Redefining myself

Carter Riley White Missouri, US

I remember driving with a buddy to a house party, about halfway there I said “Hey let’s listen to some good music before we sit and listen to trap for 4 hours” I turned on 1979 and spun the volume knob all the way to right, and rolled the windows down feeling great. Then I remember listening to 1979 at the bottom of a vodka bottle some months later, trying to find that feeling of the drive to the house party (ironically like the music video) what MCIS helped me discover is: Those memories that most resonate with you come from one another, not a drug, a drink, cigarette or a circumstance. Thank you smashing pumpkins

Luna

Adriana Rodríguez Madrid, ES

MCIS takes me to when I was 15 years old and spent all day in my room drawing MCIS pictures (the ones featured in the album’s booklet). I discovered the first single BWBW thanks to the Spanish radio (Los 40 Principales) and soon I got the whole album, with all the songs resounding in my head. I was fascinated by all the aesthetic and style that Billy gave to this phase in the band’s path. Absolutely beautiful and whimsical! Some memories never fade!

Untitled

Joel Jacobsen Troy, MI, US

Discovered MCIS in Jr. High school through a friend.  I was learning to play guitar and was obsessed with the Beatles and Oasis.  I couldn’t get into the album at all.  Out of my league and depth.  It was not until the Tonight single/ep was released and I could hear WPC’s songwriting in its most basic shape that I finally connected with the album.  MCIS was my introduction to so many styles of music I had never heard before.  Forever grateful for giving this masterpiece!!!  It taught me so much about music.

My Mellon Collie and the Infinite Grateful

Christian Angulo México City, MX

This is just my memory of how I got to the Smashing Pumpkins and MCIS.

MCIS still holds up today

Matthew Pittsfield Massachusetts , US

Mellon collie and the infinite sadness is such a great album, it still holds up perfectly today. It reminds me of when I heard the album before I went to high school I was 14. If there was a way to wear a cd out it would have happened ha!  I showed it to all my friends and they quickly turned into fans as well. Thanks all you guys for such great memories and great music and more to come.

Bought MCIS 1st day!

Benjamin Bedford, US

I went to Best Buy on my lunch break in high school to buy MCIS on release day! I immediately shoved it into my car cd player and fell in love. I bought every cd single and loved the b-sides.  I had the 1979 art on a giant poster on my wall. The Dallas concert in December 96 stands as my favorite concert of all time!

Untitled

meera abu dhabi, AE

As a 20 year old Emirati girl who spent most of her childhood and somewhat adulthood alone i have always sought refuge in mellon collie and the infinite sadness. My life changed when my brother made me listen to 1979  for the first time in 2010. Finding out about the smashing pumpkins was the sort of comfort i needed in order to survive and disconnect from the world. I truly live by the lyric “the more you change the less you feel” and think about it daily. I’m grateful for the existence of the album that changed me and the way i deal with my emotions. This album and the memory of my brother MJ excitingly making me watch every single music video on youtube will always mean the world to me.

Jellybelly, always Jellybelly

P.J. Marino US

Back in ’95, I was a stand up comic in Boston. Before every show, while roaming downtown looking for a parking spot, I’d listen to Jellybelly. It was my ritual. Jellybelly before the show. Always.

Youth transformed

Andrew J D Toronto, Ontario, CA

I’d never liked music, but that rainy day Dad just had to pee for free at a bar with TVs sporting a moon with a bullet in its eye. Soon, our umbrellas became defenders, I knew the lyrics to Zero better than the babysitter, and swapped camp air band from YMCA to BWBW; eyes black, never looking back.

Welcome to Chicago

Kevin Monroe, WA, US

Was lucky to Win tickets, airfare and hotel to your hometown of Chicago and saw your show at the Riviera. Was and incredible show and a memory I’ll never forget.

Soundtrack of 1996

William Princeton, NC, US

I was in tech school for the USAF to become a fighter aircraft mechanic. My roommate bought the album and he played disc one non-stop for weeks, he would also put the first two tracks on repeat and listen to the for hours on end. Surprisingly, I never got tired of hearing anything from that album, and Porcelina of the Vast Oceans, Galapagos, and Jelly belly became my favorites. Eventually my roommate ended up owing me a bunch of money and he paid me off with his copy of MCIS.

My 1st album

Liverpool, GB

One of my favourite albums and was the 1st album I really loved, I must have been about 8/9 at the time. My dad had it on tape he recorded from a friend and I would listen to the 1st side all the time. Wasnt until I was older I purchased it and really appreciated it fully from the artwork to the production notes. The title track will forever be my funeral tune and I loved how they ended the album how it started. An amazing double album

Untitled

Tavis Los Angeles, CA, US

Falling asleep while listening to “1979” play on the radio from the boombox in my bed as a young kid and then dreaming of what the music video might look like.

