The Smashing Pumpkins - Today

What this video is

Released in September 1993 as the second single from Siamese Dream — the Smashing Pumpkins' major-label debut on Virgin Records — 'Today' arrived at a pivotal moment when alternative rock was completing its transition from underground culture to mainstream dominance in the wake of Nirvana's Nevermind. The song's surface jubilance masked deeply personal, dark subject matter; Corgan wrote it during a period of severe…

Why it matters

A canonical artifact of the alt-rock MTV era, 'Today' exemplifies the early-90s formula of pairing melodic, commercially accessible rock songwriting with auteur-directed videos that foregrounded artistic identity over conventional performance footage. Its success helped define how alternative…

The director

Stéphane Sednaoui (born 1963) is a French music video director, photographer, film producer, and actor. He has directed over 40 music videos and worked across photojournalism, portrait photography, fashion, and pop culture. Although self-taught, his artistic…