“1979” is an homage to youth and all the pain, angst, and happiness that goes along with it. With a fusion of alternative rock, new wave, and electronics, the Pumpkins stumbled upon an atmospheric sound that seemed to define a generation. At the time of the release, this track sounded much different than anything the industry had ever heard before. “1979” was the last song recorded for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Billy Corgan believed it belonged on the album, and after being told an earlier version of it wasn’t good enough, revamped it in about four hours, eventually to his producer’s approval.
The song is one of the band’s most popular and successful. Influential online magazine Pichfork ranked it as the 21st best song of the 1990s. In 2012 Rolling Stone readers voted it the second best Smashing Pumpkins song, with the publication calling it a “wistful pop hit.” The song was also nominated for Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Group or Duo at the 39th Annual Grammy Awards, and its corresponding music video won “Best Alternative Video” at the 1996 MTV Music Video Awards.