ThePumpkins.net

kjrain12 wrote:

"Of course, SP could play Zwan or TFE songs live and they would fit reasonably well, just as they can play songs by totally different bands like Pink Floyd."

On a really good night and the whole band is really into it, they could set the Betty Crocker Cookbook to music and and make it sound good.

The one Zwan song that I could really see on Mellon Collie would be Spilled Milk, that song is just fucking sick!

I use to have a tape of Silverfuck (The Crystal Ship) it had a few pops and clicks because it was an audience recording., but it was so wicked.

Right, all of us will have a different perspective on things. I could definitely see a song like "A Certain Kind of Change", which they only played twice, as an SP song. Although I will qualify that by saying it is my favorite Zwan track, so I am biased towards resurrecting that one. I think they could get away with pulling that one out of the ether without many people noticing . He did play "A New Poetry" during that cafe show in Portugal by himself, which is way cool. One of the better Zwan songs, that never ended up on Mary Star of the Sea. While I don't think many of the stuff on the album was all that Pumpkiny, I do think the title track, Mary Star of the Sea, was very pumpkiny in some ways, at least in scope. I think what might be cool is on some dates, Billy play a little solo gig the night before, where he can have it both ways, give people the opportunity to hear some of those songs, whether they associate it with SP or not.

I think I define Smashing Pumpkins as good music that's original, speaks to my soul, played by two or more members of SP that are very talented one of which has to be Billy. I know that's freaky but, I'm a freak, I think late 1960s and 1970s Elvis was best. I think they should throw it all together, do like one Zwan song or Billy Solo song as encores and whatnot. You know, like play M.O.H. or Love Lies In Ruins as the big finish to as show. I also think they should do The Residency Songs too (who wouldn't want too hear "I'm Doing The Best I Can")

You know there's a quote button glass if you want to quote someone.

frankB wrote:
I just don't like grabbing everyone else's quote too, It can be annoying and confusing seeing a bunch of quotes inside of a quote. So I just do it the way I do it, consider it a quirk.

I think for those of us like yourself that associate all those projects with the Pumpkins, having a set like that would indeed be satisfying, I'm sure you're not alone. For me, it would still feel a bit odd, but I guess I would have to see how I feel in the moment.

At the same time, one of the factors that probably stops Billy from doing something just like that is the criticism he would get. I could just see it now, people saying that he shouldn't have reformed the band if wasn't going to be SP, that it's just Zwan. I seem to recall some people even making snide remarks like that when it was just Billy and Jimmy that were announced to be coming back for the reunion. For some, it was not the Pumpkins anymore regardless, and this might add fuel to that flame. Of course, people like that are always going to be asses, no matter what, so I guess it wouldn't make much difference.

I consider SP 2 to be SP all the way, although the Teargarden Eps are nowhere near normal SP material. Does everyone realize that it has been almost five YEARS since we had a new Smashing Pumpkins album? The first incarnation of SP released a new album every 2 or 3 years - hell, Billy didn't even slow down when he changed bands or create his own solo project.

Why the hell have we been waiting for so long? I mean, I appreciate BC fully and everything his done (I'd kill my family before you man) by what has slowed him down so much these days.

Hell, he hasn't even picked a cover song winner yet

frankB wrote:
Well, I guess this is how NIN fans felt back in the day.

Well definitely one thing the original SP had that SP2 doesn't is momentum—growing fame, media spotlight, drug use and rollercoaster emotional drama, all of which comes across some way in the albums. Nowadays the fan base is diminished, their "glory days" in the media have run its course, Billy's settled down and leads the "positive substance-free" life, and his actions suggest a lot of uncertainty in what direction to take the music.

Teargarden was supposed to be an "epic work" giving him some room for experimentation, but instead it became a story of failed starts and non-sequiturs. Anyway, I'd rather wait 5 years for a good album than 2 months for a single, crappy song.

kjrain12 wrote:
Or how we feel now

I would consider the released material of Teargarden a full album even if it might not all fit into one fully realized piece. At least there's been new material played and the promise of the new album. As a fan of Guns N' Roses this is a brilliant stream of material at least in the live format that I can still enjoy, wish I could say the same for them. Billy I think has wanted to try something different from you know, lets put out an album every 2-3 years and lets just release material over time and it didn't quite work out so he's reverting back to the album format, so I think we can forgive Billy for maybe being a little delayed. Once again going back to GNR, it took Axl 14 years to do a proper damn video interview, Billy tends to appear about this kind of stuff semi often, so lets be thankful at least Billy keeps us somewhat informed about all of this.

frankB wrote: Yeah I consider it SP still too. There are also some great songs on the EPs but I do agree some of it is not on par with classic SP. Not to be a Billy apologist, but he was under the notion that everyone wanted to consume things as singles, that the album was dead. I think he even said something along the lines of that when he did that, he ended up overproducing each track. I think what they should have done at the very least is record each EP as a whole entity and then release it. But I know we have the benefit of hindsight.

I am not really sure. Oh don't I know it lol. I hope it doesn't take him 5 years to vote...just kidding . Did I mention how much I appreciate him even agreeing to be a judge? .

Musicman11 wrote: Yeah. While I'm not a GnR fan, I can only imagine what you and other fans went through. 14 years is a ridiculous wait, so in comparison Billy has been really good at least keep us in some sort of loop.

Yeah but pretty much nobody is as much of an asshole as Axl Rose.