Smashing Pumpkins - The Making of '1979' (With Commentary)

Here's the making of the 1979 music video. This was filmed in Santa Clarita, CA, in January 1996. Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. This was the 2nd Mellon Collie music video. ©1995 Virgin Records.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING IN THIS VIDEO. ALL MUSIC BELONGS TO THE SMASHING PUMPKINS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE LABELS.

[@lucasargandona4658]

I love the way Billy smiles while in the car 😂🙌

[@afact0flife]

same! ❤️

[@AGENTARMES]

Yeah thats my fave part too. That's not acting. That's real.

[@monkeyliver1986]

Gay.

[@jimhalpert4017]

@@AGENTARMES w

[@cherylpulver7825]

Same!!!! 😍😍😍😍😍

[@donny2700]

I'm kinda glad you didn't make the alien hotel video too.

[@christopheraparicio4482]

The Smashing Pumpkins made some of the best videos.

[@ignaciorusso1]

Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton.

[@sroevukasroevuka]

My favs are all of their videos.

[@303nitzubishi4]

Billy was on point when he said this is an idealized version of teenage life. I was born in '79 and was 15 when MellonCollie came out. The life I was living at that time was anything but carefree and fun. I'm glad those days are over but even more glad that I have great memories and appreciation of the first few pumpkins albums

[@vlcheish]

Well technically 16 17 if you were born before Oct 24 1979 :p

[@therodgodproject9942]

yeah

[@twiff3rino28]

Yeah, I'm 10 years younger, but I remembered hearing the songs from MCIS on the radio and TV a lot when I was around 7, so I downloaded it when I was 15 and listened to it a lot over the next 3 years. It was one of my favorites albums at that time, but I usually skipped this song. Frankly, this video bothered me a lot when I was 15-17, and it was because I just couldn't relate to the kids in the video at all. I think like you, I had my own issues I was dealing with at the time. My issues were probably different, but I remember those years isolating myself and being paranoid over a mutual attraction to my male track buddy a grade below (who knew how to play this song and others from MCIS on guitar...). Now I'm in my 30s and I still can't watch the video. Those years were wasted and they won't be coming back, and it feels like I'm just waiting for death at this point. Dan if you're reading this: I hope you forgive me for being an asshole towards the end of my senior year. I didn't know any better and societal pressures were just too much at the time.

[@Danny-he4hi]

​@@twiff3rino28hey this is most likely pretty silly of me to say this haha. My name is also Dan (coincidence lol), but not the Dan you mention in your comment though. When i was in high school i never really cared about what ppl thought of me. I mean i did care, a lot in a sense, had a really hard time going up to a girl i liked lol Most people knew me as a class clown however so that was ok with me. But yeah in a way i also felt kind of like i didn't do the high school things like going to parties etc, things i would do in a heartbeat now if i could turn back time. I actually started doing all that in my mid 20s. I hope you can find the Dan from your school and that you guys can talk and catch up. He sounds like a really cool dude. You're not too old in your 30s to do all those things. Its not a wasted life.

[@joshwaciantardrums]

Watching in 2020: Look at all that wasted toilet paper..

[@rottenapple6340]

Underrated coment

[@ToiYeuYAHWEH]

Look at those care-free wasted teens :-D

[@newt66c33]

ha ha

[@anonymousdude4011]

That gave me a belly laugh. Well done!

[@joshwaciantardrums]

Didn’t notice my comment got so many likes haha, keep up the good vibes. Sending happiness from Australia 🤙🤙 #longliveSP

[@tgortl]

One of the most unforgettable music videos in my lifetime.

[@caligirl3000]

YES!!! Sure was. Nostalgia!!!!

[@jorgemello780]

Now, these 15, 16 years old kids are 40 years old gentlemen and ladies. Man, time really flies!

