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Billy Corgan on Axl Rose: "When I look at Axl Rose, I see a free person"


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Smashing Pumpkins is my all-time favorite band, so that was a cool moment for me. Billy has spoken very kindly of Guns N' Roses and Axl rose over the years, and even mentioned on Twitter a few years ago he would work on a song with Axl (in any capacity) in a heart beat if given the chance. I attended one of the VIP pre-shows for the In Plainsong Tour last year, and during the Q&A, someone asked Corgan if he had seen the new lineup with Slash and Duff or if he had seen any of the 2001-2014 lineups of the band. 

Billy said he had meant to see the band multiple times throughout the years, but never got the chance because whenever they played, he was working on a project or touring. He did say he REALLY wanted to see the newest lineup, so I'm glad he finally got to see them. He said he really liked Chinese Democracy, thought there were some genuinely beautiful moments on the album, and was impressed that he really did feel like it was the album Axl set out to make. 

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Im fairly sure Smashing Pumpkins reunite next year.  They've been trickling out the info almost just like GnR did; Iha joined them on stage a few times, then Corgan announces he's friends wth D'arcy again.  So neat to hear Corgan talking about perceptions of Axl, since Billy kinda disappeared at times, "went nuts" and put out fan base dividing albums, etc.  I for one hope SP regrouping is really huge too.  

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27 minutes ago, themadcaplaughs said:

Smashing Pumpkins is my all-time favorite band, so that was a cool moment for me. Billy has spoken very kindly of Guns N' Roses and Axl rose over the years, and even mentioned on Twitter a few years ago he would work on a song with Axl (in any capacity) in a heart beat if given the chance. I attended one of the VIP pre-shows for the In Plainsong Tour last year, and during the Q&A, someone asked Corgan if he had seen the new lineup with Slash and Duff or if he had seen any of the 2001-2014 lineups of the band. 

Billy said he had meant to see the band multiple times throughout the years, but never got the chance because whenever they played, he was working on a project or touring. He did say he REALLY wanted to see the newest lineup, so I'm glad he finally got to see them. He said he really liked Chinese Democracy, thought there were some genuinely beautiful moments on the album, and was impressed that he really did feel like it was the album Axl set out to make. 

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So it's just Corgan now, and he doesn't wince when his situation is compared to Axl Rose's. "I'm a fan, and maybe Chinese Democracy wasn't as great of a record as I would hope for, but it also gave me greater appreciation for what he actually does," says Corgan.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/billy-corgan-rock-god-interrupted-rolling-stones-2010-feature-20110103

Edited by EvanG
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@Amir Thanks so much for posting this.  Genuinely fascinating to hear Billy Corgan's perspective on Axl and GNR.  I'm a casual Pumpkins fan (got the obligatory Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness) and back in the day I wore the Zero shirt (also obligatory) and Bullet With Butterfly Wings was our anthem at one time.  

Billy's had his ups and downs but I've always liked him.  Surprised that he didn't think much of Chinese Democracy - would have thought it'd be right up his street actually.  So many parallels between Billy and Axl, so just great hearing his take on things.  

I want to know what he means by Axl being a 'free person' though.  

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Billy Corgan and Axl Rose are very similar in the sense that they were the last remaining member (both being the frontman) in their respective groups and continued them and continued to release new music under their names. Billy eventually got back the OG drummer, while Axl had Duff join for the 2014 tour and Izzy guesting at a fair amount of shows. All in all, I think Billy’s music wasn’t all that interesting after the prime of Smashing Pumpkins passed. While to me, Axl released an awesome album. Now, what information does this provide to the world? Absolutely nothing. Have a nice day. 

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1 minute ago, AxlRoseCDII said:

Billy Corgan and Axl Rose are very similar in the sense that they were the last remaining member (both being the frontman) in their respective groups and continued them and continued to release new music under their names. Billy eventually got back the OG drummer, while Axl had Duff join for the 2014 tour and Izzy guesting at a fair amount of shows. All in all, I think Billy’s music wasn’t all that interesting after the prime of Smashing Pumpkins passed. While to me, Axl released an awesome album. Now, what information does this provide to the world? Absolutely nothing. Have a nice day. 

