Corgan blogs, digs deeper hole…
This past Thursday, Smashing Pumpkins fans were treated to another bloated, overstated helping of Billy Corgan’s blogging. Then again, with the loss of long-time collaborator and only original member Jimmy Chamberlin, whose drumming made Zeitgeist moderately enjoyable, the bald boy wonder has a lot on his mind. One quick read-through might suggest he has a lot on his plate, too.
He starts off by exhibiting his joy and interest for the sunny confines of California (which makes us cold Chicagoans that much happier), and suggests that he’s, “made many, many mistakes through the years, and one of them is that I often rush headlong into my next album without really taking the time to reflect on what I’ve just done, and test my resolve a little on where I’m going.” One might argue that he’s missing the mark big time when it comes to his “many, many mistakes”, but it’s not like he’s going to come out and say what he should: “Well, I’m a control freak. Nobody likes working with me. I done fucked up.”
Still, he hits the marks in some places, especially as to why he’s still calling it (see: the band) the Smashing Pumpkins, especially when any future releases will be no different than his modern miracle, The Future Embrace. His argument is very similar to what we heard in last year’s documentary, If All Goes Wrong:
“There is a difference in how I think and approach a body of work for the Pumpkins then say I would as a solo artist or under any other name. Being the near lone songwriter for the Pumpkins has always made me want to put all the diverse harmonic fragments in my mind together, and it has been an incredible musical journey so far to keep trying to match up to the size of that idea.”
Call it blind optimisim, or just blatant ignorance, but he emphasizes that, “I truly am not focused on where I’ve been now as much as where I am going, and I haven’t felt that way for a very long time.” That’s good. Too bad he’s alone on this “incredible musical journey,” and that no one seems to care anymore.
That doesn’t change the fact that he’s still planning for big things to come. Starting this September, the “Pumpkins” will issue the first new song of many (possibly 44) that will eventually add up to a new album, or box set, or what have you. To top it off, he wants an artsy film to go with it, and he also thinks he has time for two other bands, including some solo stuff. That last bit might give you a headache if you try to rationalize the idea, so just nod and say, “Okay.”
Towards the end, he asks everyone to keep him in their prayers. It’s hard to formulate a response to that, but this comes close:
The Smashing Pumpkins have become a disgrace to me. I’m ashamed to say I was once a zealot that stood out in cold weather for tickets to see one of their last shows before the “comeback.” I moved on from them long ago (circa 2001) but to do a quick google search and see the monstrosity that has become the Pumpkins almost brings a tear to my eye.
Billy, please stop what you’re doing and reevaluate your career. You are scaring the streets.
“Arguably the best modern rock drumming on an album in the last 10 years if you ask me.”
Oh, Smashing Pumpkins superfans.
One might argue that he’s missing the mark big time when it comes to his “many, many mistakes”, but it’s not like he’s going to come out and say what he should: “Well, I’m a control freak. Nobody likes working with me. I done fucked up.”
I lol’d.
So be good, for goodness’ sake! Whoa, somebody’s coming…
“Jimmy Chamberlin, whose drumming made Zeitgeist moderately enjoyable”
– Geez Michael, way to just casually skim over the man’s best recorded performance to date. Arguably the best modern rock drumming on an album in the last 10 years if you ask me. I love how when 2 meaningless members like james and darcy left people were all over it, and yet when a powerhouse contributer and musician like Jimmy leaves, its all paraphrasing and barely a blip on the radar. fucking sad.
Overall I think jjb is absolultely right about all the other stuff. You guys used to actually talk about SP’s music, now all of a sudden you’ve lowered yourself to the same level as the associated press. Worse yet, you are incorrectly connecting the dots between the last several mainstream news headlines about SP (visa commercial + washington/ticketmaster stuff = jimmy’s departure) and making an assumption with no evidence. And don’t get me started on the Visa commercial bashing, as if they have never done a song for a commercial or a movie or something “mainstream” before. I consider them to be in good company, with Muddy Waters and the other Visa commercials in the same campaign.
