Smashing Pumpkins

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Author	Message
porcelinajune Bleeding on the Floor Age: 42 Gender: Female Posts: 1278	February 15th, 2007 at 12:54am I have to agree great start to the article. Your opening paragraph is adorable . . .I love it. Lots of great facts but you don't get bog down in them so that it makes the article uninteresting. Yeah, I didn't Billy did all the instruments on Gish as well . . .damn, that man is talented. The only thing that I saw that was uncorrect was this Tim Burton: and the line-up was the same until the band broke up. The line-up remained almost the same up until the last record which D'arcy opted out of and she was replaced with Melissa Auf de Maur. However, you may have been leading up to this in your article. silverrain: ^^^^ I think you got that right here on the whole, although to be a little bit more precise I wouldn’t say that other indie/alternative bands laughed at them, but it was more a mixture of this particular ‘being alternative’, “we’re too good to go mainstream”-attitude (as the pumpkins would have been traitors of the scene) and jealousy of their actual success. Stef, I think you absolutely right. I really wouldn't they laughed at them although I am sure they did make fun of them but more like they felt the Pumpkins, Billy in particular, "sold out" and especially since Simease Dream had such a polished production sound unlike Gish. Tim Burton I can't wait to read the rest of your article. Good job so far! Good night all my pumpkins sweethearts!
mercy in the sky. Shotgun Sinner Age: 33 Gender: Female Posts: 7503	February 16th, 2007 at 01:30am Hey fellow Pumpkinheads, Yeah, I haven't really been on this thread... ever... sorry to come out of nowhere. But I have a question--does anyone know where to get Billy's Zero shirt? I'm desperate for it. Help would be much appreciated!
silverrain Thinking Happy Thoughts Age: - Gender: Female Posts: 453	February 20th, 2007 at 05:09pm ^^ hey welcome on the thread Unfortunately I can't help you with the shirt...I know you could get it at concerts... Perhaps you're lucky with a search on the internet...or what about ebay? Sorry that I'm not a big help
Casimir Pulaski Day Shotgun Sinner Age: 94 Gender: Female Posts: 8861	February 20th, 2007 at 11:37pm siamese dream.: Hey fellow Pumpkinheads, Yeah, I haven't really been on this thread... ever... sorry to come out of nowhere. But I have a question--does anyone know where to get Billy's Zero shirt? I'm desperate for it. Help would be much appreciated! eBay, my love.
social ghost. Motor Baby Age: 31 Gender: Female Posts: 988	February 20th, 2007 at 11:51pm i want to listen, & from what ive heard i like it. any suggestions on which album i should try?
mercy in the sky. Shotgun Sinner Age: 33 Gender: Female Posts: 7503	February 21st, 2007 at 12:56am Your John Cusack: i want to listen, & from what ive heard i like it. any suggestions on which album i should try? In my opinion, all of 'em are great. But I would recommend Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness or Siamese Dream. [nod] ps - And thanks for the help, guys!
The Ashcroft Moon Bleeding on the Floor Age: 31 Gender: Female Posts: 1217	February 21st, 2007 at 09:44am I've got an obsession with Tonight, Tonight but I love Luna.
theteenagebrigade Killjoy Age: - Gender: Female Posts: 55	February 22nd, 2007 at 09:23pm siamese dream.: Hey fellow Pumpkinheads, Yeah, I haven't really been on this thread... ever... sorry to come out of nowhere. But I have a question--does anyone know where to get Billy's Zero shirt? I'm desperate for it. Help would be much appreciated! Erm, they used to sell it at Hot Topic for a while (at least here in Jersey.) If you live in Jersey (and live by Red Bank), Funk and Standard on Main Street in Red Bank used to sell that shirt for the looonnngggest time. Maybe not anymore. If not... then...eBay is your best bet.
