Smashing Pumpkins

[Communist China]

After hearing the CD twice now, Zeitgeist is my favorite album of 2007. The negative reviews are full of shit, this album IS the Pumpkins and it is intense. At times it is harder than Machina, more focused and direct than Mellon Collie, and with as much guitar glory and sonic power as Siamese Dream or Gish.

It just has it. It feels relevant (not talking about political theme or lyrics at all) and NOT because of the re-union 'gimmick'. The first 5 or 6 songs blow away all other competition for album of the year that I've heard, and quickly erase what I consider failures TheFutureEmbrace and Zwan. Especially impressed with Corgan's vocals after all these years, and Chamberlain's drumming is as good as I've ever heard.

A solid 4.5 out of 5 and it is clear that the Pumpkins are BACK.

[ShotgunBlues1978]

After one listen, really good album.  I love the drums and how big and mean the guitars sound at the beginning of Doomsday Clock.  Really good opening song.  The two Roy Thomas Baker produced songs Starz and Bring The Light are two of the best on the album.  Other standouts for me were 7 Shades Of Black, Bleeding THe Orchid, Come On Let's Go, and That's The Way My Love is. 

This sounds like a Pumpkins album is supposed to sound, big guitars, great drums, catchy vocal melodies and lyrics, songs that get stuck in your head, yeah it's all that IMO.   I could've done without some of the political shit but the music rocks and I like all the songs for the most part.  Good effort, good to hear that Corgan's back in form

[von]

After one listen, really good album.  I love the drums and how big and mean the guitars sound at the beginning of Doomsday Clock.  Really good opening song.  The two Roy Thomas Baker produced songs Starz and Bring The Light are two of the best on the album.  Other standouts for me were 7 Shades Of Black, Bleeding THe Orchid, Come On Let's Go, and That's The Way My Love is.

We have the same favorite tracks

Anyway, they kicked ass last night on Letterman. Check it out: http://youtube.com/watch?v=FP1yIfMeIQ0

Can't wait to see them perform again on Friday.

[ShotgunBlues1978]

After one listen, really good album.  I love the drums and how big and mean the guitars sound at the beginning of Doomsday Clock.  Really good opening song.  The two Roy Thomas Baker produced songs Starz and Bring The Light are two of the best on the album.  Other standouts for me were 7 Shades Of Black, Bleeding THe Orchid, Come On Let's Go, and That's The Way My Love is.

We have the same favorite tracks

Anyway, they kicked ass last night on Letterman. Check it out: http://youtube.com/watch?v=FP1yIfMeIQ0

Can't wait to see them perform again on Friday.

Thanks for the link to that performance, I didn't get a chance to see it.  Nice show.  Wish they would've shown an extended shot of Ginger though 


I knew this album would get mixed reviews so I pretty much ignored them until I'd heard it for myself.  One, I knew some critics would say Billy was desperate to get back into the spotlight so he resurrected the name, that's nonsense, this is every bit a Pumpkins record.  And the press likes to rip on Billy more than any other rock star not named Axl Rose, so you knew some people had pretty much made up their mind they weren't going to give it a good review before they even heard the album.  Whatever though.  Most fans of the band will like the album, that's all that really matters

[von]

The closest I can see them on this tour is at the Orpheum in Boston. Anyone been there before, what's it like? They're playing two nights there. I've never seen a band on a multi-night engagement (didn't see the GN'R Hammerstein "comeback" shows). What's usually the more crowded, first or last night? I wanna go, but I don't know anything about the venue and how crowded it gets.

[GnFnR87]

okay, after the first listen i must say its a tad underwhelming but does have its moments. i'm sure it'll grow on me. hell, even Siamese Dream i didn't like too much right off the bat!!

i wanna listen to it more then i'll be back to talk specifics.


o yeah, Pomp and Circumstances is really cool and beautfiul. this was the standout for me, great atmosphere and ambience, as well as awesome guitar work and lyrics.

[GnFnR87]

the only thing i'm not too fond of is Billy corgan's vocal layering. its okay, but the songs they've played from Zeitgeist live sound alot cooler with Ginger and Lisa's backing vocals.

[Communist China]

The only track I don't like is United States, although I've never been one for the long Pumpkins tunes. It seems like some of the energy is sucked out then and it's a slow climb to get back to really feeling energy in the record, although listening to the tracks following United States individually they're all good.

[GnFnR87]

The only track I don't like is United States, although I've never been one for the long Pumpkins tunes. It seems like some of the energy is sucked out then and it's a slow climb to get back to really feeling energy in the record, although listening to the tracks following United States individually they're all good.

i didnt like the first half of that song but once it picked up i was pretty impressed.

Silverfuck is still my favorite pumpkins epic.?love that song 

[bazgnr]

Yeah, it gets a lot better after a few listens it's one of my fav 07 albums already

Hmm.  I have yet to buy it, and what I've heard didn't really do much for me.   I'm a big fan of the Pumpkins, and to me, they've alway been about pummeling, bombastic metal fused with pop melodies and softer, catchy instrumentation.  To me, Zeitgeist seems to be all of the former and none of the latter, and I'm having a hard time getting into it based on the bits I've heard.