 

Yeah SP is one of my all time favorite bands but after Adore, Billys stuff was not that great espeically his solo stuff. 

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1 minute ago, gnfnr2k said:

 

Yeah SP is one of my all time favorite bands but after Adore, Billys stuff was not that great espeically his solo stuff. 

Im the same, although Machina 2 briefly drew me back in. The output during the classic era was so prolific, like the Aeroplane Flies High box set that came out after a double album has a full EP of new material for each single they released and a bunch more then that even- all of which is really, really strong imo.  I like all of that better then his more recent output.  Theres still some good stuff though.  But the amount of really great songs he wrote in those years is just staggering.  

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9 minutes ago, AxlRoseCDII said:

All in all, I think Billy’s music wasn’t all that interesting after the prime of Smashing Pumpkins passed. While to me, Axl released an awesome album. Now, what information does this provide to the world? Absolutely nothing. Have a nice day. 

Actually that was perfect information for me, thanks. ^^ Because I was wondering what Billy went on to do.  So nothing remarkable then, huh?

I haven't heard anything past Mellon Collie.  For him, with his musical background, to not be into CD, I thought, wow, did he go on to explore other sounds or something?  Did he depart wildly from his original sound?  I'll have to go check out his career a bit now I guess.  

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5 minutes ago, MyPrettyTiedUpMichelle said:

Actually that was perfect information for me, thanks. ^^ Because I was wondering what Billy went on to do.  So nothing remarkable then, huh?

I haven't heard anything past Mellon Collie.  For him, with his musical background, to not be into CD, I thought, wow, did he go on to explore other sounds or something?  Did he depart wildly from his original sound?  I'll have to go check out his career a bit now I guess.  

Nothing too interesting by the standards of the mainstream and the fans. I have a friend who’s a super fan and she detests Billy’s work post Adore. Billy is known to be quite a hot head at his concerts and hates to play the hits and wishes his audience would appreciate them more (half asses the hits therefore)...sort of an opposite from Axl who loved to keep both going in his set.

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1 hour ago, AxlRoseCDII said:

Billy Corgan and Axl Rose are very similar in the sense that they were the last remaining member (both being the frontman) in their respective groups and continued them and continued to release new music under their names. Billy eventually got back the OG drummer, while Axl had Duff join for the 2014 tour and Izzy guesting at a fair amount of shows. All in all, I think Billy’s music wasn’t all that interesting after the prime of Smashing Pumpkins passed. While to me, Axl released an awesome album. Now, what information does this provide to the world? Absolutely nothing. Have a nice day. 

The only difference is that in GnR everyone contributed to the creative part of the band, while Billy was the Smashing Pumpkins. On the first couple of albums he even played most of the guitar and bass parts. Of course Jimmy was hard to replace, being the incredible drummer that he is, but in order to make a Smashing Pumpkins album he didn't really need the other two. Not saying they weren't important, I'm totally stoked for a possible reunion next year, but musically and creatively they didn't contribute a lot (except for the couple of songs James wrote).

Post Machina, Billy has still written some good songs in my opinion, but as a songwriter he never reached the height of the 90s anymore. I do like his solo album that he released last month.

 

Edited by EvanG
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25 minutes ago, EvanG said:

The only difference is that in GnR everyone contributed to the creative part of the band, while Billy was the Smashing Pumpkins. On the first couple of albums he even played most of the guitar and bass parts. Of course Jimmy was hard to replace, being the incredible drummer that he is, but in order to make a Smashing Pumpkins album he didn't really need the other two. Not saying they weren't important, I'm totally stoked for a possible reunion next year, but musically and creatively they didn't contribute a lot (except for the couple of songs James wrote).

Post Machina, Billy has still written some good songs in my opinion, but as a songwriter he never reached the height of the 90s anymore. I do like his solo album that he released last month.

 

Your totally correct- however they still did have playing credits on some albums and were the face of the band live in their peak meaning most fans won’t look beyond that. Lots of girls I know view Darcy as an icon for being a bassist in a rock band. Nostalgia is a powerful tool.

