The day I met SP and MCIS

Geoff White Peterborough, GB

I was a late starter in music terms and only heard ‘Tonight, Tonight’ when i was a roadie for a mate’s cover band. He lent me MCIS and that was it. i collected and have loved all the work and it just never gets old. I love ‘Disarm’ and ‘Bullet’ and the latest album shows the edge has not been lost. I have watched Billy on the Tiny Desk session. Fucking awesome. Long live the Smashing Pumpkins – my child has been enlightened and my only regret is that I didn’t meet SP earlier in my life.

4th Grade Favorites

Kyle Sutton Frederick, MD, US

Here’s an excerpt from my 4th grade (!) autograph book, where I scrawled in “Bodies” as my favorite song of the year. No doubt the influence of my older brother, who was (and remains) a diehard Pumpkins fan. Little did I know what a monumental impact MCIS would have on my life and trajectory into music.

Mellon collie and the infinite mourning

Kilkenney, IE

I discovered this album in a charity shop where my aunt lives. Got it for €1. Quite a steal to be honest. At the time, it was just the day after my grandmother’s funeral which was the first time I have experienced mourning a loss. I felt odd and cold. When I bought it, I played it the minute I got home. I fell in love. Some of the most beautiful and well crafted songs I had ever heard. This album really helped me cope with the loss of a loved one. I’m not a seasoned veteran like some of the other Mellon collie fans but it really showed me that the world was still here for me. Thank you, mellon collie!!

Music to call my own

Jarrod Rogue River Oregon, US

I was a homeschooled kid and when I turned 16 I started going to a local community college and my mom gave me a few bucks for lunch and I saved it to buy Mellon Collie and the infinite sadness. I had head a few songs on the radio and had fell in love with it. I remember buying it at a Fred Myers store and as I unwrapped the CDs the smell was perfect. To this day I still sometimes open the case just to smell the booklet again. Thank you

Waited long enough

Addie Lowell, US

I have loved MCIS since I was a teenager. That album played the soundtrack of all of my teen years. I never got to see SP in concert and then as an adult they can to Arkansas and I cried hearing every song from MCIS that I never thought I would get to hear live. I felt whole, happy, and complete for the first time in so long.

First Concert

Ted Mauldin, SC, US

My very first concert was on the MCIS tour. I had just turned 16. That night changed my life forever. Thanks and much love SP!

El arte que más me impactó en la vida

Mexico City, MX

Escribo esto en español porque mi inglés es malo.  La portada del disco es mi mayor influencia ya que me dedico a la ilustración. Recuerdo que la vi cuando era pequeña y dije -Yo quiero hacer eso-. Ahora hago poster e ilustraciones para bandas de rock. Son mi banda favorita y con mayor influencia  en toda la vida. Los amo <3

Mellon collie and the ecology class

US

First off, I owe it to my dad for getting me into SP. He has been a big fan since the 90s and telling me, listen to them! You’ll love it! So, my junior year of high school, I pulled up 1979, watched the video and fell in love with my all time favorite band!

Humble Beginnings

Kevin Zeiger Rolling Meadows, IL, US

Mid to Late
90’s – I wasn’t an MTV Head growing up, but one day I came across the channel
and a music video unlike any other presented itself.  It was ‘Tonight
Tonight’.  The singer’s voice was . . . different.  And I don’t mean
in a bad way.  The sounds of the music felt oddly dreamy: rock music with a
strings section and marching-style drumming that motored the song’s
engine.  I LOVED IT.  And I wanted more.

I told my
cousin, who was a Pumpkins fan and had the CD album, and asked him to record it
onto a tape for me.  He did and I WORE THAT TAPE OUT.  The Smashing
Pumpkins had become one of my favorite bands.

Soon after, I spent
my own money and BOUGHT Mellon Collie (this was a big deal; not yet a teen and
here is my first major music purchase).  I
then collected Siamese Dream, Gish, and Pisces Iscariot.

In becoming a
guitarist, Smashing Pumpkins’ music became even MORE crucial as it was through
learning their songs on guitar that I really began to understand how music
worked.  I suppose they call that music
theory.  At various times throughout life,
I’ve learned to play every song from Mellon
Collie.

In 2014, I
performed a cover of ‘By Starlight’ at a friend’s wedding reception.  I then recorded the cover song for said
friend – https://zevin.bandcamp.com/track/by-starlight-the-smashing-pumpkins-cover

To this day, I’ve
never stopped being a fan of The Smashing Pumpkins and Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness remains one of my Top Five favorite
albums of all-time album in my vast collection of music.