SMASHING PUMPKINS by Karen Shearer I was trying to get the sound of things like coughing angels, the king and queen of the prom setting themselves on fire, losers getting laid, high hopes being ripped down and fizzing out." Thus does Billy Corgan describe his guitar work on Siamese Dream, the second full-length release by Smashing Pumpkins (Virgin). "I came to terms with the fact that I could never be completely happy with the actual music, so that's not what I was focusing on," explains Corgan, who founded the band and writes nearly all of its material, sharing credit with guitarist James Iha on two of the album's 13 tracks. "I made the emotional commitment that I wanted to on this record, which is all I cared about." Emotions -- raging emotions -- are both a curse and a blessing for the four Pumpkins, who came together in Chicago five years ago, sharing tales of alienation and dysfunctional families. Their soap opera saga has been marked by romantic breakdowns, nervous breakdowns and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin's attempts at rehab. But there's also Gish, their stunningly successful, independently released first album; sold-out tours; and a series of alternative and AOR hits from Siamese Dream, including "Cherub Rock," "Rocket," and "Today," Corgan's first song after six hellacious months of writer's block. The elegiac "Disarm" even put the band on the pop charts, but Billy Corgan isn't interested in charts and numbers -- and he doesn't want to become "a poster child for the disenfranchised generation." "These are very personal songs," he says. "I sing them because they mean something to me, and in that sense I think they will signify things to other people." Indeed they do.