12/06/2004

The Smashing Pumpkins - "Today"

This reflects the mood of lead singer Billy Corgan, who was very depressed when he wrote it. Corgan was in therapy, suffering from writer's block, and struggling with expectations that The Smashing Pumpkins would be the next Nirvana.
Corgan: "I was really suicidal. I just thought it was funny to write a song that said today is the greatest day of your life because it can't get any worse."
Corgan played almost all the instruments on this, partly because he was a control freak and partly because drummer Jimmy Chamberlain was unreliable due to drug problems.
The record company put a lot of pressure on the band to complete this album, which put Corgan in a tough spot because he was having trouble writing songs. This came to him pretty quickly and his demo appeased the record company because they thought it would be a hit.
Corgan never thought much of this song. He thought of it as a light pop song, even though many listeners thought it was quite meaningful.