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Billy Corgan says Axl Rose is the definition of rockstar and says aggressive stance should be taken against pop music


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I kind of get what he's saying but a lot of rock stars were also pop stars. Madonna had punk rock roots but found her calling as a pop star multimedia artist, no one used video the way she used it, you look at Joni Mitchell and that's someone who didn't play the pop star game in any era. Laura Nyro wrote pop hits right out of the gate (every song on her first album has been covered) but after that? She influenced a hell of a lot of the "singer songwriter girl on a piano" types and those albums were not "pop".

Elton John was an album artist but maybe a few albums in he wanted to be more of a pop artist, but Blue Moves is a pretty bleak album, the same year Don't Go Breaking My Heart came out.

Bob Marley wanted a mainstream crowd.

Ozzy is a bad example, unless he's JUST talking about the stage. Iggy Pop's done the same things Ozzy or Alice Cooper have done to "sell out" but when it comes to the stage, they're 3 old crazy bastards who transform and turn into a 20 year old for 2 hours. They used to blur onstage and offstage when they were fucked up 24/7, but they feel those aches and pains on the down time.

Corgan had a great run in the 90s but people were beginning to write SP off towards the end of the 90s and didn't really care about Corgan anymore, even though he could be an in-demand producer and hired gun, and just make Smashing Pumpkins a weekend thing, the same way Todd Rundgren or Nile Rodgers did more producing than performing. That's where the money was at for them.

He wisely did the reissues and new music around the same time so people knew he was still around.

He is great with the fans but you have to get past him being a Chi-town smartass with some of the things he says. He does have a sense of humor believe it or not, and if you've heard him in past interviews, you know he laughs about half this shit when he says it.

Edited by dalsh327
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What an idiot! Just by classifying people into categories like that and asking rock stars to act and pose a certain way so that they don't look like actors and posers is the silliest thing I've ever heard. I agree that rock stars need to get their shit together and knock pop on it's ass, but unfortunately most of them have their heads so far up their asses they can't accomplish anything. Robert should call Jimmy, Axl should call Slash, Gillan/Coverdale should call Blackmore, and the list goes on. Let's see how much people care about Taylor Swift playing a show at MSG when Led Zeppelin is playing 10 sold out shows at Giants Stadium. The only reason people have turned to pop is because rock stars became so full of themselves, so rich, and so out of touch that people would rather hear pop stars sing about what actually means something to them (getting rich and becoming famous) instead of rock stars sing about things that mean nothing to them in an attempt to stay relevant.

Edited by izzy92
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It is dicey terminology since pop just comes from 'popular music' as distinct from 'classical'. Popular music includes rock. Indeed, the two, 'pop' and 'rock' were used interchangeably until at least the late 1960s, with bands such as The Beatles. Also, there are examples of rock bands who have 'sold out', and pop acts that have pursued an ''a vision to an end''. Aerosmith use song-fixers. Michael Jackson wrote a lot of his own material.

Where do you draw the line?

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I love Billy's music. But he never learned that as a public figure, it's never a good idea to engage in negativity and extreme criticism concerning other artists. Inevitably, such talk only makes you look bad.

Edited by niceguy
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I've heard that idea before, but it's silly. As long as there's been radio/records/ways for large numbers of people to hear music, there has always, ALWAYS been formulaic, forgettable, packaged pop music. Always. It's like those cheap novels at the supermarket checkout or junk food; it's a part of the landscape. And yes, it IS always going to reach people who aren't interested in the more profound stuff. It's how it is. YES, perhaps it is frustrating when a song like "Friday" sells more and reaches more people than the interesting music, much in the same way it's a shame that people are far more into Twilight and Fifty Shades than books that are far better - but it's life.

As an artist all you can do is make sure that your music is the best it can be and try to help it reach as many people as possible.

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What an idiot! Just by classifying people into categories like that and asking rock stars to act and pose a certain way so that they don't look like actors and posers is the silliest thing I've ever heard. I agree that rock stars need to get their shit together and knock pop on it's ass, but unfortunately most of them have their heads so far up their asses they can't accomplish anything. Robert should call Jimmy, Axl should call Slash, Gillan/Coverdale should call Blackmore, and the list goes on. Let's see how much people care about Taylor Swift playing a show at MSG when Led Zeppelin is playing 10 sold out shows at Giants Stadium. The only reason people have turned to pop is because rock stars became so full of themselves, so rich, and so out of touch that people would rather hear pop stars sing about what actually means something to them (getting rich and becoming famous) instead of rock stars sing about things that mean nothing to them in an attempt to stay relevant.

Coverdale and Blackmore did talk, but things fell through. However, David's recording the Deep Purple songs as Whitesnake.

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Draw the line?

awwwwwww yacka yacka owwwwww!!!!

Billy doesn't wanna, 'cause he's Back In The Saddle Again...

...and he ain't gonna just sit by and Let The Music Do The Talking...

...he wants to fight against pop music until Out Go The Lights and he will be shouting at the popstars "My Fist, Your Face".

He wants the world to know that rockers are the Kings & Queens of music and that the pop stars are just like Rats In The Cellar.

Oooooh aaaeekeeeeayyye aaaeekeeeayyye aaaayyyye!!!

Sorry, just wanted to join in there hahaha.

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What an idiot! Just by classifying people into categories like that and asking rock stars to act and pose a certain way so that they don't look like actors and posers is the silliest thing I've ever heard. I agree that rock stars need to get their shit together and knock pop on it's ass, but unfortunately most of them have their heads so far up their asses they can't accomplish anything. Robert should call Jimmy, Axl should call Slash, Gillan/Coverdale should call Blackmore, and the list goes on. Let's see how much people care about Taylor Swift playing a show at MSG when Led Zeppelin is playing 10 sold out shows at Giants Stadium. The only reason people have turned to pop is because rock stars became so full of themselves, so rich, and so out of touch that people would rather hear pop stars sing about what actually means something to them (getting rich and becoming famous) instead of rock stars sing about things that mean nothing to them in an attempt to stay relevant.

Coverdale and Blackmore did talk, but things fell through. However, David's recording the Deep Purple songs as Whitesnake.

:blink:

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Oh shut up you moaning middle aged slaphead, no one gives a shit, you made a couple of albums in the 90s some people like, you ain't the fuckin' oracle of nothing. And your band was shite.


'stance should be taken against pop music', fuck off you cunt, you were signed to a major record label and in the charts, what does that make your fuckin' music, the cutting edge sound of the underground? Some of these knackered old grunge wankers really make me laugh, waffling on about pop music this and mainstream that, what do you think you pack of wankers were? Acting like they were the fuckin' second punk movement, fuck off.

Edited by downzy
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I love a lot of Billy's music but jeez the guy says some pretty hypocritical stuff sometimes.

Just this past December he was on Howard Stern acting like pop was a good thing. He mentioned how his new Monuments record is heavily influenced by traditional pop and how some of his biggest hits like Today, 1979, and Tonight Tonight are essentially pop songs at their core.

Now he's acting like pop artists are inhumane by nature and need a kick in the ass and that pop and rock should "stay on their own side of the streets" or whatever the fuck......the dude's whacked

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What is Ba Ba Billy saying? That rock needs more artist feuds like the rappers do? :lol:

A lot of rockstars are as mainstream as pop artists, so it would be hypocritical IMO to go after those people. Just have them make great music that stands on its own and doesn't have to attack pop.

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