Siamese Dream<\/i><\/a>. That\u2019s nothing to say for 1995\u2019s epic Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness<\/i>, a double album with an album\u2019s worth of B-sides that was as ambitious as it was exhausting and overstuffed. Only Corgan\u2019s ego eclipsed the absolute beauty of most of it. So Adore<\/i> arrived in miniature compared to the preceding monoliths, shrinking the sonics and softening its blow, making something smaller as a kind of ego death. But it backfired. The Smashing Pumpkins\u2019 stock took a loss. The world wanted the Smashing Pumpkins, and especially Corgan, to be mighty and magnanimous, and in true reactionary Corgan fashion, he met the year 2000 and its musical culture of emerging technologies, n\u00fc metal, and synthetic pop with another stroke of giant ideas that only overwhelmed the public.<\/p>\nThe \u201cband,\u201d as much as it ever was one (Corgan was always running the show and at the controls), was dissolving just as Jimmy Chamberlin, arguably the alternative nation\u2019s greatest drummer, had returned to the fold. Machina\/The Machines of God<\/i> was supposed to be another double album, but this time a bombastic rock opera dealing with a semi-autobiographical tract about a fictional band (Glass and the Ghost Children) that risked flying too close to the sun. With deep concepts and a grand scope, it was supposed to be a return to the Smashing Pumpkins who soundtracked a party at the moon tower half a decade earlier, a last hurrah. However, Virgin balked at Corgan\u2019s vision of a multi-hour endurance test and only released the recordings as a standalone album, albeit still more than 70 minutes of music. Corgan nevertheless instantly released Machina II<\/i> as a free internet-only download.<\/p>\n
Just as Corgan said, Machina\/The Machines of God<\/i> was the final Smashing Pumpkins album with the original line-up; he didn\u2019t use the moniker for another 12 years. Though arguably the last great album released under the name (even Zwan is better than the subsequent Pumpkins records), does the zeitgeist care or even remember Machina\/The Machines of God<\/i>? They should. In a post-Cobain wasteland, it\u2019s a miracle of a record that established the band as timeless and as classic rock of the highest FM playlist. It was both revolutionary and evolutionary, attributes we now give Radiohead or Wilco.<\/p>\n
If you haven\u2019t listened in a while, the most resonant memory will be the first single, \u201cThe Everlasting Gaze,\u201d a song that is as searing as Melon Collie\u2019s<\/i> \u201cZero\u201d and echoes the sound that won the band ubiquitous acclaim and recognition in the first place. But the second single, and perhaps the album\u2019s spiritual guide, is \u201cStand Inside Your Love.\u201d Here Corgan uses his patented maximalism to fill a widescreen\u2013guitars that shimmer, guitars that blast, guitars that clear arenas\u2013and most importantly, the lilting melodies to counter the sneering. It\u2019s a ballad that has a pinch of nostalgia, a pinch of the future, and arguably, the \u201cthis is bigger than me\u201d theme that propelled Corgan. He might look awkward riding Thunder Mountain or interviewing Steve Vai, but damn if \u201cCherub Rock,\u201d isn\u2019t the most enduring moment created in the \u201890s, and on \u201cStand Inside Your Love,\u201d arguably one of Corgan\u2019s exquisitely composed pop songs, he builds a new monument to the band\u2014or the concept of the band.<\/p>\n
Even if you forgo the recently released eight-album expanded edition, which is inflated with demos and live tracks you don\u2019t need, for the 25th anniversary edition of the double album, you will finally get to hear the full rock opera (though it\u2019s always been readily available should you know how to download ancient MP3s). There are some telling moments in the second batch of songs for the Machina<\/i> project. Corgan was creating in a field of chaos and extremes. There are power-pop moves that mimic the minimal lo-fi purity of Guided By Voices, Sugar, or even Pavement on \u201cTry, Try, Try,\u201d \u201cThis Time,\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWound,\u201d\u00a0 and especially the entirely moving \u201cAge of Innocence,\u201d in the album’s triumphant third act. All could be a part of the aforementioned Zwan era or a beatific swan song for his true baby. Yet, \u201cHeavy Metal Machine\u201d shows a nihilistic amount of disdain for beauty, while \u201cThe Crying Tree of Mercury\u201d is a return to the gothic Adore<\/i> vibes. \u201cGlass and the Ghost Children\u201d (originally meant to be a two-hour centerpiece) is just as effective as a proto-Dungen, Can-esque jam that centers the \u201clesser\u201d of his \u201centire\u201d vision.<\/p>\n
By all means, explore and find the \u201cintended\u201d mix of Machina I and II<\/i>, and to that end, find Aeroplane Flies High<\/i> and marinate in the B-sides of Mellon Collie<\/i>. The truth is Billy Corgan\u2019s alter ego has been his lodestar: the indifferent guitar hero with an overactive imagination and arena-clearing riffs. His ambition has been his blessing and curse, and the different masks he\u2019s worn when trying to escape the facade of a rock star show up on the last \u201ctrue\u201d Smashing Pumpkins album. I have no idea what Ketamine feels like, but I can imagine, like Billy did in 2000, that this is a trip that touches all sensors in that kinetic field of rock invention. It\u2019s a forgotten relic of the last time anyone cared about guitars that is worthy of your time and effort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Whatever one\u2019s take on the Smashing Pumpkins\u2019 critically mixed and commercially ignored 1998 album, Adore, it signaled a stylistic fugue for Billy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[1444,911],"class_list":["post-8991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-past-perfect","tag-past-perfect","tag-smashing-pumpkins"],"yoast_head":"\n
Smashing Pumpkins Machina\/The Machines of God - The Agit Reader<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Past Perfect: Review of new reissue of Smashing Pumpkins' Machina\/Machines of God, originally released in 2000.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Smashing Pumpkins Machina\/The Machines of God - The Agit Reader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Past Perfect: Review of new reissue of Smashing Pumpkins' Machina\/Machines of God, originally released in 2000.