Smashing Pumpkins - "The Way (My Love Is)"

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Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist Album Review

4.25 ninja stars out of 5

There has been a lot of talk lately that the 2007 Smashing Pumpkins aren't really the Smashing Pumpkins. Where's James Iha? Where's D'Arcy Wretsky? And although this may be true live (I've seen Iha play live during his short stint with A Perfect Circle and he's really good) Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlain have played just about every note recorded on a Pumpkins record since Siamese Dream (except Adore when Chamberlain was kicked out of the band).

This being said I didn't like this album at first. It's no Siamese Dream. It's no Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Where's "1979" part 2? But these are all unfair comparisons (listening to their greatest hits album the week before didn't help either) . Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie are two of the best albums of the 90's and are on many publications lists as some of the best of all-time.

Just as on other Pumpkins albums Zeitgeist will grow on you as Corgan's voice (always the most unlikely of front-men), which at first listen is nasal and annoying, digs deeper into your conscience to the point where it become beautifully tragic and compelling. And it doesn't hurt that the music behind him is great either which it is.

Zeitgeist begins with "Doomsday Clock" which may very well be a Corgan-penned letter from Eddie Vedder urging the Pumpkins to return after the loss of so many great 90's acts. With the Pumpkins you just never know. Corgan's writing has always been a Pandora's box of perplexingly vague yet personal poetry (pardon the alliteration) such as "Today" the heartsick story of love loss and desired suicide sung with a happy disposition. And Corgan has always been media shy in a controlling Barry Bonds-style manner to the point where you never really know what he's trying to get across. This can either be annoying or intriguing depending on your point of view. I tend to take the former in this current age of instant info and blogasphere half-truths (excluding this one of course).

Take the album art and song ''United States" for instance. The cover depicts the Statue of Liberty half-covered with water and the sun just above the waves. Created by the artist behind Obey clothing it represents a sort of choose your own adventure tag line, Is the sun rising or setting? Is the water rising or falling/ Just as in "United States" Corgan gives no answers just further questions. Doing so he comes off as either an everyman who recognizes that the present is important yet doesn't have the answers or someone who doesn't want to alienate part of his fanbase.

Whatever he's trying to say Zeitgeist (the Spirit of the Age) is one of those rare albums that not only gets better with each listen but can also be put on repeat without getting old. That is until your ears hurt from your i-buds. With or without Iha I can't wait to see them live.

Standout tracks: "Tarantula", "(Come On) Let's Go", "Neverlost" Gander On!

An Open Letter From Billy Corgan

One of our favorite periodicals The Stranger has published an open letter from none other than Bill Corgan himself and let us say his ego is bigger than ever. According to Billy the Pumpkins were once the most important bands in the world and all of us knew it, even Courtney Love. The begining of Billy's ego fed letter is below and you can Gander On for the rest.

July 10, 2007

My Dear Friends,

Today is the greatest day you've ever known.

Seven years, seven months, and ten days ago, the clock struck midnight, 2000, and the world began turning faster. Back then, I disbanded the Smashing Pumpkins because the new millennium demanded it. A new age needed a new start—cleanliness and unity, not the confused, confusing wreck I let the band become.

We were once the most important band in the world, and everyone—me, you, Courtney Love—knew it. The Smashing Pumpkins drew the line between Black Sabbath, the Bee Gees, and the Cure, and that line caught a generation like a leash around a wayward puppy. We founded Alternative Nation, and the kids and advertisers flocked around. But because the band had become bloated, overbearing, headstrong, because it grew beyond my control, it had to die. I killed it before it killed me.

And now, after all those years of self-imposed obscurity, of forced poetry, of side projects mired in mediocrity and too many guitarists, I bring us, together, here, to the corner of Future Avenue and Now Street. This is our moment! This is our day! This is Zeitgeist! (That's "Spirit of the Age" in German. Trust me: I've read Hegel.)

