Anyone Can Play Guitar

It's time to wrap up Pisces Iscariot. Austin braves a monstrous psychedelic meltdown, while Nick tries to remember Pearl Jam's "Hey Foxymophandlemama." The two discuss classic rock guitar solos, Natalie Imbruglia, and how much Elvis belongs in "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space." They wrap up the episode with their picks for the album's best song, solo, and riff. And, as is becoming a tradition, they try to quantify the Corgan-iest moment. Thanks for listening!

2:20 - "Starla"

14:35 - "Blue"

21:26 - "A Girl Named Sandoz"

28:15 - "La Dolly Vita"

33:30 - "Spaced"

Best Song

Austin - "Hello Kitty Kat"

Nick - "Whir"

Best Solo

Nick - "Starla"

Austin - "Starla"

Best Riff

Austin - "Pissant"

Nick - "Frail and Bedazzled"

Corgan-iest Moment

Nick - "Soothe"

Austin - "Whir"

Olivia Rodrigo - "You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love"

Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Free Bird"

Eagles - "Hotel California"

Dad Rock "Blue (Acoustic)"

Natalie Imbruglia - "Torn"

The Animals - "A Girl Named Sandoz"

The Animals - "House Of The Rising Sun"

Spiritualized - "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" (Less Elvis Version)

Spiritualized - "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" (More Elvis Version)

Pearl Jam - "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me (Stupid Mop)"

It’s a weird week. Nick and Austin kick things off with a James Iha track before diving into the loudest songs on the record. After a quick pause for some psych-rock—which one host loves a lot more than the other—it turns into an unofficial Fleetwood Mac episode as they finally get to "Landslide." Nick gushes about Tusk, and Austin goes on yet another Taylor Swift rant.

1:37 - "Blew Away"

8:03 - "Pissant"

13:45 - "Hello Kitty Kat"

21:49 - "Obscured"

29:00 - "Landslide"

"Pissant" whelp

Rats in the Cage Tour

"Blew Away" liner notes by Billy Corgan

PopMatters on Hello Kitty Kat

"Hello Kitty Kat" liner notes

Fleetwood Mac "Landslide"

Billy Corgan on "Landslide"

Time (Fleetwood Mac album)

Fleetwood Mac "I Don't Want to Know"

Fleetwood Mac

Dreams on TikTok

Fleetwood Mac Tusk

Joshua Burnside

Pitchfork's Pisces Iscariot Album Review

Instead of skipping straight to Mellon Collie, Nick is forcing Austin to wrestle with the band's 1994 b-side album, Pisces Iscariot. Does it, as Nick suggests, transcend its b-side album status and deserve to be a regular album? Or is this a wasteful diversion that sours Austin on the band? Nick begins with a thorough lesson on the history of the b-side album. They split on Plume, and then ponder important stuff like why Phish fans are so nice. Thanks for listening.

13:20 - "Soothe"

22:15 - "Frail and Bedazzled"

27:30 - "Plume"

33:45 - "Whir"

Smashing Pumpkins at Lollapalooza

Billy Corgan joins Lyric Opera board

Alien: Earth episode 5 ending song (The Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock)

A-side and B-side

CD Singles

Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs

Nirvana - Incesticide

Oasis - The Masterplan (album)

Mitski

Smashing Pumpkins - Mashed Potatoes

Bob Dylan discography

Phish discography

Ian Cohen's Pitchfork review of Pisces Iscariot

"The Everlasting Gaze"

Bush - "Swallowed"

R.E.M. - Dead Letter Office

In the last Siamese Dream episode, Nick and Austin finally answer the question you've all been wondering: What moon songs do you sing your babies? Nick crushes on a riff, talks about hobbits, and brings up Courtney Love again. Meanwhile, Austin learns a song in a day and exposes the connection between the band and Garth Brooks. It's a wild ride. Thanks for listening.

5:48 - "Silverfuck"

17:39 - "Sweet Sweet"

22:40 - "Luna"

Best Song: Nick and Austin - "Cherub Rock"

Best Riff: Nick and Austin - "Hummer"

Best Solo: Austin - "Mayonaise" Nick - "Soma

Corganiest Moment: Nick and Austin - "Silverfuck

Hail to the Thief (Live Recordings 2003–2009)

Hamlet Hail to the Thief

Machina/The Machines of God

Garth Brooks

I BOUGHT THE NEW SEVEN-CD GARTH BROOKS BOX SET FROM BASS PRO SHOPS (A TRUE STORY)

The Smashing Pumpkins - Vieuphoria - Silverfuck // Jackboot

Smashing Pumpkins - Silverfuck starting at 6:45

The Smashing Pumpkins 2000-12-02

Rick Beato - Jimmy Chamberlin: The Drummer Behind The Smashing Pumpkins' Iconic Sound

Smashing Pumpkast Podcast - Siamese Dream

Billy Corgan's notes on Luna

Who is ready to misspell some common household condiments? We're back with three very different songs, starting with one of the Pumpkins' most raucous songs, "Geek U.S.A." For "Mayonaise," Austin geeks out on pinch harmonics, before digging into Beef. Both pick out their favorite David Bowie albums, before once again splitting on the merits of Pink Floyd.

1:40 - "Geek U.S.A."