bound and gagged Bulletproof Heart Age: - Gender: Female Posts: 28660	February 23rd, 2007 at 05:43pm More of my article Hardcore, angry emo grunge by garden vegetables Pie, edible seeds, Jack-O-Lanterns, and a band that helped shape rock history. What do they all have in common? Pumpkins. But, sadly, I'm not here to write about pie, seeds or Halloween. I'm here to write about The Smashing Pumpkins. For many of you, you say you might've heard of them, but you're not sure. Or you haven't heard of them at all. And that's okay. They were popular when most of us were born, so I don't expect any of us to remember them. So, using reliable resources, I will educate you about the Pumpkins. First off, let's start with members: Billy Corgan: Vocals/guitar James Iha: Guitar/vocals D'arcy Wretzky: Bass/vocals Jimmy Chamberlin: Drums/percussion Got that? Good. Now we move on to genre. Some people would classify them as Goth, heavy, progressive, psychedelic and/or alternative rock. Other people call it early emo. That's understandable, because some of that stuff is really dark. Once you hear Disarm, you'll see the point. Corgan was in bands when he was 19, until 1988, when he got Chamberlin on drums, Iha on guitar and Wretzky on bass, after arguing with her at a club, together. They played a few shows together, Corgan briefly dated Wretzky, and the line-up was the same until the band broke up. In 1989, they recorded demo tapes, and recorded a vinyl with several other similar bands of the time. After signing to a small Chicago label, they released their first single, I Am One. After that one sold out, they signed to another label, Sub Pop, and released Tristessa. They later signed to Caroline Records afterwards. In 1991, the Pumpkins recorded their debut album Gish on Caroline Records, still. They made it for $20,000 with producer Butch Vig. To get the sound he wanted, Corgan played all the instruments, which didn't make bands members too happy. With its heavy metal sound, Gish had minor success with one single, Rhinoceros, and it got them compared to bands like Jane's Addiction. They released an LP called Lull, on Caroline Records in October, but then signed to Virgin Records. While on tour, opening for bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, bad things happened. Iha and Wretzky had a messy break-up, Chamberlin became a drug addict, and Corgan went into a deep depression, writing songs from the parking garage he lived in. After this, music entered the grunge era. With this, bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana became the hottest thing. The Pumpkins, who still considered themselves a grunge band, were thrust into this limelight. With Nirvana's huge album Nevermind, the Pumpkins felt pressure, and lots of it. As Corgan said, "We felt a great pressure that if we didn't come up with a record that was huge, we were done. It was that simple in our minds. We felt like our lives depended on it." In a way, Corgan's life depended on it. He was so deep into depression, he thought about suicide. To get out of his depression, he basically lived at the studio, working on the Pumpkin's 1993 follow-up, Siamese Dream. The Pumpkin's moved far away to record this, for two reasons. One: To get away from distractions, like friends. Two: To get Chamberlain away from all of his known drug connections. Getting Chamberlain away failed, as he found new dealers, and vanished for days at a time. The recording was difficult, and I mean really difficult. The other members referred to Corgan as a 'tyrant'. Corgan didn't deny these accusations, saying that the press and others didn't understand the situation. There was also speculation that Corgan did everything on the records, and the other members did very little. Corgan did say he did most of the work, only to get the sound to his standards, and to get it done in fewer takes. In the end, Siamese Dream wasn't cheap, costing over $250,000, but it was a hit. It debuted at number 10 on the Billboard charts, and MTV put the videos for Today and Disarm in heavy rotation, making the Pumpkins international. Pumpkins were famous, others outside the band weren't happy. All the bands that knew the Pumpkins before they got mainstream laughed at them, saying mean things about them and their success in their songs. One man referred to them as 'ultimately insignificant'. Others, like Courtney Love, were big Pumpkin fans. In 1994, they released a B-side to Siamese Dream called Pisces Iscariot. It outshone Siamese, making it to number four on the charts. They also released a VHS called Vieuphoria, which had a mix of behind-the-scenes footage and live performances. After getting headlining spots on the Lollapalooza and Reading festivals, they took time off to work on their next album. For the next album, Corgan wrote non-stop, writing over 56 songs