For me, hearing anything from The Smashing Pumpkins is like stepping into a time machine. They’re a band that I discovered in the early 90s when I was in college. Siamese Dream became required pre-game listening that we would play before going out, before a study sesh, before anything really. I don’t listen to them regularly these days, but after seeing them last Sunday at Barclays Center for the “Rat in a Cage” tour, they’re naturally back in my rotation. Other than the entire Siamese Dream album, the song that says it all for me is “1979”.
There’s a nostalgic, coming-of-age motif in many of Billy Corgan’s lyrics, probably most exemplified by this song. The timewarpy guitar intro ushers me back in time immediately. Of course, the year 1979 isn’t the point. The song is about looking back at our youth and the joy, exhilaration, and angst that come along with it. This is maybe the thing that draws me most to “1979”—it’s not a happy song, or a sad song, it’s an all-encompassing song.
“1979” sits near the first half of the second disc of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, a sprawling album that takes you in just about every musical direction imaginable. Heavy bangers paired with the more melancholic, introspective stuff. “1979” is a lot more laid-back and understated compared to most of the band’s canon for sure, but it still has that unmistakable Pumpkins sound.
There’s still plenty of guitar in there, but it’s the drum-machine beat that gives the song its hypnotic pulse. Jimmy Chamberlin’s live drumming is layered on top of the drum-machine, giving it a human feel without losing that mechanical feel. The guitars sort of shimmer around it, and everything just locks into place. Almost deceptively simple, but there’s plenty going on beneath the surface.
“1979” reminds us that when life happens this fast, sometimes you can only make sense of it by going back in time. For a few minutes, the song lets you do just that.
“SHAKEDOWN 1979
COOL KIDS NEVER HAVE THE TIME
ON A LIVE WIRE, RIGHT UP OFF THE STREET
YOU AND I SHOULD MEET”