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Posts Tagged “smashing pumpkins”

do look back

Billy Corgan Ready To Cash In On "Gish" All Over Again

According to a post on the Smashing Pumpkins' official site, "plans are currently underway that will lead to the eventual release of a pre-Gish/Gish box set." While I welcome any excuse to replace my scratched-to-hell disc from 17 years ago, I'm guessing that Billy Corgan's motivations are a little more devious; delving into his back catalogue will probably produce sales results that are, at the very least, better than those achieved by Zeitgeist. (Although if he remakes any of the videos with certain brain-dead heiresses playing the role of James Iha, I am out.) But wait, there's another way for Corgan to get the money out of his band's Gish-era fanbase, who presumably on average have higher earning power than they did back in '91: More »

10:30 AM on Mon Jun 23 2008
By Maura Johnston
616 views, 5 comments

Latest by cheesebubble: Just sad. more »

inject yourself

St. Etienne Offered Botox By Inspired New TV Program


The producers of Bands Go Pop! want to provide physical training, cosmetics and even cosmetic surgery for "bands who provided the soundtrack to our youth but who now for whatever reason no longer look like the poster picture that once adorned the walls of the nations teenagers." According to Popbitch, they naturally decided to offer their services to St. Etienne, who understandably declined. Still, I hope the producers aren't too dismayed by this cold shoulder. Judging by the recent actions of once defiant bands like R.E.M. and Metallica, plenty of artists will take any measures necessary to attempt to reclaim their former glory. We've got some recommendations. More »

10:30 AM on Thu Jun 5 2008
By Anthony Miccio
331 views, 5 comments

Latest by Dick Laurent is dead.: @NeverEnough: Fixing Fat Bob would take up the entire budget for the band. more »

help wanted

Courtney Love Tries To Break Alt-Rock Stranglehold On Female Bass Players

After lots of delays, Courtney Love is seemingly ready to start rehearsing for the recording of her new album and its subsequent tour. But she needs a bass player, and so she's turned her MySpace blog into her own personal Craigslist because the dude she wanted originally, who, uh, worked with Plant/Page, is currently on tour with Goldfrapp. Are you that man? I ask if you're that man because she doesn't want a chick bass player for reasons that she's keeping secret. (I'm hoping that it has something to do with the way the "chick bassist" went from trope to joke during the last decade's alt-rock boom of 10 years ago, but I fully expect to be disappointed.) If you feel like applying, the ad—complete with suggested musical influences—is after the jump! More »

8:50 AM on Fri May 30 2008
By Maura Johnston
669 views, 4 comments

Latest by narymary: My former band mate, a female bass player, once auditioned for some incarnation of Hole and got pretty far along in the process. The thing that stopped her from pursuing it further was when Ms. Love informed her she would more »

Is Billy Corgan Rocking Too Hard? From Popbitch: "Smashing Pumpkins have just done a show in Australia for MTV. Singer Billy Corgan requested for his rider a defibrillator and an ambulance. And crew claim they weren't allowed to walk in his line of sight while he was playing." To be fair, I wouldn't want the last thing I ever see to be some gaffer with his crack showing either. [Popbitch / Photo: AP]

1 comment

edits

How To Make A Reunion Tour Seem A Lot Less Noteworthy

Weiland, the estranged singer of Velvet Revolver, has teamed up with members of Army Of Anyone and Bomb Shelter Studios owner Eric Kretz for a tour that will hit more than 50 amphitheaters this summer and fall. And this isn't the only unexpected supergroup that's formed from music's bigger names over the years—other groups have also embarked on tours, while a few have even released albums. Other examples after the jump. More »

12:00 PM on Tue Apr 1 2008
By Anthony Miccio
1,416 views, 24 comments

today is the greatest day to serve papers

Smashing Pumpkins Apparently Have "Artistic Integrity"

Well, now you've done it, Virgin Records. You've crossed Billy Corgan and the pride he takes in his creative endeavors. The Smashing Pumpkins as an entity (which I like to imagine is Corgan and a old typewriter) are suing their label for breach of contract filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. The suit claims that the band has "worked hard for over two decades to accumulate a considerable amount of goodwill in the eyes of the public," and said goodwill was damaged by a Pepsi Stuff promotion that used the Smashing Pumpkins band name in its advertising blitz, a use that apparently wasn't covered in the agreement to sell the Pumpkins' music digitally. This lawsuit makes me wonder if I can sue the band for presenting a band under the Smashing Pumpkins name that barely resembles the band I used to enjoy, so I might be calling Jacoby & Meyers later. [AP]