for what would be their next album, and maybe their lengthiest, 1995's Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Corgan referred to this as "The Wall (Album by Pink Floyd) for Generation X." Mellon Collie was a double-album that was over two hours long with 28 songs. It charted at number one on Billboard charts, and got praised by Time Magazine. It was more successful than Siamese, by getting platinum nine times. The Pumpkin's got seven Grammy nominations, and earned one Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal for the song, Bullet with Butterfly Wings. Did EVERYTHING on Mellon Collie have a sweet title? In the end, Mellon Collie had five hits: 1979, Zero, Tonight, Tonight, Thirty-Three and Bullet with Butterfly Wings. It confirms it. Everything on here had a sweet title. All the songs that didn't make it onto the album were released on a B-side collection called The Aeroplane Flies High. Because of the band's popularity, Virgin Records only wanted to released 200,000 copies of Aeroplane, but had to produce more because of 'overwhelming demand'. In 1996, the Pumpkins went on a world tour for Mellon Collie, and the bands appearance changed. Well, mostly Corgan's style changed. He shaved his head, and began wearing a long-sleeve shirt that read 'Zero' and silver pants. Wow, the 90's were a scary time. Soon, the 'Zero' shirt began to sell at malls all over. With all the popularity they had, it was not a happy year for them. In May, at a concert in Ireland, a 17 year-old girl was crushed to death in the mosh pit. The band sent flowers to her funeral, and cancelled their next show there. Despite Corgan's "don't mosh" pleas, the band still had open-floor shows. In July, Chamberlain and their keyboardist were doing drugs in a hotel room. The keyboardist died of an overdose and Chamberlain was arrested. He was later fired from the band. Corgan would later say this was the band's worst decision, because it damaged both their reputation and their career. They finished the tour with a different drummer and keyboardist. Soon, they started giving interviews saying that Mellon Collie would be the last conventional Pumpkins record, and that rock music had been becoming stale. At the end of 1996, Iha said, "The future is in electronic music. It really seems boring just to play rock music." After the release of Mellon Collie, the Pumpkins did three songs for different things. The End is the Beginning is the End or The Beginning is the End is the Beginning for the Batman & Robin soundtrack. Despite Chamberlain not being there, the song sounded heavy, like Bullet with Butterfly Wings did. The song won the band a Grammy. They also did a Christmas song, and a song from the Lost Highway soundtrack, sounding totally different then they usually did. Like, WAY different. Their fourth album, Adore, was influenced by the death of Corgan's mother and his divorce. It was a rock album with dark, electronica with a drum machine cut in. It was much like the band's early work. They also adapted a darker, subdued look instead of their alternative look. While Adore got good reviews and was nominated for a Grammy, it didn't sell very well. It sold only 830,000 in the U.S., and triple that overseas. It was considered a failure. And I'm still not done!
Fireplug. Salute You in Your Grave Age: 33 Gender: Female Posts: 4635	February 23rd, 2007 at 05:53pm Wow. I'm proud of myself for knowing most of that already. Hell yes, wikipedia! Hahah.
silverrain Thinking Happy Thoughts Age: - Gender: Female Posts: 453	February 23rd, 2007 at 06:16pm Hey Brandy-sweetie, you've really done great research bringing all this info together. Oh well, it hurts my soul to read Adore considered as being a failure...which might be true under economic aspects if you compare the sales to those of the previous album. But I remember that D’arcy said in an interview during the Adore-promo tour that for her the new songs were just beautiful “timeless music” and this is exactly the way I would describe it…couldn’t have said it better. Yep, I know I’ve said it before but I do love this album… Good job again I’m looking forward to what comes next
mercy in the sky. Shotgun Sinner Age: 33 Gender: Female Posts: 7503	March 4th, 2007 at 04:06am theteenagebrigade: Erm, they used to sell it at Hot Topic for a while (at least here in Jersey.) If you live in Jersey (and live by Red Bank), Funk and Standard on Main Street in Red Bank used to sell that shirt for the looonnngggest time. Maybe not anymore. If not... then...eBay is your best bet. Yeah, I just got it actually, from eBay. I looove it. O_O
The Ashcroft Moon Bleeding on the Floor Age: 31 Gender: Female Posts: 1217	March 4th, 2007 at 10:31am I love Luna
gerardmabbitt. Salute You in Your Grave Age: 31 Gender: Female Posts: 2568	March 4th, 2007 at 02:23pm Awww There a great band!