[@EM-pj9mr]

That is so beautiful to think about

[@nnikaa3]

Shjdkdksbdkdbd i can’t believe I’m 16 now whatttttttteggsdhhd

[@303nitzubishi4]

Yes us '79ers are all turning 42 this year

[@caligirl3000]

Yup. I was in my early 20's in the Air Force. In 3 months I'll be 50. CRAZY!!!! Time sure does fly....

[@jay1jayf]

they're all probably hyper politicized and neurotic.

[@jasonhuntley4203]

THANK YOU, YOU'VE ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS I HAD NO IDEA THAT IRATE NEIGHBOR WAS PLAYED BY THE ONE AND ONLY D'ARCY AWESOME!!! SHE WAS ALWAYS MY FAVORITE PUMPKIN ANYWAY BUT ANYWHO'S THANKX

[@accordingtohonda4308]

W H Y R W E Y E L L I N G ? ;)

[@kanivakil198]

Crazy, learned that the song is written from a 27-8 year-old (at the time) writing about what he never had. Kind of proves that popularity and wealth isn't everything for some people.

[@neilfraser1235]

The rejected alien hotel video concept he talks about but won't name the director was Spike Jonze.

[@bluewavechris]

Which is strange....when you look at Spike's Sabotage video (Beastie Boys) or the 100% video (Sonic Youth) their content and style are very much in line with this video (band at a house party, band wearing costumes/wigs and playing someone other than themselves, 60's/70's era cars)......

[@delusionalwastelandproduct5092]

It's a awesome music video. I remember it very vividly as a kid when it played on mtv.

[@Proxcreadora]

Omg!! I just noticed that im living 1 block from the liquor from this video!! Is the liquor where i always get my shit < 33 next of it is a bar called "shooters"

[@SirHouseFly]

i thought that was winnetka holy shit

[@amberkiley8676]

What state?

[@Alezerex]

@@amberkiley8676 Its in Bakersfield California.

[@ToiYeuYAHWEH]

@@Alezerex No, in Winneetka, CA.

[@trevordarezzo-burch4553]

probably one of the most iconic and greatest music videos of all time

[@god563616]

This came out in elementary school and I still get that nostalgia feeling all these years later. Best song ever!!

[@okjeffy6581]

The song came out when my brother was only 3.

[@kk2255aa]

Dodge Charger

[@controloz3310]

It’s my fave pumpkins song I just love it

[@tompopolo8801]

I love this song... and the video. I'm surprised no one in the video said about how the they filmed everything and lost the footage so they had to re shoot it. Lol

[@twiff3rino28]

How the hell did nobody get in trouble for allowing a bunch of 15/16 year olds to bang in the bathroom, especially in a state like California? 😂 Im sure if it happened now it'd be a different story.

[@arkknight92]

The greatest song ever made! Brings me back to the 90s when I was a teen 🥲

[@rockvideos5748]

04:11 Gerard Way

[@star_shine99]

YAAASSSSS

[@charlesdjones1]

Perfect song. Perfect video.

[@Hot80s]

Imagine opening a garage door and finding the green charger and the ice cream truck intact.

[@isucc_64]

It would be a dream to see that beautiful charger

[@frankbalazs8816]

I had a Great life just like this!! Rich parents and traveled the Country racing Bmx outta my parents Motorhome!! Now I'm an Actor who's worked for Michael Bay and Eminem!!! Life's always been Great!!! FRANK BALAZS THE ISLAND!!!

[@Mrbungleface0u818]

Timeless video. Nostalgia on nostalgia on nostalgia... Generations have passed and yet this video and it's song remain relevant

[@okjeffy6581]

Your PFP looks like Radal.

[@f3uibeghardt522]

Did anyone else see Billy balancing his guitar on his head? How the hell did he do that?

[@CFK83]

It was just stuck between his head and the ceiling.😊

[@Squidbillies1000]

beautiful a time gone

[@lucasargandona4658]

Squidbillies1000 honestly...

