Too bad Axl doesn't see things like Billy Corgan

[Kapitch_77]

"I don't really know what makes sense any more. I think you have to come to a place where you say, if you continue you continue with a particular vision, not keep rolling with the tide.

"Because the tide as it is I don't think it's that great. I'm not saying that the audience isn't great, or that the band isn't great. Something about it all feels a little too nicey nice. I'm not in a rock and roll band to be nicey nice, it's just not my thing."

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/original_smashing_pumpkins_lineup_to_reunite.html

[mr-fukaji]

The Smashing Pumpkins are fucking awful, and fronted by a pretentious, bald headed turd. Axl might be better off listening to the voices coming from the moon.

[wasted]

The industry has a stranglehold, you can try to be rebellious or put out whatever but it will bomb and they will find someone else to deliver.

I think you can blame the audience or the culture. Its not a big experimental or even art culture. Its superheros and chain restaurants.

90s alternative had a good go. But technology destroyed music.

But people still want to go to big rock shows.

[justastud79]

"Its superheros and chain restaurants"

Wasted, that is the perfect description of (American/Western) Culture at the moment.

But, I'm not sure technology killed music, it just killed the recording industry's system and mechanism of income.

[wasted]

"Its superheros and chain restaurants"

Wasted, that is the perfect description of (American/Western) Culture at the moment.

But, I'm not sure technology killed music, it just killed the recording industry's system and mechanism of income.

that has a knock on effect and in that gap culture moved on to something else. you're right, not the music, but it has hindered it, it's changed the focus of people away from the music, movie. people for concerned about what phone they have and there's a whole host of new entertainment. To me a cd isn't an exciting thing, people have tons of cds. blu rays are kin dof the new thing. but iPods, iPads, laptops, kindles, phone packages with data etc. apps are more important than album based rock. especially authentic rock, when most people's live are exercises in fake futility.

maybe it's partly bcos those bands from the 90s, GNR, NIN, whoever were really about shaking things up, they seem to be having trouble with life. where's now people seem satisfied or don't need a cd to ruin their day. it just seems like a milder, more pc, avoid conflict culture. bands that cater to the audience, make them feel special is what people want.

[rockerman]

"Its superheros and chain restaurants"

Wasted, that is the perfect description of (American/Western) Culture at the moment.

But, I'm not sure technology killed music, it just killed the recording industry's system and mechanism of income.

But it also took mediocre players at best and made them rock stars. With pro tools you can shape and sound a band to sound vastly better than they really are.

I think it fucked up GNR's formula big time: the band used to acually rehearse and jam together in writing sessions where the energy was all in a collective place....but starting with UYI it was phoned in.

[wasted]

it's leaning more towards manufactured rock bands. the bands probably don't have time to grow organically. This is why labels and producers push form and genre I guess. It's much easier manufacture a metal band or an electronic rock group than rock n roll bands. I would say GNR is an electronic rock band now. Maybe there is something to explore in that, like Trent can do it well. CD sounds a lot like an UNKLE record. It's possibly played out, the best records I've heard over the last years are more metal bands going pretty straight ahead or indie rock leaning on the 70s. But actual rock n roll bands must get factored out by technology and the market. It has to come around again I guess.

[volcano62]

Billy and Axl have a lot in common.

I respect both and like both their music past and present.

[wasted]

Cant really listen to Pumpkins other than Machina. Thats a great record.

[Crash Diet]

Too bad Axl doesn't act like a normal grown up dude

[Chris 55]

The Smashing Pumpkins are fucking awful, and fronted by a pretentious, bald headed turd. Axl might be better off listening to the voices coming from the moon.

How is what any of Billy said in that quote untrue?

[liers]

Billy, Axl, and Geoff Tate are 3 of a kind. Axl has the most fame out of the three though, so he get's more hate than Corgan and Tate.

Geoff Tate is controlled by his wife, similar to Axl and Beta. Geoff's wife hates the old lineup, also similar to Beta.

Corgan, for whatever reason, doesn't get too much hate. Maybe because noone really liked the smashing pumpkins to begin with, but there's not really anyone who is pushing for a smashing pumkins reunion, nor is there really anyone who minds seeing Corgan's band instead of a lineup of the old band.

Geoff tate and Billy Corgan are both bald, Axl isn't. Geoff tate wears a Fedora, so does axl. Geoff tate has sang nightrain before. obviously so has axl. They all have stuff in common with eachother.

[Redhead74]

"I don't really know what makes sense any more. I think you have to come to a place where you say, if you continue you continue with a particular vision, not keep rolling with the tide.

"Because the tide as it is I don't think it's that great. I'm not saying that the audience isn't great, or that the band isn't great. Something about it all feels a little too nicey nice. I'm not in a rock and roll band to be nicey nice, it's just not my thing."

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/original_smashing_pumpkins_lineup_to_reunite.html

If Axl follows this train of thought then GNR just disband for good. I don't think anyone here wants that to happen.

[Val22]

Never was a fan of the SP.

I did read an article when SP was appearing in Dallas recently about how Billy is the only original member left. He said something like he would never get back with the old band members.

I thought that was cool enough, but he didn't seem to be getting shit for it like Axl has been getting for years.

No one knows how it really is in a band unless you are part of it. GNR was one of a kind back in the 80's and early 90's, but it ended. Many amazing bands have broken up over the years and have moved on. It seems to me that every original member seems to be okay with what they are doing now and have no regrets. I think they also figure going back is not an option for any of them.

[wasted]

I think Axl's general persona and media image kind of played into it. Axl just rubs people the wrong way even when they were doing great, it was always a disaster though wasn't it.

I mean when Patton ejected Jim Martin from Faith No More and was openly mocking him in the press nobody said nothing.

Maybe also the way GNR were packaged up as a cartton band with 5 skull heads. People are sentimental about this.

