The Making of Siva, 1990 - 1990-??-??

http://bystarlight.org/interviews/the-making-of-siva-smashing-pumpkins/
(lookup on archive.org)

In December 2010, Billy Corgan briefly ran his own Facebook page and answered questions. Billy wanted to provide insight on some of his favorite songs but the Facebook page only lasted long enough to learn about the making of Siva.

Q: Hey Billy, if you were going to introduce someone to your body of work and you could only fill one 70 minute CD what would you fill it with? What are the pieces you are most proud of, and if you have the inclination to offer further insight…why?

BC: i'm gonna take the lead from Adam's question, and try to break down a few songs i really am proud of. i don't know if they will all fit on one 70 minute cd, but let's just say i'll limit my choices to 2 songs per album period?so that would be 20 songs from the different periods (gish/siamese/mellon collie/adore/machina/mary star/future embrace/zeitgeist/teargarden) i want anyone who doubts me to understand that i am quite proud of my past work. more proud than you can probably imagine. that said a sentimental perspective has never helped me to write the next song (if you know what i mean). it will be a nice way to transition to the new year with some positive perspective ;)

Gish Era song #1 of 2: Siva: I used to work at a used record store in Chicago called Record Hunt. It wasn't too busy in there, so i would bring in my acoustic guitar (an ovation!) and play for hours, working on songs. I came up with the opening riff of Siva on one of these 'slow' days, and right away i felt i had something special. i didn't have a way to record it and i was worried i'd forget it. so each time someone would come in the store, i'd stress that i was gonna forget the riff, and as soon as they'd leave i'd go back to playing it. there isn't much to the riff on the surface (it's not that hard to play, etc), but i loved it because it evoked the balance i'd been looking for for SP: aggression, sensuality, mystical, cool. So to me in many ways this was one of the first 'true' SP songs (along with Tristessa) where we sounded like us and nobody else. It also has all the classic SP dynamics loud, soft, solos, set-ups for big explosive moments. One other memory is it took Butch, Jimmy, and I 17 hours in a row to mix it by hand, which at the time was the longest mix any of us had ever done. So in my eyes, a really important track to where SP would eventually go as a rock and roll band, and a song in many ways we never improved upon in any other song. and if you listen to the lyrics, a fairly honest lyric, which i can't say i was too keen on in the early days. shades of things to come? i choose the title "Siva" because he is the creator, the inhaler, destroyer, and that is how i see my role as an artist; to make it and break it. The very real symbol of Siva also brings to mind the idea that we all have responsibility in our quest for experience or knowledge.