Geek U.S.A.

Album: Siamese Dream (1993)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Guitar World magazine placed this song at #54 on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of all time. Interestingly, the solo on the demo version of this song was much longer and more elaborate than the one on the studio version that appears on the Siamese Dream album.

    As intricate and interesting as the solo on this song is, frontman Billy Corgan actually considered dropping it altogether for the studio version of the track. At the time, Corgan felt the song already had too many fluctuations and that a complicated solo wouldn't add much to the dynamics of the song.
  • Siamese Dream producer Butch Vig praised Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlain's performance on this song. Vig called it "one of the most amazing drum performances I've ever heard."
  • This song was written by re-working an earlier Smashing Pumpkins cut called "Suicide Kiss." "Suicide Kiss" was eventually released online via the Smashing Pumpkins Record Club in 2011.
  • Live performances of this song appear on the band's 2002 live disc Earphoria, 1994's long-form music video Vieuphoria, and 2001's The Smashing Pumpkins – Greatest Hits Video Collection (1991–2000).
  • The progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me covered this song on their 2006 album The Anatomy Of…

Comments: 1

  • Rapptor from NorwayIn this song the title of the album is used in the lyrics.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Guy Clark

Guy ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett are just a few of the artists who have looked to Clark for insightful, intelligent songs.

Rupert Hine

Rupert HineSongwriter Interviews

Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In Songs

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In SongsSong Writing

Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?

Stan Ridgway

Stan RidgwaySongwriter Interviews

Go beyond the Wall of Voodoo with this cinematic songwriter.