Send "The Smashing Pumpkins " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 I remember reading a desert-island-albums list by Billy Corgan in 1993 that was so scarily like my own musical arc-- pop/prog/metal nerd discovers goth, Jane's Addiction, and My Bloody Valentine-- that I couldn't have been more designed for Smashing Pumpkins hyperfandom if I tried. Like no one before him, he made those influences work. As Canadian writer Jennifer Nine once put it in Melody Maker, you got a sense that he was the kind of guy who worked out every last transcription from Guitar Player in the 1980s and then actually did something with it. It helped that the rest of the band had their own skills, especially in the case of Jimmy Chamberlin, a jazz/hard-rock drum freak let loose on alt-rock radio.Alt-rock radio, at its height of commercial trendsetting, enabled the Pumpkins to not merely survive but thrive. There, Corgan could have his cake and eat it too, daring people to get annoyed at his starlust and reacting in kind while further building up his ambitions. He got his band signed to a major label and used the fig leaf of a corporate indie release for Gish, scored a prime spot on the Seattle-focused Singles soundtrack with "Drown", essentially went "Haters gonna hate" with Siamese Dream's first single "Cherub Rock", and got petulant when any other acts or writers accused him of protesting too much. And not just Pavement, either: "You hurt me deeply in my heart," he once infamously pouted to Kim Thayil before a 1994 Australian concert, following which the Pumpkins went on "to play the best set anybody has ever heard them play."...full text |
| Sputnikmusic |
| Gish was a sublimely spiritual body of work. "Not in a God way, but in a personal way," asserts singer/guitarist Billy Corgan. "It's got a lot to do with me exorcising old demons, getting my act together, overcoming a lot of my shortcomings. It's an extremely personal record." The son of a professional funk/jazz guitarist, weaned on the lessons of Bowie, Zeppelin, and The Stooges, Corgan began his musical career in the mid-80's, relocating from his native Chicago down to Florida with a group called The Marked. "Being in that band taught me everything I had gotten into music for was total garbage," he declares. "The whole sex, drugs, and rock and roll thing. It was shallow, everything the Pumpkins [sic] are not." Corgan came to his senses and returned to the Windy City, forming Smashing Pumpkins in 1988. With bassist D'arcy, guitarist James, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, they embarked on an instant buzz-generating series of gigs that included the opening slots for acts like Jane's Addiction, The Buzzcocks, and Caterqaul. Producer Butch Vig (Garbage) helms the boards for Gish,resulting in the toughest,most traditonally "Rock" sounding album of SP's repatiore. Band: Billy Corgan (songwriter, guitar, vocals) http://www.billy-corgan.com/bios/billy/gish2.jpg James Iha (guitar) http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Music/980...kins/james.jpg D'arcy Wretzky (bass) http://www.musicfanclubs.org/smashingpumpkins/darcy.jpg Jimmy Chamberlin (drums) http://landslide.2007.org/omnipedia/jimmy.jpg 1. I Am One - "I Am One" sets the tone for the rest of the album. Drummer Jimmy Chamberlain lays down an impressive kinetic beat, Billy Corgan sings some grinding vocals, guitarist James Iha plays catchy melodies, and D'arcy surges forward her bass. Don't think that because The Smashing Pumpkins made hard-rockers, they used nothing more than simple power chords. As you can tell between this track and the next, "Siva," they both feature arpeggiated chords that are beyond simple. Brilliant track. 5/5 2. Siva - Now comes the neo-psychedelic jam "Siva." It is similar to "I Am One," but with a more effective riff. Here is what Billy said about Siva: "I always knew I'd write a song called "Siva." Well, originally it was "Shiva" with an "h," and that's the god of destruction and sex but I then I read about it and I realized that that's not what I wanted the song song to be about at all. I didn't want the song to be identified with a specific god. It has more to do with, well, there's yin and yang and there's Siva a shakti(sp?). So it's the male aspect of Hinduism. That's not really what the song is about at all but it's hard to explain. " 5/5...full text |
| Musicemissions |
| *Snap* It's now 1991. Michael Jackson tops the charts (but not for long), peace settles temporarily in Iraq after Desert Storm, the Soviet Union falls, Michael Jordan brings yet another NBA championship to Chicago, and a great force is brewing in underground rock. Oh, and your hair is just plain hideous. Yes, the grunge movement is in full swing. Nirvana has not yet exploded onto the pop scene, and the producer Butch Vig that would go on to cut Nevermind has just finished a project with a small Chicago group named after a vegetable. The Smashing Pumpkins would become a John the Baptist of sorts for the alternative explosion, warming the crowds and showing the potential that the future of music held. Gish - released in May - was more than just a grunge album, it combined elements of what was then mainstream rock and the underground scene into what would become alternative music. Songs like "Siva" and "I Am One" took the harsh edge from grunge and punk and wrapped it into a pop package, easily digestible and yet still in your face. The Smashing Pumpkins set themselves apart with inclusion of softer pieces, hinting at emotional fragility with honest lyrical confessions, something relatively new. Something that would become a standard in alternative music. Brilliantly layered guitars and Billy Corgan’s high-pitched, emotional vocals hinted at just where this Chicago four-piece could go. The impact of Gish would be overshadowed by the release of Nevermind several months later, and it wouldn't be until 1993 that the Pumpkins would seize control of the direction of rock music with Siamese Dream. Yet here in 1991 Gish takes the grunge scene one step farther into the mainstream, and puts The Smashing Pumpkins in the minds of music-lovers everywhere, thirsting for change....full text |
The Smashing Pumpkins lyrics
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