Appels + Oranjes

Appels + Oranjes is a song from The Smashing Pumpkins' fourth studio album, Adore. An early demo called "What If?" was released on the 2014 reissue of Adore.

Likely referring to “What If”, Billy once described the early version as a hippy folk song with funnier lyrics. He then rewrote the lyrics, while making the music sparser and more fragmented. Billy considered rewriting the lyrics again but D’arcy convinced him to keep the lyrics the same as you hear on the album.

During another interview, Billy explained the reason why the song’s title has an odd spelling. There had been a Pink Floyd song in 1967 called “Apples and Oranges” and he didn’t want to pretend the song never existed.

"Appels + Oranjes" has the distinction of being the first song written for Adore, demoed out during a session with Matt Walker, as other music was being put together for what became the Ransom Soundtrack. And here lies another story, as the famed composer I was to share the album's cover with had me summarily kicked off it. Why? Because he claimed the work I'd done was not 'music,' and he would not be sullied by it. To him, and to you, I say it is better to make original noise than luke-warm, adopted themes trolled from the greats. To he, I dedicate this hymn. For what if his shining, erstwhile baton refused to shudder at our collective rebellion?