Book excerpt: The Smashing Pumpkins erupted out of the obscurity of the Chicago music scene with a raw and dissonant sound that encapsulated the dissatisfaction and disillusionment of late '80s youth. They were associated with the Seattle scene that produced Nirvana, Pearl Jam et al but their music transcended the grunge sound. After legitimising heavy metal with the acclaimed Siamese Dream album, the band's ever-metamorphosing vision and Billy Corgan's individual journey as writer and musician found an apogee in the massively ambitious US number one double Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness. Book jacket.