11:07 am // Thursday, September 2, 2010
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Roy Thomas Baker, on Smashing Pumpkins’ set at Sunset Strip Music Festival: “One of the tightest shows I’ve ever seen.”
10:52 am // Thursday, September 2, 2010
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“The most universal sentiment [Billy Corgan would] ever [manage]” lands at #21 on Pitchfork’s one-song-per-artist “Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s.”
Wrestling news site: Corgan “transcends” as cultural ambassador 8:14 pm // Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Posted by jjb in billy corgan, criticism, interview, live, television, wrestling.6 comments
In a new interview with Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan talks about his band’s Mexico City midconcert stunt with wrestlers from la Asistencia Asesoría y Administración and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Corgan reveals that the skit (or “angle”) was carried out without its details having been shared beforehand with MTV, which was recording the concert for a future telecast:
I was concerned because I didn’t really tell them what we were going to do. If I had told them [TNA wrestler] Hernandez was going to jack me up in the air, I know they would have said no. So, we just went ahead and did it. Afterward, I had to go and meet with all the MTV brass and do a press conference and whatnot. So, you know, you are kind of walking down the hallway going, “OK, here it comes” but they were all, “Oh, we loved it. That was so cool” and everyone was totally happy.
Corgan also gives a defense of professional wrestling as “high art form” and explains his advocacy on its behalf:
I don’t want to say wrestling’s the underdog. Vince McMahon runs a billion dollar company so he’s hardly an underdog, but I like the rebellious attitude of wrestling. The nature of it. I like that it makes fun of things in the way that it does. It takes on all sorts of things in a very interesting way. Wrestling is at the forefront of a lot of cultural tension and that’s sort of sociological stuff. At the end of the day, it’s just a lot of fun. I couldn’t give a fuck. I just wanted to have fun. I’ve really enjoyed my connection to wrestling and I’ve done everything in my power to bring glory and more respect to something I really love, passionately.
“Rockerrazzi” video interview with Billy Corgan 8:42 am // Tuesday, August 31, 2010
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This past weekend, Billy Corgan sat down with the folks at 98.7 FM in Los Angeles to do a “Rockerrazzi” interview. Video of the chat has been posted to YouTube; Corgan talks about the new Smashing Pumpkins line-up, working with Jessica Simpson, his thoughts about Twitter, and old stories about his father and his fateful garage sale purchase of “Meet The Beatles!” as a small child.
Check out the interview below!
Audio from Sunset Strip Music Festival 1:37 pm // Sunday, August 29, 2010
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Destroy you with a smile! 10:10 am // Friday, August 27, 2010
Posted by jjb in amusing, live, photo, wrestling.69 comments
It figures that the big ‘news’ from an MTV-sponsored concert would be about the interruption of music, specifically “Disarm.” Many more pictures from the band’s Mexico City gig here.
This is the most obvious opportunity for a “provide your own caption” comments thread in HU history. Go for it.
(Press) tour picks up again 10:56 am // Thursday, August 26, 2010
Posted by jjb in billy corgan, christina aguilera, interview.12 comments
The Smashing Pumpkins are in Mexico City to resume their world tour tonight at the Auditorio Nacional, and Gustavo Turner of urban publication L.A. Weekly has just published an interview done with Billy Corgan prior to his departure for the D.F. The interview is respectful, substantive, and runs to five web pages, but seems unlikely to make ‘news’ unless Perez Hilton takes exception to Corgan’s sympathetic words for “brilliant and talented” pop singer Christina Aguilera.
Here is an excerpt in which Corgan analyzes the current “moment” for him and his band:
Right now I’m in a very unique position because I’m standing right at this kind of crossroads where I’ve done the impossible. I’ve managed to put a band onstage that people are accepting, when you’re not supposed to be able to do that. People are actually enjoying the shows, even more so than two years ago. I’m having new success when I’m not supposed to be having new success. So, we’re right at this sort of beautiful moment when it’s like, “There’s still energy here, what’s going on, curiosity, media, fans, concerts,” and it’s sort of a beautiful honeymoon moment — that won’t last.
