Another relic rescued from the defunct hard drive, Billy Corgan’s side project Zwan and their album Mary Star of the Sea, took me back to a more complex time in my life. It was 2003 and I was four years deep into my decade in Japan. I attended an intimate show they put on in Odaiba with my then best friend Jess (Dylan) Larner. We must have been no more than thirty feet from the stage. The Smashing Pumpkins sold out arenas and I was within spitting distance of their frontman, arguably one of the finest living rock musicians of my time.
To call MSOTS nostalgic would be a disservice. “Timeless” is apt, and even more so since we’re unlikely to ever receive further music from this project—and there are a hundred unreleased tracks.
2025.02.08