National Album Day: Siamese Dream by Smashing Pumpkins

Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins; the album that gave me the power to get through my teenage chaos years and forever find other ‘Pumpkin heads’ in life, making life long friends out of them.

Back from the times when you actually listened to an entire album, from start to finish over and over, reading and learning every lyric, knowing every lick and key change, Siamese Dream starts and finishes in the perfect way an album should.

Siamese Dream brought to my teenage soul and ears sounds that had been swirling around inside me before I ever knew they could be created. The layered guitar sounds from Billy Corgan and James Iha soothed my angst ridden soul like nothing else. The way The Smashing Pumpkins crept into my young ears atop my bunk bed in the afternoon sun as I poured over the CD booklet of gorgeous artwork with the best lyrics I’d ever read will forever be a deeply cherished memory in my heart.

I’ll never forget the day I bought it, I was only 15 and there was change left over from the grocery shopping. I thought I’d take a chance by sneaking into the CD shop before going back to meet my mother, praying she wouldn’t notice the $16.49 or so was missing… thank goodness she didn’t or chose not to!

Today was the first single from this second album by Smashing Pumpkins and it became an anthem for all of us guitar loving grungers back then. The hope in that track was something we needed; bursting guitar filled awe for new love found in hot summers and excited adventures to my first live music festivals wearing my grape converse hi-top runners with pink corduroy mini skirt and old 70s floral shirt!

Mayonnaise will always be my favourite track from the album because it captures the desperate pain of being young, feeling misunderstood and being so inexplicably sensitive to all that’s going on around you but not having the wisdom of age to deal with it properly. The visuals the lyrics convey also contribute to the perfection of the album. Billy’s lyric writing back in the 90s was truly at it’s peak; ‘While the harlots of my perils, Scream’ is a sublime snippet. Ending the track with the perfect grunge wail of ‘I just want to beeeeee meee’ carved a place in many a young person’s being back then and forever.

The coming together of the magic four: Billy Corgan, James Iha, Darcy Wretzky and Jimmy Chamberlain for this album, with these specific songs was a magnificent moment in music history and I am forever grateful it came to me when it did.

Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins, 1993. Chosen by DJ & Photographer Belle Piec

Pet Needs Are Primetime Entertainment At The Old Church

It’s lunchtime in sunny Stoke Newington, the part of London that really feels like a village. Most of the crowd lined up outside the historic Old Church are making this the first stop on their weekend, and as they mingle among the old tombstones with beers in hand, the anticipation is fizzing in the air. For the fourth year in a row, Pet Needs are about to kick off their Fractured Party weekender, and we’ve so far beyond ready for it.

Alice Phoebe Lou Enchants London At The Roundhouse

On Friday, 2nd May, 2025, the Roundhouse in London played host to a spellbinding performance by South African-born...

Lizzie Esau Unleashes Explosive New Single ‘Bugs’ — A Dark, Defiant Step Forward From A Rockshot Favourite

Rockshot Magazine favourite Lizzie Esau continues her rapid ascent through the UK’s alt-rock landscape with the release of her most accomplished single to date, Bugs. A darkly euphoric track filled with emotional grit and lyrical nuance, Bugs sees the 25-year-old Newcastle native confront the chaos of creative self-doubt with ferocity — and catharsis.

EMMMA Finds Power In Heartache With Stirring New Single ‘Wednesday’s Child’

EMMMA is no stranger to vulnerability — but with her latest single, Wednesday’s Child, the rising UK-based alt-pop artist turns raw emotion into a seismic act of self-empowerment. Released as the next step toward her second EP, the track is a defining moment in her artistic evolution: darker, bolder, and more emotionally fearless than anything she’s released before.

Jon Allen Unearths Gritty Past Of 18th Century London With Immersive New Album ‘Seven Dials’

British singer-songwriter Jon Allen invites listeners into the fog-shrouded streets and shadowy corners of 18th century London with his latest album, Seven Dials. Known for his earthy blend of folk, blues, and Americana, Allen trades modern-day themes for a haunting historical portrait that’s as cinematic as it is emotionally raw.

Josh Groban Shines Bright With New Career-Spanning Album ‘Gems’

Josh Groban is entering a new era of reflection and celebration with the release of Gems, a deeply personal,...

Sophie Grey Is Not Waiting Anymore — She’s Putting You ‘On Hold’

Rising electro-pop artist Sophie Grey. is back with a brooding new single, On Hold, and it’s everything we’ve come to expect from the multi-talented producer, performer, and provocateur — shimmering synths, bold visuals, and an anthem for the digitally disenchanted. Out now with an equally cinematic music video, On Hold is a hypnotic blend of retro-futurism and raw emotion, delivered with Grey’s signature flair and fiercely independent spirit.

Lorde’s Rebirth: ‘Virgin’ Ushers In A Raw, Unfiltered New Era

In an industry that thrives on reinvention, Lorde has always moved to the beat of her own creation. Now, four years after the sun-soaked introspection of Solar Power, the enigmatic New Zealander has announced her fourth studio album, Virgin, due out on 27th June — a project that promises to be her most emotionally exposed and artistically unguarded work to date.