Maybe it also stems from the members who left. If Jimmy or other exs started calling the Billys new band Fake Pumpkins and the new players scabs...the media would jump on it and then Billy would say stuff about etc. etc.

[Val22]

I think Axl's general persona and media image kind of played into it. Axl just rubs people the wrong way even when they were doing great, it was always a disaster though wasn't it.

I mean when Patton ejected Jim Martin from Faith No More and was openly mocking him in the press nobody said nothing.

Maybe also the way GNR were packaged up as a cartton band with 5 skull heads. People are sentimental about this.

Maybe it also stems from the members who left. If Jimmy or other exs started calling the Billys new band Fake Pumpkins and the new players scabs...the media would jump on it and then Billy would say stuff about etc. etc.

Well, GNR were one of a kind and their music will live on for generations of rock fans for many many years to come. It's hard when a band you like breaks up. I lived through many a band breakup, ie. the Beatles, Led Zeppelin. It was sad times, but their music lives on and most of the band members went on to some other things.

I can understand people wanting the original members of GNR back, that would be epic, but as individuals, I don't think it would be healthy for any of them to reunite.

[Estranged Reality]

The Smashing Pumpkins are fucking awful, and fronted by a pretentious, bald headed turd. Axl might be better off listening to the voices coming from the moon.

Billy has displayed very, very erratic behaviour over the last few years, and has gotten decidedly weirder and weirder (the Nic Cage of alt rock!), but he's still written some great music, and is capable of still doing so. And maybe he did something similar to Axl with the Pumpkins but at least he's out there making new music with his current lineup attempting to validate their existence and the things that went down rather than just tour endlessly on the old guys' back catalog to be totally honest (and I say this as way more a GN'R fan than SP/Corgan fan).

[ThinkAboutYou]

I have seen SP a few times live and enjoy mostly the hits and a few other gems. I wish Axl was as musically active as Corgan

Edited September 7, 2013 by ThinkAboutYou

[wasted]

I think Axl's general persona and media image kind of played into it. Axl just rubs people the wrong way even when they were doing great, it was always a disaster though wasn't it.

I mean when Patton ejected Jim Martin from Faith No More and was openly mocking him in the press nobody said nothing.

Maybe also the way GNR were packaged up as a cartton band with 5 skull heads. People are sentimental about this.

Maybe it also stems from the members who left. If Jimmy or other exs started calling the Billys new band Fake Pumpkins and the new players scabs...the media would jump on it and then Billy would say stuff about etc. etc.

Well, GNR were one of a kind and their music will live on for generations of rock fans for many many years to come. It's hard when a band you like breaks up. I lived through many a band breakup, ie. the Beatles, Led Zeppelin. It was sad times, but their music lives on and most of the band members went on to some other things.

I can understand people wanting the original members of GNR back, that would be epic, but as individuals, I don't think it would be healthy for any of them to reunite.

Nobody seemed to care about Faith no More, Blur, Oasis breaking up or reforming with various members missing.

I guess GNR were the biggest band with members who everyone knew and remembered. There was some special bout the five guys. Whereas with oasis it was just the bros of gallagher. Nobody gave a shit about bonehead.

It might be tge emotional connection with the fans. FNM wasnt about these romantic or sentimental feelings.

[Guest cbgnr666]

Recently listened to a Corgan interview where he talked about all the fans obsessing over their fantasy of seeing certain people on stage together no matter how much the band members might hate each other.He also spoke briefly about in the last number of years with the rise of social media the fans getting the idea that they run the show and mentioned gnr and a few others.

[netcat]

maybe he doesn't get much hate because he still talks to the press, communicates through social media, unlike Axl, tells his side of the story, no matter how absurd this story is. my favorite quote of him is that he had a bad marriage and ten bad girlfriends in a row or something like that. i'm a big fan of his Zwan album tough.

[eye2eye]

The industry has a stranglehold, you can try to be rebellious or put out whatever but it will bomb and they will find someone else to deliver.

I think you can blame the audience or the culture. Its not a big experimental or even art culture. Its superheros and chain restaurants.

90s alternative had a good go. But technology destroyed music.

But people still want to go to big rock shows.

People want to go to Big Rock Shows only to see particular bands : AC/DC, Rolling Stones, Roger Waters, Metallica, maybe Pearl Jam but PJ is diffrent story they alienated themselves from mainstream but are great to their huge fanbase, but I can't thing of one younger band that is selling out arenas easily maybe Foo Fighters but they are not that young and always had massive pop appeal.

And back to the topic, Billy Corgan is amazing visionary and I don't care about all that hating on him, he was Smashing Pumpkins as he wrote vast majority of songs and even played all instruments during recordings of Siamese Dream, and yes Oceania is awesome and sounds like 100% Smashing Pumpkins record. And what can I say he's right but he and Axl had a lot of in common

[volcano62]

Recently listened to a Corgan interview where he talked about all the fans obsessing over their fantasy of seeing certain people on stage together no matter how much the band members might hate each other.He also spoke briefly about in the last number of years with the rise of social media the fans getting the idea that they run the show and mentioned gnr and a few others.

So true and interesting. Do you have a link to anything?

[Guest cbgnr666]

Recently listened to a Corgan interview where he talked about all the fans obsessing over their fantasy of seeing certain people on stage together no matter how much the band members might hate each other.He also spoke briefly about in the last number of years with the rise of social media the fans getting the idea that they run the show and mentioned gnr and a few others.

So true and interesting. Do you have a link to anything?

I listened too it on the CBC radio show Q a few weeks back.It should be available on that particular website as well,I would think.

[wasted]

If Slash, Duff, Steven had given Axl they blessing to continue as GNR, Axl would have had it easier. But even at the HOF Steven had to say stuff.