The Smashing Pumpkins were already my favorite band when Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was released 25 years ago. My friends and I went to the release show at the Riviera in Chicago and then to Tower Records to buy the album. We drove to the lake to listen for the first time, excitedly reacting as each song played. It felt monumental, like a real moment in time, an album that would change each of our lives, and a first listen that we’d all remember forever. After we went our separate ways, I sat in my car to listen again alone, really letting each song sink in. I ended up driving around, listening on repeat until the sun came up. While I loved the albums that came before with all my heart, the lyrics on Mellon Collie grabbed me like nothing I had ever heard before. It was like WPC knew my soul, like someone was speaking to me in a language I could hear, for the very first time. I fell hard and fast for Thirty-three and it remains the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard. I recently visited that steeple (pictured) and it moved me to tears. I can only imagine how many times I’ve listened to MCIS since that first night. Must be in the tens of thousands. But still, after all these years and after all those listens, it takes my breath away.