1979

One of the most candid and heartfelt paeans to Generation X angst ever put out in the market, the Smashing Pumpkins' '1979', a major hit for the veteran alt-rock collective in 1995, was also significant for a few other reasons, mostly to do with the band's artistic sense. For one, it was the first instance where Pumpkins mastermind and frontman Billy Corgan abandoned his erstwhile epic, progressive-rock obsession, in favour of a more streamlined, conventional pop-song approach that virtually seemed tailor-made for commercial radio. '1979' also marked the juncture where the Pumpkins decided to opt for a more pronounced electronica-influenced sensibility, a methodology that they would embrace in full on their next studio work, 1998's sleekly brooding 'Adore'. Check out the whimsical video clip, in which Corgan acts as a bemused observer, duly noting down the antics of a clique of bored suburban teenagers getting into various hijinks in an unspecified midwestern American town.