The Nostalgia Of 1979 By The Smashing Pumpkins And Why It's The Best Song Of The 90s
Some songs just stand the test of time. This one is no exception.
Jamie Mah @grahammah
In the combative spirit that is Tristan’s recently released top 200 songs of the 90s list, I felt compelled to say my peace with regards to his ranking “1979" by the Smashing Pumpkins the second best song of the decade and not the first. He’s wrong to do so and here is my argument why.
“He just said, ‘Not good enough,’ and was ready to drop it,” says Corgan, “but I had a gut feeling about this song from the very beginning.” He accepted Flood’s implied challenge. “It was almost like I was afraid to go where this song was taking me. It’s the kind of song that if I thought about doing it on the previous albums, I’d have questions about whether I’d sound shitty doing it. It’s just not the typical Pumpkins song. So when he was hesitating about putting it on, it riled me. I thought, ‘No fucking way, this is not another toss-off song.’ It really inspired me to finish it and prove him wrong. So that night I wrote the entire song in about four hours. The next day Flood heard it one time and said, ‘It’s on the album.’ “ — Chicago Tribune, 1996
I was born in 1980. By the fall of 1995, my teenage angst had crested. I hated my school, sports were my passion, and music was my release. I was horny, shy and full of insecurity. I was also your typical grunge enthusiast. A devoted Nirvana fan, but an espoused Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains lover. I wanted to rebel like these antiheroes, but had no idea how too. Though they never fully fit the archetype of grunge act, the Smashing Pumpkins filled whatever void I had within in spades.
For “1979,” Corgan drew on a specific high school-age memory for inspiration: “I remember being about 17, 18, this weird feeling of having a job and a car, and I could go anywhere I wanted, but I still had the tethers to home, to school. It’s kind of a restless period with a lot of sexual energy and you’re stuck in fucking nowhere. That’s the feeling I had writing the song. Why “1979?” I have no idea, I had to call it something. Much of the song is more intuitive than literal. I trust my intuition way more than I trust my conscious mind.” - Starla
It all started two years prior in 1993 when I first heard their second, and in my opinion, seminal album, Siamese Dream. With the pulsing kinetic energy of its opening song, Cherub Rock, hooking me within an instant of my initial listen, my fascination and appreciation for Bill Corgan and co. began forthwith. Soon numerous hours were spent absorbing every facet of this record. I can’t count the number of times I walked to school, then to track practise and then back home listening to Today, Hummer, Disarm and so forth. I’ll never forget those countless evenings flipping my cassette tape under barren skies and frigid nights just so I could continue on my journey to a warm home and a hot meal. Without the cranked up sounds of this record to help me along, I’m not sure I’d have made it on some of those really cold nights.
Then there was the measure of the album itself. At first it was the song Today which was my favourite initially. The ingenious ballad every 13 year old had to call his own. Then it was Mayonaise which I could not ignore. The sheer beauty of its opening guitar sequence something I still marvel at all these years later. Then it was Rocket. Then Soma. Then Quiet. Each song providing a new meaning. A greater reason to appreciate the record and group itself.
My grade 8 grad yearbook photo. A few things of note. I was never that fast, Vern’s pizza is disgusting and my friends were racists. But, I had good taste in music. So I win.
Oh and my classmate Tyler did the illustration. Ultimate face palm.
So when the fall of 1995 hit, my fandom and excitement for the impending release of their third (Pisces Iscariot, a b-sides album of leftovers from the Siamese Dream recordings would be released in 1994 as an initial afterthought, only to gain notoriety and a cult following for several standout tracks, namely the sublime cover of Landslide and the dreamy Obscured) record was nearing teeny bopper levels.
I. Could. Not. Wait.
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was one of the most generous records of the 90s. Smashing Pumpkins took it upon themselves to make a record that only teenagers could love and for many it was the only one they needed. — Pitchfork
Wanting the eschew the painful process it took to get Siamese Dream off the ground, the band moved away from Butch Vig, the producer of their first two albums, Nirvana’s Nevermind and the drummer of the band Garbage. From there they hired Flood and Alan Moulder (they’ve produced pretty much everyone, notables being U2, Nine Inch Nails, New Order, The Cure and The Jesus and Mary Chain) to help them craft a more visceral sound. It worked. Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness is nothing like their previous work.
Also, if you are unfamiliar with the ego that is Billy Corgan, the following quote from guitarist James Iha should help clarify what type of control freak he was and most likely still is.
