How The Smashing Pumpkins' 1979 Evokes Decades of Nostalgia

Rock

Year2018

Duration9m

Watch Now

7.6

Nostalgia is a weird concept. We have an idea of it as this vague longing for the past that marketing teams are continually attempting to mine for profit. But from its Greek origin, the word comes from nóstos meaning homecoming and álgos meaning pain or ache. In its original form it was considered a form of melancholy, the idea that you can never fully return to where you came from, that once away home will never be the same. But this has morphed; today it's more of a positive or at least bittersweet emotion. This is compounded by the way that our memories work: we don't remember the event, but the last time we remembered the event – we are simply recalling the memory. This leads to embellishment and rose-tinting of the past. Nostalgia is the past idealised. One piece of pop culture that truly evokes this feeling is The Smashing Pumpkins' “1979”. Its a song unlike anything else in their discography, lacking the suicidal themes of 'Today', the barely concealed hatred of 'Disarm', or the out and out rage of 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings' or 'Zero'. And its especially not like anything the Pumpkins are producing now in 2018, their less than good new releases. So we begin, back to 1995 and the epic double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness #TheSmashingPumpkins #AlternativeRock #VideoEssay Soundtrack America – Simon and Garfunkel Belly Breathing - Birocratic autumn breeze – j'san x nymano Subscribe for more Trash Theory You can also follow me here: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TrashTheory Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrashTheoryYT Also Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/TrashTheory