My First Time Listening to Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness by Smashing Pumpkins | My Reaction

‘Here is no why’ is the most underrated song in their catalogue

When this album came out in 1995, it absolutely blew my 15-year-old mind. 28 years later, and still nothing has come close to taking its place as my favourite album of all time.

This album has a song for every mood you could possibly be in… yet at the same time it all sounds cohesive and nothing sounds out of place . Top 5 album for me

This is the band at their peak in my opinion, never heard a more complete sounding album by any band. So many tracks that other bands in the 90s could only dream of writing, Billy is a genius.

"Thru The Eyes Of Ruby" is what I tell people is my favorite song. And "By Starlight" is secretly my favorite song.

There are actually four vocalists in Farewell and Goodnight - Billy, James Iha (guitar/vocals), D'arcy Wretzky (bass/vocal) and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums). the four original members of the band. James was also the lead vocalist on the song that ends the first disc. And you are right that By Starlight has a mournful quality to it. It's actually about Billy's wedding day with his first wife. He says that the song is about how during the ceremony he looked at his bride and saw that her eyes were glazed over and that she was daydreaming and how he worried about whether they were making a mistake getting married so young. The lyric "Dead eyes are you just like me?" is him wondering whether they were both really ready to make the commitment they were making.

What I love about Melon Collie is how perfectly it embodies the transition from your twenties into your 30s. Siamese Dream has that aching angst of youth and then Melon Collie widens the lens out to a greater sense of purpose and lived experience. It still deals with life, love, hurt and loss but has this kind of introspective mature feel to it. This then continues on Adore which feels even more insightful. I was 12 when Melon Collie was released and I basically grew up to the sound of my favourite band collapsing. I couldn't have hoped for a better band to hold my hand through the adolescent years. 'I fear that I am ordinary just like everyone. To lie here and die among the sorrows.' Just beautiful.

James is the lead vocalist on "Take Me Down," and the whole band sings on Farewell and Goodnight - Billy, James, D'arcy and Jimmy; describing that ending piano as "stars in the night sky" is perfect!

🖤🖤🖤 Porcelina of the Vast Oceans is such an epic track!!! It's awesome to hear your thoughts on this classic double album! 🤘

In the notes of the album it says "Explosion from DOOM courtesy of id Software" on Where Boys Fear to Tread. I always thought that was pretty cool

This is their magnum opus. The one worthy double-album ever recorded. Jellybelly is pure genius bliss...

This is actually an album that I can say changed my life, it changed how I viewed music, it revealed itself to me in different phases throughout my high school/college years. It’s the best non-perfect album I’ve ever listened to.

A master piece. The best double album of the 90's. An eclectic and a beautiful work

It is amazing that a band can write an album like this. That is why Smashing Pumpkins are so special. Thanks for your perspective and sharing your first listen with us, Molly.

Thru the eyes of Ruby is one of the most brilliant songs I've ever heard. Masterpiece in itself. I'm surprised it's not a favorite.

I'm surprised you only heard the two tracks before. There was a couple years you couldn't avoid hearing Tonight Tonight. It was everywhere! This was certainly the epic album of my youth.

I've always thought the final few bars of 'Farewell and Goodnight' are like a farewell kiss to the 90s alt-rock in some ways...as if Billy and the band knew the world and music were changing around them, their listeners were growing up and maybe heading out of the angsty teenage and early-20's period of their life, and driving into the sunset of the unknown. It has such a beautiful yet melancholic tone. It always moves me and reminds me of a time long past now.

I love how every one of the songs in this album has something special and memorable in it. And how some of them are just perfect songs.

1979 is the greatest song from the 1990s. It defined multiple generations in sound and lyrics. It’s just a wonderfully fantastic song.

So happy you enjoyed it, it truly is a gem of a recording. I love that it still sounds both fresh and nostalgic after all these years. It's always come across as a very sincere project, open vulnerability on display and free of cynicism. As you noted, love is a constant theme throughout but it never comes across as cheesy or pandering. Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime release. Really look forward to you experiencing the departure that is Adore at some point.