Another Day, Another Story About Billy Corgan Being Stupid

So perhaps you've read recent stories about the Smashing Pumpkins 20th Anniversary Tour.

Most people would expect a 20th Anniversary Tour would be a celebration of the 20 years of the band's existance by playing the greatest songs of those 20 years. Like, imagine you bought a 20th Anniversary Video for a band. You would expect the history of the band on the video, not new things on the video.

Billy Corgan, genius that he pretends to be, suggests that people should have thought otherwise, and he seems to be offended that they didn't.

So now, Billy has talked more about the tour and the lousy 2007 album Zeitgeist that the tour supported.

About making albums in general:

"We're done with that. There is no point. People don't even listen to it all. They put it on their iPod, they drag over the two singles and skip over the rest"

Not entirely true Billy. It is accurate that people's attention spans are shorter, and are more apt to listen to singles. However, if there is a genre of music that lends itself to albums more than any other, it's rock. People care and listen to Metallica's entire album. People will care and listen to U2's new album. People seem to care and listen to Radiohead's new album.

If your band was as good and important as you still feel they are, you'd be able to make an album people listen to. The problem is that Zeitgeist wasn't good. People don't like listening to songs they don't like. If you write a bunch of good songs, people will listen to them. It's not that people don't like albums, they don't like YOUR album.

"We will crack the egg like we did in '92, without doing something embarrassing like working with Timbaland."

Wow, Billy takes a shot at Chris Cornell. First, I think the Cornell record is pretty awesome. Second, I can't imagine working with the most successful producer in music now is thought of as "embarassing." Maybe Corgan should try something so embarassing. Cornell has kept himself relevent, one way or another, for the last 20 years. Not so much with the Smashing Pumpkins.

"I can write songs."

Anyone can write songs. You used to write GOOD songs.

On why they broke up in 2000:

"The real story was Iha was driving me out of my mind. He was so negative. The guy literally drove me insane. "

I can attest to James Iha being a pretty miserable guy. That being said, Corgan calling Iha negative is like Wilt Chamberlain calling Shaq a bad free-throw shooter.

"Show me any band that lasts for any tenure, they don't have the original members. This world doesn't care about that. They just want to hear the songs."

Well, then play the songs. Dipshit.

"Let me be blunt. When Bruce Springsteen puts out a new album, I pay attention. Same with Neil Young. Because they're major artists who have something to say. I consider us in that category. When we do something it should be taken seriously, even when we're off. If we're marginalized by the culture, we're not going to play dead and say thank you for our B-plus status. I poured my blood into my songs. I've had a bad marriage and seven bad girlfriends in a row. I make sacrifices to do my work. That's not victim talk; that's nobody's fault; that's a choice I made for me."

You are not in the same category as Bruce Springsteen. This is like Dan Quayle comparing himself to John F. Kennedy. Take your B+ status, at this point, you probably deserve D+ status.