And I’ve already told the band, internally, “This is about a year.” A year from now the difference will be, “Do we stand on our own in this moment with the new music that I’m going to write?” It’s a nice balance right now of honoring the past, honoring the present, and indications of a bright future. But ultimately the clock is ticking on that and I feel we got about a year. Basically, in the next year I need to prove that I have a whole ‘nother — something to say.
UPDATE: An “expanded, uncut version” of this interview is now available.
Corgan remakes Kinks’ “Destroyer” with Ray Davies 3:57 pm // Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Posted by jjb in billy corgan, news, ray davies.11 comments
For a forthcoming album on which he re-records many of his great Kinks hits, Ray Davies has worked with Bruce Springsteen, Black Francis, Bon Jovi, Spoon, Alex Chilton, and others. A blog post written by Kerry Brown last night suggests that Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan is also taking part:
Billy was in this week to record a track for Ray Davies the two of them are collaborating on a remake of Destroyer: Mr. Mark Tulin from The Electric Prunes played bass and Kevin Dippold engineered the track.
“Destroyer” — itself a bit of a remake, as it incorporates the riff from the Kinks’ “All Day and All of the Night,” which Zwan covered several times on its April 2002 tour of the Midwest — was a U.S. hit for the Kinks in 1981.
“I see it as a form of priesthood.” 3:30 pm // Tuesday, August 24, 2010
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Kelli Skye Fadroski of the Orange County Register dutifully publishes today some comments by Billy Corgan in advance of the Smashing Pumpkins’ set at the Sunset Strip Music Festival this weekend. An excerpt:
“I will never get up on a stage and do what people want me to do,” [Corgan] says. “Even if someone said I’d make three times as much money and go back to winning Grammy Awards — I don’t see rock ‘n’ roll that way and I never will. In a weird way I see it as a form of priesthood. You take certain vows. Like Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits and the Beatles, I have my own code of ethics, and sometimes you have to hold strong to those, even when the culture is jumping off your ship like rats.
“From the moment we played the Viper Room, it was like flipping a switch and everyone was like ‘Oh, this is gonna work.’ The phone started ringing again. I’m happy because I got here organically, which proves what my heart is telling me, to stay this course. I once had Neil Young tell me: ‘Put your head down and just walk.’ He told me that 10 years ago and that’s been the best advice.”
2:09 pm // Tuesday, August 24, 2010
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Pitchfork’s “Top 50 Music Videos of the 1990s” omits the MTV Video Music Awards’ most-decorated clip of that decade and allots fewer words to “1979″ (ranked #29) than to any other cut.
Pumpkins’ “Fellowship” joins soundtrack for TV’s “Vampire Diaries” 10:47 am // Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Posted by jjb in news, releases, television.13 comments

Above: Thursdays this fall, the CW asks: “Are you with us or against us, tonight…at 8/7 Central?”
“The Fellowship,” a new song from the Smashing Pumpkins, will appear on a soundtrack album being issued on October 12 for “The Vampire Diaries,” a television program returning in the fall for its second season on the CW network. A listing on Amazon.com also implies that music from the track could be used in upcoming episodes:
The ORIGINAL TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES features exclusive fan favorites from Season One + new tracks that will be featured in Season Two.
Pumpkins songwriter Billy Corgan has performed “The Fellowship” in concert before, specifically when he toured southern California in 2009 as part of Spirits in the Sky.
Billy Corgan sits down for lengthy Facebook interview 8:24 pm // Monday, August 23, 2010
Posted by jillysp in interview, news.18 comments
Now back in Los Angeles after the Smashing Pumpkins’ jaunt through Asia, Billy Corgan sat down for the camera with producer and friend Kerry Brown and posted a nearly 20-minute video interview to Facebook this evening. He discusses his excitement about this weekend’s massive Sunset Strip music festival, the chemistry of the current band line-up, and takes some questions from fans on Twitter. Check out the full video for more, but here are a few highlights:
He also thoughtfully weighs in on the analog/digital debate and the work ethic he’s followed throughout his career. Definitely some interesting insight, so check out the full video for more!
