30 Years of Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979” – One of Rock’s Best Ironic Trips Back to Childhood

Many of us look back on childhood and glorify it, remembering life as simple and easy—even when it wasn’t. If we could hop into a time machine for just one day, most of us would. Memories have a way of driving back to us through places, people, tastes, smells, and of course, music. So let’s take a quick trip to January 23, 1996, when the Smashing Pumpkins took us on a ride back to 1979.

What’s ironic about “1979” is that this brisk, electronic-leaning rock track—with its dance beat and shimmering twilight glow—has Billy Corgan singing nostalgically about how fun life was when he was a kid. Yet the music sounded nothing like what Pumpkins fans had heard before, and Corgan himself looked completely different. The “1979” video marked the debut of his shaved head, a look that’s never changed since. At the time, it was jarring. Paired with his shift toward goth-inspired fashion, some fans felt like they were seeing a new frontman entirely. But the moment he opened his mouth—singing from the backseat of a car about the sweetness of youth—that unmistakable nasal whine cut through, and suddenly it was undeniably Billy.

The melody is a godsend, one of the reasons “1979” became one of the most beloved songs of the 1990s. Many of the lyrics mirror the music video’s scenes of teens causing harmless chaos at a house party: kegs, chugging, liquor bowling, toilet paper in the trees, lawn furniture tossed into the pool. The video’s hijinks became a portal for listeners, transporting them back to their own messy, magical adolescence. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris brought that world to life with a perfect blend of realism and dreaminess.

Flood, who co-produced Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness with Corgan, played a crucial role in shaping the song. After suggesting Billy rework the track, Corgan returned with a stronger version, and Flood worked his magic—crafting that brilliant, dusky soundscape that’s both danceable and hypnotic. He also added a looped, muffled sample of Corgan singing “today,” which repeats between lines. Fans puzzled over it for years, but it anchors the melody beautifully.

The lyrics themselves remain famously hard to decipher, but everyone understands the emotional core. “1979” captures the good and the bad of youth—the rebellion, the confusion, the joy, the sense of becoming. The song and video both show kids pushing against expectations, carving out their own identities, and learning life’s lessons through a mix of influence and instinct.

Despite the shift toward synths, samples, loops, and pop textures, “1979” hit #1 on both the Mainstream and Modern Rock charts. Its legacy, though, stretches far beyond chart positions. It stands as one of the greatest songs of the 1990s in any genre—a rare blend of melody, mood, and memory.

The Pumpkins themselves marked the 30-year anniversary with social media posts, including the full lyrics on January 24. Many fans admitted they’d never fully understood the words, but certain lines still hit them emotionally, and the song remained a favorite regardless. Corgan also shared a solo acoustic performance, and a new behind-the-scenes video on YouTube offers a fresh look at the making of the iconic “1979” video with the band and the teens who starred in it.