Two Albums

Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - Disc 2

Virgin, 1995

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Shellac - 1000 Hurts

Touch & Go, 2000

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Riding in the car was sort of a downer today. I had in disc 2 of the Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Everything about this album is stellar. The music is beautiful and catchy and meaningful. The performances are exactly how they should be, which isn't to say that everything is in perfect place. The production is so polished but not glossy. It's perfect like every little detail is exactly where it should be, at the right levels and at the right moments.

Every time I listen to this album, I have a meaningful experience. There are always little details that either I've never heard before or I've long since forgotten. They're only strange bleeps and crashes and synth notes out of tune and other digital splashes thrown into a mess of really organic, manmade music with captivating and heart-wrenching melodies. And everything seems perfect for what it is.

The Pumpkins know when to rock and when to lean back and let it settle. Disc 2, of course, starts out frantic, goes through some mood swings, and then finally calms down enough that they can say "goodnight" and really mean it. It's funny how this opus has so few throw-away songs, even though it's got 29 chances. Maybe it's just the nostalgia, but I seriously can't imagine Mellon Collie as one disc.

So I got home and I was sick of the emotional torrent of the Pumpkins, so I choose not to put myself through disc 1, which is just as impactful, but a little more full of "rage." So instead I put in this monster:

What the hell was I thinking?

Albini has a tendency to hit you in the face with exactly whatever he's feeling. But instead of feeling his emotions, I always end up feeling sick because of them. And I sort of get addicted to this sickness.

Production is key on this baby. It's the polar opposite of Mellon Collie in this regard. There are no layers. Where Mellon Collie works in alternating layered hard rock and layered lullabye rythm, 1000 Hurts blasts you in the face with everything the band has. This is exactly one guitar, one bass, one set of drums, and one pissed off singer.

But it's not all blasting and it's not all destruction. It's carefully pieced together patterns that manage to congeal as working songs. Yeah, they're chunky and trippy at times, but never ambient. If you're listening at any reasonable volume, the production puts you into a room with all the components of the music - with enough echo to sound like you're in a concrete room and they've got the volume just right.

And the emotional honesty. There are tons of music out there - really good music even - Mellon Collie even - with just slightly forced emotion. The artists know how it feels but aren't feeling it at this exact moment. 1000 Hurts feels really honest. Frighteningly so. Captivatingly so.

Except of course when Albini's joking. And it's not a nice joke.