“The Smashing Pumpkins sound” that often wasn’t 3:55 pm // Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Posted by jjb in analysis, influence, last.fm, siamese dream.trackback
I have often seen claims that Silversun Pickups or other bands have been influenced by or are keeping alive “the Smashing Pumpkins sound” (check out this Google search for many examples). The “sound” to which these claims refer is surely that of the layered guitars on Siamese Dream‘s louder tracks. But check out the Smashing Pumpkins’ ten most-listened-to songs on Last.fm:
Of these ten songs, only two — “Today” and “Cherub Rock” — definitely have the sound described above. Maybe one could stretch it to include two others, those being “Zero” and “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness — but there is no way that any of the other six songs can be placed in that group. So perhaps it is better called “the Siamese Dream sound” than “the Smashing Pumpkins sound”.
I just really don’t hear it. The 2 bands’ sounds definitely aren’t alien to each other, and would fit in similar genres, but that’s about it. Highly skilled, technical, jazzy drumming is at the forefront of most of the Pumpkins’ songs. SSPU…..I don’t know if I hear even a single creative drum fill, on any of their albums…the drumming is very stiff and dry. SSPU has a fuzzy guitar sound, and while I like it more than most other radio-friendly music today, it has nothing on the Pumpkins’ layer-upon-layer guitar tracks. I’ve heard people say it’s because Brian Aubert has an “effeminate” voice….OK, well, it sounds nothing like Corgan’s weird, cracking, nasal tone….and there are TONS more bands out there with effeminate-sounding singers. I don’t get it. I do enjoy both bands, though.
rC = “Cruddier Purpose”
And I absolutely don’t hear “the Siamese Dream sound” with SSPU. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anything that’s similar to that benchmark.
SSPU dont sound like Siamese Dream.WTF???
The sound being referred to is actually in the guitar chords I believe. In the majority of the pumpkins songs listed( as well as many others) they use power chords along the 5th to 3rd strings, EXCEPT (important) the 4th string is muted(not played). This makes a fairly distinctive sound, and SSPU often use the same type of chords. Notably on Kissing Families and Lazy Eye, as well as others. There are also other guitar similarities, and the fuzzyness definitely adds to the comparisons.
I of the Checkered Flooring
I think SSPU sound more like My Bloody Valentine, but I can definitely hear some sort of influence. They have that droney, loud/soft guitar dynamic, and the vocalist has a feminine lilt when he sings. Also, the guitars are always super high in the mix, which helps the comparison. For those that aren’t musicians themselves, or for that matter, really into music in general, the comparison is going to happen simply due to them being more alike than different.
Then again, my older friends who were indie hipsters back when Siamese Dream was at its peak, they constantly call Smashing Pumpkins a MBV cover-band… which is inherently wrong to me, but I was still an impressionable lad when SD dropped, and had no idea who the hell MBV were. Were you to ask my close friends in the same age-group, they sometimes refer to SSPU as a SP cover-band. Food for thought.
Also, and this is just my anecdotal experience with my friends and social network… most people consider Siamese Dream to be the Smashing Pumpkins. They acknowledge MCIS, but all infinitely prefer SD for reasons even they cannot describe. And I can understand that. SD had a distinct cohesive sound from beginning to end, whereas MCIS just jumped all over the place. I love MCIS *because* of its range, but I’m also an eccentric who grew up on Faith No More.
Were you to play a karaoke (ie: without vocals) version of “1979″ and then follow that with a vocal-less version of “Tonight, Tonight” for someone who had never heard SP, then chances are they would have no idea that it was by the same band. If you were to do the same experiment with two songs from Siamese Dream… say “Cherub Rock” and “Disarm” just for the sake of them being singles- well, I’d like to think that this might have a different outcome simply due to the production. Siamese Dream felt more like an album. MCIS was too grandiose to be merely an album… it was so much more than that.
Oh, and let’s not forget the superficial similarities (which unfortunately are a larger factor than the actual sonics in this stupid world):
1. Lead guitarist with vocals that could be described as “feminine” or “whiny”.
2. Female bassist that contributes back-ups.
3. Asian guitar player.
4. A drummer. Which is honestly the only difference. This guy is hip, unlike Jimmy’s early mullet… then again, he certainly isn’t as good a player as Jimmy, but we’re not talking craft, we’re talking shit.
i am a huge fan of both bands and i will acknowledge the similarities. i think the song that really did it is Lazy Eye. the SP similarities initially drew me to SSPU, but the more i listen to them, the more different they become. especially on their newest album. as others have said, the similarities are pretty general:
1. layered guitars with heavy fuzz distortion like SD era
2. distinctive, effeminate vocals
3. chick bass player
4. SP —> SSPU
Those kind of songs are my most played also, but it’s only because the band played them most frequently at live shows. meh.
[...] Pitchfork, of course.Personally, I’m not really too into this band. It’s weird, I mean, I get the Smashing Pumpkins comparison and all, and I totally dig the Smashing Pumpkins, but this band just doesn’t do it for me. [...]