The Chimera

"The Chimera" is a song by The Smashing Pumpkins off of their 2012 studio album, Oceania. It borrows from a unfinished demo song called "7 Sisters", which was slower in tempo.

In a 2012 interview with MusicRadar, Corgan attributes the inspiration for the song to Mike Byrne's drumming:

A few people have asked me what it's like having a 20-something [year-old] in the band. Does it have an influence? In this case, I would say absolutely, because it's a song I might not have done without Mike's encouragement.

The song originated when they were recording drums for a different song, and there was an issue with the snare drum. While the technical issues were being ironed out, Corgan came up with a new riff, and Byrne fed off of it.