Art breakdown

Art breakdown is a colloquial term within The Smashing Pumpkins that refers to anytime frontman Billy Corgan improvises an abrasive speech or otherwise provokes the crowd at live shows, whether it be musically or verbally. The most famous of these is the so-called "I Am One" rant which was regularly heard during the Rock Invasion tour and at Lollapalooza 1994. The art breakdowns were often criticized, sometimes even by the other band members, due to their abrasive nature. Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin is believed to have coined the term. The first art breakdown occurred on August 5, 1990 at a festival, after Corgan's amplifier malfunctioned.

In episode 3 of the Thirty-Three podcast, Corgan retold a story of an "I Am One" art breakdown at a Lollapalooza date where he was "offending about 30,000 people in the crowd." He looked back to see Chamberlin pacing back and forth behind the drum kit smoking a cigarette and shaking his head in disappointment. He added these art breakdowns were generally speaking the only time other band members would be critical of what he's saying, never having questioned his lyrics.

The "I Am One" rant in particular were apparently based around the erosion of the belief structure in America's youth, and Corgan has stated they were the gestation for many ideas he later explored on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Some of the rants contained lyrics for future songs, most notably "Zero". The recording of "I Am One" on Vieuphoria / Earphoria features one such rant.