The Smashing Pumpkins are an influential American alternative rock band, fo… Read Full Bio ↴The Smashing Pumpkins are an influential American alternative rock band, formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Billy Corgan and James Iha met in a record store, and began performing in local nightclubs with their bassist, D'arcy Wretzky, using a drum machine. Playing with a drum machine frustrated both the band and their audience, and so Chicago jazz drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was hired soon afterwards.

Less influenced by punk than many of their contemporaries, the Pumpkins had a densely layered, guitar-heavy sound, with powerful loud-to-soft-to-loud transitions, while still picking up grunge, heavy metal, power pop, psychedelic rock, shoegazer-style production.

In later recordings, namely Adore, the fourth album, an electronica flair filtered in after Jimmy Chamberlin temporarily left the band for drug rehab. Though Chamberlin returned for their fifth album, Machina/The Machines of God, electronica undertones remained. The emotional tone of bandleader Billy Corgan's songs ranged from angry (X.Y.U.) to dour (Disarm) to jubilant (Cherub Rock).

Selling more than 18.3 million albums in the United States alone (as of 2006), The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the 1990s. However, internal fighting, diminishing sales, drug problems, cultural vitality, and what is speculated to be improper treatment from their record company, hampered the band in their later years, leading to the 2000 break-up.

Prior to the complete dissolution of the original line-up, their final tour (dubbed "Sacred and Profane"), featured former Hole bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur to fill in the gap left by D'arcy Wretzky, who left in September of 1999. Besides touring with the band she also appeared in the videos accompanying "Machina/The Machines of God".

The band's final album, "MACHINA II / The Friends And Enemies of Modern Music" was unofficially released on vinyl in 2000, prior to their break-up, with the record company refusing to back the band with a pressing. Only 25 vinyl copies were made, each signed by the band. The album was then released across various fan sites by those who received the album and transferred it digitally, as a final tribute to the band's supporters.

Problems have been seen since then with Billy Corgan, James Iha (who later joined A Perfect Circle), and D'arcy Wretzky, both of whom started their own record company Scratchie Records.

Billy Corgan would continue from there first forming the band Zwan with members Matt Sweeney, Paz Lenchantin, David Pajo, and Jimmy Chamberlin. After a bad breakup shortly after their debut album Mary Star Of The Sea Billy turned solo and released the album TheFutureEmbrace. Jimmy Chamberlin formed the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex, and Corgan recorded vocals for them on the track entitled Loki Cat.

In mid-April 2006, The Smashing Pumpkins "reunited" with original members Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin. They performed live as The Smashing Pumpkins for the first time in 6 and a half years on May 22, 2007 in Paris, France. There, the band unveiled new members Jeff Schroeder, Ginger Reyes and Lisa Harriton who took over rhythm guitarist, bassist and keyboard duties respectively.

The band's latest studio album, titled "Zeitgeist", was released on July 10, 2007 to mixed reviews. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, #1 on the United World Chart, and in the top ten for several other countries.

On Jan 2, 2008 the Pumpkins released the American Gothic EP exclusively on iTunes as part of an expanded version of Zeitgeist. The four tracks: "The Rose March", "Again Again Again (The Crux)", "Pox", and "Sunkissed" demonstrate a more acoustic sound when compared to the rest of Zeitgeist.

In March, 2008 the group contributed the song "Superchrist" to a compilation CD released by Guitar Center. Though Corgan and Chamberlin have continued to record as a duo, Jeff Schroeder indicated that he might be contributing to future recordings. No longer signed to a record label, Corgan and Chamberlin purchased a recording studio in Chicago and began recording in May, again, as a pair. The band released the single G.L.O.W. on October 1st of 2008.

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This Time
Smashing Pumpkins Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

This time I need to know
I really must be told
If it's over
It's up to you you know
The things you want to hold
Are in pieces

Crashing down

Crashing down again
Crashing down
Crashing down my friends

I've got to move it on
I've got to sing my song
While I still can
Dispatch the last alarms
Hand out the last few charms
There's no surprises

Only love yeah
Only love can win
Crashing down
Crashing down, my friends

This time I need to know
I really must be told
That it's over
I've lived my life alone
My every step foretold
To never linger
And yet it haunts me so
What we are letting go
Our spell is broken

Crashing down
Crashing down, my friends
Crashing down
Crashing down again
Only love, yeah
Only love will be enough
Yeah, only love will win

For every chemical
You trade a piece of your soul
With no return
And who you think you know
Doesn't know you at all
Their drain is needless

Someday we'll wave hello
And wish we'd never waved goodbye
To this romance
We'll drink up every line
And shoot up every word
Till there's no more

Crashing down
Crashing down, my friends
Only love
Only love can win

So cry these tears
We'll cry as all
We've held so long to fall apart

As the curtain falls
We bid you all goodnight

Overall Meaning

The song This Time by Smashing Pumpkins is about the themes of love, loss, and uncertainty. The lyrics express the need for the truth, a confirmation of whether a relationship is coming to an end or not, and the struggles of moving on. The singer has suffered from a loveless life of loneness and the song reflects his anxiety, desperation to know the truth, and as well as his hope for love. The line "I've got to sing my song, while I still can" suggests the singer's sense of urgency, implying that he is running out of time, as well as the idea that music itself is his source of solace in his times of troubles. The line "for every chemical, you trade a piece of your soul, with no return" suggests the singer's anxieties about the dangers of addiction and how it can consume a person.

The chorus "Crashing down, crashing down, my friends" is jarring, emphasizing the destructive power of love and how it can metaphorically take one's world down, a sentiment echoed in the line "what we are letting go, our spell is broken." The song ends on an introspective note, with the line "so cry these tears, we'll cry as all, we've held so long to fall apart, as the curtain falls, we bid you all goodnight." This line hints at the finality of the situation at hand, with a sense of closure as well as sadness.

Line by Line Meaning

This time I need to know
I'm seeking clarity

I really must be told
I must hear the truth

If it's over
Our relationship may have ended

It's up to you you know
You have control

The things you want to hold
What you value

Are in pieces
Are damaged or broken

Crashing down
Falling apart

Crashing down again
Repeating the same failures

I've got to move it on
I need to move forward

I've got to sing my song
I need to express myself

While I still can
Before it's too late