[@uverpro3598]

This is what you call magic. Rarely found in the music or video world these days. I was 11 years old when I saw this. Liked it, but it didn't move me. A few years later I'd be these kids. Decades later I'd be watching this video, remembering the time between and no longer taking the trip for granted. Shakdown... 1999!

[@twiff3rino28]

I wish I had this chance... now I'm 34 and nothing feels fun anymore, and the regrets after watching this each time make me wonder if there's anything left worth living.

[@Internet_Enjoyer]

who is the blonde girl? this is unanswered on the web, somebody knows?

[@cartman64439]

seriously that's what im trying to figure out.

[@TonySnafu88]

Graf Zorba yeah it's really weird... I thought it would be easy to find out her name too, but it isn't listed anywhere! She's awesome.

[@davideduardoaguilar884]

im looking for this also. any news?

[@OCTOCAMO]

@@davideduardoaguilar884 The brunette girl is Lauren Amelia English. The other one I don't know.

[@OCTOCAMO]

@@juss-passin-thru Yeah I know who you are talking about but she is not her. They are different.

[@glennhubbard5008]

My favorite song ever.

[@justinbyers7443]

About 2 seconds into the video what part of Santa Clarita is that? Almost looks like Stevenson Ranch

[@vytautasmartinenas582]

Saugus

[@cjoch]

2:19 ; - )

[@bluefishjoe]

Those were my friends you found in old town Pasadena. They did great!

[@Aiur]

Fantastic, your work is timeless

[@blackspace007]

I love this video so much. The song and video is timeless

[@aldebarandorian8818]

The girl in red

[@adaytoremember225]

Yea...she’s 15

[@lifespanofafry1534]

was

[@adaytoremember225]

@@lifespanofafry1534 Yes..in the video she's 15

[@flentie]

Her name is Lauren English, she's also the dorm girl in Perfect.

[@wlcrutch]

When I was a kid, watching this on MTV, I had a crush on the blonde girl in the passenger seat of the car

[@TAGMedia7]

Me too!

[@sofuknossum1]

Take me back 😔

[@shoddyworkmanship4934]

i always hated this video. it always made me uncomfortable and jealous. funny all these years later i hear billy say this was idealized that he wish he had

[@marvinsilverman4394]

exact. becuase of teen years of billy corgan was depressing

[@blackdiablo321]

Omg same feeling. It's just that there were some teenagers who are now grown-up adults like me and probably you too who didnt have the chance to experience this kind of teenage life in the slightest, while others did. and now these young adults feel like they have missed out as they cant be young and careless again. Life is serious now, body starts aging. I didnt really get the chance to have this teenage life as I am hearing impaired and thus have been very shy in younger years, had little self-esteem and struggled to socialize, especially at parties or in a club. In consequence, I didnt take care of myself, got fat and ugly which separated myself even more. Ive never had a real lasting relationship with sex and everything. Especially that part in this video where they said that they've caught teenagers on the toilet having sex hit deep. What I would have given to experience that as a teenager now. It almost seems surreal to me. Eventually i've started to change my life, i've lost so much weight now, changed my appearance, had more friends and had at least some moments that resembled an echo of what teenage life would be. However, ive started balding (like Corgan) pretty early and it can be depressing to know that I will never be truly young again, having a chance to really experience that kind of careless life. And it makes me jealous. Life's just unfair sometimes. But I comfort myself knowing that there are many people alike or even worse off and try to just live the moment and not mourn after what could have been different in the past.

