Corgan Compares Chamberlin to Bonham

Corgan talks some sense this time;

Are there other things you admire about Zeppelin?
When John Bonham died, they announced the band is done. They didn't step back and think about it. I've always respected that, because he was their brother and they knew it wasn't gonna be the same without him. And I had to learn those lessons the hard way. When Jimmy Chamberlin left the band in '96, I thought, "I'll just get somebody. The band is big and we'll find somebody great. It won't be the same, but it'll be just as good in a different way." It just doesn't work like that. You just don't replace your brother like that.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-billy-corgan-on-vocal-smashing-pumpkins-fans-led-zeppelins-greatness-20120618#ixzz1yBBqjS1z

 

Listen to Chamberlin's take on Moby Dick

Billy Corgan Stirs the Shit, Again...

None too surprisingly with an album to promote, "spiritually enlightened" Corgan once again grabs the headlines by bad-mouthing former friends/lovers/bandmates/other bands... etc etc etc ... from our pals over at HU here's a portion of a recent interview in NME:

Billy Corgan: Success held that band together longer than it should have been held together. It was dysfunctional. There were a lot of years there where I regretted the way it all went down, and now I think it was meant to die when it died how it died. We stole from the Promethean fire to fuel whatever our weird psychic death trip was and then we paid for it. Or got too close to the sun and crashed. It was just meant to be that way. And you can draw parallels from that with Jimmy’s situation [when he left the band in 2009] because maybe that was just a continuance of something that hadn’t been resolved back then.

NME/Emily Mackay: He said in his statement on leaving that he “couldn’t just cash the cheque”…

Corgan: See now, here is a perfect opportunity to bury Jimmy as a fucking liar. But I won’t. That’s a lie. That statement’s just a flat-out lie.

NME: Was it that you wanted to take the band in a commercial direction, and he didn’t?

Corgan: Ha ha! No, it’s the exact opposite. I wish I could explain it, but I don’t trust the world to understand the complexity of it. I think it’s telling that the first thing Jimmy did when he left the band was make a statement about money because that had a lot to do with it. But if you look at what I’ve done since he left, where have I made money?

Later: 

NME: Do you still feel any rancour towards the other band members about the way it ended? 

Corgan: Uhhh… I’m OK with Jimmy. We don’t have a relationship at the moment, but I mean, I have no ill will. I want to see him do well. James Iha I think is just a piece of shit. I think he’s one of the worst human beings I’ve ever met in my life. And D’Arcy, she’s sort of, in her own way, sort of an innocent [...]If there’s any culprit in this it’s Iha. But, y’know, he was there at the right time of my life, we did do good things together, I think he is a good musician when he gives a fuck, which most of the time he doesn’t. And that’s about it.

I'm not even going to bother to try and unravel the layers of bullshit in the above statements.

Corgan Continues Charm Offensive...

Further to Corgan's most recent contradiction, thanks to Machine Somehow reader Chris and Arachnea, here's a little extract from a recent interview Corgan conducted with Mojo Magazine here in the UK, where he continues to lavish praise on musical soulmate Jimmy Chamberlin... 

Mojo: You were playing with James and D'arcy but the arrival of Jimmy Chamberlin changed everything. How?

Corgan: When Jimmy joined the band we were playing a lot of kind of Cure type songs, very simple beats. Right away I could tell it was almost like he was playing dumb. We had one heavyish song and he was playing it without breaking sweat when any other drummer would have been huffing and puffing, so it wasn't too long before we sold our Jazz Chorus amps – which were the alternative amp of choice – and we got Marshall half-stacks. The louder we played, the louder he played. He was always one step ahead of us. There was nothing Jimmy couldn't do. Jimmy is an incredible emotional interpreter of the song, He would bring these emotional swells, almost like an orchestral swish, to what we were doing.

Did the band come close to splitting around Mellon Collie…?
No... Are you going to kick out one of the greatest drummers in the world who just helped make this massive album? Are you going to kick him out when you are playing this sold-out tour all around the world?...

In 2001 you and Jimmy formed Zwan with Matt Sweeney (Chavez), Dave Pajo (Slint/Sterolab) and Paz Lenchantin. What were you trying to achieve?

Jimmy and I had held this myth that if James and D'arcy had been better musicians the Pumpkins would have been bigger. So Zwan was an attempt at getting better musicians. It wasn't designed to be grandiose like the pumpkins, it was the opposite – let's have some fun, let's make a really good record with people we like. We went to Key West and rented a house. We would sit on the front porch and write songs and play all this kind of groovy stuff. Then, when it got serious the whole thing started to blow up and it was like "Oh my god, I am in the same nightmare again." It was the classic thing where you get out of a bad relationship and you think, "I am never going to do that again," and you go out and get the same kind of girlfriend but worse. That's what I did.

