Billy Corgan on Smashing Pumpkins 20th anniversary tour

Anniversary concert tours are traditionally about celebrating history and waxing nostalgic with loyal fans. But the Smashing Pumpkins don’t put much stock in tradition, even less in nostalgia.

So on the group’s 20th anniversary tour, which reached Los Angeles this week for shows Tuesday and tonight at the Gibson Amphitheatre, founding members Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin are emphasizing provocation over comforting celebration, with performances that have been greeted by as many jeers as cheers in previous tour stops.

That’s stemmed from set lists devoted as much or more to new and outside material as well as extended jams than the group’s hits.

“These past 20 years (not that I've been a fan for that long) of music have been awesome,” wrote one fan on the Pumpkins' fan forum after the group’s New York show last month, “and we're looking forward to another 20. But out of the 25 songs that are played or so, give us 2 or 3 that would make us -- the true fans -- have a nostalgic, or ‘mellon collie’ moment.”

That’s the kind of response that has prompted some onstage rants from Corgan, and more caustic feedback from the Pumpkin faithful.

“When we played in New York,” Corgan, 41, said Monday in Hollywood, relaxing backstage after a TV show taping, “people were freaking out and screaming and yelling ‘This sucks!’ yet [New York Times rock critic Jon] Pareles gave us a good review, because we’re still dangerous and we’re still relevant on some intrinsic musical level that can’t even be defined.”

The veteran Chicago band has booked many two-night stands on this tour, crafting distinct sets for each of the two nights -- labeled “Black Sunshine” the first night, “White Crosses” the second -- in part so that those who catch both nights won’t be subjected to major repetition of the material.

But it’s also designed to keep the musicians’ focus ahead rather than in their rear-view mirror. “If you spend 80% of your time talking about how great the past was, where are you living?” Chamberlin said.

Another result of that viewpoint is Smashing Pumpkins’ decision to dole out new songs and videos in a variety of places -- the song “G.L.O.W.” as a new “Guitar Hero” audio and MySpace video download, its four-song “American Gothic” EP issued earlier this year only as a download.

“The album format is dead,” Chamberlin said Monday. Yet he and Corgan both say they’re interested in remaining connected with a mass audience, a connection Corgan half-jokingly describes as “intrinsic to our nihilistic art objectives.”

And that’s the challenge to today’s musicians, especially those looking for a deeper connection than possible through selling ringtones or getting songs placed as soundtracks for TV commercials.

“I think our generation has shown that they are really not interested in buying music,” Corgan said. “If you start with our generation and moving forward, I think it’s not looking very good for the future.  Right now the music business continues to survive on the Paul McCartney tour.

“There’s a built-in business that continues to go on for the Elton Johns of the world, who are very solid artists. And there are plenty of people who still want to go out and see Fleetwood Mac. But when those people go out of circulation, I think it’s going to be a very different business.”

And Corgan, who’s never been much of an optimist as the writer of dark songs of angst and alienation, isn’t especially upbeat about how that difference will play out.

“You no longer have [institutions] to tell you what has more value," he said. "Growing up, I wasn’t necessarily a fan of Van Morrison, but I knew Van Morrison was an important artist just by the way he was talked about, by the way he was portrayed, by the way he was photographed. You don’t get that any more.

“If you don’t fit into this kind of like gossipy, trendy, Web-hit thingy, you’re relegated to sort of second-class celebrity status,” he said. “We don’t have a real peer support group that says 'This is valuable; this isn’t valuable.'''

“So we have to adapt to a different set of values,” he said. “But the pressure we get, being in our 40s, is to adapt to a non-set of values, and we refuse, because we see that as the signatory to our death.”

--Randy Lewis   

Photo: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Convulsus_lux_lucis]

Its kinda sad. Musically Billy and band seem to be in a really good place, but you can tell he is really frustrated by the reaction he is getting from the world at large.
Billy will make his music and maybe someday he will recapture the attention of the masses and all will be forgiven, or maybe he will soldier on until he is fiscally unable to continue. Ether way if your waiting for Siamese Dream 2 I can tell you right now, its not going to happen.

[vegasgirl]

I'm not a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan, but I applaud Billy Corgan's comments. He's right about what a sad state the pop music business is today. I'm not naive enough to think the biz hasn't always been about money, but at one time, there was more room for artists who didn't "fit the curve," so to speak.
Perhaps, in this fractured media world, some traditions will survive.
We can only hope.

