Love Life’s a Bummer When You’re a Hummer
posted by on April 4 at 14:02 PM
I’ve never been exactly sure what that line meant. In fact, many of Billy Corgan’s lyrics have always sort of evaded me. Still, Siamese Dream was one of my favorite records in high school.
It starts out bright and loud with “Cherub Rock,” which really does sound like a rock song written by chubby little diaper-wearing angels wielding some killer shredding skills. “Quiet” gets a little heavier and I love that demanding and chirpy guitar sound that hits about ten seconds after the minute mark. Gets me a little goosebumpy, especially when the spiraling guitar in the chorus echoes its urgency. And the building bass that segues into the guitar solo? Fergedaboudit.
The wicked guitar in “Geek USA,” and the crunchiness of “Hummer”… so good. And “Today” was, is, and always will be the perfect song for sunny days.
My favorite track, though (which won’t be surprising to people who know me and know that I’m really a pathetic emo kid at heart), is “Mayonaise.” It just kills me.
No more promise no more sorrow
No longer will I follow
Can anybody hear me
I just want to be me
When I can, I will
Try to understand
That when I can, I will
I feel like a melancholy teenager every time I hear it. No matter where I am or what I’m doing, for that five and a half minutes, with Billy’s breathless crooning, my mind transports back to the days when I had a crush on that kid named Josh in my art class who always drew really dumb cartoons of skater dudes getting stoned. He was a sweet kid; he never knew I existed.
“Spaceboy” is the only song that never really did a lot for me (though I love the title), but maybe I was still in a “Mayonaise” daze whenever it came on, and unable to really appreciate it?
Even so, every track on Siamese Dream has its place—it’s an admirable combination of aggression and melody (just like adolescence itself) and I really wish Billy Corgan never lost his mind and started writing bad poetry, because the world (and all the LiveJournal generation teenagers being forced to find comfort in crap like Fall Out Boy) could use more songs like these in their lives.
The idea of a new Smashing Pumpkins album, though (being released on July 7th) makes me nervous. I’ve yet to hear any of the new material, but with Jimmy saying that it “comes from a place so pure it will burn the lies off the very souls of those who try to discount it,” I can’t help but cringe a little bit.
So does this post count as a "Mayonnaise Fact of the Day"?
Because if so, that means Frizzelle gets a Belle & Sebastian freebie.
From one music writer to another, "Mayonaise" is my fav. tune from 'Siamese Dream' as well...also one of my all time favs...
Today was the best summertime song when I was growing up in the suburbs. I may have to make an iTunes stop later today.
"gish" is actually the only decent album these guys made.
i can't even imagine the goofy shit they're up to now...
yeah, well, actually, ....
I'm one of the few who liked everything from Siamese Dream up through Adore and Machina. This is the first I've heard of the new album... after thumbing through Corgan's book of poetry, I'm apprehensive about what's happened to his mind. But optimistic.
Disarm! Disarm! That song just sounds so...big!
I had some friends that equated certain SP songs/dynamics with shooting heroin. (sigh) some of my friends sucked.
i have to confess my absolutely unsquelchable affection for this album, Pisces Iscariot, and Mellon Collie. I cringe at the thought of a new album, though; Billy really fell off the horse some time after '95. Zwan and his solo album were friggin trainwrecks.
Did it ever bother anybody that "Mayonaise" is misspelled? It bothered me.
I saw the Pumpkins on this tour and they were fantastic live, but Corgan's antics and pseudo-profound teen angst lyrics eventually got to me and now I can't bear to listen to them at all ever. Although I loved that line "despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage." And Gish was a great album at its time. Jane's Addiction clone, but great.
life is a bummer when you’re a hummer = it sucks when you can hum a melody but can't think of any clever lyrics to write.
megan, knowing you never listened to this album while getting high in your dormroom makes me cry inside a little.
seeing the pumpkins on "gish" tour at washington square in miami beach while high on LSD remains one of my peak musical experiences.
theyve always been, to me, an extremely drug-friendly band.
@8, 12:
No kidding on the drug angle! I bought Mellon Collie at the Wenatchee Hastings when I was like 16, and I received a serious browbeating at the hands of the lady who was behind me in line. It went something along the lines of "I heard their keyboardist just OD'ed. Do you want to support that sort of lifestyle? DO YOU??? That $20 bill of yours is just going to go straight into one of the Pumpkins' veins."
I thought her citizen-cop act was a bit over the top. Then again, maybe she was right to be concerned...
Wow, I would have told that woman "What, are you crazy? At most the Pumpkins will get to put $2 of this $20 in their veins, the rest will go up the noses of record execs."
Did it ever bother anybody that "Mayonaise" is misspelled?
All misspelled words everywhere bother me... unless the misspelling is intentional and done with wit.
Gish was a Jane's Addiction clone? wow. seriously. wow.
Well said, Mayonaise is a great fucking song. I love the way he says "I just want to beeeeeee meeeeee."
And, while Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness had it's fair share of shite, some of those songs are fabulous.
Jane's Addiction is actually an argument against cloning-- what an awful, awful confederation of turds that band was/is/will ever be.
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