10:00 AM on Tue Mar 25 2008
By Dan Gibson
517 views, 8 comments

Latest by cheesebubble: Seriously? Corgan should have stopped at saying he's suing for use of a song in advertising without his permission. He shot himself in the foot when he went on to boast "artistic integrity." Your fifteen minutes of street cred are more »

prick moves

Billy Corgan Continues Contemptible Quest To Steal His Audience's Allowance Money

A middling revamp of Smashing Pumpkins' middling "return to form" Zeitgeist hits the shelves tomorrow as Reprise tries to tempt fans into re-purchasing a mediocre album with the promise of "a full-length DVD documentary titled Inside The Zeitgeist" and a handful of bonus tracks—the sixth Zeitgeist "upgrade" for anyone still keeping count. As he desperately tries to make up for sluggish sales and reviews, Corgan's probably down to banking on support from longtime fanatics, like these poor souls who have already had a taste of the Pumpkins-flavored Kool-Aid. More »

5:00 PM on Mon Oct 29 2007
By jharv
822 views, 11 comments

Latest by TheMojoPin: The warning signs were there as soon as he started rocking the Zero "uniform"...it was all downhill from there in the slippery slope to becoming a neo-goth, faux-emo, slightly-retarded-Nosferatu-looking cartoon. That said, I still dig that Zwan album. And him playing live more »

today is not the greatest day feminism has ever known

Billy Corgan Tries To Pump Up His Crummy Record Sales With A Little Misogyny

His attempt at recapturing the zeitgeist has been met with a collective lack of attention from those people who still buy records, so what can Billy Corgan do to get his name back in the news? How about saying something "provocative" at the Reading Festival in the hopes that he'll get some e-ink from NME and bloggers? More »

10:30 AM on Mon Aug 27 2007
By mjohnston
5,472 views, 28 comments

Good morning, Idolator faithful. I'm Paul, but you may know me as brasstax. I'm not a "journalist" or a "critic," so go ahead and engage your disappointment (or elation) sensors right now. I'll be here all day. More importantly, though, it's finally July 10—a huuuge new record release day! I solemnly swear right now to do my best in making Idolator a Spoon, Interpol, Justice and Smashing Pumpkins-free zone between now and 5pm (though I really have no control over Maura). You've been reading about all those records ad nauseam in every corner of the internet for weeks. There is one legitimately important release today, however, and it's this. Buy it now and thank me later.

12 comments

Billy Corgan Tries To Recapture The "Zeitgeist" Every week, we round up the all-important, all-summarizing last sentences of the biggest new-music reviews. Today's entry is the Smashing Pumpkins' Zeitgeist, which comes out tomorrow:

3 comments

leak of the weekend

The Smashing Pumpkins Take On The World

ARTIST: The Smashing Pumpkins
TITLE: Zeitgeist
WEB DEBUT: June 30, 2007
RELEASE DATE: July 10, 2007
SOUND QUALITY: 216kbps (VBR)
ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: There's no immediately apparent reason why Billy Corgan's vocals were recorded in such a way that they sound pancake-flat, but other than that, Zeitgeist is a solid if unspectacular run through the Smashing Pumpkins' existence, complete with snarling guitars, wispy tracks that recall Adore, and a nearly ten-minute blowout ("United States") that closes out with a pretty glorious, if bombastic, coda. The only real misstep? The unfortunate opening of "Starz," which resulted in a violent Hear 'N Aid flashback.
WHERE TO FIND THE BEST TRACK: Nobody's posted the pretty, "Tristessa"-echoing "That's The Way (My Love Is)" yet, but for some reason people seem to have cottoned to "Starz"; Onward Charles has the MP3. (You can also stream the whole album at AOL.)

12:00 PM on Mon Jul 2 2007
By mjohnston
1,289 views, 2 comments

Latest by Dick Laurent is dead.: I wanted so badly for this record to be listenable...and it's dross. The mixing is terrible, the songs lack any real dynamics or depth, and don't even get me started on the lyrics...christ, it's like he's forgotten his entire back more »

is pitchfork hiring?

Introducing Our Favorite New Nonsensical Music Critic

You can find plenty of heated opinions about the Smashing Pumpkins marketing plan over at the message board ateaseweb.com, and this one is our favorite: More »

11:42 AM on Fri Jun 22 2007
By Brian Raftery
1,456 views, 17 comments

who wants that honey?