“The big change is that Billy is not being the big ‘I do this — I do that’. It’s much better. The band arranged a lot of songs for this record, and the song writing process was organic. The circumstances of the last record and the way that we worked was really bad.” — Far Out Magazine
Of the 28 songs chosen for the double LP, it was the darker and heavier track, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, that would be chosen as their first single, as it possesses less of the grunge and psychedelic sound found on Siamese Dream. Ironically, this is probably why I’ve never enjoyed it as much, as Siamese Dream is still my favourite record to this day. Regardless, my own personal preferences aside, Bullet With Butterfly Wings was a massive hit in every respect. The perfect song to get Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness off the ground. The appeal is apparent. It’s easy to distill with tonnes of commercial intrigue. Plus, what really gives this song life is drummer Jimmy Chamberlain. He’s the key to a lot of the success of this band. You hear it immediately.
Although, as successful a first single Bullet With Butterfly Wings would become, it wasn’t until January 23rd, 1996 when the glorious 1979 dropped where the enduring magic of the Smashing Pumpkins really lives on. I say this knowing full well the breadth of their discography and how many excellent hits they’ve produced over the years. 1979 tops them all. The paradox with my writing this statement is that it isn’t even my favourite song of theirs (it’s either Hummer or Obscured, I can never decide which). But I’m no fool. It is their best work. By a mile.
Billy Corgan considers “1979” the most personally important song on Mellon Collie. - Billy Corgan interview . Karl Daher . May 29, 1998.
There’s a timeless and affecting quality to its harmony, something few of their songs have been capable of exhibiting. What sets it apart is that it appeals to everyone, which is hard to do. I know a lot of people who either loathe the Smashing Pumpkins or they could care less about their work. However, I’ve yet to encounter anyone who hates this song. You can’t. It’s too happy and nostalgic. Plus the video — released during an era when people watched them — pairs so beautifully with the youthful joy one has at being a teenager. I remember watching it for the first time that January and thinking, “holy shit, I want to be these kids so badly.” And that’s the point, everyone does.
Additionally, 1979 received two Grammy nods for Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, while its accompanying video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video in 1996.
And of course, there’s “1979”, the one everybody can agree on. On a record that reveled in 70s prog and pomp without being restricted to it, it sounds futuristic. And while just as youth-obsessed as everything else here, it’s one of the few times where high school sounds like something that can be remembered fondly. Corgan loves to stress how it was the last song to make the record, and while its chorus does have an effortless charge embodying the “urgency of now,” it’s the only Mellon Collie song that functions best as nostalgia. — Pitchfork
With over 159 million views (!!!) on YouTube, the legacy of this song is clearly palpable some 25 years later. But to argue if it is the best song of the 90s asks forth the following two questions:
When thinking of the 90s best and most iconic songs, which one’s immediately spring to mind?
Then with a gun to your head, which song do you think more people like overall, throwing out personal biases.
The answer to number 1 is easy.
Smells Like Teen Spirit — Nirvana
1979 — Smashing Pumpkins
Wannabe — Spice Girls
Paranoid Android — Radiohead
Baby One More Time — Britney Spears
Say what you will about Britney, that song was massive and catchy. I’m tempted to throw Wonderwall in there by Oasis but I just don’t think it’s that good a track.
Now ask yourself, which of these five appeals to the broadest audience?
Smells Like Teen Spirit is probably the most iconic song of the decade. The one which most think of when looking back, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best, even though I was tempted to put it there. Wannabe was crazy popular and the song is fun, but do college guys flock to listen to this one? I don’t think so.
Actually, how often does one hear this song at all in 2021?
(Crickets)
Says plenty about the staying power of art and how we often misperceive something in the moment. Case in point: The Artist winning best picture in 2011 or the film Avatar. Both were lauded and praised when they were released, but little since. Still, Wannabe was extremely massive in its time, it deserves to be included in this group.
You can also flip that argument with Paranoid Android, as I doubt there have been many 14 year old girls who’ve danced their hearts out to this beauty. It’s an all time level track from one of the greatest groups ever.
But is it even the best song on OK Computer?
Is Karma Police equally deserving?
That’s the difficulty of lists such as these, toggling personal preferences with overall impact and appeal. If one were to just skew heavily in one direction, songs such as Wannabe or Baby One More Time would not be on my list, as doing so only causes one to ignore the impacts of history and the mark these song did have.
Speaking of Baby One More Time, now there’s a hit which undoubtedly captured the youth girl sensation. However, as gigantic a break this was for Britney at the time, it realistically just isn’t for everyone.
This leaves 1979, a song that hits with the whole lot. It’s catchy, edgy, futuristic and nostalgic all wrapped into one. You may not want to agree with me personally, but deep down and 159 million views later, your heart is telling you that I’m right with this selection. It’s the best song of the 90s. Period.
And now that that is settled, I need to go take a cold shower as holy hell am I ever getting old.
Please comment with your thoughts and do check out Tristan’s full list. It’s incredible.