In recent interviews, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has laid to rest his war with fans over set lists that don’t contain the band’s greatest hits. In fact, in a recent Twitter Q&A, Corgan even teased that The Smashing Pumpkins “have A LOT of chips [they’ve] never played,” hinting that a possible 1990-96-themed tour could be a future possibility. In honor of that suggestion, and their upcoming stop with Marilyn Manson at Jones Beach, amNewYork compiled the ultimate Smashing Pumpkins set list from the band’s golden era.
‘Tonight, Tonight’
‘I Am One’
The opening track on their debut album “Gish” was incredibly popular with college radio stations, and the album itself hit No. 1 on the College Music Journal chart. It would eventually land platinum status after the band signed on with the Virgin Records label.
‘Geek U.S.A’
‘Today’
‘Hummer’
‘Muzzle’
‘1979’
‘Rocket’
A hidden gem on a classic ’90s album, the video for “Rocket” scored major rotation on MTV for its short-film quality, where two boys carefully craft a rocket ship in their bedroom. The climax finds their parents watching helplessly as they depart Earth. As cool as that was for any young teen watching it, the lyrical content of the song actually dealt with the painful breakup Pumpkins front man Corgan was going through at the time of the album’s inception.
‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’
‘Rhinoceros’
‘Mayonaise’
‘Zero’
One of the last singles off “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” double album, this blistering track may be more famous for the “Zero” T-shirt worn by Corgan during tours. It also appeared during the band’s guest stint on the late-’90s episode of “The Simpsons” in which Homer was a traveling freak.
‘Quiet’
‘Siva’
‘Thirty-Three’
‘Cherub Rock’
‘Drown’
For the encore, this track, which was released as part of the “Singles” soundtrack in 1992, “Drown” introduced the Smashing Pumpkins to the world in a way “Gish” never quite was able to. The swirling psychedelic epic closed out the Cameron Crowe film’s soundtrack, with the Chicago-based Pumpkins holding their own with its Seattle-based rock counterparts Pearl Jam, Alice in Chairs and Soundgarden. All told, “Singles” is probably the greatest collection of ’90s grunge and alternative rock, all packaged on one album.
If you go: The Smashing Pumpkins are at Nikon At Jones Beach Theater at 6 p.m. Friday, 1000 Ocean Parkway, Wantagh, 516-785-1600, $20-$79.50,
