Legendary ’90s Rocker Reveals the ‘Accident’ That Led to His Most Iconic Music Video originally appeared on Parade.
Some rock fans call “Ava Adore” “one of the greatest music videos of all time,” but Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan revealed on July 12, 2025, that one of the most iconic shots of the $800,000 production was actually a filming mistake!
“My whole thing was it was going to be a one-taker,” Corgan recalled of the 1998 video on his The Magnificent Others podcast while talking to Monkees singer Micky Dolenz. Unfortunately, the production team struggled with some technical difficulties, which delayed the project a lot. “By maybe 5 pm, the clock is running out, and we haven’t shot a single take. You could see people getting real nervous,” he remembered.
When they finally did their first full take, producers “freaked out” after noticing a filming gaffe from the camera operator on the tape. “I can’t remember what it was, I think it was an accident, and maybe because they thought it was a test take,” said Corgan. “The camera operator swung the camera around, and you saw the entire set, just for one moment.”
“You saw the entire set, the train tracks and the crew with the coffee,” added Corgan, who was immediately enamored with the result. “I said ‘No, no leave it!'” When the production team was “arguing with him,” insisting he couldn’t “break the fourth wall” in his video, he put his foot down.
“I said, ‘It’s my f–king video and I think it’s perfect!'” he remembered. “Because it shows the artifice of this entire exercise.” He added that in the end, he did get to keep the camera swing, and that it ended up being his “favorite moment of the whole video.”
Fans seem to agree, and many of them rushed to YouTube to rewatch the 1998 video, which has now been viewed nearly 40 million times. “Came here to watch this again after the Mickey Dolenz interview,” said one fan in the comments. “I knew this video was always interesting to me and caught my eye when I was young. Now being older and knowing what ‘breaking the fourth wall’ and the story behind this is, makes it so much better.”
“Seriously though, this video is an absolute masterpiece,” another wrote, while a third joked, “Came here to make sure that Billy Corgan gets his $800,000 worth.”
Legendary ’90s Rocker Reveals the ‘Accident’ That Led to His Most Iconic Music Video first appeared on Parade on Jul 12, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 12, 2025, where it first appeared.