"King B's"
Guitar World - January 1997
In a Guitar World exclusive, Billy Corgan, with some help from Smashing Pumpkins pal James Iha, personally dissects the songs on the band's five CD collection of singles and B-Sides, The Aeroplane Flies High.
Billy: Our not-so-innocent obsession with B-sides began innocently enough in 1991 when, after recording our debut album, Gish, we were asked if we had any additional songs that could be used as a flipside to a single. Instead of choosing a song I didn't like, I took it as a challenge to put out something special and different. Since then, we have released about 60 extra tracks- or the modern equivalent of about five additional albums.
Even I admit that this is excessive, but I just consider it the logical extension of the special things I used to put on tapes for my friends. On this album,we have included everyone in by releasing almost everything that we had.
For our new singles collection, The Aeroplane Flies High (Virgin, 1995) B-sides in one package. There is no filler and no live tracks-just more and more and more songs. Recorded between the cracks of touring, literally every available moment and every possible situation, these songs are very much a labor of love.
Here is a track-by-track insight with James explaining his songs and me trying to explain mine.
-Billy Corgan
"The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)"
A brief snippet of this tune, which was originally entitled
"Disconnected," is found in the "Pastichio Medley." This is a Mellon
Collie riff that I could never seem to find a place for. [Producer]
Flood didn't like this one much ("too heavy metal"-a common complaint),
and I never finished it until right before it was recorded. Essentially
a new song with an old riff, with spoken word bits courtesy of my
friend. The solo, funnily enough, was quickly thrown down because I
had to go to a funeral. It was supposed to be a reference for where to
pick up when I came back. But when I returned, I was surprised by how
much I liked it.
"Believe"
James Iha: This was another song recorded the day after the music for
the album was done. It's supposed to be an uplifting song, but it had
this undercurrent of longing, depression, sadness, etc....The opening
guitar was played on a Gibson J-100XTRA, which has got this great,
wide-open sound, and there's a clean electric guitar doubling it but
mixed way back to give a chorusing "sparkle." There are also two bass
guitar tracks on most of the song, played on a weird Epiphone bass that
I bought for a hundred dollars at a pawn shop, and which also got used
a lot on Siamese Dream. On the track, one plats chords high up and the
other just plays the root notes to give it some weight.
"The Bells"
James Iha: I wrote "The Bells" two or three years ago, and each
instrument was seemingly recorded about six or seven months apart-not
really on purpose, but just as a demo that kept growing. I recorded the
acoustic guitars at my old apartment, and then after I moved, I recorded
Eric Remschneider's cello part in my basement. Then, for this single, I
had another friend, Adam Schlesinger (of Fountains of Wayne and Ivy),
play piano, and then D'Arcy and I did the vocals. I like the song
because it is very simple but has a twist in the time signatures-sort of
in the Nick Drake style.
"Blank"
A home demo recorded in my bedroom the day it was written, this one was
never supposed to come out. I never really liked it much, but a lot of my
friends said it was one of their favorite songs. At the last minute it
replaced a song called "Towers of Rabble," because I think I liked that
one even less.
"The Boy"
James Iha: This is a New Wave song that has the power-pop Jazzmaster
with a warped neck that looks cool but isn't really good to play.
There's also this funny guitar-drum break in the middle of the song
where I hang a chord and use the whammy bar. Flood liked this song but
it just didn't fit the album.
"Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
Believe it or not, the original riff from this song came to me during
one of the Siamese Dream recording sessions. Somewhere, I have a tape of
us from 1993 endlessly playing the "world is a vampire" part over and
over. But it wasn't until a year and a half later that I finished the
song, writing the "rat in the cage" part on an acoustic guitar at the
BBC studios in London on the same day that "Landslide" was recorded.
"Cherry"
Of all the B-sides, this song is probably my biggest regret. I never
spent as much time on it as it probably deserved, with this version
showing very little improvement from the demo. This one probably should
have made the album. I love its feeling and atmosphere, the warbly
guitar courtesy of an effect that changes oscillation in ratio to
signal input (the harder you hit it, the faster it goes). The basic
tracks were recorder during the Mellon Collie sessions.
"Clones (We're All)"
A fairly obscure Alice Cooper song from his early-eighties New Waver
period. It was rehearsed and recorded in about an hour. I first heard
this song when a Chicago band called Radio Fashion used to play it in
the late eighties.
