A list (in no particular order) of my 500 favorite songs (singles, deep cuts, hits, and more) of all time. Includes a wide array of selections from rock, punk, funk, R&B, soul, classical, jazz, folk, and world music.
It's songs like "Once Upon A Time" that made me a fan of Smashing Pumpkins' Adore (1998). It feels like four minutes of floating, weightless. And it would be easy to drift away into its dreamlike atmospherics if it weren't grounded by the fact that it's about Billy Corgan's mom, Martha, dying from cancer and him trying to deal with the loss. (Although, I think the song's solemnity makes it more beautiful than if it were just some pleasant-sounding sugary confection.) Musically, it's a fine balance of organic and electronic elements—not unlike the rest of the album. There are strummed acoustic and electric guitars, atmospheric synths and misty keyboards, as well as live drums (played with brushes by Beck's drummer, Joey Waronker) atop a delicate drum machine beat, which actually is easier to discern on the original 1997 demo. I still find it odd that, back when Adore was released, Corgan had such a difficult time explaining to the music press what had inspired the sound of the record and how it differed from the multi-platinum Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness (1995). Depending upon what you read at the time, some were reporting it was "an acoustic album," while others were describing it as "a techno album," and Corgan wasn't offering much information either way about what was true. The production on Adore was greatly influenced by UK band Nitzer Ebb, a pioneering synth-driven industrial/post-punk band that was founded in the early 80s. In fact, founding member of Nitzer Ebb, Vaughn “Bon” Harris, was recruited by Corgan to add finishing touches to nearly half of the completed tracks on the album, giving them an "electronic edge." The result, to my ears, was something that felt like an homage to The Cure's moody and decadent album Disintegration (1989), only with late-90s drum sequencing and Pro Tools wizardry instead of pillowy mountains of late-80s gate reverb. At its heart, Adore was a collection of intensely personal, sometimes dark, well-written songs. But it was never the techno-rock monolith that most people made it out to be.
After the highs of "Move On Up," I figured we could bring things down a bit. I'll say upfront: I was never a huge fan of Smashing Pumpkins. However, unlike some of his contemporaries in the ubiquitous alt rock scene of the 1990s, I do respect Billy Corgan's song craft and his band's spot in the cultural landscape of that decade. But I just never warmed to their sound: the production always sounded a little too glossy, the mix a little too claustrophobic, the riffs a little too stadium-ready, and Corgan's voice a little too much like a bitchy cheerleader who smoked three packs a day. (Sorry, Billy.) Then, amid the turmoil of firing their drummer Jimmy Chamberlin (who had overdosed on tour in 1996) and the death of Corgan's mother on the heels of his divorce, the band released the fan-maligned, electronica-tinged Adore in 1998. Suddenly, I took notice. The ballads seemed less self-consciously bombastic; they were stripped to their bare, lovely bones. The faster, more rocking tracks chugged along with a feeling of spaciousness and groove that hadn't existed previously. And Corgan's voice felt like it was in the right context for a change--not too shrill, not too whiny. It all fit. Anyway, while I still think Adore is a very good album overall that deserves a second listen, the track "For Martha" was (and is) a standout for me. The song is a tribute to Corgan's mother, Martha, who died of cancer. Its intimate lyrics reflect the personal nature of the subject matter and embody a touching honesty that few songs (by the Pumpkins or otherwise) can match. Also the piano melody that repeats throughout the song is, quite frankly, haunting--this is no coincidence, I'm sure. Corgan also structures the song brilliantly, having it swell and then retreat back to a whisper every few bars. (If you've ever lost a loved one, you'll recognize that those musical ebbs and flows mirror the churning sea of emotions that one feels when trying to cope with loss.) It's just a well-crafted, beautiful song.