18:00 - "Mayonaise"

34:50 - "Spaceboy"

Radiohead - Just music video

Smashing Pumpkins - Geek USA live (clowns)

Beef (TV series)

Ali Wong

Burning (2018 film)

Pinch Harmonics Tutorial: Super Easy And In Less Than 2 Minutes! (Guitar Lesson)

60 Songs that Explain the 90s

The Summer I Turned Pretty

​​The 20 greatest Smashing Pumpkins songs – ranked by Kerrang

Rolling Stone Readers' Poll of the Best Smashing Pumpkins Songs

Every Smashing Pumpkins Song, Ranked by Spin

Days of the New

Pink Floyd Animals

David Bowie - Space Oddity (Official Video)

David Bowie's Berlin Trilogy

Life's not a bummer when you're discussing the first side of Siamese Dream. This episode, Nick and Austin dig into two epics and two singles — one saturated in Big Muff and the other with string. Along the way, Austin discusses proper guitarist handwear, while Nick finds a way to bring up Paul McCartney again. Special thanks to Eric Evans, who recorded bass on these tracks and orchestrated "Disarm."

3:45 - "Hummer"

16:30 - "Rocket"

25:58 - "Disarm"

35:30 - "Soma"

Miloš Karadaglić

Stephen Malkmus

Loveless (album)

Siamese Dream review by Jim Derogits

"Listen to What the Man Said" by Paul McCartney and Wings

Smashing Pumpkins Rocket music video

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris

Jane’s Addiction Boston 9-13-2024

Eric Evans and Hinterfolk

Smashing Pumpkins Disarm music video

Pearl Jam - Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town

Most Of Siamese Dream Is About Courtney Love, Says Courtney Love

The Soma Delay Sound - Siamese Dream (The Smashing Pumpkins)

Soma - The Smashing Pumpkins (Instrumental Cover) by Eddie Clark

Rolling Stone: The Best Smashing Pumpkins Songs

The Best Smashing Pumpkins Songs, Ranked by Steven Hyden

Viewphoria Smashing Pumpkins "Soma"

"A Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

Drum roll, please. We are back with Smashing Pumpkin's second album, Siamese Dream. Besides being one of the most intense guitar albums of all time, it's also one of the best and most distinctive sounding albums of the 1990s. Can Nick and Austin even come close to replicating it, or will they give up at the start? Plus, Nick admits to listening to a bunch of Rush, while Austin recounts his time with Boston.

18:35 - "Cherub Rock"

29:35 - "Quiet"

34:00 - "Today"

Big Muff Pedal

OP AMP BIG MUFF PI

The Artist's Way

Bach BWV 932

Pitchfork review of Siamese Dream

Alan Moulder

Boston (album)

Black Sabbath - Master of Reality

Rush

Smashing Pumpkins Tower Records Cherub Rock Acoustic Live 1993

The Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock music video

Rick Beato The Smashing Pumpkins: The Billy Corgan Interview

High Fidelity Mixtape Rules

The Smashing Pumpkins - Today music video

Pixies - Where Is My Mind?

The Beatles - "A Day in the Life"

Are you going crazy, yet? We finish the Smashing Pumpkins' debut album by discussing the last three tracks, or four if you want to get technical. Then we make time for three extra tracks, including one that Nick said he'd trade for all of Gish. Austin breaks down two solos while also getting in a Guns N' Roses reference. Then they recap their favorite moments from Gish.  

3:00 - "Tristessa"

9:42 - "Window Paine" 

18:45 - "Daydream" 

25:04 - "I'm Going Crazy"

31:40 - "Drown"

41:22 - "Glynis" 

46:20 - "Bye June"

Billy Corgan's Gish "Album Deep Dive" from May 29, 2020

Smashing Pumpkins with Pearl Jam - Window Paine 3-28-1992

All By Myself (Hidden Track) Green Day

Singles (soundtrack)

Smashing Pumpkins - Drown (extended version)

No Alternative

Glynis (2012 Mix)

The Smashing Pumpkins - Glynis (live acoustic Halloween 1993)

This week we dig into the murky middle of Gish. The songs veer from riffy monsters like "Bury Me" to Indian-inspired mood pieces like "Suffer." Nick admits to a botched high school performance of "Crush," while Austin digs into the many solos of "Snail."

3:50 - "Bury Me"

15:01 - "Crush"

21:35 - "Suffer"

29:50 - "Snail"

How Gish got its name

Bandsplain: Smashing Pumpkins: Part 1 with Rob Harvilla

R.E.M. "Murmur"

The Beatles in India

Pennywhistle

Chino Moreno with Smashing Pumpkins performing "Snail"

Black metal cover of "Street Spirit"

Anyone Can Play Guitar - Radiohead - My Iron Lung EP

And we're back. Welcome to the next season of Anyone Can Play Guitar. After learning every Radiohead song on guitar (and maybe promising to repeat the process) this time we are digging into another mainstay of 90s alternative rock, The Smashing Pumpkins. Hope you're ready for some riffs because they are relentless on the band's debut album, Gish. 

Why The Smashing Pumpkins? Nick lays out why he believes the band deserves the deep dive, from the astonishing drumming of Jimmy Chamberlin to the guitar heroics of Billy Corgan. But can he convince Austin? Get ready for a ludicrous number of solos and an examination of Corgan's unique voice.

23:50 - "I Am One"

34:00 - "Siva"

40:02 - "Rhinoceros"

J. S. Bach: Sonata No. 4 in E Minor BWV 528 | Pedal Clavichord

Smashing Pumpkast

Pitchfork's review of William Patrick Corgan's Ogilala

The Discographers

The Smashing Pumpkins "Siva" music video

The Smashing Pumpkins - Siva (Outtakes & Commentary)

The Smashing Pumpkins - Rhinoceros (Official Music Video)