Before “Today,” The Smashing Pumpkins was an ambitious shoegaze and prog-rock-inspired underground band looking for a way into the mainstream. After “Today” was released, Billy Corgan had one of the greatest songs of the 1990s under his belt, and his band was rushing the charts alongside the top alt-rock groups of the day.
But just how did Mr Corgan make such a colossal leap in songwriting quality so quickly? And what was up with the sudden change in style?
Finally, it’s time to talk about what the lyrics for “Today” really meant, and why they still resonate with modern audiences.
The Smashing Pumpkins’ Journey to Making “Today”
Yes, Billy Corgan had plenty of talent and musical ability early on. One of the problems was that he knew it, too. The other was the fact that the group’s early releases, to my ears, sound like the classic example of a new band trying to integrate all its musical influences into just a few compositions.
Corgan, a fan of prog-rock and metal, met guitarist James Iha inside a music store and the feisty bassist D’Arcy Wretzky at a show. He invited them to join a new band, one that courted the interest of the modern alternative-rock audiences.
Corgan, a fan of prog-rock and metal, met guitarist James Iha inside a music store and the feisty bassist D’Arcy Wretzky at a show. He invited them to join a new band, one that courted the interest of the relatively new crowd of alternative rock fans.
The switch from drum machine to the talents of Jimmy Chamberlain skyrocketed the group’s ability. Debut album “Gish” was greeted, I’m sure, as a minor masterpiece among fans of shoegaze and noise rock.
Still, the ever-competitive Corgan watched from a distance while his Seattle rivals found platinum success. I’ve always been fascinated by his admission of the admiration he had for Kurt Cobain’s songwriting ability. A grunge version of game recognising game.
The sophomore record, as a result, was designed, I think, to be a similarly concise, punchy garage rock record. “Siamese Dream” achieved all of Coran’s commercial ambitions.
Meaning of the Lyrics of “Today”
For such a breezy, seemingly optimistic-sounding single, “Today” was born out of anguish. I find it fascinating that Corgan admits to suffering from terrible bouts of depression at the time of writing it.
At least, part of that unhappiness stemmed from the weight of expectation. Record execs believed that The Smashing Pumpkins could replicate the success of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Corgan agreed, but, nonetheless, felt pressured.
Corgan explains that the song was written as a manifesto for seizing opportunities and holding onto life. It was also his cure against writer’s block.
While on an episode of VH1’s Storytellers, the singer describes the process of writing the song: “I entered into the worst writing slump that I’d ever had. I couldn’t write a good song for about eight months. Also, being in public during that period in my life brought out a lot of feelings that I had repressed from childhood, this weird, abused-child syndrome where I locked everything away and figured I’d never have to deal with it again.
Suddenly, I found myself confronted with all these demons I thought I locked away. I entered into this very horrible period of my life. I lived in a parking garage for a while, and I was completely obsessed with killing myself – it became my primary preoccupation.
Out of the depths of this despai,r I bottomed out, and it came down to a simple decision in my mind: either kill yourself or get used to it – work and live and be happy. So I wrote this song at this critical juncture of my life. These songs gave me hope for the future and certainly changed the band’s lives.”
And as for me assuming that the song was a life-affirming song, Corgan is quick to correct me and others like me. “I was really suicidal. I just thought it was funny to write a song that said today is the greatest day of your life because it can’t get any worse,” he explained.
Luckily, “Today” was also delivered in record time. Record execs were pestering Corgan and the band to quicken their delivery of a follow-up to “Gish.” Corgan is said to have written this within minutes, demoed it and presented it to beaming record label personnel.
Rumours, which I tend to believe, have persisted for years that Corgan played all of the instruments across “Today” and the rest of the album.
They were right. The reasons for this, I assume, stem from Corgan’s belief that he could perform to a better standard than Iha and Wretzky, as well as to a kind of overwhelming control freak nature of Corgan.
By the time of the album’s release, the single was a hit with the grunge crowd. The Smashing Pumpkins were the centre stage at the Lollapalooza festival, the biggest event of its type at the time.
The Music Video for “Today”
I think that for a band so obsessed with lofty concepts and tight playing, The Smashing Pumpkins created a tremendous image around the band members. Part of that visual appeal was influenced by the music video for “Today” becoming one of the most popular in MTV’s 1990s history.
Stéphane Sednaoui directed this memorable music video. Purposely shot in lo-fi, inspired by the cult classic “Zabriskie Point,” and featuring Billy Corgan dressed as an ice cream van driver strolling through the desert, the music video provided rock fans with some of the most striking images of the period.
Legacy Of “Today” and of The Smashing Pumpkins
In fairness, I find it hard to believe that The Smashing Pumpkins would get everything right on “Today.” But this was one of the biggest, most direct, and best-sounding video singles of the period. It became a hit, instantly opening new doors for the band.
The song reached the Top 40 Mainstream Rock chart in the U.S. and appeared on most end-of-the-year lists in popular magazines like NME and Blender.
The album, produced by Butch Vig who had also handled Nirvana’s “Neverming” became one of the sonic blueprints that numerous alt-rock bands followed around this period.
“Siamese Dream” benefited from all of the self-imposed pressure, at least, commercially, I think. It’s sold more than 4 million copies in the U.S.A. alone. And while some critics were initially sceptical of the Chicago band jumping on the alt-rock bandwagon, reviews from that period are generally positive.
Meanwhile, The Smashing Pumpkins followed the record up with an ever more ambitious set of releases, made it out generally unscathed from the grunge aftermath, but later disbanded (for the first time) at the turn of the century.
Three of the original Pumpkins have reunited in recent years. And, despite some apprehension from Corgan who considers “Today” a silly pop song, the tune keeps being played at the band’s shows and is viewed as a modern alternative rock classic.
