Last night’s Chris Isaak Hour featured Billy Corgan and his now departed bandmate Jimmy Chamberlin in a predictably petulant Q&A intercut with sweet acoustic performances to remind us why we still care about the Smashing Pumpkins. Along with their touring musicians, Chamberlin and a harmonica-playing Corgan were joined by horns and violin on four post-Zeitgeist tracks plus an Issak-assisted cover of “Nowhere Man.” Isaak is a charming, able interviewer, getting the Smashing frontman to open up about the fans who hate their music, his dad who hates his singing, his former bandmates who have no talent, and Kurt Cobain who “wasn’t necessarily the nicest person.” Cobain and Corgan had a “strange” relationship, he says, because “the night I threw Courtney Love out of my apartment is the night she famously walked down the street and ended up in his bed.” Chamberlin also makes some petty comments about former bandmates James Iha and Darcy Wretzky, claiming their only contribution to the band was “high fashion” and implying they didn’t know how to play their instruments. The performance segments were more successful. Watch…
“Owata”
“99 Floors”
“The Rose March”
“Sunkissed”
“Nowhere Man” (With Chris Isaak)
Now we blame Chris Isaak for Chamberlin quitting the band, right? FYI drummer auditions have been pushed back to 4/14. Good luck everybody.
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I don’t think that Billy is necessarily the nicest person.
billy comes off as completely self-absorbed (surprise) and jimmy tries too hard to be funny, but goddamn – it’s entertaining
Wow, Corgan was bitching about other people? That’s crazy. Next up, Billy takes on Tinted Windows
Can we get him to piss off Trent Reznor so Trent can rip him a new one a la Cornell?
You can’t be a humble artist? What!?! Billy Corgan is nuts. Most artists are aware of the limitations of their art. They are aware that through their art they express a unique world view that may not be shared by everyone else. Many artists realize and appreciate the long legacy of music they derive their art from. They are also deeply aware that there are other artists more talented or that express themselves musically in a different but equally compelling way. You can be humble – and maybe humility is preferred.
Billy, please stop. You’re ruining my 90s love of the Pumpkins every time you open your mouth or write a new song. And if you could quit calling your solo project the Smashing Pumpkins that would be awesome.
For someone who doesn’t know how to play his instrument, James Iha sure has been able to hold his own over the years in the several bands he’s been in.
haha yeah tinted windows is an amazing band.
You guys are straight up bad communicators. Sure, highlight the “headline worthy” quotes but please at least back them up and counteract them with the rest of the intelligent conversation instead of going straight for the fashionable kill. In this readers opinion, your story is nothing short of cheap, “hit” hungry BS. Shame on you.
Do you seriously expect anything else? Here’s the real disconnect: this show was taped in the midst of a tour Stereogum repeatedly slagged, but now that they listen to some of the music they actually find it to be “sweet”. (And for the record, yes, these songs were performed with the exact same acoustic instrumentation in concert.)
i liked those performances though. it does remind me of when i used to care about the Pumpkins. I think i still do a little, i just ignore when Billy talks…
I listened to the songs on this post and they are really good. Cant people just listen and enjoy the music, get over the 90′s the actual music is all you should care about. And why would you want a sane artist, the best musicians are always unstable or off-balance in some way, you have to be to do what they do. Hence this episode of the Chris Isaak hour was very entertaining. If they want to speak their minds and act as musicians then great.
The title of this article is inappropriate and not professional in my opinion, and in no way has Iha held his own over the years, because 95% of the general public still has no idea who he is. No offense to him, but his replacement guitarist Jeff is much more skilled as a guitar player.
the ideal of the mad genius is boring and contrived. besides, corgan isn’t insane, he’s just a douche who spends all his time shitting on his own legacy.
1979 changed my life, but fuck that guy.
I never stopped caring about SP, and these 4 songs remind me why.
I will miss Jimmy, though.
I attended one of the NYC concerts and the problem wasn’t the new acoustic songs (Wish he would release them, would make a really great EP) it was the self indulgent 10-15 minute clunkers that he insisted on playing, completely ruined the show for me an a lot of other people that I saw leave during the encore. The first half of the concert was like a 8.5, while the second half was around a 2.
I watched the show last night and was struck by how bored and angry all the supporting musicians appeared when playing.
Is Corgan gonna ever decide to grow any hair again?
Who cares about your “legacy” this was a great performance in my opinion and great songs. It must suck to have people hold you to what you were in the 90′s when you continue to make great songs, F that. This makes me appreciate these songs more. I was at a recent Chicago show of theirs and i didnt take notice of these songs because they played them after their 15 minute rock epics (or clunkers apparently??) which blew me away. I wish they would play one of those 10-15min songs on tv just once. Might shut people up.
