So apparently, the open letter from Billy Corgan featured on The Stranger was a hoax. I spouted off quite a bit about Billy Corgan as a reaction to the letter, which I bought hook, line, and sinker.
So the question is: since I so readily believed that Billy Corgan would say those things, should I cut my losses and count myself amongst those who used to be a Smashing Pumpkins fan, or do I say “I was wrong,” eat crow, and resume my love for the band? It’s hard to say.
I think this little incident has revealed that I have been growing sick of Billy’s pretentious “I’m an artist” side. You play guitar, dude. Not quite rocket science or curing cancer.
Shame on The Stranger for publishing this schlock. It’s irresponsible to publish something like this, even as satire, without any indication that it’s fake. Some might argue that the best satire is that which we mistake for reality, and in that respect, this is brilliance. But I say no; this was poor taste, plain and simple.
Back on track here, there’s no questioning Billy Corgan and TSP’s contributions to rock. But there is plenty of question as to whether or not they are relevant anymore. So I take back what I say in reaction to his alleged words, but I’m treading cautiously into Zeitgeist.
I was not fooled, and read it over again because I couldn’t believe it.
[i]
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.
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.[/i]
I mean really, you fell for it ? Most important band ? The mention of Courtney Love and the Bee Gees ? Zeitgeist x 10? The “chick bassist” phrase and talk of alternate version to create artificial scarcity ? He must really be bad if you believed that.
I fell for it, lock, stock, and barrel. I admit it. I don’t know if that says more about me or about Billy.
it’s nice to hear that someone feels the same as me. I used to be a really hardcore pumpkins fan and idolized Billy. But since Zwan and his solo release, and now this horrendous cd..it just kept going downhill. Now I have to specify, I love the ‘old’ smashing pumpkins…He’s super egotistical, crazy religious, and just seems plain delusional. When I read that entry from the Stranger, I felt the same way you explained, I wouldn’t be surprised if that wasn’t really written by him.