Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ My favorite band...

[skatalite]

Is half-way back together (two of the original four members), but that doesn't mean they can't rock it old school style.

The Smashing Pumpkins changed my life. I know, that's a trite statement, the kind of statement angst tweens use about certain books or movies. Truth be told, I began listening to the Smashing Pumpkins when I was in third grade. I've been hooked since. You think my Gary Payton card collection is large, you should see my collection of Smashing Pumpkins shows, bootlegs, videos, interviews, official releases and more. I've got more than 80 gigabytes of Smashing Pumpkins material, with 50 of that being music.

They changed my life. How? Helped me get through troubling times as a youngster. Billy Corgan, the band's lead guitarist, vocalist and main song writer, writes some of the most poignant and ravishing lyrics. And he's back and their latest single, "Tarantula," is on the airwaves.

Coming July 10, 2007...

[crazygood]

The new single is awful in my opinion. The vocals just ruin it for me. Oh well...I've still got a lot of the old stuff to uncover.

I've also heard they aren't very good live....true story?

[chopinalex]

You think my Gary Payton card collection is large, you should see my collection of Smashing Pumpkin shows, bootlegs, videos, interviews, official releases and more. I've got more than 80 gigabytes of Smashing Pumpkin material, with 50 of that being music.

PSYCHO!

[skatalite]

The new single is awful in my opinion. The vocals just ruin it for me. Oh well...I've still got a lot of the old stuff to uncover.

I've also heard they aren't very good live....true story?

If you don't like his vocals on "Tarantula," then you won't like anything else they've done except for Siamese Dream and Gish. Ava Adore is amazing, Machina is amazing, but Corgan's typical whiny vocals.

And they're amazing live. Whoever told you that is wrong.

[crazygood]

If you don't like his vocals on "Tarantula," then you won't like anything else they've done except for Siamese Dream and Gish. Ava Adore is amazing, Machina is amazing, but Corgan's typical whiny vocals.

And they're amazing live. Whoever told you that is wrong.

I haven't been able to take Mellon Collie out of my stereo ever since I've got it. Tarantula is pretty bleh if you ask me. It's not really how he sings, because I like his voice, but the way it goes with the music.

[cantstoptheblackmamba]

sp rules bro

[baseballguy601]

listen to LP instead

[crazygood]

listen to LP instead

I'm good. Thanks!

[baseballguy601]

dmb then?

I'm good. Thanks!

[skatalite]

I haven't been able to take Mellon Collie out of my stereo ever since I've got it.  Tarantula is pretty bleh if you ask me. It's not really how he sings, because I like his voice, but the way it goes with the music.

The rhthym of it is pretty different from Mellon Collie stuff. "Tarantula" reminds me of Gish (first album) and Machina: The Machines of God (last official release). Once you listen to those albums you'll see what I mean.

What's different about "Tarantula" and that Zwan did on a lot of their songs is the chorus actually has a hook. It's catchy. But listen to it a few more times and I think you'll find you like it more than originally thought. That's how it is with a lot of the newer Pumpkins stuff for the most part, especially anything on Ava Adore, which seemed more like a concept/experimental album than anything else. Still mind-blowing, though.

Now, back to the live comment...

Are you meaning their playing? If so, they rock it live. Stuff is played a little bit faster but it's awesome. They nail all the solos and the energy (especially when they play songs like "Bodies") is immeasurable. The only time I can recall ever thinking, "Man, this could've been done a tad better, but it's still rad," is during the last leg of the Adore tour. Corgan began growing tired of touring and got tired of being in a band, so he did mediocre singing. Radiohead's Thom Yorke is notorious for mumbling songs, but they're still great performers. Kind of like that.

If the people you talked to mean their stage presence, that's debatable. Sometimes they're stoic and sometimes they're all over the place. They had more energy during the Siamese tour, and then it turned into aggression during the Mellon Collie tour. They broke stuff, basically.

Visit http://www.thepumpkins.net for a good selection of live stuff. Check it out yourself And treat yourself to some of their acoustic shows. Amazing. If you can, find their VH1 "Storytellers." As audio files, it takes up about four CDs. They only showed it twice on television, but a great audio rip is out there. Might need to Soulseek or Limewire it.

Then there's YouTube for videos.

Whatever you do, listen/watch a live version of "Geek U.S.A." That song is from "Siamese Dream" and has one of the most insane guitar solos I've ever heard. Funny because it was voted one of the top 25 or 50 solos by "Guitar World" magazine. You'll see/hear what I mean.

[skatalite]

listen to LP instead

Don't hijack my thread by promoting bands without an ounce of creativity in their body, much less a musical bone. They're a waste of air and can't make an honest song to save their lives. In other words, they are at the bottom of the food chain when it comes to bad music. That's horrible.

[baseballguy601]

Don't hijack my thread by promoting bands without an ounce of creativity in their body, much less a musical bone. They're a waste of air and can't make an honest song to save their lives. In other words, they are at the bottom of the food chain when it comes to bad music. That's horrible.

[crazygood]

Wow, thanks for all that skatalite. I'll take a few days to actually give everything a good listen and get back to you but here's a few things so far.

I just watched Geek USA with a bunch of clowns on stage and didn't really notice any type of special solo. But what do I know, I don't play an instrument.

I also watched a live version of X.Y.U. (my favorite song by them so far) and realized that whoever told me they suck live is full of bolonga. But help me out with this Geek USA thing cause I don't really notice anything that great.

[nameant]

man I love Smashing Pumpkins. was actually just listening to them today.

[skatalite]

But help me out with this Geek USA thing cause I don't really notice anything that great.

You can hear the solo best on the actual CD track, of course, but here's a good live version. It's from their "Vieuphoria" tape/DVD/CD. You can't hear it incredibly well, and it's much faster than on the CD, but it's there. Check out the band's MySpace for "Geek U.S.A."

What you saw was from the band's "Greatest Hits" DVD. Funny performance I think, but not something to take entirely serious.

Also, the solo was voted 54 out of 100 for the greatest guitar solos of all time by "Guitar World." From what I could recall, the solo that appeared on the album was only half its intended length, as it was cut down from the original recording/demo.

By the way, ThePumpkins.net has VH1's "Storytellers" on there. Check it out!