Smashing Pumpkins: 11 Essential Tracks All Fans Should Listen To

Mayonaise is quintessential Pumpkins. From the whimsical intro guitar to Corgan's romanticized lyrics of teenage angst and authenticity, noise guitar solos, shoegaze, and sludge guitar elements, Mayonaise has it all. It does such a fantastic job in condensing all this in a more traditional song structure style than the winding long epics of XYU, Starla, or Hello Kitty Kat.

The intro starts off with a quiet build as Corgan uses a pawn shop guitar with a timber that perfectly reflects the band thematically as a group. It's playful and introspective as if taking us back to adolescence as we reflect on the passing years changing us and the uncertainty of where we'll be tomorrow.

From Corgan's singing leading the transitions of the songs and crescendoing into a solo in the bridge until belting out "I just want to be me when I can, I will". It's a shot to the heart and delivered with such sincerity. It's relatable and harkens us back to being at a young age and yearning to simply be ourselves. As the song glides to the outro, the intro guitar reprises and guides us back down from this painful confessional.

We're left in a glass-eyed daze wondering where we've been and how we've gotten there. An enigmatic feeling lingers after and reminds us to keep from forgetting who we are. Mayonaise is what makes the Pumpkins an incredible band, and there hasn't been a band like them since.