Jimmy’s got a family and kids. Billy’s got 44 songs and an agenda to dominate the world. Is it so hard to understand that these people may just have different priorities right now. Or does it help you sleep at night if you can picture tyrannical billy snatching away jimmy’s drumsticks like the tax collecting sheriff of nottingham? Gimme a fucking break…
And furhtermore your comment about MCIS is laughable. Just because the other musicians actually recorded on MCIS in a rehearsal space format (unlike most of the other albums where billy did most of the work himself) you think thats why it turned out the be so great? Ha! Don’t forget who wrote all 28 of those songs (plus another 2 discs worth of b-sides). It was just a production/recording technique. MCIS would have been just as good if it was just Billy and Jimmy like Gish, SD and Zietgeist.
Now obviously I have my concerns of what an album without Jimmy will sound like. With real drummers instead of synth drums I am helplessly making mental comparisons to The End is The Beginning is the End (and its various B-sides) because those are the few tracks recorded with real drumming but without Jimmy. I’m sure no matter what people will shit on the new material in comparison, but most will wait until they actually hear it before writing off the person who (like or not) is (and has always been) the musical core of this band.
For fans who are not hung up on lineup and billy’s celebrity persona, the blog and the amount of new material it references is a joy to read. But hey, if you find slamming on BC gets more hits, then you’re just catching up to what all the media rags have known for years. He’s the rockstar people love to hate. And shitting on him seems to be more COOL than being a fan of his music. Way to fall in line…
You can’t help but sorta feel sorry for the guy. I’m sure if he wasn’t the complete control freak that he is, we wouldn’t have some records that we have. I’m curious to see where this is going. I’m one of the ones that likes anything Billy does. I get the difference between the Pumpkins and TFE or Zwan. They’re a different mindset and a different sound. I have to give him credit for soldiering on, I can only hope the other “newer” members stick around and can become part of the process, but the latter never seemed possible. we shall see.
also, seriously, stop paying attention to him.
I agree with you Michael, the pumpkins are now just a pyramid sceme.
no one’s going to point out that you called thefutureembrace a modern miracle?
I know you still have a soft spot for The Bald One, but seriously, that album fucking sucks.
Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!
“the Visa commercial, Chamberlin leaving, and the lack of any substantial bandwork, as opposed to just Billy recording/writing it all, is very demeaning to the name.”
Many bands do commercials and “the lack of any substantial bandwork” is 16-year-old news, so neither seems a valid justification for an attitude switch that’s only months old.
Re: Jimmy, your complaint is not that you will miss him, but that you believe Jimmy’s departure proves something about Billy. Okay, what does it prove? That Billy is strong-willed? Again, oooold news. It proves that he can’t work with others? Tell us, Michael: How many singers stick with a drummer for 20 years? How many bands last even five years? You gonna be working with Alex Young ten years from now? Billy’s working right now with Kerry Brown, who you know — you being a longtime fan — is D’Arcy’s ex-husband and someone Billy’s known for close to 20 years. Kenny Aronoff contacted Billy to offer his services after Jimmy left. I could go on, but the point is that in the grownup real world, even people who love each other don’t stick together forever.
Your smarmy comments regarding Pumpkins fans just validates my interpretation of the first comment, i.e., that this is more about mimicking the judgments of people you aspire to be like than about any sort of personal offense you’ve taken to anything that’s happened. Look at your phrasing! You’re not *angry* about the commercial, and you’re not *angry* about Jimmy leaving or about non-collaboration! What you are is *embarrassed*. What you say is not that Billy has pissed YOU off, but rather that he is “a joke” — meaning, OTHER people joke about him, and by extension they are joking about you. You’re tired of standing up for him, you openly said that too. Look, Kanye West shares tons of Corgan’s personality traits — he just happens to still be ‘cool’ among tastemakers. Bob Dylan does awful Super Bowl commercials, but I don’t get the sense that — if you like Dylan — you’ll be turning on him soon. 100% of the difference is the temperature in the room, and like I said before…fucking weak.
