In Defense of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Dawn to Dusk

June 23, 2007 7:44 PM

n my last post, I called The Smashing Pumpkins' fourth album one of the best albums of all time. Several commentators then challenged that assertion. Which is fine. But you guys are wrong. Let me explain why.

Although I've previously explained why I love The Smashing Pumpkins generally and Mellon Collie specifically so much, I think that I can defend the album on its own objective merits. So now let's evaluate each song--all twenty-eight of them (in two parts). I'll give the title, my iTunes rating, and a brief opinion.

"Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness"--4/5
This serves an excellent introduction to the album. It's simple but moving, I think. I really like it.

"Tonight, tonight"--5/5
Far and away one of the best songs on the album. The dynamics in this one are amazing, the strings are beautiful, and the lyrics are really good. Definitely a great song.

"Jellybelly"--4/5
I think that the first three songs on Mellon Collie really summarize what the Pumpkins were capable of: from the soothing piano of the opening track, to the soaring strings on "Tonight, tonight," to rocking so hard it'll shatter your teeth on "Jellybelly." This song rocks. Hard.

Zero--4/5
I have to admit that I just downgraded this one from five stars. But it's still pretty good, even if it's a little repetative.

Here Is No Why--5/5
I obviously like this one a lot. I really like the way the song builds and evolves, a trademark of Billy Corgan's songwriting style.

Bullet with Butterfly Wings--5/5
This is just a classic. It rocks so fucking hard in parts, and is mellow and beautiful in others. It's perhaps the best example of the loud-louder-really quite-really loud dynamic the Pumpkins were really good at.

To Forgive--5/5
Another unbelievable song. It's so depressing, it's awesome. This is definitely one of the Pumpkins' best songs.

(Fuck You) An Ode to No One3/5
I didn't used to like this one very much, but it's grown on me in the decade since the album's release. I still don't think it's a standout track, but it's a pretty good example of Billy's sometimes ridiculous lyrics.

Love--4/5
This is a pretty decent song, I have to say. It's not one of my go-to tracks, but I always get into it when it comes on. It holds the unfortunate spot of being a slightly better than average song on a disc with a bunch of really good songs.

Cupid de Locke--2/5
Eh. This song is neither good nor terrible--it's pretty inert. If I'm in the mood to get to much better songs, I always skip this one. If I'm listening to the album all the way through, I listen to it. There's that recitation part, which I don't really like. This is definitely one of the weaker tracks on the album.

Galapogos--4/5
I really like this one--the lyrics are introspective and the music matches the mood perfectly.

Muzzle--5/5
Another one of my all-time favorite songs, and the song I've claimed as the theme song to my life--"Time heals, but I'm forever broken."

Porcelina of the Vast Oceans--4/5
Billy was always excellent at writing long songs. At over nine minutes long, this is one of the album's longest songs, and it's also an excellent example of the dynamic range the band used--it takes over two minutes to fade in and then, suddenly, it explodes. It's awesome.

Take Me Down--2/5
And then they let James Iha write a song. That's pretty much all you have to say. It's not really all that special. It might be my least favorite song on the album. Oh well.

Thus ends side one, Dawn to Dusk. I'll write about the second side, Twilight to Starlight, later.

1 Comments

tRJ said:

In the interest of discussion, I'd like to share my ratings. But first, since everyone's rating philosophy seems to differ, a quick note on how I rate songs.

If I listened to my entire music collection in a mathematically random way, every song would have an equal chance of being played. I think of the star ratings as a way of indicating the frequency with which I would like to hear a song, relative to random.

Thus, every song starts with a 3, by default. This makes all songs even, preserving natural randomness. I then have two levels of rating in either direction. A song I can do without hearing often will get a 2. A song I would rather never hear again, without express intervention, gets a 1.

Conversely, a song I like and would like to hear more frequently will get a 4. A 5 is reserved for those songs I love and want to hear often, to the exclusion of other lesser songs. This is key because I think of songs not only within the framework of the album, but within the whole of my collection. Thus, an album I like might contain no 5-star songs at all. But I digress.

As to this album:

"Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" - 3/5
If you're doing a piano instrumental, it better be good, and this one is. But if it leads the album, it better kill. This one does not.

"Tonight, tonight" - 3/5
This one has always just bored me. It may have something to do with the video, which I found excruciating to sit through.

"Jellybelly" - 4/5
Finally, a song that rocks. Why is this the third track?

"Zero" - 3/5
This is another good riff-driven song, but the lyrics annoy me.

"Here Is No Why" - 4/5
This is definitely a good one, with a pretty inventive structure.

"Bullet with Butterfly Wings" - 4/5
This one does rock and I love the sound of it. I think the lyrics keep it from 5-star status though.

"To Forgive" - 5/5
This is the best song on the first disc. I concur with your findings.

"(Fuck You) An Ode to No One" - 3/5
This one might get higher marks if it ended about at about 3:03.

"Love" - 3/5
This one is decent, but reminds me too much of "TEITBITE," which is a better song. Also, minus points for gratuitous use of the flanger.

"Cupid de Locke" - 2/5
I agree.

"Galapogos" - 3/5
The song's decent, but not a standout.

"Muzzle" - 5/5
This is a great song. The opening major chord and vocals give it a power and grandness. This should have been the opener.

"Porcelina of the Vast Oceans" - 3/5
For being so long, there isn't enough here to hold my attention.

"Take Me Down" - 2/5
Even if I accept the need, thematically, for a sleepy track to end the first disc, the song still sucks.

June 26, 2007 3:36 PM

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