HISTORY /// MAINSTREAM SUCCESS - 1992/1994

With the breakthrough of alternative rock into the American mainstream due to the popularity of grunge bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins were poised for major commercial success. At this time, and amid their protests, the Pumpkins were routinely lumped in with the grunge movement. In a Halloween night interview on MTV's 120 Minutes in 1993, Corgan remarked, "We've graduated now from [being called] 'the next Jane's Addiction' to 'the next Nirvana,' now we're 'the next Pearl Jam.'" The group nevertheless contributed the song "Drown" to the platinum-selling soundtrack of the 1992 movie Singles, a film set in the Seattle grunge music scene.

Corgan said that in the wake of Nirvana's landmark 1991 album Nevermind, "We felt a great pressure that if we didn't come up with a record that was huge, we were done. It was that simple in our minds. We felt like our lives depended on it." Corgan's depression deepened to the point where he contemplated suicide. To counteract his depression, Corgan worked overtime, saying he practically lived in the studio for the 1993 follow-up album, Siamese Dream. The album was recorded at Triclops Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, mostly between December 1992 and March 1993. The band lived in Marietta during the sessions, as Butch Vig reprised his role as producer. The decision to record so far away from their hometown was motivated partly by the band's desire to avoid local friends and distractions during the recording, but largely as a desperate attempt to cut Chamberlin off from his known drug connections. In this respect, the strategy failed, as Chamberlin quickly managed to find new connections and often was absent without any contact for days at a time.

The recording environment was very difficult, and the band fought constantly. The contemporary music press portrayed Corgan as a tyrant during the recording sessions. Corgan admitted there was some truth to the accusations, though he felt the press misunderstood the situation. Rumors circulated that he had recorded all the guitar and bass parts himself. It was never confirmed exactly how much each member participated on the album; Corgan did say he performed a majority of the guitar work, but only because he could record tracks and parts in far fewer takes. In all, it took over four months to complete the record, with the budget exceeding $250,000. Despite all the problems in its recording, Siamese Dream debuted at number ten on the Billboard charts, and sold over four million copies in the U.S. alone. MTV put the videos for the songs "Today" and "Disarm" into heavy rotation, garnering the Pumpkins international attention.

While the Pumpkins were successful, they were not universally adored by the alternative rock community. Participants in the indie scene had derided the band as careerists since their early days. Indie rock band Pavement's 1994 song "Range Life" refers to the band with the lines "I don't understand what they mean/And I could really give a fuck", which have been widely interpreted as an insult (although Stephen Malkmus, lead singer of Pavement, has stated "I never dissed their music. I just dissed their status."). Former Hüsker Dü frontman Bob Mould called them "the grunge Monkees," and fellow Chicago musician/producer Steve Albini wrote a scathing letter in response to an article praising the band. He countered that the Pumpkins were no more alternative than REO Speedwagon and said they were created "by, of and for the mainstream" and "stylistically appropriate for the current college party scene, but ultimately insignificant." Others such as Courtney Love of Hole (who dated Corgan before marrying Nirvana's Kurt Cobain) were vocal supporters of the band.

In 1994, Virgin released the B-sides/rarities compilation Pisces Iscariot which outperformed Siamese Dream by reaching number four on the Billboard charts. Also released was a VHS cassette titled Vieuphoria featuring a mix of live performances and behind-the-scenes footage. Following relentless touring to support the recordings, including headline slots on the 1994 Lollapalooza tour and at Reading Festival in 1995, the band took time off to write the follow-up album.

source: Wikipedia