"Soma" - Smashing Pumpkins
There were so many choices for today's selection. With over 10,000 songs, things invariably get overlooked or forgotten from time to time. And some songs are kept in the recesses intentionally. This one is a little bit of both.
First, How fucking good is Siamese Dream? My youngest brother is a bit of a Pumpkins/Corgan expert, and I cannot speak with the same level of authority as he could, but I consider this to be their best album. While certainly reflecting particular elements of the genre, this was such a refreshing change from the grunge doldrums which had overtaken the airwaves by Spring 1993. And say what you want about Corgan's monomaniacal micomanagement methods, but the guy knows how to make a fucking album from start to finish. So I am always pleasantly surprised each time I "rediscover" the album on days such as today ("Cherub Rock" was playing on Lithium on the drive home).
Most people seem to pick "Today" or "Rocket" or "Disarm" as their favorite song on this album--solid songs, all of them. But for me it has been "Soma" since my first listen of the album in late summer 1993. Now, perhaps this was predestined. Brave New World is one of my favorite books. Spring of 1993 was the start of my intermittent friends-with-benefits relationship with opiates. 1992-1993 was not the best year of all time for me in the personal relationship arena. So I guess I identified with this song rather readily. But I do not necessarily want to remember all of those associations all of the time.
On top of that, I am always a sucker for songs that constantly crescendo, whether gradually or abruptly. The crashing guitars at about 3:33 still give me goose bumps, especially when contrasted with the placid musical beginning. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy this one with me before it goes back into moth balls for a while.
It is rare for me to repost lyrics in full, but these are just about perfect.
Nothing left to say
And all I''ve left to do
Is run away
From you
And she led me on, down
With secrets I can't keep
Close your eyes and sleep
Don't wait up for me
Hush now don't you speak
To me
Wrapped my hurt in you
And took my shelter in that pain
The opiate of blame
Is your broken heart, heart, your heart
Soma, I'm all by myself
As I've always felt
I'll betray my tears
To anyone caught in our ruse of fools
One lat kiss for me...yeah
One last kiss good night
Didn't want to lose you once again
Didn't want to be your friend
Fulfilled a promise made of tin
And crawled back to you
I'm all by myself
As I've always felt
I'll betray myself
To anyone, lost, anyone but you
So let the sadness come again
On that you can depend on me, yeah
Until the bitter, bitter end of the world, yeah
When god sleeps in bliss
And I'm all by myself
As I've always felt
And I'll betray myself
To anyone