[@marvinsilverman4394]

@@blackdiablo321 the life as a teen was full of adrenaline, that is why it is a time very remembered among people but the life as a teen, is a chaos, , uncertainty, full of mistakes, careless and with fear If they gave me to choose between adolescence or maturity, I prefer the latter sorry for my english

[@shoddyworkmanship4934]

@@blackdiablo321 Heh, well, you're not alone. Me and a whole lot of other guys feel mournful of experiences we were deprived of. And you're right, we can't go back in time. These feelings of being robbed and rejected are something I can't put away, and I suppose I never will. But, we can only move onward -- ever onward. As a positive, since I was deprived of a conventional adolescence, I feel like I am beyond the adult expectations and societal norms others must adhere to. Meaning I will act more in accordance with my character than with the current standards of manner. My peers cannot rid me from a group I was never a part of; instead they'd have to go as far as to lynch me if I transgressed too many social norms. And to that I say: I have nothing to lose. Do you?

[@douglas_fir]

Do you know where i could find the name of the londe girl and the other kid actors?

[@johnwaynegacy695]

Analogmp3 Giuseppe Andrews

[@flentie]

And the girl in the red jacket is Lauren English.

[@GrubWarp]

thank god my teen years were similar to this

[@rax816]

They basically did do the alien hotel idea for all their future videos tho...

[@BedtimeStoriesChannel]

I disagree with billy that it's their best music video. That accolade goes to either Tonight, Tonight or Ava Adore.

[@LuisEduardoBraschi]

Very well played they made it "1979". If it were "2010" he probably wouldn't fit in the back of a modern compact with two other kids.

[@mybestyears]

Love this clip and song. Love this kids and this making of video.

[@Seth_Walker]

0:09 This song captures that feeling so incredibly well. I wish my teenage years were something to look back fondly upon.

[@myautobiographyafanfic1413]

My DVD of this straight up won't work. It's so nice to have access to this.

[@TAGMedia7]

What's the name of the DVD?

[@myautobiographyafanfic1413]

@@TAGMedia7 I chucked it. It was just a collection of all their music videos up to machina, with bonus footage and commentaries.

[@snorgisborg2]

Definitely one of the best music videos of the 90's

[@theedrstrangelove]

Those 13 year olds are now pushing 40!

[@Inaworldoflove]

theedrstrangelove youth is fleeting. It’s weird to think that 90s teens are now in their 40s.

[@Sansoloz]

Oh videoclip green Charger where art thou in 2023?

[@mikenitty]

Love this song brings me back many memories

[@sandgaijin]

I still don't know how they got the camera rigged on the toilet paper some 15 years before GoPro and action cams. Such a cool shot!

[@Jamie61571]

Was somebody sitting with Billy when this video ended?I like the music video I wonder what happend to the kids and the other people?

[@jesusmtz29]

This video is absolutely perfect and timeless. It seems only yesterday I watched it for the first time but it's been decades

[@ChannelZero1031]

Hey Billy! What are you singing in the airspace of this song!? Is it "Ooooooohhh, twelve again!"? Or, "Ooooooooh, today ah!"

[@arbjork]

was the blonde girl related to Billy or Kirsten Dunst? :p

[@Aaronzarteros]

Who is the red jacket girl ?

[@lucasargandona4658]

Aaron Castillo lil tay

[@flentie]

Her name is Lauren English

[@m.r.4455]

I’m into this video so deeply! I exactly felt my youth even if I couldn’t get a single word back at time because I was a little ‘90s italian kid (and our English school program didn’t still exist…)

[@corgan59]

I want to meet the girl in Red! call me!!!!! (im French) smashing pumpkins fan since 1994

[@frvo]

What's the name of the girl in the front seat of the car

[@paoloernesto2591]

I like to find the making of great old videos and to know how actors and musicians are today.

[@ernesto1978]

Quisiera vivir eternamente en un bucle infinito en ese video

[@lkaykay_mori9344]

Cause James always is the best and handsome

[@LovingAtlanta]

👍😍I love this song...well the beat & rhythm....I still don’t understand the lyrics after all of these years. 🤨😩

[@v2snider1]

it truly was remarkable .I often visit this song . i was 17 in 1979 and the honesty of this nostalgic song and video really reslly captures the true essence of the time .

[@quince2285]

Billy's smile is so beautiful. Love you!

