I strive to appreciate music and movies across many different genres, but everything has its limits. I can name a dozen or so horror films I really love, for example, but most turn me off completely.

When it comes to music, I’ve always had blind spots for heavy metal and rap. Rap is like horror, where I can pick and choose the bright spots. But metal is a non-starter. That displeasure extends to metal’s gentler cousin, grunge, which is one reason I’m a little out of step with the music of the early 90s.

When it comes to grunge acts, I can find a song or two I really like, but never an artist or an album. I could probably fit all of my favorite grunge songs on a 10-track playlist. Maybe 15.

Which brings me to Smashing Pumpkins, and their widely hailed 1993 album Siamese Dream. Now, whether Smashing Pumpkins are a grunge band is up for debate. They emerged around the same time as the Seattle bands who defined the genre, but they hailed from Chicago and had a slightly cleaner sound.

But for my money, I hear a lot of thrashy, muffled guitars and fast tempos… a lot of grunge.

Siamese Dream was the band’s second album. It’s dark and brooding, with songs inspired by frontman Billy Corgan’s near-suicide, but has some lighter musical moments sprinkled throughout. It unexpectedly sold more than four million copies in the U.S. and reached the Billboard Top Ten. It’s widely considered one of the best albums of the 90s.

I like some of what I hear on this album, including today’s SOTD and another single, ‘Disarm,’ but I keep tuning out because of the grunginess of it all. No matter how many of these “great” albums I hear, I just can’t get on board.