Billy The Kid

Today, this song was released 13 years and 5 months ago. Where does the time go my friends? This Smashing Pumpkins smash takes me back to a time when I was first discovering my own taste in music. It was an undeniable hit with my generation, characterized by a positive lyric..."today is the greatest day I've ever known", amidst an overall context of despair..."Pink ribbon scars / That never forget / I tried so hard / To cleanse these regrets." Whether or not the Pumpkins were a grunge band, this song epitomized the grunge sound that would be the soundtrack to the early to mid-90's.

Corgan writes in his online auto-biography, Confessions... , "The Texas Two-Step", of the famous instrumental intro, "...I suggest trying to come up with an interesting intro, and all agree that the blunt start (with the band just blasting in at the top) is boring and obvious...as is often the case of a good intellectual concept, musical silence ensues, shoes are stared at, and all I get in response to my suggestion is the buzz of the amps...frustrated, I look down at my guitar, and without hesitation, place my left hand on the 11th fret, high up on the top two strings...the first thing I feel immediately clicks, a dumb schoolhouse take on "la-dee-dah, la-dee-dah"...I look up, and no one says much, but then again, no one says no...without comment, I play it again, and at the appointed moment, the band kicks in full power".

The "Today" video was featured on the Beavis and Butt-head episode "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Huh-Huh", where it was commented on, like many other music videos. The memorable ice cream truck caused Butt-head to remark, "he thinks it's the greatest day because he, like, stole an ice cream truck."

Those were great days.