Always excited to see your posts to be introduced to new (to me) music, reminded of some older classics, or invited to explore artists I’ve heard about but never spent much time with (Archers of Loaf).
My intro to Smashing Pumpkins was Siamese Dream, but it didn’t take long to find Gish, which was a fantastic debut. Personally I haven’t been overly impressed with much they’ve done since 2000 (god that makes me sound old) and for me Adore was probably their last good album. But their early music is just so fantastic.
Talking about bands that have been around awhile, my wife and I just watched The Cure at Wells Fargo Center in Philly last night and they were incredible. If you get the chance to watch them on this tour, do yourself a favor and do it. You won’t be disappointed!
The album cover for Gish was taken in the first bow-front living room window in a crappy apartment on N. Jansen Street in Wrigleyville, just short of Irving Park Road. There were the oddest combination of three names that popped up on the mailbox on what truly was a one bedroom apartment, but was being let by the ghost of Ralph Furley from ABC’s Three’s Company. The girl never changed her tights.
But before that photo was taken, was before the Pumpkins were signed to a major label and were playing many of their gigs in the neighborhood at Metro, formerly Cabaret Metro, on N Southport.
Weekday mornings, I mean early morning, as I was snugly sleeping I would be awakened around 3 am to band practice for the last nine months I resided there. It was certainly delightful going to work having the Pumpkins directly below you bashing away all night. I’d get pissed sometimes and jump on the floor for them to shut up since I worked a regular workday in S. Michigan Ave.
My last three months in the less than desirable, but cheap digs, became untenable when they got a dog. I think it was Billy’s. He was always yelling at Buck and I was hearing yelps. I suspected Buck was being kicked. I couldn’t stand it.
They would also leave for a day or two and nobody came to take the dog out. I couldn’t take it anymore. I found another apartment on the lake.
I divested myself of roughly of a third of my books since I was moving to a smaller space. I had to laugh at Billy Corrigan perusing a copy of Emily Dickinson poetry that I had been schlepping round since college. He told me they had just been signed and with their big check were moving out. We agreed the place was a dump and exchanged our nicknames for our bizarre landlord who appeared to have a mail order bride and and at least one tv in every room. And that was that.
Even though I went through puberty in the late 80s, and grunge was my spirit animal, I never could get into the Smashing Pumpkins. They were also sort of lumped in with Nirvana and Alice In Chains, etc, which wasn't a fair comparison or categorization at all. That said, I'm giving this album a listen right now based on seeing this. I'll just have to navigate without the nostalgia others may feel!
Kevin, the thing that I like about you posts is how well they resonate with me. I dusted off the Smashing Pumpkins, hadn't listened to them in ages. The middle bands/albums are all new to me, I like The 3 Clubmen. The other bookend, Division Bell, is another that needs to be listened to again. It kind of slid under the radar and seldom gets attention from me. Thanks for another lovely post.
Great stuff as always! I have a complicated relationship with the smashing pumpkins. Gish is definitely my favorite. Also, fun to listen to The Division Bell. I was late getting into Sparks (maybe not until the documentary) listening to this nice track today somehow brought me to this Fun Boy Three track.
But also, sparks took me to fun boy three, then I picked up listening to their album to find the track...so it's not about the algo, but how you use it? I think so.
Ya, that upset me greatly. I was about 27, maybe, at the time. It was a lot of space for $450 a month, but when it was really cold outside, wow, it was freezing inside.
That conversation with Billy Corrigan we were trying to figure out how to get our keys back to our creepy landlord in the next building. Interestingly we both had names for Don Rhoton. I called him Don Proton. Corrigan called him Don Rotten. I think those knicknames reflected more about our outlooks!
Don Proton, or Rotten, lived in another building. He only turned the boiler on when the City of Chicago ordinance required and left it on until it could be stopped. There were no available controls in the units.
Ha! Thermostat? We had radiators that were never bled by the landlord. The wind came right through those large windows. He said he would paint my apartment. He painted around the furniture! I kid you not! I came home from work one night and I was like WTF! He didn’t even move the couch. It had paint all over the back of it.
Always excited to see your posts to be introduced to new (to me) music, reminded of some older classics, or invited to explore artists I’ve heard about but never spent much time with (Archers of Loaf).
My intro to Smashing Pumpkins was Siamese Dream, but it didn’t take long to find Gish, which was a fantastic debut. Personally I haven’t been overly impressed with much they’ve done since 2000 (god that makes me sound old) and for me Adore was probably their last good album. But their early music is just so fantastic.
Well, we both sound old then, 'cause I haven't liked much of what they've done in the last 20 years, either!
