Smashing Pumpkins 'Machina/The Machines of God' at 8 Years Old

A lot of my posts recently have been about the Smashing Pumpkins, but I guess that is because they are the one of my favourite who have been very active recently.

A post on Siva a couple of days ago reminded me that the last release from Smashing Pumpkins Mk I, 'Machina/The Machines of God' was 8 years, was it was released on 29 February 2000, so it can only be 'celebrated' every four years (I think the release date was a little joke by the band much like the 07/07/07 release for 'Zeitgeist').

This post is kind of just a small tribute to this oft-maligned LP.

I really do think 'Machina' is such a great album, and as a pretty BIG Smashing Pumpkins fan, it means a lot to me and I hold it in high esteem.

2000 was the year where I got really into the Smashing Pumpkins. This was probably helped by the fact that I had access to the internet so it made it easy to follow setlists, interviews etc...And I was 17/18, which is a great age to be a fan-boy as you just absorb everything like a sponge and 2000 was very much a pumpkins year, because they were active for almost the entire year. I had been a fan since '98, but it really came to fruitation with the release of Machina. It was also the first year I saw them live, when I went to see them on the 'Sacred & Profane' tour at the Birmingham NEC on 11 November '00.

I think by the time Machina came out, the bands image in the media was quite negative and Adore alienated much of their 'casual' listeners, so the public and general music fans just passed over the album and made judgments on it without actually listening to it. Granted, the idea of it being a 'concept' probably put people off, but once you get past that, there is a great album, that is full of great melodies, lyrics and musicianship - the band hadn't felt this tight for years and the following tour showed how powerful the band had become.

I think the album was a great swansong for that chapter of the band as it contains everything that was great about them. It is overblown, bombastic. delicate, brutal, sad, hopeful, thoughtful...

These are my 5 favourite tracks of the album in no particular order:

I of the Mourning


Glass & The Ghost Children


The Everlasting Gaze


This Time


Stand Inside Your Love