[@key809]

I really love this music and video. I fell into the illusion that I was a teenager like the guys in this video when I watched it the first time.

[@godofobelix]

thanks to GTA IV ^^

[@MemeSweeper]

Dante hollow yup

[@C-Stanz]

How young are you that you never heard this song before a recent video game?

[@GizmoTheMonkey]

F Stanz 2008 isn’t recent

[@gstvo1369]

Dante hollow conheci essa musica graças ao gta4,assim me interessei pela banda

[@pts5217]

Used to have such a crush on the blonde girl

[@anjelinavillalobos3973]

I didn’t like the song at first but then I watched the video

[@TheEchomaker]

3:49 josephgordonlewitt?

[@rumisfordrinkingnotburning]

Whos the blonde?

[@lasttime1372]

That's great! Where's that footage from? Some dvd or what?

[@karelyhuertadelgadillo7984]

who is the blonde hair girl??? I need to know!

[@jonyoungmusic]

I was 12 when this came out and was obsessed with rap but I couldn't help but love the Pumpkins. Any suburban kid can relate to this. Driving around aimlessly and ending up at random peoples houses and motel parties. Getting trespassing warrants for being "downtown" after 10. Buying weed through a classmates bedroom window. Hiding on the floor of the backseat of your friends car who had OJT (on the job training) so you could leave school early. Everything but what you were supposed to be doing lol.

[@twiff3rino28]

I'm only 5-6 years younger than you, but this wasn't my experience.

[@julianparedes6473]

The name of the teen that drives the car is Giuseppe Andrews

[@marvinsilverman4394]

joey murcia is your real name from florida

[@prologueofzinachia7123]

What's this?!

[@winterlynn9012]

This is probably a stupid question but is the video supposed to be taken place in the 70s? Because the car and some of the clothing is definitely 70s style but some looks 90s or maybe the intention was to give it both a 70s and 90s look and feel combined. I always figured it was Billy's way of reliving how he grew up in the 70s and what it was like to be a teen at that time. Either way so glad I saw this:) Never knew that was D'arcy playing the neighbor

[@Utubesanarc]

The little kid chewing bubble gum is supposed to be bill. Hes talking about joy rides he had in chicago with much older kids. These kids were his definition of feeling alive. Its odd...I wonder if bill still talks to those guys. Or if they even saw themselves in the video. Crazy

[@laurendayap762]

present day (well 1996)

[@billybats4745]

Mid 90s had this interesting retro 70s ish style thing going on that last like three years. Especially in years to t-shirts. Everyone mid 90s was wearing 70s style shirts that they got from the salvation army. During the time when the video was shot, it was like the pinnacle of that time. Pretty much anyways. It gives a really cool feel to the video cause yeah it could easily be mistaken as taking place in the 70s.

[@MannyBrum]

As someone who grew up in the 90s (in fact I was the exact same age as the kids in the video), it's definitely 90s. I had the shoulder length hair, black denim jacket that I rarely took off, t shirt, 70s cars were pretty common. In 1996 a car from 1972 would be like a car from 1995 today. Not everyone has one but they're not rare, and someone getting their first car is likely to get an old car.

[@williamshaw9047]

@@billybats4745 Another thing that was popular around that time were shirts that looked like something an employee at a gas station would wear. They would even have phony name patches on them. Ringer Ts were coming back into fashion.

[@Cris18Martinez]

The one with the red jacket kinda looks like one of the siamese dream girls.

[@flentie]

Just a coincidence I guess, but she does reappear in the "Perfect" music video as the dorm girl. Her name is Lauren English.

[@astronomical13]

This is my 3rd favorite video ever. My 2nd favorite pumpkins video after “Rocket”. My favorite video ever is Zombie.

[@guglielmobonanno5779]

WHO ARE THE ACTORS???