Did Corgan just sort of Appologise to Chamberlin...?

Thanks HU xx

Here's a transcript for part of an interview on Radio 1's Zane Lowe program, with Billy Corgan, celebrating Siamese Dream.

Corgan contradicts his previous remarks about the end of his relationship with former Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin...

Zane Lowe: How can you guys not be in contact still? Even if you’re not making music, if you have that kind of spiritual kinship? That’s deeper than that! Isn’t it?

Billy Corgan: You know, we’ve all had — and this may sound a little bit strange, but — we’ve all had great romances in our life, you know? And, they don’t always all go the way we want them to. And it doesn’t mean we don’t love, and doesn’t mean we don’t think fondly of… But I think relationships run their course. Jimmy and I made so much incredible music together, so, you know, if we never play together again, that’s okay with me.

He — you know, I want to speak for him for a second, I feel I can — he wanted to have his own musical journey. He was always on my musical journey. And so I have to really bow my hat to him and say…I think it’s that time in his life where he has to have his own musical journey. He’s entitled to it. He’s earned that. I understand why a fan would want to see him play with me and play those songs. He did it. Maybe having his own band and having his own music experience and not having somebody sort of veto over his head what the drum fill should be…I mean, you’ve got to remember, as psychic as that relationship was, he had to deal with me going, “Nah, I don’t really like that drum fill.” You know, “Can you slow that part down?” Because as the songwriter you get to make the calls. And he was always so so supportive of my music, so, I can’t say a bad word about it. I just think we reached a point where there was nothing else to do, and that’s that. The ugliness part is just the part of…that just goes with breaking up.

Billy Corgan Finally Talks some Sense

Q. You're the only original member of The Smashing Pumpkins and I've heard a lot of people say, 'Well, that's not the real Smashing Pumpkins.' What do you say to that?
A. "I say, of course it's not the real Smashing Pumpkins..."

Announcing: Major Smashing Pumpkins Announcement - Coming Soon

Back in December 2010, Billy Corgan announced he was going to announce something; following further announcements, Corgan has announced another announcement about what is presumably the last announcement about the announcement;

"Major @smashingpumpkin announcement this coming Tuesday. Regards new and old SP music. Big changes…exciting news.”

Grunge Report wishes "it was that Jimmy Chamberlin was re-joining the band". Don't think it's going to  happen I'm afraid guys.

Here's my predictions: Smashing Pumpkins Billy Corgan has signed a new record deal as 'Smashing Pumpkins 3.0' - 'SP3' have abandoned the ridiculous 'teargarden release method and Billy will be releassing some unreleased SP1 music (at some point in the future).

Idiocy aside, any [new] Smashing Pumpkins music with Chamberlin playing is good news as far as I'm concerned.

Corgan Forgets Zeitgeist...

Both [new] songs feature contributions from everyone in the band, the first time that's happened for me since 2003!

You Can't Quit, You're Fired.

Anyone remember this little article in RS, where Corgan claimed to have fired Jimmy Chamberlin from the Smashing Pumpkins in 2009?  As you recall, this was contrary to the previous statement by Chamberlin and indeed, Chamberlin denied Corgan's account himself in the RS article.

Well, guess what, Corgan's recollection of the affair, is a different this time around in a new interview with the Sidney Morning Herald.

"...it was a serious decision for both of us..."

Corgan states about the departure of Chamberlin. Last time I thought about what being fired by someone meant, it had little to do with a decision made by both parties...  

He continues "...we had invested a lot of energy bringing the band back. There was a point where we couldn't see eye to eye". This, at least seems more congrous with Chamberlin's own account. Then, in a reversal of his original "fuck you", Corgan actually echo's Chamberlin's original sentiments towards his one time 'musical soulmate', saying "I wish him the best. He's an incredible musician [the best drummer in the world - by Corgan's own account - DP]".

However, he again wraps himself up in another contradiction as he goes on to complain that his solo record was ignored because it wasn't "Smashing Pumpkins". What basis then does he have to expect something different of his ex-bandmates? But he does; "The stuff they have done (since) is off the radar from the general public."

Now, considering he hasn't spoken to Chamberlin since his departure, I guess he isn't aware that Chamberlin has been working on an new album, by This, this past year.  Maybe this isn't wider public knowledge, but since Chamberlin decided to take himself out of the music hype machine, taking a stance against prolific self-publicisation last year, maybe he doesn't... [deep breath]... care. I'm sure if he did and played by Billy's rules, he would undoubtedly have made an announcement about making an announcement, about announcing how great it will be, well before now... 

But perhaps, just perhaps, he has slightly more important things to do beside coaxing "a wider public knowledge" of his forthcoming record. Perhaps like Jimmy has said, his family means a little more than a bunch of cash and a few gold records.