"Destination Unknown"
A great nihilistic song; this is the Missing Persons' lament of
nothingness. I love the lyrics to this song. The first-grade techno
vibe evolved out of boredom with some of the rock and roll-y things that
we'd been working on.
"Dreaming"
This is a cover of Blondie classic from the late seventies, with D'Arcy
handling most of the vocals. We decided to do this with a breezy
hippity-hop vibe, with a little Joy Division thrown in for good measure.
Interestingly enough, this song was plagued with all sorts of technical
problems that made mic-ing it a technical nightmare- vocals with
electrical noises, drum loops with scratch guitars recorded over them,
etc.
"God"
Forever slated as a Mellon Collie song-to-be "God" just couldn't cut it
in the end. The beat was probably a little to close to "Bullet," but it
still rocks hard. It was tracked during the Mellon Collie sessions, with
overdubs and vocals added much later.
"Jupiter's Lament"
This is supposed to be the Mellon Collie gospel song, and a rough
version even exists with all the band members singing. This version is
my home demo, cut on the same morning as "Stumbleine."
"The Last Song"
This is the only B-side written entirely after Mellon Collie was
completed; I always seem to write a little burst of songs in the momentum
of finishing an album (see "Drown"). I thought for a while about holding
this song for our next record, but in the end I decided that it was so
in the spirit of Mellon Collie that it was best served as an extra
track. I never intended to have a guitar solo, but my father was hanging
out with me at the studio, so I asked him to play on it. Every time I
hear this song, I burst with pride to hear my father's great, and very
influential to me, guitar playing.
"Marquis in Spades"
The band never really liked this song. They were always snickering at
it, but I always liked its sheer brutality. It was recorded live on my
8-track cassette recorder, on which I've done almost all my demos since
before Gish.
"Medellia of the Gray Skies"
originally titled "E.P.," this song was briefly considered for Mellon
Collie as a companion piece to "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans." I could
never seem to finish the lyrics until right before it was recorded, live
with my pals from The Frogs. This song turned out must more beautiful
than I ever dreamed possible, teaching me yet another lesson in
spontaneity.
"Meladori Magpie"
Another believe it or not, this left-over from Siamese Dream was written
in the last-minute crush. Butch Vig never thought much of it, but it is
one of my secret favorites. A simple song of innocence that has
double-tracked, finger-picked acoustic and drum machine, and was
recorded at home.
"Mouths of Babes"
During the year and a half of Siamese Dream touring, we tried to work on
all sorts of new songs. From all the endless jams and tapes, this song
and "Marquis in Spades" were the only ones that survived. A favorite at
soundcheck with nonlyrics forever. Another heavy metal victim, or at
least too much like a Siamese Dream track.
"My Blue Heaven"
I've wanted to cover this song for five years, but found it impossible
to learn, as I can't seem to learn anyone else's song. Written in 1927,
this song is a well-known standard. I thought about doing this more
futuristically, but in the end opted to let it be beautiful in its
simplicity.
"A Night Like This"
James Iha: This is one of my favorite Cure songs, but in doing a cover
we always tryed to change something about it. I decided to make it a
slow, acoustic dirge with different drum feels for each part instead of
a straight beat through the whole song. There's also a cello, which
gives it a gothic feel. At the end it sorta rocks out with some Big Muff
and Neil Young & Crazy Horse kind of rhythm guitars.
"1979"
The most frequently asked question about "1979" is, "What is the
'ooh-ahh-ahh' sound at the end of every phrase?" Flood and I were
tracking the song, and I started humming the "oohs" like a melody line.
I sang them to tape, we sampled the pertinent ones, electronically
manipulated them, and looped them against the drum beat. One of my
favorite songs from the album.
"Pastichio Medley"
This is our growing infamous riff collection of practically, but not
almost, every idea that was attempted for Mellon Collie that didn't even
make B-sides status. I sorted through hundreds of hours of rehearsal and
album tapes, and kind of randomly ran small bits all together to create
a pastiche of madness. The original titles were all used.
"Pennies"
One of those songs that I write in 10 minutes and can't seem to shake off. I like this song a lot, and find myself humming it about the house, as it is a very rare example of actual Pumpkins humor in a song. Recorded live to a 8-track cassette, with a few acoustic 12-string overdubs just to give it a little zing. This was our second choice for a take; the better take was lost when the engineer forgot to press "record."