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9 minutes ago, AxlRoseCDII said:

Your totally correct- however they still did have playing credits on some albums and were the face of the band live in their peak meaning most fans won’t look beyond that. Lots of girls I know view Darcy as an icon for being a bassist in a rock band. Nostalgia is a powerful tool.

It really is a powerful tool.  iirc the debut album Gish had all the members recording all their own parts?  And then early in Siamese Dream (now on a major label) Butch and the A&R intervened, concerned that D'arcy wasnt up to standard and Billy agreed.  Its actually really common so I think its awesome that D'arcy acknowledged this unlike most players this happens too.  Also, having played on Gish and writing many of the Siamese baselines she definitely helped shape the signature sound with her style and tone, but just wasnt able to preform to studio standards.  Iha played more then D'arcy, but there were so many guitar tracks and Billy played more tracks.  The Solo in Zero is Iha and he kills it, imo.

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i look at billy corgan and i see a guy that managed to lose his entire band -- and was never able to release anything half as good as his input with his former band -- just like axl

good thing for him that he actually is a non-stop songwriting machine, aint him?

so much so that he pretty much doesnt really need anyone else to write, record and release music -- he can do that pretty much by himself

thats not axl`s case, is it?

Edited by ludurigan
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10 hours ago, AxlRoseCDII said:

Your totally correct- however they still did have playing credits on some albums and were the face of the band live in their peak meaning most fans won’t look beyond that. Lots of girls I know view Darcy as an icon for being a bassist in a rock band. Nostalgia is a powerful tool.

I think they started being more of a band during Mellon Collie, James even got two songs on that record, and everything was recorded more live instead of trying to make a perfect sonic record like with Siamese Dream. I agree, though, even if on the record and for the songwriting they weren't important factors, they definitely added something to the band and Billy is finally realizing that now... he's been talking a lot about that in recent interviews, and he said that he is only interested in doing the Smashing Pumpkins from now on if it is with the original lineup.

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17 hours ago, Wagszilla said:

I was planning on listening anyway and this gives an added incentive.

Billy is an interesting cat.

He's very intelligent and I like the way he is able to articulate things, whether that be music/politics/or society as a whole.  I find him quite fascinating 

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13 minutes ago, Free Bird said:

How positive a thread and all opinions about a person here can be when this person says something positive about Axl. 

Lets imagine now what the thread would look like if same person would have said something more critical about Axl.

Nah, Corgan has been a real douche in the past, he seems to be more reasonable lately, though. But as a musician I've always liked him... musically a lot more interesting and 'intelligent' than most of his peers from the 90s.

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Smashing Pumpkins reunion will be fascinating. Three of them already played together last year but by all accounts D’arcy ended up in a horrible place and has to be considered more of a liability to herself and her band than Steven would be in GNR.

I hope she and they can pull it off if it does happen next year.

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46 minutes ago, Stress Fracture said:

Smashing Pumpkins reunion will be fascinating. Three of them already played together last year but by all accounts D’arcy ended up in a horrible place and has to be considered more of a liability to herself and her band than Steven would be in GNR.

I hope she and they can pull it off if it does happen next year.

I don't think she has even played music since she left the band in 1999/2000, and you need at least some skills to play in that band, they're not exactly Nirvana or Blink 182, so I hope she can pull it off. We'll see.

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1 hour ago, Stress Fracture said:

Smashing Pumpkins reunion will be fascinating. Three of them already played together last year but by all accounts D’arcy ended up in a horrible place and has to be considered more of a liability to herself and her band than Steven would be in GNR.

I hope she and they can pull it off if it does happen next year.

I doubt D'arcy would be as big of liability to herself and others as Stven Adler would be if he toured with Guns N' Roses full time, but she would definitely have a lot of work to do getting to the place where she could keep up with Corgan. His relentless touring, recording, and rehearsing schedule led to her leaving the band in 1999, and by all accounts, Billy only pushes his band mates even harder than he used to. 

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