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From album
Siamese Dream
The Smashing Pumpkins · 1993 · Track 7
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The story behind
The first time you listen to Pissant, it catches you off guard. It’s not a song that sounds like the massive anthems of The Smashing Pumpkins, but rather something dirtier, faster, and more direct—like the band decided to record a track during a break from an exhausting session. Clocking in at just 2:31, the song shifts between a sharp riff and a drumbeat that feels sped up, as if someone had stepped on the distortion pedal without warning. There’s no room for embellishments: everything is raw and urgent, like a message scrawled on a public bathroom wall.
Recorded during the Siamese Dream sessions in 1993, Pissant was left out of the official album but ended up circulating in special editions and bootlegs. The recording process was chaotic: Billy Corgan handled nearly everything, layering guitars until the sound became dense like a wall of noise. Producer Butch Vig managed to capture that energy without taming it—a rarity at the time. The song never became a single, but its oddity turned it into a cult favorite among fans seeking something beyond the mainstream. When Siamese Dream debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 and eventually earned 4× Platinum certification, tracks like this one served as a reminder that the band wasn’t just out to sell records, but to leave a mark.