A Friend’s House

Scott Alan Wheeler Houston, Texas , US

I was 15 years old in 1995, and I went over my friend Chad’s house and he had the double-disc of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. I remember enjoying the album very much, but also I loved the video and song for “Tonight” with the moon and stars and old-fashioned Hollywood Callback graphics!  Fabulous album, and wonderful memories sharing with friends.

Youth

Kevin Himl Nashville, TN, US

The album, melodies, and lyrics remind me of growing up. It reminds me of good times and bad as a teenager. Anger and rage, love and sadness. It reminds me of friendships and love come and gone. Talking about how mine blowing the guitars are this solo, and reading about the equipment setups in Guitar World (I still have a copy). It reminds me of a particular birthday gift I wanted but never got the year they played Nashville for the tour. And hearing about how awesome it was the next day, from some one now who doesn’t even remember going.

Like a familiar scent or a favorite drink, this album stirs up a host of memories of a simpler time of a world without so much worry.

Madison Square Garden

Steve New York, NY, US

I was so excited to see SP live at MSG for the first time. But you had to cancel the show due to overdose. So sad!

The beginning

Audrey Niort, FR

The MCIS is the album that made me understand i wanted to make music.

The first song i sang in public , in a main stage with 500 people, was ” in the arms of sleep”

It was in 2002 but the memory is steal perfect

Love

Audrey

Acid before our history exam

Steven Faulkner hinckley, GB

It was early June 1996, the night before our History GCSE exams. So of course 4 of us dropped acid, and my friend put MCIS on. For some reason I vividly recall We Only Come Out at Night sounding utterly magical!

I passed my exam too!

The best thing i’ve heard

Javier Silva MX

When I heard this album it was at night and I feel like it was something magical 

MCIS: tribute to a masterpiece

Filippo Banti PERUGIA, IT

Lots of memories recall me MCIS even if i was born years after the publication date it is one of the most important album for me. It reminds me 3 years ago when I was in Genova, for an internship at IIT. I used to listen to It in the shuttle from the last stop of the Genoa’s underground to the research institute, It was love at first sight and the album who introduced me to the wonderful and dreamy SP word. During those months I used to watch to the 1996 live at Brixton Academy, what a live performance, one of my all-time fav. Thank you for your music, It can really change your life in better, at least for me! SP for life.

The album that taught me how to write songs.

Anansi SP ES

After 2 years trying to become a guitarist, MCIS came out and taught me how to write songs not only with a guitar but with all kinds of instruments, harmonies and melodies. 25 years later, I still secretly hope one day I will be able to write a song that could be included in MCIS.
I stopped thinking like a guitarist and began to think like a musician.
Sometimes my friends tell me of any of my songs “Hey, that sounds like The SP”, my thoughts: “Then I fucking nailed it!”.

Not Just any Commute

Andrew Hunt Miami, US

I used to live in The Hague and worked in Amsterdam. Just over an hour commute each way. I went to the opening concert in Rotterdam and was so blown away that I listened to the double CD religiously every day on the train. It was a pivotal time in my life and every song takes me back.

Radio

Ulrike Preuss Ruhrgebiet , DE

I listened to the radio while doing housework. Than there was playing tonight tonight. I imidiadly left my home for driving to the town and bought this amazing album, it is great!

Happiest memories even with a broken heart.

Luis Olivera Saint Petersburg, FL, US

This album was there for me when i needed it most. Tonight, Tonight was/is there when I feel alive. 33 was there when I missed my favorite people. To forgive and Stumbleine made me feel better after the hard times that come with relationships –  familiar/ platonic/ and romantic. And I hope to name my future little one Lily because of the way I personally interpreted the song. This album is named infinite sadness but it’s brought nothing but comfort and joy to my life. Even now when I’m suffering through multiple existential thoughts and seeing more sad days, this is one of those albums you can play and have it all fade away. Thank you for this masterpiece and all your masterpieces before and after.

The Infinite Sadness Ends For a Bit

Keith Gerstner Austin, TX, US

Mellon Collie saved my life and made me realize I need to be an artist. I’ve never been confident in my ability as a performer, but the beauty and passion of Billy’s voice and songwriting made me feel like it was safe to be on stage with a voice that doesn’t match the “approved” idea of what a singer should sound like. I’m eternally grateful for that.

Mellon Collie/Jimmy memory

Art Eagle Pass, TX, US

I remember seeing the “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” video when I was 10 and being drawn to the galloping drum part…then at the 0:32 second mark, Jimmy hits the snare drum for the first time and it just clicked in my head…”I wanna be a drummer like that guy”…I’ve been following the Pumpkins and playing drums ever since then and MCIS is still to this day my “desert island” album.