Again. another poorly written article. I don’t even know why i read this site.
Seriously, don’t get offended but you may want to take a journalism class or two as this is terrible. terrible.
billy needs to retire.
Am I reading this wrong, or is this an unusually (unintentionally?) honest confession that you now hate the band because other people find the band uncool?>>>
I don’t see how you get that from what I said. I find it hard to be a fan of the band when there’s nothing to be a fan of, and yes the Visa commercial, Chamberlin leaving, and the lack of any substantial bandwork, as opposed to just Billy recording/writing it all, is very demeaning to the name.
but you basically lay 100% of the reason for his exit at Billy’s feet on no evidence.>>>
Evidence? No. Of course not. But even a fool could recognize the controlling grip Corgan holds on everyone. Hell, watch If All Goes Wrong.
Bad tour reviews?>>>
No, if you recall…I attended each and every SP show here in Chicago, filled with positive enthusiasm.
You’re right. There is a switch of tone towards the band, mainly because I don’t feel there is a band there to support. I’m usually against this type of writing, but consider this somewhat of an editorial and less an article. I find the state of SP to be in a very pathetic state, and it’s heading towards GnR territory.
You don’t have to agree. I don’t expect you to. Most of the SP fanbase is hilarious, some labeling Corgan as the most relevant musician today. The truth is, he’s a perfect example of how artists SHOULD NOT BE today. His own actions have now left him a joke to the press and unfortunately alone in the band.
When he can learn to, well, I don’t know…work with people (something he did with Mellon Collie, if you recall), he might actually come up with some interesting results.
So yes, in light of the past few months, I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s exactly what every “naysayer” says he is…a joke.
Again, you don’t have to agree. And considering a good many of you commenting on here happen to write about SP nonstop, I suggest you don’t.
“But I find it hard to call myself a fan, especially over the past few months, and a lot of it has to do with the band name being sodomized left and right.”
Am I reading this wrong, or is this an unusually (unintentionally?) honest confession that you now hate the band because other people find the band uncool?
It’s hard to CALL YOURSELF a fan? As opposed to, apparently, just being a fan. Certainly, they are uncool, but it’s fucking weak if that’s why you would actively join in the stoning.
It has to do with the band NAME being sodomized? Sodomized by whom, or what? (The non-business end of Pitchfork’s logo?)
The problem, Michael, is that you have made no actual argument, no case for what’s been so egregious of late. The Visa commercial? Annoying, I’ll grant, but ultimately I have to say ‘big whoop’. Jimmy leaving? I worship the man’s drumming, but you basically lay 100% of the reason for his exit at Billy’s feet on no evidence. Bad tour reviews? There were plenty of good ones if you read anything other than Pitchfork or Stereogum (some good ones can be found on CoS, I’m pretty sure, not to mention the New York Times, LA Times…).
Other than that, what’s happened - and why is it so particularly disturbing or unusual given the history of the band? (Remember that the issue at hand is a very recent shift the CoS coverage, a sensible cause of which should be something very recent.)
I always thought you guys were the more balanced ones in the music memesphere!>>>
It only goes so far. If you want, you can read my 10-20 articles from last year, where I defended them. However, lately (especially with the BS Super Bowl nonsense), it’s hard to be anything but sarcastic with this “band.”
Yawn. Did I stumble on Pitchfork here? I always thought you guys were the more balanced ones in the music memesphere! I’m pretty sure Corgan did offer a heartfelt apology to the haters. Guess that was missed here. Dude’s got ambition. Can you hate on him for that?
Obviously, you just did.
I’ve been a fan of the band since I first heard “Today” as a kid. But I find it hard to call myself a fan, especially over the past few months, and a lot of it has to do with the band name being sodomized left and right.
If you deny that, then I don’t know what to say.
Oops?
What’s happened to you guys? This is two or three Pumpkins-related posts in a row that are nothing more than extended sneers, and none of them are smart enough to bother refuting.
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