Going the other way, Archers of Loaf put out a decent record last year.
Talking about bands that have been around awhile, my wife and I just watched The Cure at Wells Fargo Center in Philly last night and they were incredible. If you get the chance to watch them on this tour, do yourself a favor and do it. You won’t be disappointed!
I would love to! I keep seeing posts talking about how they're knocking it out of the park, and it's giving me serious FOMO.
The album cover for Gish was taken in the first bow-front living room window in a crappy apartment on N. Jansen Street in Wrigleyville, just short of Irving Park Road. There were the oddest combination of three names that popped up on the mailbox on what truly was a one bedroom apartment, but was being let by the ghost of Ralph Furley from ABC’s Three’s Company. The girl never changed her tights.
But before that photo was taken, was before the Pumpkins were signed to a major label and were playing many of their gigs in the neighborhood at Metro, formerly Cabaret Metro, on N Southport.
Weekday mornings, I mean early morning, as I was snugly sleeping I would be awakened around 3 am to band practice for the last nine months I resided there. It was certainly delightful going to work having the Pumpkins directly below you bashing away all night. I’d get pissed sometimes and jump on the floor for them to shut up since I worked a regular workday in S. Michigan Ave.
My last three months in the less than desirable, but cheap digs, became untenable when they got a dog. I think it was Billy’s. He was always yelling at Buck and I was hearing yelps. I suspected Buck was being kicked. I couldn’t stand it.
They would also leave for a day or two and nobody came to take the dog out. I couldn’t take it anymore. I found another apartment on the lake.
I divested myself of roughly of a third of my books since I was moving to a smaller space. I had to laugh at Billy Corrigan perusing a copy of Emily Dickinson poetry that I had been schlepping round since college. He told me they had just been signed and with their big check were moving out. We agreed the place was a dump and exchanged our nicknames for our bizarre landlord who appeared to have a mail order bride and and at least one tv in every room. And that was that.
I love this (except for the poor dog). What a story!
Even though I went through puberty in the late 80s, and grunge was my spirit animal, I never could get into the Smashing Pumpkins. They were also sort of lumped in with Nirvana and Alice In Chains, etc, which wasn't a fair comparison or categorization at all. That said, I'm giving this album a listen right now based on seeing this. I'll just have to navigate without the nostalgia others may feel!
Yeah, it wasn't fair (or accurate) at all.
NIN was lumped in there as well. On certain songs, I guess I could see it... but maybe the dumbest was Faith No More. Like, wut.
Lol. Yeah... other than putting out records at the same time, that's a pretty big leap.
Remember how all-encapsulating "alternative" was as a genre?
What were we even thinking?!?
Right?!
Kevin, the thing that I like about you posts is how well they resonate with me. I dusted off the Smashing Pumpkins, hadn't listened to them in ages. The middle bands/albums are all new to me, I like The 3 Clubmen. The other bookend, Division Bell, is another that needs to be listened to again. It kind of slid under the radar and seldom gets attention from me. Thanks for another lovely post.
Thank you! I appreciate that.
Great stuff as always! I have a complicated relationship with the smashing pumpkins. Gish is definitely my favorite. Also, fun to listen to The Division Bell. I was late getting into Sparks (maybe not until the documentary) listening to this nice track today somehow brought me to this Fun Boy Three track.
https://open.spotify.com/track/5z45tUwRpcXKZpBuywhG4c?si=afe35b2a44e545e5
Gotta give it to ya on this one, Spotify.
I don't think I've heard this one! Sometimes the algorithm delivers.
But also, sparks took me to fun boy three, then I picked up listening to their album to find the track...so it's not about the algo, but how you use it? I think so.
Whenever anyone mentions a scene, I like to drop in Dunedin and the Flying Nun label!
As one should! :)
Ya, that upset me greatly. I was about 27, maybe, at the time. It was a lot of space for $450 a month, but when it was really cold outside, wow, it was freezing inside.
That conversation with Billy Corrigan we were trying to figure out how to get our keys back to our creepy landlord in the next building. Interestingly we both had names for Don Rhoton. I called him Don Proton. Corrigan called him Don Rotten. I think those knicknames reflected more about our outlooks!
Ha!
Was this one of the buildings where the Super controlled the thermostat?
Don Proton, or Rotten, lived in another building. He only turned the boiler on when the City of Chicago ordinance required and left it on until it could be stopped. There were no available controls in the units.
Ha! Thermostat? We had radiators that were never bled by the landlord. The wind came right through those large windows. He said he would paint my apartment. He painted around the furniture! I kid you not! I came home from work one night and I was like WTF! He didn’t even move the couch. It had paint all over the back of it.