[@blueflame7423]

arent they the same actors on Perfect - Smashing Pumpkin music video? the first part, the one with a baby

[@MannyBrum]

@@blueflame7423 The Perfect video was the sequel to this one. The video showed what happened to the characters from the 1979 video. They used 4 out of 5 of the original actors (the fifth one was in jail).

[@Zero8880]

Was it the blonde kid that was pissing in the bathroom that went to jail? Because I always thought he looked a lot different in the "Perfect" music video.

[@mayare1919]

Anyone know how they got the TP shot done? Cuz the TP is revolving but the camera is still (and somehow attached to it?)

[@airdriver]

When I first hear this song and saw the video, I was in my thirties. It made me think of 1979 when I was 15/16 and some of the few times, I ever hung out with friends(I was a loner). But now in 2024, hearing this song makes me nostalgic for the 1990s when I was in my thirties and singing this song at karaoke bars. Back then, it was on my short list for songs I sang.

[@Utubesanarc]

I remember hanging like this in high school. Kristen, courtney, and jason. Your in this evaporating time you finally feel happy in your skin. Just when ya do reality sets in and your all alone.

[@GrandRoyaLBassMan]

Back in 1994/95 i was an exchange student in the US for a year, it was a great year ill never forget and i saw all those video clips and became a fan of SP And im from 1978… Saw them live in Brazil but without jimmy Then i planned a trip to canada just to see them again but this time with Jimmy. It was in Vancouver in 2007 and a person died that night in an accident in the show ( mosh pit i guess). I was in the first row… I wish i had the opportunity to see them live in the 90s with the OG band Nowadays it’s sad that there is not the felling of opening that cellophane of the vinyl or cd, reading the booklet, that smell of new music… I miss that brief year in the us and all the friends made… i get that for them i was just a South American kid that went there for a school year and others followed, but from my perspective it was life changing, got fluent in English and it was an incredible experience living away from my family ( remember in that time communicating abroad was very hard and expensive…) I went to Springfield HS in akron OH btw…

[@ChrisHillmon]

I’m surprised they didn’t bring up the story of when they literally wrapped up on shooting the video, the tape that had all the footage got ran over by a vehicle, destroying it in the process, and had to start all over again from scratch.

[@Dartheomus]

Poor James taking the microphone to the head at 2:18.... Those SM58's are heavy! This B-roll footage kinda makes me wish the video was even longer.

[@paoloernesto2591]

The Pumpkins were first time in Brazil about 20 years ago and Billy got attention for being unnecessarily rude on a tv show when was answering the audience questions. The situation got better when the own band girl made an irony with him: someone asked if he had a girlfriend, and she: "Oh, what girlfriend?" Everybody laughed.

[@jungcooks5115]

This vivid video quality makes 1995 seem like yesterday.

[@tomservo5007]

and that nameless director with the alien hotel vision, was Akira Kurosawa

[@lanochedelasaranas2403]

I love you that song , 1979 the best song from TVE world

[@satanichispanic8882]

BEAUTIFUL

[@mynameisjoe1141]

I heard they lost a bunch of the film and had to reshoot a bunch of the party....

[@punt2263]

Wait was this not actually filmed on a camcorder??

[@AGENTARMES]

Anyone recognize Lex from Detroit rock City?

[@HARDIKSHARMA100]

It's a awesome music video. I remember it very vividly as a kid when it played on mtv. Do you know where i could find the name of the londe girl and the other kid actors?

[@c0smicc4nc3r4]

Was at a view looking over all of LA, was with my friend's drinking and this song comes on randomly and it just felt right

[@jorgearellano3055]

La escena del papel higiénico, cómo diablos la hicieron?

[@MrKnife.69]

Does Kevin Smith know you made a Kevin Smith movie with out him?

[@zeitok8]

nice, i didn´t know chamberline was one of the cops and darcy as the lady with the mask haha

[@davidfox7983]

Superb video The feelings of the song and the video work together great