This band has always been the headlight on the barreling locomotive of modern youth; with a title like Zeitgeist, nobody can argue. I brought back original Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlain—recovered and reverent of yours truly, he's the epitome of a new leaf turned over—plus another chick bassist and some new guitar guy. Zeitgeist (Say it! It feels good!) arrives this week, in four different forms: The Best Buy version is different from the Target version is different from the iTunes version, which is different from everyone else's version. Most zeits would've settled for a single geist, but ours demands more marketing strategies, so I offer it four.

As for the music, the critics won't get it. They never have. My old fans—the ones whose lives were changed by Gish and Siamese Dream—won't get it. They will complain that the sound is too dense, too severe, too, yes, overbearing. But the New Generation is the one I'm speaking to, the one that needs to know that My Chemical Romance and Panic! At the Disco couldn't exist without me. Whether they want to know doesn't matter. This Zeitgeist is not consensual—it's here, whether you understand it or not.

Several weeks ago, I released "Tarantula" to prime the public for the coming onslaught. The song is the sound of one ego exploding (mine), the sound of an entire album in just one song. You'll like it because it has the same skyrocketing guitar riff as "Cherub Rock," and you liked "Cherub Rock" back in 1993. You still like it, because it is one of the best songs ever recorded. But now, instead of one guitar playing one riff, there are more—way more—guitars. And more riffs. It's awesome, in the original sense of the word. It might scare you.

Fear is the effect I'm going for. Fear and exhaustion. But "Tarantula" is not the scariest or most exhausting song on the album. That honor goes to "United States"—a triumphant teenage anthem that sounds like the closing solo of "War Pigs," refracted and stretched into nine minutes. Remember, I was subtle once: "Drown," from the Singles soundtrack, was haunting in its minimal, dissonant beauty. But the Zeitgeist has no time for subtlety, friends, and neither do you. Hence song titles like "United States" and "For God and Country" and "Pomp and Circumstance." Even more than you need more guitars, you need more meaning. And I bring it to you:

Dulcet tones whisper fast

Refuse your yearns, renounce the past

Rouse me soon, the end draws nigh

Whose side are you on

Your blood you cannot buy.

Revolution!

Revolution!

Revolution!

Yes! Zeitgeisty!

Every revolution needs a counterpoint, and that would be "Bring the Light," the one song with a discernable, singable hook, the one song that's remotely accessible. It's got a melody that burns with the same adolescent struggle as those Siamese Dream days. Naturally, it stands out: Hooks and singability are not really the zeitgeist. At least not this Zeitgeist.

Here is what you must understand: Nothing has changed since 1999, except my budget. And Pro Tools. I am still the same alt-rock messiah I was. You are still my teenage flock.

Trust me.

Your zero,
Billy Corgan
Gander On!

Smashing Pumpkins Do Letterman

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Smashing Pumpkins Zeitgeist Album Leak

The sites in German but if your smart enough to figure it out you'll find yourself downloading a copy of The Smashing Pumpkins new album Zeitgeist. Here's the link. Gander On!

Ask A Pumpkin!

In this youtube clip Jimmy reminds Billy of where their at. They are definetly winging it but heres the jist. You can upload your questions to the Ask A Pumpkin youtube channel and they will answer them. To tired to write this morning, 108 degree heat and a broken air conditioner make it a little tough to sleep at night. Check the video below for more information.

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Stream Smashing Pumpkins "Zeitgeist"

Head over to Spinner today and you can stream The Smashing Pumpkins "Zeitgeist" in it's entirity. So the album that failed to leak will most definetly be all over the internets today. We're listenng right now and current favorites include "Doomsday Clock," "Bring The Light," and "Neverlost." Gander On!

Music Video Monday

The posts have been a little infrequent lately. We're sorry about that but unfortunatly we all have real jobs. All that aside we're back now and ready to bring you the latest edition of Music Video Monday. Below you will find the new Video for "Tarantula" by the Smashing Pumpkins and Gander On for more videos from the likes of This Is My Suitcase, Art Brut, and a special treat in honor of a certain reunion last week. Enjoy!



This Is My Suitcase


Art Brut "Direct Hit"


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Smashing Pumpkins Tour Video Released

Welcome to Zeitgeigt! The Smashing Pumpkins have taken the stage in Europe and now you have the chance to peep footage from the first show in Paris at the Grand Rex on May 25, 2007. The audio is ok, the footage is fantastic (courtesy the Pumpkins very own tour videographer).

