Newsflash

 

Filling in some deets as regards what just went up on P.F.S. Post (Season in Hell: White Candle). I've established that Jen and I were staying at the Atherton Hilton in State College, where the piece takes place, to attend SC's yearly Arts Fest. One newsflash that hit the airwaves while we were ensconced there: the death of Jonathan Melvoin, who had been playing keyboards for (The) Smashing Pumpkins on their tour behind Mellon Collie. The Pumpkins were a dominant enough enterprise in '96 to make the newsflash a top tier one; the death had occurred during the tour, after (I believe) a New York show. This is all relevant to mention now because a central home truth of the 90s has gotten a little lost: don't let anyone tell you differently: (The) Smashing Pumpkins were the biggest American rock band of the 90s. In terms of power and influence, right there, right then, no one, including Kurt, could really touch them. Jen and I did our dance then, and here we are in 2024. But the dance of The Pumpkins in the 90s is worth mentioning, because (and here they are, in all their mightiness) this is the music that animated the trip for many of us. And it's as serious, musically, as rock music can get.