Hosts: Neil & Chris
Duration: ~89 minutes
Release: 05 January 2026
Neil and Chris finally tackle The Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream, an album that hits like a personal memory as much as a rock record. For Chris, it is a private-room, headphones-on relationship, the kind where the opening of “Cherub Rock” can still trigger a lump in the throat. For Neil, it’s a later-life discovery that only gets deeper the more you learn about the chaos behind it.
Pulling in long-form interview clips (with a very open admiration for Rick Beato’s world), they unpack how this record was made under pressure, dysfunction and near-collapse, then somehow emerged as a layered, melodic, analog monster. From Butch Vig’s post-Nevermind gravity to Billy Corgan’s perfectionism, it’s a story about obsession paying off, even when everyone involved is barely holding it together.
Key songs get spotlighted for both meaning and mechanics, including “Today” (written after deciding not to die), the orchestral punch and pop ambition of “Disarm” (plus its BBC controversy), and the emotional weight of “Spaceboy.” They also dig into “Mayonaise” as a fan-beloved deep cut, and how the album’s guitar layering became so complex it required diagrams just to navigate.
There’s also love for Jimmy Chamberlin’s drumming as a melodic voice, not just timekeeping, the kind of playing that makes the entire band feel alive and unpredictable.
Siamese Dream is more than a 90s classic, it’s a blueprint for making something huge without sounding generic. This episode frames it as a record born from pressure, rivalry, and meticulous craft, then asks the bigger question, what happens when an artist like Billy Corgan has no one left to push back?
Perfect for: Smashing Pumpkins lifers, 90s alt-rock obsessives, producers and guitar nerds, and anyone who loves albums with messy backstories and immaculate sound.