Corgan blamed himself for the record's reception with the public, saying he "made the mistake of telling people it was a techno record" and that if he "would have told everyone "Adore" was the Pumpkins' acoustic album we would have never had the problems that we had". Corgan wrote on the band's website that the album's title was "misunderstood" and "a joke that no one ever got", explaining that "Adore" was meant as a play on "A Door", meaning the album would offer a new entrance to the band's career. In 2005, Corgan would call the making of the album "one of the most painful experiences of my life".