Pumpkins add tour dates in Houston and Dallas 7:53 pm // Monday, August 23, 2010
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In a pair of tweets this evening, the Smashing Pumpkins announced that they have added two dates to their upcoming tour — September 21 at the Warehouse Live in Houston and September 22 at the Palladium Ballroom in Dallas.
Houston goes on sale THIS Friday (8/27) and Dallas next Monday (8/30).
Pretty one to follow “Freak” 4:56 pm // Monday, August 23, 2010
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12:12 pm // Sunday, August 22, 2010
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Richard Thompson: “[Los Angeles] is culturally neutral. If I lived in New Orleans I’d have to embrace the local culture because it’s so good. In California you can be your own person.” [HT: MR]
Argentina, Chile to host Smashing Pumpkins arena shows 4:05 pm // Thursday, August 19, 2010
Posted by jjb in news, tour.9 comments
The band announced today that it will head to the two southernmost countries in South America, booking dates on November 18 at Buenos Aires landmark Luna Park and on November 23 at Movistar Arena in Santiago. According to SmashingPumpkins.com, tickets will go on sale a week from today.
These arena concerts are sandwiched around the previously announced November 20 festival date in São Paulo.
3:11 pm // Wednesday, August 18, 2010
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The Smashing Pumpkins have added the capitals of the two most populous states to their September itinerary, scheduling Sacramento’s Crest Theatre for the 6th and Stubb’s Bar-B-Q in Austin for the 20th.
The latter date may be only the first in a brief Texas [UPDATE: and Oklahoma] swing as the band probably will fill out the week with other concerts before its radio-festival appearance in Kansas City on the 25th.
12:48 pm // Wednesday, August 18, 2010
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Mike Byrne’s “side band” Jewels and the Wall Walkers releases three songs.
Pumpkins extend U.S. tour with Kansas City amphitheatre slot 4:10 pm // Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Posted by jjb in news, tour.22 comments
The Smashing Pumpkins will play at Sandstone Amphitheater outside Kansas City on September 25 as the headliner for a hastily assembled “Beach Ball” festival sponsored by KRBZ-FM.
No formal announcement has yet been made by the station or the band, but the Kansas City Star reported the Pumpkins’ appearance earlier today and Ticketmaster is now listing the show with an onsale time of Friday morning at 10am.
By way of comparison, last year’s “Beach Ball” (with Blink-182 and Weezer atop the bill) was announced on June 24 and took place September 4 — over a month of extra lead time relative to this year’s edition.
11:40 am // Tuesday, August 17, 2010
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“Back to Rockville,” the music blog of the Kansas City Star, reports that Pollstar is listing The Smashing Pumpkins as playing Sandstone Amphitheatre on September 25th. No official confirmation yet, but we’ll keep an eye out.
9:04 pm // Sunday, August 15, 2010
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Dave Mustaine: “When a guy starts a band, you usually get together with guys who happen to play music, rather than musicians. Rarely does a musician find three other musicians to start out.”
Pumpkins add “With Every Light” to 2010 song roster 9:13 pm // Saturday, August 14, 2010
Posted by alex in live, tour, video.35 comments
The Smashing Pumpkins performed in South Korea tonight for the first time in ten years. Billy Corgan treated the crowd to the first performance of “With Every Light” since 2007, playing by himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica (with some backup vocals from the crowd).
Watch the video here (“With Every Light” starts at 3:10; the video itself begins with the end of “Perfect”):
12:28 pm // Friday, August 13, 2010
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Graphic novelist Bryan Lee O’Malley and MP3 blogger Matthew Perpetua have moved on from the Smashing Pumpkins.
I was concerned because I didn’t really tell them what we were going to do. If I had told them [TNA wrestler] Hernandez was going to jack me up in the air, I know they would have said no. So, we just went ahead and did it. Afterward, I had to go and meet with all the MTV brass and do a press conference and whatnot. So, you know, you are kind of walking down the hallway going, “OK, here it comes” but they were all, “Oh, we loved it. That was so cool” and everyone was totally happy.

