Thursday, March 10, 2011

90's Jams #37: Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock" (1993)

1993 was the first official year of mall-ternative culture, the year AFTER the year punk broke. (By the way, 1991: The Year Punk Broke didn't come out until '92.) In '93, some hints of embarrassment started to arrive such as "grunge fashion" and Ugly Kid Joe's cover of "Cats In The Cradle," but it wasn't all horrible.. Post-grunge culture also made room the super-melodrama of Siamese Dream, which turned out to be (musically) triumphant enough that it didn't take long to be considered one of the greatest albums of alltime. With its enormously dense wall of sound and Corgan quietly and sincerely pleading "Let me out," "Cherub Rock" remains the moment that defines this record, combining the pop structure (barely under 5 minutes) with the intricate arrangements heard throughout the remainder of the record (including those stabbing high-pitched harmonic screams in the guitar solo).

Is this video embarrassing? That's the big question of the moment...

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