Enjoy the screeching guitar solo and then say no mas.
Gander On!

Smashing Pumpkins "Tarantula" Full Version

The thirty second clip was out earlier this week and now Deaf Indie Elephants has a full version of "Tarantula" ripped off of KROQ radio. Have a listen and let us know what you think.


Smashing Pumpkins "Tarantula" Radio Rip Gander On!

Smashing Pumpkins Cover Art

The Smashing Pumpkins enlisted the help of street art legend Obey aka Shepard Fairey to design the Zeitgeist Album cover. It doesn't look to me like the pictures that leaked last week would go all that well with Shepard's art but I guess we will have to wait and see. Shepard had this to say about the art.

"I think global warming is an issue that is currently relevant, time sensitive, and a symptom of the shortsightedness of the U.S. As a broader metaphor, the drowning Statue of Liberty, a revered icon of the U.S., symbolizes the eminent demise of many of the ideals upon which the nation was founded. Civil liberties, freedom of speech, privacy, etc. have been decreasing since 9/11. The sun in the image could either be setting or rising and this ambiguity shows that there is still hope to turn things around." Gander On!

New Smashing Pumpkins Single - "Tarantula"

You can hear a clip of the new Smashing Pumpkins Single "Tarantula" here. I have to say I like the sound of it but it is just a clip. I put the over under of the entire song being leaked at six days and the album at being leaked within the next two weeks.. Gander On!

Those Smashing Pumpkins Pictures

The ones that got stolen from their recording studio. Click here if you want to see them. Gander On!

Someone Stole Billy's Art

courtesy of NME

The artwork for The Smashing Pumpkins' new album 'Zeitgeist' has been stolen.

Internet rumours suggest that the subjects of the pictures are as follows: two elderly men flanking the Grim Reaper at a presidential podium with the Smashing Pumpkins flag as a backdrop, Paris Hilton standing in front of a photo of an exploding bomb, schoolchildren giving a Nazi-esque salute and the devil being crucified.

In a statement, the band's management said: "Management for The Smashing Pumpkins confirms that the band's rehearsal studio in Chicago was burglarised last week.

"The two people who are now in jail illegally gained access to the band's private space and stole various items belonging to them over the course of several hours while the band had left for the evening.

"The band's management says the group feels their rights have been violated by this crime and will always pursue their rights and the law to protect their property and the safety of themselves, their families and their fans."

The band are set to released their comeback album on July 7. It will be their first album in seven years. They play their first gig of the year in Paris on May 22.

I'm going to try and track this artwork down. Gander On!

Tracklisting For That Horrible Smashing Pumpkins Tribute Album

I was wrong My Chemical Romance will not be covering "Bullet with Butterfly Wings." In fact they won't be covering anything according to their management they will not appear on the project at all. Instead Hawthorne Heights will get a shot at the song. Panic at the Disco will cover "Tonight, Tonight" and more than likely butcher it worse than Gym Class Heroes did for the Beach Boys "Good Vibrations." The album will be released via Myspace Records and available free in an upcoming Spin Magazine Issue. All of you Coachella kids that got your one year free subscription here's your reward. Check the track listing below.


Panic! At The Disco - 'Tonight Tonight'
(+44)- 'I Am One'
The Academy Is... - 'Mayonnaise'
The Deftones - 'Siva'
30 Seconds The Mars - TBC
The Bravery - 'Rocket'
Young Love - '1979'
The New Amersterdams - 'Thirty Three'
Test Your Reflex - 'Ava Adore'
Ben Kweller - 'Today'
Hawthorne Heights - 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings'
Gliss - 'Rhinoceros' Gander On!

My Chemical Romance PATD! To Do Smashing Pumpkins Tribute Album

The tribute album is also going to feature +44 and the New Amsterdams and be released on Myspace Records. Can't wait to here the crap that comes off of that album. I put money on MCR covering Bullet With Butterfly Wings. I hope this wasn't Tom from Myspaces idea. Check the article here. Gander On!