Soma (song)

"Soma", originally called "Coma",^[1] is a track on the album Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins. The song-writing credits list James Iha and Billy Corgan as co-authors, but Corgan claims that Iha only wrote the chord structure for the beginning of the song, and that Corgan himself wrote the rest.^[2] It remains a fan favorite, though it was not released as a single. One of the longer songs to appear on a Smashing Pumpkins album, it is said to have included up to 40 guitar tracks over the course of the song. A 2007 Rolling Stone poll rated the guitar solo as the 24th coolest in a list of 25.^[3] Corgan says the song "is based on the idea that a love relationship is almost the same as opium: it slowly puts you to sleep, it soothes you, and gives you the illusion of sureness and security."^[4] The song features a prominent piano figure by Mike Mills of R.E.M. Soma was a ritual drink for ancient peoples of the Indus River Valley region and also the name of the (fictional) hallucinogenic drug featured in Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel Brave New World. It is also the brand-name for Carisoprodol, a centrally-acting muscle relaxant.

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