for saving my life.

Burgeoning Adulthood

David Louisville, KY, US

August ‘98 – Beginning of my freshman year of college at Northern Kentucky University, I was so unsure of life. I had just fallen in love for the first time at the end of high school (listening to The Cure’s ‘Disintegration’ no less!) and had equally fallen in love with Adore. In my dorm room, with a stranger for a roommate, and my girlfriend in Virginia as a long distance relationship bloomed, I went to sleep every night listening to Adore. It was death by romance – and I willingly volunteered! It was my life’s soundtrack that fall, and the memories saturate my mind every time I hear Adore. It was…Perfect.

Billy plays requests at Madame Zuzus 1.0

Marissa Niles, US

Back in September of 2017, Billy played requests to fans at Madame Zuzus 1.0 for series of days. I was fortunate to go on the last day of his performances, having missed the previous few days due to work. I went with my daughter, and the experience was surreal and wonderful to see him perform so up close and personal to just a handful of people! As people named off some SP requests, I requested Daphne Descends from the album Adore, of which he then played! It was such a magical experience, I was so grateful to be able to be in such a small intimate setting seeing such a legendary musician so up close and personal perform in his tea house that I wasn’t even aware existed! He also performed from Adore a fan request for Perfect, which I uploaded here. Adore has always been a top favorite of mine, that comforted and inspired me during very difficult times. I’m forever grateful for having this experience!

How to hear your favorite song

Natalia Weber SantAnna Teresópolis, RJ, BR

Circa 98 I became obsess with the song Ava Adore playing on MTV Brasil. It wasn’t a huge hit but it would play often, but for me, I’d listen all the time, on repeat. So I had to scheame something that would help. I was 12 yo and had no clue on how to buy the CD right that second. If the song was playing on the radio, I would tape it and listen to it non stop. But it wasn’t, just the clip on MTV. The only thing I could think of was to be luck enough to hit record fast on the VHS and get the clip on MTV, than play it loud recording it through a microphone on tape. Then I could listen to the song over and over in my room, with headphones. Kids this days get it so easy, we had to struggle. I love you guys.

Adoration from first listen

James Hamilton, ON, CA

I was working my summer job. At lunch time I hopped in my car and drove to the local mall which had a music store (the now defunct Music World). I bought the album on cassette and CD (I had to special order the vinyl). I immediately put the cassette in my car player and spent the rest of my lunch in my car listening to the entire album. Yes, I was late getting back to work.

From that first listen I was hooked, completely blown away. As expected, the quality of the songwriting was so far above anyone else at the time, and the beauty of the songs immediately made it my favourite TSP album, and to this day, probably the album I still listen to the most.

I saw the tour at Massey Hall, sitting in the front row right in front of D’Arcy. I first saw TSP live in 1991 and I have seen at least one show on every tour but sitting there in 1998 I was mesmerized by how good the band sounded, probably the tightest they had ever been (to my ears). Yes, Jimmy was missed, but Kenny did a fantastic job and having Garson on keys just added an amazing layer to the songs (as a lifelong Bowie fan, his inclusion meant a lot to me). The fullness of the sound and the high-quality of the playing made this show the best they had ever sounded and the friend that I took, who was not a diehard like me, still tells me it was one of the best shows he has ever seen.

I was so disappointed to hear people speak poorly of Adore at the time so I am really glad that it has stood the test of time and is now appreciated. Such a beautiful album. The recent Archive Series release of WPC playing these songs acoustically is a further testament to the quality of the songs on the album.

One additional note: my Mother also loved this album, so much so I had to buy her a copy. Her favourite song was “For Martha” and she would play it regularly. When she passed, that was the song I decided to play at the beginning of her funeral. So, the Adore album is a close association in my life to the death of my Mother which I think is very fitting.

Best. Birthday. Ever.

WendyBatty Vernon, BC, CA

Adore was released on my 18th birthday. I skipped school to wait outside the only record store and buy a copy. Small town, I waited alone. I had to wait for the boxes to be opened to get my copy. I listened to it all day and fell in love. The school called my folks for skipping and I got grounded. Got to keep listening to Adore repeatedly while doing my grounded timed. Best. Birthday. Ever!

To Sheila, Billy ask for help with the lyrics

Miguel Flores guadalajara, MX

My wife learn from a friend of the hotel SP were staying from a friend who saw them in the Wrestling arena in Guadalajara the night before, she went very early to wait for him sitting in a chair in the lobby, and after some hours they came out and she approaches him for a photo and asks him to play “to Sheila” as is her favorite song, we talk about it while making line to enter the concert very early (we wanted to be at the front line) and at the end when they come back for the final encore Billy spoke about meeting someone on the street and being asked for a song that they didn’t play in a long time when he started everyone around us knew she asked for it earlier so it was super exciting! It was truly a night to remember! thanks, Smashing Pumpkins for all these years of good moments, gracias

Dislocated shoulder. But it was worth it!

Daniel Ferro Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BR

On the Rio de Janeiro show (August 1998) I dislocated my shoulder holding on to the barricade but I also managed to grab Billy and D’Arcy’s picks!

#PleaseComeToBrazilAgain

Wedding song

Alan Rodgers Rhu, Argyll (Scotland), GB

My memory is two fold. The first part is that the B side, “Once in a While” was the first dance at my wedding. A beautiful song. The second part of my memory is me and my best pal dancing, at the Cathouse in Glasgow, to Ava Adore. There was a time we seemed to go out every night and get wasted and dance to this song. Great memories.

Superación

Daniela Jimenez CDMX, MX, MX

“Adore” me ayudó a curar mi corazón roto en una época muy obscura. Fue el abrazo que necesité cuando un amigo partió de este mundo, cuando papá se fue, cuando un ex amor me abandonó. Es un álbum sumamente increíble. Gracias por haberlo creado.