I’m actually 26, but to see the pumpkins degenerate like this, I’ve grown older for plus 20 years. Saw them 2 years ago for the last time. I knew this would gonna lead nowhere.
Jimmy must feel so totally bored!
i think billy corgan shot kurt cobain.
i do think melancholy is a genius album, its just too bad that 90′s bands have a hard time reviving things, i think billy has the capacity he just thinks it can be too easy now…
way to misconstrue the entire feeling of the whole interview.
I saw the real Pumpkins a couple of times. James Iha and Darcy Wretzky played just fine. timbonius, you are in the small minority. Corgan is a whiney washed up popstar. Go away Billy, just go away!
Billy boo-boo should refrain from eating STEAK/dead animals. He may have less self loathing sans a cemetery in his stomach. I don’t even get the SPs’???Who cares?Why am commenting?Bewlidered.
Billy..Go back to Paul Chabala.Refresh.
“The Rose March” – best!!!!
15-minute clunkers? Man, in the 70′s, people would have killed to hear Jimmy Page tear it up for 15 minutes, but when Corgan does it it’s self-indulgent? This is the direction the Pumpkins have been moving since before the breakup, more prog, less pop. Their semi-acoustic songs are the only real catchy newer songs. The electric stuff is meant to melt your face off. I agree with timbonius that they should play Gossamer or I Am One pt. 2 just once on TV, so people all over can be like, “Wow, I get it.”
Maybe I’m in the minority, but I tend to find all 10-15 minute songs purely indulgent and usually terrible. I like all off the pumpkins albums (Even Zeitgeist, Doomsday Clock and Thats The Way would be hits if they were on Mellon Collie) I just don’t think the future of the Pumpkins reside in 15 minute songs that are only enjoyable if your on drugs. These acoustic songs are a MUCH better direction.
He should audition singers instead of drummers.
The sad thing about Billy Corgan is that his BEST album ‘Adore’ was completely derailed by critics and idiotic fans yelling ‘play something HEAVY Billy?!!’ at every show on that tour. ‘Adore’ is criminally underrated and should have been the beginning of a new excting cycle for the Pumpkins – instead Billy did a Rivers Coumo and tried to please everyone on subsequent releases and just got caught in the middle of nowhere.
Sad reallly..
“Chamberlin also makes some petty comments about former bandmates James Iha and Darcy Wretzky, claiming their only contribution to the band was “high fashion” and implying they didn’t know how to play their instruments.”
Which is precisely why they were AWESOME. I love their old performances where James Iha’s guitar was turned way too loud and he just thrashed away sloppily. That made me want to be a musician. Now, it’s like watching some prog band covering old Smashing Pumpkins songs. LAME
I wonder how many of you sad people could even muster a split hairs’ amount of the talent that Billy corgan has. Piss off.
Riight.
We shouldn’t be allowed to have opinions about art unless they are favorable… or if we’re at least as talented as Billy Corgan.
Well, I’m more talented. I am just not terribly creative or driven. I’m allowed to call b-boy a twat now… right?
I have listened to SP since Siamese Dream. I quit listening at Melancholy, because at the time I thought that the band went down the wrong road. I also quit listening to them because of a shitty concert at Bloomington, (also during the Siamese tour). Years later I started listening to the back catalog again and I remembered why I listened in the first place. Machina I and II are genius, hell I even like Billy’s solo album and Zwan. I am going to miss Jimmy however. All the naysayers here can kiss my ass, yea Billy’s an ass, but he is a sure shitted talented ass. His guitar playing has more soul than I have heard in a long time. VIVA LA PUMPKINS!
I watched this episode and didn’t find either of them to be particularly ‘pissy’. There may have been a few snide remarks (mainly from Jimmy), but they seemed to be somewhat tongue in cheek. Seemed like a fairly candid and honest recount of the past from both of them. Billy seemed visibly upset like he was about to cry when talking about the way James supposedly treated him.
I wish Chris Isaak hadn’t insisted on getting up on stage with the Pumpkins to waste our time with yet another straightforward Beatles cover. There’s a tad bit of “ego” going on there. If he hadn’t, the Pumpkins might have had time to perform the new “Song for a Son” (typically played in a set along with the other new acoustic numbers they did).
i like how corgan and chamberlain pretty much just got two ppl who look like james iha and Darcy Wretzky. well…when u cant have the real ones might as well clone em’!!
Hey people i love how people with no talent allways have some shit to talk about. When you kids do something great like SP do then you can run your mouths. Untill then let the talented people do their own thing. GROW UP KIDS. SP, BIlly and Jimmy, you both kicked ass. Allways have always will.