mirarle Thinking Happy Thoughts Age: 34 Gender: Female Posts: 492	March 4th, 2007 at 03:16pm Oh wow, good job on the article. When you’re done, I’m gonna print out a copy and give it to my non-pumpkin friends to read, if that’s okay, of course! I’m trying to covert them into pumpkinheads… I got the feeling that MCR is so active in looking out in the crowd and making sure everyone is okay because they don’t want the death incident like SP did. The news of Gerard stopping in the middle of Mama not too long ago because a girl was being squished immediately reminded me of that. Adore, a failure? That’s too bad—I always had the impression it did pretty well in sales, but I guess if you compare it to Mellon Collie… And also, about Zeitgeist. I dunno if this was just a coincidence or something, but I was reading an MCR interview where Gerard specifically used the word Zeitgeist, and I got all excited because I thought he was going to talk about Smashing Pumpkins. But, he was using the word… I thought it was a little suspicious, because, really, who goes around using the word Zeitgeist? Maybe it had something to do with Smashing Pumpkins, like Billy told him the title already and the meaning, and Gerard used it because it’s been in his mind? x_x I can’t wait until July.
silverrain Thinking Happy Thoughts Age: - Gender: Female Posts: 453	March 4th, 2007 at 03:41pm ^^ that's a possibility Do you remember what the interview was about? I was also wondering how frequently this word is used among English speakers. In German it's not an unusual phrase, but it’s actually rather seldom that someone brings it up in normal conversation It’s more likely to find it in the arts sections of magazines or newspapers.
mirarle Thinking Happy Thoughts Age: 34 Gender: Female Posts: 492	March 4th, 2007 at 09:28pm I'll try, I don't remember where exactly I read it. I shall peruse the TIP press section... And, no, the word isn't frequent at all in the vocabulary of the average English speaker. I didn't even know what it meant until Smashing Pumpkins announced it as their new album. That's why it piqued my suspicion, because it's not a term you see people use quite often unless you're the super artsy, super educated type. And Gerard using it seemed strange, but then again, he's the only person I know who uses the word 'fictitious' so much...and he is artsy, and smart in his own right.
Jyulin Shotgun Sinner Age: 31 Gender: Female Posts: 9743	March 4th, 2007 at 10:24pm I love em. I've only got random songs, mainly because whenever I see any of their albums, I don't have enough money to buy them.
bound and gagged Bulletproof Heart Age: - Gender: Female Posts: 28660	March 5th, 2007 at 09:07am I was listening to the radio, and they said the Smashing Pumpkins new album had a stupid title And then, I was playing the Sims 2, and the Gish family lived next door to the Mellon-Collie family
porcelinajune Bleeding on the Floor Age: 42 Gender: Female Posts: 1278	March 6th, 2007 at 02:11am silverrain: Hey Brandy-sweetie, you've really done great research bringing all this info together. Oh well, it hurts my soul to read Adore considered as being a failure...which might be true under economic aspects if you compare the sales to those of the previous album. But I remember that D’arcy said in an interview during the Adore-promo tour that for her the new songs were just beautiful “timeless music” and this is exactly the way I would describe it…couldn’t have said it better. Yep, I know I’ve said it before but I do love this album… Good job again I’m looking forward to what comes next Agreed Brandy you are doing a great job of detailing the career and impact of the pumpkins! I didn't even know that PI went to #4 on the charts. I just saw some grammatical mistakes but those can be fixed when you are done, no real big deal. If you can explain how "Eye" (personal fav) from the Lost Highway soundtrack sounded different. If I was a non-pumpkin fan reading this I would want to know how it sounded different. But otherwise awesome job I always forget that Adore wasn't that big of a commercial success because it is loved so by fans and even people who are not keen on other pumpkin's albums. Adore has such heart felt lamenting on it that that album can touch anyone. Also, does anyone know if Muzzle was released as an official single? I don't think it was but I know it was played on the radio. Just curious that's all. No new news on the Pumpkins front that I know of . . .just the lineup of summer European festivals the band will be playing. Everyday I wake up hoping we get more news or a sneak peak of the new music. Goodnight to those out there in Pumpkinland

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