Alright, let’s talk about this Pisces Iscariot thing, whatever it is. Sounds like some kinda fishy business, you ask me. But folks seem to care about it, so here we go. This Smashing Pumpkins band, they put out this album, see? Not a real album, though, more like a bunch of leftovers. Like when you make a big dinner and then the next day you eat whatever’s left. That’s what this Pisces Iscariot is, a bunch of songs they didn’t put on their other records.
Now, they call it a “compilation album,” which is just a fancy way of sayin’ it’s a bunch of odds and ends. Released it back in ’94, that’s a long time ago now. I remember my grandson was just a little tyke back then. Anyway, this album, it got pretty popular, surprisingly. Went all the way to number four on them charts, whatever that means. Folks musta liked them leftovers, I guess.
- It’s got B-sides, that’s what they call songs that ain’t good enough for the real albums.
- And it’s got outtakes, them’s songs they recorded but never used. Like when you take a bunch of pictures and only keep the good ones.
- They even threw in some cover songs, you know, when you sing somebody else’s song. Like when you sing that hymn at church, but it ain’t your hymn, right?
This Pisces Iscariot, it’s a weird name, ain’t it? Sounds like somethin’ outta the Bible, with that “Iscariot” part. And “Pisces”? That’s some kinda fish thing, like I said. Someone told me it’s got somethin’ to do with astrology, all them stars and signs. Said somethin’ about a fella named Judas, who caused a whole lotta trouble way back when. I don’t know much about that, just sounds fishy to me.
Rolling Stone, that magazine them young folks read, they gave it three outta five stars. That ain’t too bad, I reckon. They said it wasn’t their best work, but it was, what’s the word… “varied”? Yeah, that’s it. Means it’s got all kinds of different songs. Not like them other albums, Gish and Siamese Dream, which I ain’t never heard neither, but apparently they’re more put-together, like a quilt instead of a pile of rags.
Some of them songs, they were supposed to be on that Siamese Dream album, but they didn’t make the cut. A fella named Butch Vig and Billy Corgan, he’s the main fella in the band, they made them songs in some place called Triclops Recording. Sounds like a monster movie, don’t it? Marietta, that’s where it is, wherever that is.
Now, they put out this album in all sorts of ways. You got your CD, your record, and your cassette. Remember cassettes? My old car still got a cassette player! And each one had a different picture on the front, fancy that. The record, it was even a funny color, amber, like that old jewelry my grandma used to have.
And get this, years later, in 2014, some magazine put this Pisces Iscariot on a list of important albums from 1994. Imagine that! And then in 2012, they put out a special version with even more songs. They even put a whole dang demo tape on there. That’s like the very first time they recorded them songs, all rough and scratchy. Folks seem to really like this messy album.
This Billy Corgan fella, he’s the singer and guitar player and he does all sorts of other stuff too, like takin’ pictures and designin’ the album covers. He’s a busy fella, seems like. And that drummer, Jimmy Chamberlin, he’s bangin’ away on them drums. The whole album is just these fellas makin’ a racket, but folks like it, so who am I to judge?
So there you have it, the story of Pisces Iscariot. A bunch of leftover songs that somehow became a big deal. It’s kinda like finding a bunch of old buttons in a drawer and makin’ a pretty picture with ’em. It ain’t perfect, but it’s got somethin’ special about it. And that’s all there is to it. Don’t go thinkin’ it’s some kinda masterpiece, it’s just a bunch of songs thrown together, but sometimes, that’s all you need.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go make some dinner. Maybe I’ll make some leftovers tomorrow. Who knows, maybe they’ll be as popular as this Pisces Iscariot.