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Agit Reader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheAgitReader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-25T12:51:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-10T15:23:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/machina1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin J. Ellliott\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@agitreader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@agitreader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin J. Ellliott\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin J. Ellliott\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/f12f599738453269a36b6d5b0284f4ef\"},\"headline\":\"Smashing Pumpkins Machina\/The Machines of God\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-25T12:51:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-10T15:23:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/\"},\"wordCount\":940,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/machina1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Past Perfect\",\"Smashing Pumpkins\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Past Perfect\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/\",\"name\":\"Smashing Pumpkins Machina\/The Machines of God - The Agit Reader\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/machina1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-25T12:51:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-10T15:23:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"Past Perfect: Review of new reissue of Smashing Pumpkins' Machina\/Machines of God, originally released in 2000.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/machina1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/machina1.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Smashing Pumpkins Machina\/The Machines of God\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/\",\"name\":\"The Agit Reader\",\"description\":\"a music webzine\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Agit Reader\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/agitcom.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/agitcom.jpg\",\"width\":339,\"height\":149,\"caption\":\"The Agit Reader\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheAgitReader\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/agitreader\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/f12f599738453269a36b6d5b0284f4ef\",\"name\":\"Kevin J. Ellliott\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/00170ab8d1bbbc0bd1c72a526cd0fb0803cb80063c78736adc63f6c1bc062331?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/00170ab8d1bbbc0bd1c72a526cd0fb0803cb80063c78736adc63f6c1bc062331?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Kevin J. Ellliott\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/author\/kevinjelliott\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Smashing Pumpkins Machina\/The Machines of God - The Agit Reader","description":"Past Perfect: Review of new reissue of Smashing Pumpkins' Machina\/Machines of God, originally released in 2000.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Smashing Pumpkins Machina\/The Machines of God - The Agit Reader","og_description":"Past Perfect: Review of new reissue of Smashing Pumpkins' Machina\/Machines of God, originally released in 2000.","og_url":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/","og_site_name":"The Agit Reader","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheAgitReader","article_published_time":"2025-08-25T12:51:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-10T15:23:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":250,"height":250,"url":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/machina1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kevin J. Ellliott","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@agitreader","twitter_site":"@agitreader","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kevin J. Ellliott","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/"},"author":{"name":"Kevin J. Ellliott","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/f12f599738453269a36b6d5b0284f4ef"},"headline":"Smashing Pumpkins Machina\/The Machines of God","datePublished":"2025-08-25T12:51:06+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-10T15:23:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/"},"wordCount":940,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/machina1.jpg","keywords":["Past Perfect","Smashing Pumpkins"],"articleSection":["Past Perfect"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/","url":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/","name":"Smashing Pumpkins Machina\/The Machines of God - The Agit Reader","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/machina1.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-25T12:51:06+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-10T15:23:06+00:00","description":"Past Perfect: Review of new reissue of Smashing Pumpkins' Machina\/Machines of God, originally released in 2000.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/machina1.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/machina1.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/smashing-pumpkins-machina-the-machines-of-god\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Smashing Pumpkins Machina\/The Machines of God"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#website","url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/","name":"The Agit Reader","description":"a music webzine","publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#organization","name":"The Agit Reader","url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/agitcom.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/agitcom.jpg","width":339,"height":149,"caption":"The Agit Reader"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheAgitReader","https:\/\/x.com\/agitreader"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/f12f599738453269a36b6d5b0284f4ef","name":"Kevin J. Ellliott","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/00170ab8d1bbbc0bd1c72a526cd0fb0803cb80063c78736adc63f6c1bc062331?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/00170ab8d1bbbc0bd1c72a526cd0fb0803cb80063c78736adc63f6c1bc062331?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"Kevin J. Ellliott"},"url":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/author\/kevinjelliott\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Up74-2l1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8991"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9004,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8991\/revisions\/9004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Smashing](\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/machina1.jpg\")
<\/a>Whatever one\u2019s take on the Smashing Pumpkins\u2019 critically mixed and commercially ignored 1998 album, Adore<\/i><\/a>, it signaled a stylistic fugue for Billy Corgan. I happen to think in terms of tone and vision, its only rival is Corgan\u2019s true masterpiece, 1993\u2019s Siamese Dream<\/i><\/a>. That\u2019s nothing to say for 1995\u2019s epic Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness<\/i>, a double album with an album\u2019s worth of B-sides that was as ambitious as it was exhausting and overstuffed. Only Corgan\u2019s ego eclipsed the absolute beauty of most of it. So Adore<\/i> arrived in miniature compared to the preceding monoliths, shrinking the sonics and softening its blow, making something smaller as a kind of ego death. But it backfired. The Smashing Pumpkins\u2019 stock took a loss. The world wanted the Smashing Pumpkins, and especially Corgan, to be mighty and magnanimous, and in true reactionary Corgan fashion, he met the year 2000 and its musical culture of emerging technologies, n\u00fc metal, and synthetic pop with another stroke of giant ideas that only overwhelmed the public.<\/p>\n