Somewhat recently, Pitchfork rated the 200 best songs of the 90s. 1979 rated as number 21 on that list, the highest Pumpkins song. For those who haven't seen it, here's the explanation.
"It seems very wrong to reduce an important band's highest-charting single to one sound, but sorry, that whooshing progression that repeats through "1979" is amazing enough to hang a whole career on. That floating guitar figure seems to hold all the wistfulness, sadness, hope, and redemption that the Smashing Pumpkins wanted to get across in the 1990s, and everything else-- and they released a ton of great music then, don't let the last 10 years obscure that-- was pretty much gravy. Somehow that riff and the song's title-- '79 was a pivotal year for Corgan's generation, signaling the end of the last decade that would be spent only in childhood-- must have motivated Billy Corgan to speak in straightforward and human terms. Here he wasn't whining, he wasn't throwing a tantrum, he didn't want to be the voice of a generation or be someone's therapist. Instead, he put together a cluster of images that was more about an undefined feeling than a message, and it happened to be the most universal sentiment he'd ever manage. "1979" was Billy Corgan asking, "You know this feeling?" and the second you heard that guitar line the immediate answer was, "I do-- tell me more." --Mark Richardson"
A great interpretation of the song, in my opinion. Billy has mentioned several times this song is his best achievement. While it's not my favorite, even on this disc, it's still an amazing song. 9.
