A great pop song can evoke a universal feeling that just about every listener out there feels. You can make a case for just about any song and any feeling, but has a song ever encapsulated the feeling of being a teenager as accurately as the Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979”?

When he wrote it, at the age of 28 mind you, frontman Billy Corgan was looking to express what he felt in his adolescence - all of the angst, pain, fear, excitement, happiness and endless possibilities you face when you’re a teenager. And he nailed it. What’s funny is that when it was released in 1995, it sounded unlike anything else the band had recorded.

This alternative rock band often associated with the grunge scene and loud guitars, put out a soft, melancholy tune featuring synthesizers and drum loops. Even funnier is the fact that “1979” became the biggest song of their career, finding new audiences as the generations turn. Yes, it’s as popular with Gen-Z and even Gen Alpha as it is the Gen X that made it a hit in the first place.

This is the story of The Smashing Pumpkins' 1979 with newly unearthed footage from the band themselves!

Written by Cam Lindsay for iHeartRadio.

A great pop song can evoke a universal feeling that just about every listener out there feels. You can make a case for just about any song and any feeling, but has a song ever encapsulated the feeling of being a teenager as accurately as the Smashing Pumpkins&rsquo; &ldquo;1979&rdquo;?
When he wrote it, at the age of 28 mind you, frontman Billy Corgan was looking to express what he felt in his adolescence - all of the angst, pain, fear, excitement, happiness and endless possibilities you face when you&rsquo;re a teenager. And he nailed it. What&rsquo;s funny is that when it was released in 1995, it sounded unlike anything else the band had recorded.
This alternative rock band often associated with the grunge scene and loud guitars, put out a soft, melancholy tune featuring synthesizers and drum loops. Even funnier is the fact that &ldquo;1979&rdquo; became the biggest song of their career, finding new audiences as the generations turn. Yes, it&rsquo;s as popular with Gen-Z and even Gen Alpha as it is the Gen X that made it a hit in the first place.
This is the story of The Smashing Pumpkins' 1979 with newly unearthed footage from the band themselves!
Written by Cam Lindsay for iHeartRadio.

Do you remember where you were the first time you heard Outkast tell you to 'Shake it like a Polaroid Picture'?

How about when Nickelback told you to 'Look at this Photograph'?

Or when Taylor Swift provided the soundtrack to your Love story?

Join Ruby Carr as she takes you through the biggest songs in the world - with new interviews and newly unearthed archive footage from the artists themselves.

Subscribe on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts!

Do you remember where you were the first time you heard Outkast tell you to 'Shake it like a Polaroid Picture'?
How about when Nickelback told you to 'Look at this Photograph'?
Or when Taylor Swift provided the soundtrack to your Love story?
Join Ruby Carr as she takes you through the biggest songs in the world - with new interviews and newly unearthed archive footage from the artists themselves.
Subscribe on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts!

Join Myles Galloway as he takes you through the biggest songs in the world - with new interviews and newly unearthed archive footage from the artists themselves.

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