The World Is A Vampire...

Growing up, the Smashing Pumpkins were arguably my favorite band. They were the first headlining concert I had the privilege to attend (during their Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness tour) and there was a time in 1996 when I was borderline obsessed. When drummer Jimmy Chamberlain got kicked out of the band by band leader Billy Corgan (after being implicated in the notorious Johnathan Melvoin heroin overdose incident), the Pumpkins were unfortunately never quite the same. His departure left a huge gap in the lineup, causing the band's sound to wane considerably (although in hindsight, Adore wasn't that terrible). Clearly frustrated by the group's new direction, Corgan gained the reputation of being a megalomaniac. It looked like original Pumpkins James Iha and D'arcy had enough of his behavior, as they too departed the band at one point or another. When Corgan announced in 2000 that the band was officially breaking up for good, this only seemed appropriate. The Smashing Pumpkins had an excellent run and it was just their time. They saved some face by calling it quits somewhat on top, and in doing gained respect in the music world.

It's funny how time can change things so dramatically. After the failure that was his flash-in-the-pan (semi) supergroup, Zwan, Corgan helmed a dismal solo album which only dug the fallen star into a deeper hole. It seemed like the only vestige of salvation was to get the band back together. The day TheFutureEmbrace was released in 2005, Corgan took out a full-page ad in his hometown paper enthusiastically announcing the triumphant return of the Smashing Pumpkins. It looked like he finally managed to reconcile with his former band members and all would be good in Pumpkinland. Or not. Corgan was very hush hush when announcing who exactly would be in the band -- leading to speculation that this would not be a full-on reunion. As it turned out, the only original band member other than Corgan was Chamberlain -- the very man who essentially helped to destroy the band a decade earlier. To me (an presumably many others) this was not the Smashing Pumpkins, but rather "Zwan 2.0". And the new record shows this. Aside form Zeitgeit's disappointing sales figures and stale sound, the album has since failed to generate a solid radio hit and is slipping quickly into obscurity.

But this is what gets me. Rather than accepting his own failure to make good music, Corgan claims that publicity is essentially what makes careers these days. In a recent Q&A with Rolling Stone, Billy Corgan candidly dismisses the success of Radiohead and Amy Winehouse by insisting that the music they've respectively created has nothing to do with the praise they've garnered. He claims to have no beef against said musicians, but does think they are sending a bad message to young bands about how to break it in the industry. Although I am a firm believer that really good music (regardless of how its packaged) will deservingly rise to the surface, I think Corgan is in absolutely no place to criticize how others obtain success -- especially because his embarrassingly new incarnation of the "Smashing Pumpkins" is nothing but a publicity stunt. And let's not forget his futile attempt to pump more sales out of Zeitgeist by hastily releasing expanded editions of the album exclusively through Best Buy and Target -- please. No wonder why James Iha isn't returning any of his calls.