10 Rare Smashing Pumpkins Songs You've Probably Never Heard

Featured On: American Gothic EP

Again, Again, Again (The Crux) was written in 2006 while the band were recording Zeitgeist. Following a live performance, The Who’s Peter Townsend complimented the track and advocated for its release. Though the song didn’t make it onto Zeitgeist, Corgan always intended to release it, eventually finding a place on 2008 EP American Gothic.

The track is a surprisingly upbeat offering from the Pumpkins spearheaded by Corgan on guitar and Chamberlin providing drum fills. It is a song of longing with the instrumental having peaks and falls like a lowkey version of Tonight, Tonight, with the strings replaced with a crisp guitar riff, that occasionally tricks the ear into thinking it could enjoy country music.

Despite the Pumpkins dwindling down to just Corgan and Chamberlin, with Corgan recording every part but drums, critics praised the EP as an improvement on Zeitgeist. However, Corgan had to field accusations that he had become increasingly narcissistic. The Consequence of Sound’s Michael Roffman advised Corgan to ‘be more of a collaborator and less of a dictator’.

However, dubbing the new incarnation of the Pumpkin’s as ‘a boy and his drummer’ was dismissive of Corgan and Chamberlin’s craft.