Billy Corgan Makes Slightly Disarming Marketing Decision

Yesterday, the Smashing Pumpkins announced a somewhat-complicated new marketing ploy for Zeitgeist, its first release in seven years: The album will be released in four different versions, with iTunes, Best Buy and Target each getting a different bonus track (for those of you who like to read lots and lots of repetitive text, the full track listings are after the click-through). Pitchfork's news page interpreted the move as an "eff you" to fans and indie retailers on the part of Corgan: More »

8:45 AM on Fri Jun 22 2007
By Brian Raftery
2,267 views, 28 comments

Latest by katieee: @nonce: I agree with you on the nostalgia bit. It's a weak simulacrum of buying 7"s and import CD singles for the b-sides. That used to feel special because you'd have to work to find them (or even find out more »

leak of the day

The Smashing Pumpkins Set Their Clock

ARTIST: The Smashing Pumpkins
TITLE: "Doomsday Clock"
WEB DEBUT: June 19, 2007
RELEASE DATE: July 10, 2007
SOUND QUALITY: 198kbps
ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: Those of you still worried about last year's faux-Pumpkins mini-scandal can breathe easy: This track's opening drum thwacks and snarled vocal lines are all authentically Pumpkinsy, and "Clock" will no doubt appeal to fans of harder-edged Corgan numbers like "Bodies" or "Jellybelly." But what's with the tortured "nobody loves me" chorus? Hasn't anyone befriended this guy in the past ten years?
WHERE TO FIND IT: Deaf Indie Elephants

11:23 AM on Tue Jun 19 2007
By Brian Raftery
1,940 views, 3 comments

Latest by KinetiQ: Man, I hope Billy Corgan never meets Carlos Mencia. Now I've got this horrible loop in my brain of Billy whining that damnable "dit-dit-duh". That's possibly the only way either Carlos or Billy could have gotten more annoying; it's like more »

mp3

The Vault: The Newest Smashing Pumpkin's Shoegazy Past

Now that the names of the people subbing for D'Arcy and James Iha in Smashing Pumpkins have been revealed, the scramble for information about them has begun. Below, we've posted two songs from past projects of brand-new guitarist Jeff Schroeder, who's been kicking around the Christian alt-rock scene for the past 10 years or so. "El Rey," by Schroeder's shoegazer outfit the Lassie Foundation, has giant pillows of guitar as its foundation, while a good 50% of the writeups we found for the 1996 album by the Violet Burning, which featured Schroeder on guitar, referenced "Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins." That should provide some comfort to anyone worried about this Pumpkins incarnation's version of "Silverfuck": More »

12:55 PM on Wed May 23 2007
By mjohnston
1,563 views, 26 comments

Latest by Trackback: Ginger Reyes Though the latest lineup for the Smashing Pumpkins consists of just two original members (Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin) it appears the "hot female bass player" quota has been filled according to the unofficial job description. more »

smashing pumpkins

Billy Corgan Just As Much Of A Nineties Nostalgist As The Rest Of Us


Last night, the Smashing Pumpkins made its first live appearance in seven years, playing a 29-song set at Paris' Grand Rex. We didn't go, but here's our best guess as to what happened: Billy Corgan repeatedly made his half-smile/half-snarl face; the three new members (Jeff Schroeder, Ginger Reyes and Lisa Harriton) looked slightly terrified; and people got very excited when the band played the first few notes of "Today." Also, it was 19 hours long, and included such new songs as the acoustic ballad "For God and Country," which was captured in all of its mid-fi camera-phone glory: More »

9:14 AM on Wed May 23 2007
By Brian Raftery
1,388 views, 10 comments

Latest by omg: check out the live mp3s posted on http://www.captainsd more »

mp3

Leak Of The Weekend: The New Smashing Pumpkins Song, In All Its MP3 Glory

It took a while for an non-rippy version of "Tarantula" to make the rounds, but here it is, via Deaf Indie Elephants. And, of course, you can also stream it at Spinner. But whatever you do, don't tell James Iha about the internet! He might find out about this whole "reunion" deal! More »

7:26 PM on Fri May 18 2007
By Brian Raftery
6,554 views, 12 comments

news

Liner Notes: The Smashing Pumpkins Go Ape

- The cover for the new Smashing Pumpkins album: One part Al Gore, one part Charlton Heston, and one part Roland Emmerich [Billboard]
- The British government is taking steps to extend copyright protection for musicians, meaning that you'll have to wait until long after Paul McCartney's dead until you can get public-domain rights for your cover of "Spies Like Us." [NME]
- You know that rumor about Eve dating Sean Penn? No? Well, either way, she says it's not true. [SOHH]

2:25 PM on Wed May 16 2007
By Brian Raftery
540 views, 9 comments

Latest by Jupiter8: Damn. I guess this really means no second "Zwan" album. more »