Smashing Pumpkins - Pennies Album: Zero Single [1996]
Album: 1979 Single [1995]
last day of the month + my favourite band + monday = double shot! of all the major alternative rock bands of the early '90s, the pumpkins were the group least influenced by traditional underground rock. billy corgan fashioned an amalgam of progressive rock, heavy metal, goth rock, psychedelia, and dream pop, creating a layered and powerful sound driven by swirling, distorted guitars. as with all great bands, the smashing pumpkins have a completely ridiculous amount of b-sides, many of which are just as good or better than the songs that make the albums. the band recorded 50 songs (!!!) for their masterpiece, "mellon collie and the infinite sadness", with 28 songs making the double album and the remaining 22 finding their way to the "the aeroplane flies high", a box set of the mellon collie singles. especially during that magical era, corgan's prolificacy seldom got the better of him, always finding an engaging melody to match his detailed production. his artistic scope had always been immense and the result was a band that flourished in the overblown setting. corgan's songwriting has never been limited by conventional notions of what a rock band can do, even if it is clear that he draws inspiration from scores of '70s heavy metal and art rock bands. instead of copying the sounds of his favourite records, he expands on their ideas, which is why a poppy love song like "pennies", or a longing-for-love heartwrencher like "cherry" can sit comfortably against the volcanic rush of a song like "jellybelly" and "zero." in between those two extremes lies an array of musical styles, drawing from rock, pop, folk, and classical. in my opinion (which is the one that matters most to me), no one will ever be able to write as many amazing songs as the pumpkins did during the early to mid-90's. the fact that this song was left off a 28-song album speaks volumes about their greatness :)
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