Hopefully, like you say, it will grow on me in time.   

[ShotgunBlues1978]

Looks like Zeitgeist is headed toward a debut of 150,000, not too shabby. 

I'm really liking the title track right now.  It works well as an album closer, it's very relaxed and subdued, and I like the music and the vocal melodies on it quite a bit

[GnFnR87]

Looks like Zeitgeist is headed toward a debut of 150,000, not too shabby.?

I'm really liking the title track right now.? It works well as an album closer, it's very relaxed and subdued, and I like the music and the vocal melodies on it quite a bit

150K is not bad. i was expecting it to be a little better but with album sales down overall cuz everyones downloading, its still good.

after repeated listens, Zeitgeist is solid. hopefuly they are just warming up and the next one will kick even more ass!!

[GnFnR87]

whoa, check this out

An Open Letter From Billy Coragn

July 10, 2007

My Dear Friends,

Today is the greatest day you've ever known.

Seven years, seven months, and ten days ago, the clock struck midnight, 2000, and the world began turning faster. Back then, I disbanded the Smashing Pumpkins because the new millennium demanded it. A new age needed a new start?cleanliness and unity, not the confused, confusing wreck I let the band become.

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. We founded Alternative Nation, and the kids and advertisers flocked around. But because the band had become bloated, overbearing, headstrong, because it grew beyond my control, it had to die. I killed it before it killed me.

And now, after all those years of self-imposed obscurity, of forced poetry, of side projects mired in mediocrity and too many guitarists, I bring us, together, here, to the corner of Future Avenue and Now Street. This is our moment! 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.

As for the music, the critics won't get it. They never have. My old fans?the ones whose lives were changed by Gish and Siamese Dream?won't get it. They will complain that the sound is too dense, too severe, too, yes, overbearing. But the New Generation is the one I'm speaking to, the one that needs to know that My Chemical Romance and Panic! At the

Disco couldn't exist without me. Whether they want to know doesn't matter. This Zeitgeist is not consensual?it's here, whether you understand it or not.

Several weeks ago, I released "Tarantula" to prime the public for the coming onslaught. The song is the sound of one ego exploding (mine), the sound of an entire album in just one song. You'll like it because it has the same skyrocketing guitar riff as "Cherub Rock," and you liked "Cherub Rock" back in 1993. You still like it, because it is one of the best songs ever recorded. But now, instead of one guitar playing one riff, there are more?way more?guitars. And more riffs. It's awesome, in the original sense of the word. It might scare you.

Fear is the effect I'm going for. Fear and exhaustion. But "Tarantula" is not the scariest or most exhausting song on the album. That honor goes to "United States"?a triumphant teenage anthem that sounds like the closing solo of "War Pigs," refracted and stretched into nine minutes. Remember, I was subtle once: "Drown," from the Singles soundtrack, was haunting in its minimal, dissonant beauty. But the Zeitgeist has no time for subtlety, friends, and neither do you. Hence song titles like "United States" and "For God and Country" and "Pomp and Circumstance." Even more than you need more guitars, you need more meaning. And I bring it to you:

Dulcet tones whisper fast

Refuse your yearns, renounce the past

Rouse me soon, the end draws nigh

Whose side are you on

Your blood you cannot buy.

Revolution!

Revolution!

Revolution!

Yes! Zeitgeisty!

Every revolution needs a counterpoint, and that would be "Bring the Light," the one song with a discernable, singable hook, the one song that's remotely accessible. It's got a melody that burns with the same adolescent struggle as those Siamese Dream days. Naturally, it stands out: Hooks and singability are not really the zeitgeist. At least not this Zeitgeist.

Here is what you must understand: Nothing has changed since 1999, except my budget. And Pro Tools. I am still the same alt-rock messiah I was. You are still my teenage flock.

Trust me.

Your zero,
Billy Corgan
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=262627

is he serious? this sounds very sarcastic. hes an interesting guy....

[Jim Bob]

I can't wait to check this album out.   

[ShotgunBlues1978]

That letter seems very tongue in cheek with Corgan embracing the persona of the control freak/egomaniac the and his detractors have carved out for him.  Funny stuff

[Communist China]

Hahaha, that's a funny press release. It's fairly obvious he's joking. Great album with all sarcasm aside, anyways.

[Eva GnRAxlRosette]

um...okay Billy ?

so um... yeah... what were we saying... oh yeah, thats right

... I really like the album...

[GeraldFord]

So now he's saying his solo album and ZWAN sucked?

[BaDoBsEsSiOn418]

Man, if only Axl would write a sarcastic letter like that when CD comes out.  It would probably be the length of an entire novel, but entertaining nonetheless!

[Eva GnRAxlRosette]

Man, if only Axl would write a sarcastic letter like that when CD comes out.? It would probably be the length of an entire novel, but entertaining nonetheless!

no!? please no!? the album will be entertainment enough for me...
and garner attention enough for Axl on its on without ANYTHING like this...
um... let the music speak for itsself!? lol!? ?