"Rotten Apples"
A home demo that I just didn't have the heart or energy to go back and
record. I like the lyrics a lot, and if I had spent more time on it it
probably should have been on the album. It was written in the initial
post-Lollapalooza batch ("33," "Jupiter's Lament,' Methusela," "Ugly")
of acoustically tinged songs. It has double-tracked, finger picked
guitar-all the better to hide those little mistakes-with a few choice
keyboard overdubs bleeding through the vocal mikes.
"Said Sadly"
James Iha: A fun song to write and record. It's sort of my version of a
country duet song. I recorded this the day after we finished the music for
the album, and had a friend of mine, Nina Gordan (of Veruca Salt), sing
with me because she's got a great tone and character in her voice. The
guitar fills and slide guitar are in the style of Derek & the Dominoes,
Clarence White, the Byrds and the Allman Brothers. We did one track of
guitar fills with a Les Paul through an MXR phaser with a clean sound,
as well as another track of Les Paul slide guitar which gives the song
kind of a romantic sound, most of which was done in one or two takes.
"Set the Ray to Jerry"
Another remnant of a distant Siamese Dream past, "Set the Ray to Jerry"
was first written somewhere during the Gish tour. It's always been a
band favorite, and seemingly only the band's, because no one ever
mentions it. A sweet, simple song featuring only bass, drums, and some
delayed James guitar. One night Flood and I put everything we had on a
couple of tapes (about 40 songs) and just drove around Chicago until
3:30 in the morning deciding what was on or off the album. When we
listened to "Set the Ray," it really moved me, but when I looked over to
Flood he just shook his head no. That was the end of "Set the Ray" on the
album, because I trust Flood's opinion so much.
"Thirty-Three"
A simple song in a country tuning, "Thirty-Three" was the first song the
I wrote when I came home from all the Siamese Dream touring. I took three
days off, and this was literally the first thing that came out of my
hands when I sat down. I was living in my new house for the first time,
and this song conveys all of that. The "cha-cha-cha" sound is my drum
machine through a flanger, and what you hear is the same one right off
the demo because I couldn't remember how to recreate it. The stringly
sounds are part Vocoder, plus five slide guitars tuned to one note each
to create the chords.
"Tonight, Tonight"
When we were still in the middle of the Siamese Dream touring, I booked
us into a local Chicago studio to just put all of our ideas down on
tape, without censorship of opinions, etc. "Tonight" was one of those
ideas, but it was originally in the key of C instead of G. The only
problem was I couldn't sing it in C, so I figured out the version on
Mellon Collie to suit my limited range. I never thought "Tonight,
Tonight" would be a single. I just didn't think people would get it.
Also, I have to say that recording to 30-piece string-section was
probably one of the most exciting recording experience I have ever had.
"Tonite Reprise"
Originally slated to go on towards the end of the Mellon Collie album,
this one was hacked off in the name of "When is enough too much?" I had
just come back from the Chicago Bulls' tragic loss to the Orlando Magic
in the playoffs, and was very depressed. My voice was hoarse from so
much shouting. Flood threw up his famous mikes, and I just did it live.
I used my trusty Gibson acoustic, with the rusty strings.
"Transformer"
Flood thought that "Transformer" was almost like a novelty song. But I
always like that crazy-go-go beat. Recorded in Sydney, Australia, and
Chicago, this song has about nine rhythm guitars, all playing the same
three notes. Also, many of the guitars were sampled out and destroyed
going back in.
"Tribute to Johnny"
Our tribute to Johnny Winter, circa 1974; a true original, and one of my
favorite guitarists.
"Ugly"
"You're All I've Got Tonight"
"Zero"
A really great Cars song, stripped of everything but the most basic riff
to emphasize the heavy double-tracked drumming. Also, we added a Bay
City Roller-style stomp, with me and about eight of my friends stomping
along with the third verse nicely out of time.
We like to call this style of our music "Cybermetal." "Zero" has six
rhythm guitars, with two line-in 12-string acoustics, plus those wacky
Iha leads. Tracked live with overdubs added later, this is a true mover
as well as the first song that was recorded for Mellon Collie, James has
always said this reminds him of Judas Priest.