[jimbo]

The Concert last night at Gibson was AWESOME! He came out in a crazy dress with a head gear and Nike high tops. The place was packed and definitely rockin! The last 30 minutes of the show was weird but thats who Billy Corgan is and why he stands out from the rest of the mainstream. The band still rocks and his guitar skills is crazy awesome! Enough said!

[David S.]

I saw them last night at the gibson too, and I loved the floyd cover and the whole psycho demons out of hell ending. I think the fact that billy trips out and isn't afraid to be expressive - even if that expression can cause a panic attack - is a strength and something that is sadly lacking in many of the acts coming out today. Love them or hate them, they offer something that no other band can produce. I can dig it.

[JDP]

Interesting read.

A couple of thoughts.

Since their return - the Pumpkins have been producing some really really great songs. My issue with the wider music press is, that if the Smashing Pumpkins had come back and played the greatest hits catalogue - critics would be all over them, but they're not and the critics are all over them because they're not. It's really quite ridiculous when you think about it.

I think the new materials the Pumpkins are putting out are really strong, and I understand that some comparison with the older materials is necessary, but only to fully contextualise the music made now. It would be nice to hear a review of a 20th Anniversary show that actually talks about the new music they are making, and at the very least, the -very- least give them a little credit for trying.

I long for the day when music critics actually start talking about music again.

[Liz]

I disagree with the laments above. This is pompous and deluded commentary from Corgan. And I loved the Pumpkins in their heyday. I do not think pop music today is in the toilet. That seems like sour hipster grapes to me. I find a lot of it very stimulating, drawing from the best of the past, and showcasing a lot of diversity. This is something I always found lacking at the heart of alternative music.

I thought of myself as a pophater as a kid, and loved all things I perceived to be alternative. Most people like me have grown into hipster tastes. I'm over it. That scene of wannabe genius music is as interested in mass popularity and money or worship as any mainstream group. And the makers and the products are largely dreary, uninspired, self-involved and whitewashed.

Basically what Corgan is saying he's annoyed because music either has mass popularity or is not lauded. Which is a roundabout way of saying he wants to be regarded as a legend and genius whether people like his music or not. It's too bad he regrets the days when the middlemen critics told us who the legends were, because I don't. So, it's more democratized now. If you engage audiences enough that they mobilize for you, people take notice. If he wants to be a legend, he needs a movement, to do that, he needs to stop whining about the intricacies of the modern system.

I think there will, as ever, be a few legends that will stand out in the public consciousness. He just happens not to be likely to be one of them.

[GBHavasu]

I've seen Pumpkins at their 'peak' in the 90's, Zwan twice and Pumpkins again last year when Zeigeist came out.
How refreshing it is to have an artist perform what THEY want to and enjoy it. This is no different than Robert Plant not wanting to tour with Led Zeppelin. He doesn't want to sing "Stairway to Heaven" 3 or 4 nights a week for 18 months!
That's the biggest problem with Rock Radio.....we can't let go of the past! When Page & Plant put out 'Walking into Clarksdale", it was barely heard on the radio. Too bad, it was a strong effort.
The same thing applies to Zwan and Pumpkins. Both recent albums have excellent songs as well as the recently released "G.L.O.W" and "Superchrist". If there was a mistake, Mr. Corgan should have included "Spilled Milk" and "For Your Love" on the Zwan album and released them as singles. Both are as strong as "Zero" and "Luna". Good luck finding any of this music on the radio today.
When I saw Steely Dan a couple of years ago while they were on tour supporting their album "Everything Must Go", they only played 3 songs combined from it and the Grammy winning "Two Against Nature". Everything else was from the 70's. Bummer.....It felt like they had kinda sold out.
My family took me to see Don Ho when I was a kid. He got about 2 lines out for "Tiny Bubbles", stopped singing and said, "I hate this g--damn song" and told his partner Sam to sing it, which he did. I understood what he felt even though I was very young.
Mr. Corgan and Mr. Chamberlain are true artists. If you can't appreciate what they have done and are currently creating, go see someone else!
Keep Rockin' Billy & Jimmy and follow your own hearts and instincts.....Some of us will continue to follow your artistic journey and appreciate what you give, when you give it and how you decide to deliver it!!!!! GBHavasu