The Smashing Pumpkins
Encyclopedia
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock
band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan
frontman (lead vocals, lead guitar) and James Iha
(rhythm guitar), the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin
(drums), D'arcy Wretzky
(bass), and currently includes Jeff Schroeder
(rhythm guitar, backing vocals) Mike Byrne
(drums), and Nicole Fiorentino
(bass guitar, backing vocals) amongst its membership.
Disavowing the punk rock
roots of many of their alt-rock contemporaries, the Pumpkins have a diverse, densely layered and guitar-heavy sound, containing elements of gothic rock
, grunge
, heavy metal
, dream pop
, psychedelic rock
, progressive rock
, shoegaze
r-style production and, in later recordings, electronica
. Frontman Billy Corgan is the group's primary songwriter—his grand musical ambitions and cathartic lyrics have shaped the band's albums and songs, which have been described as "anguished, bruised reports from Billy Corgan's nightmare-land".
The Smashing Pumpkins broke into the musical mainstream with their second album, Siamese Dream
(1993). The group built its audience with extensive touring and their follow-up, the double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
(1995), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200
album chart. With 18.75 million albums sold in the United States alone, The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the 1990s. However, internal fighting, drug use, and diminishing record sales led to a 2000 break-up.
In 2006, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin reconvened to record a new Smashing Pumpkins album, Zeitgeist
. The band toured with a rotating lineup of between five and nine musicians through much of 2007 and 2008 before Chamberlin left the band in early 2009. New drummer Mike Byrne and bassist/vocalist Nicole Fiorentino solidified a new lineup with Corgan and Schroeder, toured through much of 2010, and are currently recording the albums Teargarden by Kaleidyscope
and Oceania
.
After the breakup of his gothic rock
band The Marked, singer and guitarist Billy Corgan left St. Petersburg
, Florida, to return to his native city of Chicago, where he took a job in a record store and hatched the idea of a new band that would be called "The Smashing Pumpkins". While working there, he met guitarist James Iha. Adorning themselves with paisley
and other psychedelic trappings, the two began writing songs together (with the aid of a drum machine
) that were heavily influenced by The Cure
and New Order
. The duo performed live for the first time on July 9, 1988, at the Polish bar Chicago 21. This performance included only Corgan and Iha with a drum machine. Shortly thereafter, Corgan met D'arcy Wretzky after a show by the Dan Reed Network
where they argued the merits of the band. After finding out Wretzky played bass, Corgan recruited her into the lineup and the now-trio played a show at the Avalon Nightclub. After this show, Cabaret Metro
owner Joe Shanahan
agreed to book the band on the condition that they replace the drum machine with a live drummer.
Jazz
drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was recommended by a friend of Corgan's. Chamberlin knew little of alternative music and immediately changed the sound of the nascent band. As Corgan recalled of the period, "We were completely into the sad-rock, Cure kind of thing. It took about two or three practices before I realized that the power in his playing was something that enabled us to rock harder than we could ever have imagined." On October 5, 1988, the complete band took the stage for the first time at the Cabaret Metro.
In 1989, The Smashing Pumpkins made their first appearance on record with the compilation album Light Into Dark, which featured several Chicago alternative bands. The group released its first single
, "I Am One
", in 1990 on local Chicago label Limited Potential. The single sold out and they released a follow-up, "Tristessa
", on Sub Pop
, after which they signed to Caroline Records. The band recorded their 1991 debut album Gish
with producer Butch Vig
at his Smart Studios
in Madison, Wisconsin
, for $20,000. In order to gain the consistency he desired, Corgan often played all instruments save drums, which created tension in the band. The music fused heavy metal
guitars, psychedelia and dream pop
, garnering them comparisons to Jane's Addiction
. Gish became a minor success, with the single "Rhinoceros
" receiving some airplay on modern rock
radio. After releasing the Lull EP
in October 1991 on Caroline Records, the band formally signed with Virgin Records
, which was affiliated with Caroline. The band supported the album with a tour that included opening for bands such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers
, Jane's Addiction, and Guns N' Roses
. During the tour, Iha and Wretzky went through a messy breakup, Chamberlin became addicted to narcotics and alcohol, and Corgan entered a deep depression, writing some songs for the upcoming album in the parking garage where he lived at the time.
bands such as Nirvana
and Pearl Jam
, The Smashing Pumpkins were poised for major commercial success. At this time, the Pumpkins were routinely lumped in with the grunge movement, with Corgan protesting, "We've graduated now from [being called] 'the next Jane's Addiction' to 'the next Nirvana,' now we're 'the next Pearl Jam.'"
Amid this environment of intense internal pressure for the band to break through to widespread popularity, the band relocated to Marietta, Georgia
in late 1992 to begin work on their second album, with Butch Vig returning as producer. The decision to record so far away from their hometown was motivated partly by the band's desire to avoid friends and distractions during the recording, but largely as a desperate attempt to cut Chamberlin off from his known drug connections. The recording environment for Siamese Dream
was quickly marred by discord within the band. As was the case with Gish, Corgan and Vig decided that Corgan should play nearly all of the guitar and bass parts on the album, contributing to an air of resentment. The contemporary music press began to portray Corgan as a tyrant. Corgan's depression, meanwhile, had deepened to the point where he contemplated suicide, and he compensated by practically living in the studio. Meanwhile, Chamberlin quickly managed to find new connections and was often absent without any contact for days at a time. In all, it took over four months to complete the record, with the budget exceeding $250,000.
Despite all the problems in its recording, Siamese Dream debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200
chart, and sold over four million copies in the U.S. alone. Alongside the band's mounting mainstream recognition, the band's reputation as careerists among their former peers in the independent music community was worsened. Indie rock
band Pavement's
1994 song "Range Life" directly mocks the band in its lyrics, although Stephen Malkmus
, lead singer of Pavement, has stated, "I never dissed their music. I just dissed their status." Former Hüsker Dü
frontman Bob Mould
called them "the grunge Monkees
", and fellow Chicago musician/producer Steve Albini
wrote a scathing letter in response to an article praising the band, derisively comparing them to REO Speedwagon
("by, of and for the mainstream") and concluding their ultimate insignificance. The opening track and lead single of Siamese Dream, "Cherub Rock
", directly addresses Corgan's feud with the "indie-world".
In 1994, Virgin released the B-sides/rarities compilation Pisces Iscariot
which charted higher than Siamese Dream by reaching number four on the Billboard 200. Also released was a VHS cassette titled Vieuphoria
featuring a mix of live performances and behind-the-scenes footage. Following relentless touring to support the recordings, including headline slots on the 1994 Lollapalooza
tour and at Reading Festival in 1995, the band took time off to write the follow-up album.
to work on what Corgan described as "The Wall
for Generation X
", a comparison with the 1979 Pink Floyd
two-LP concept album
.
The result was Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
, a double album
featuring twenty-eight songs and lasting over two hours (the vinyl version of the album contained three records, two extra songs, and an alternate tracklisting). The songs were intended to hang together conceptually as a symbol of the cycle of life and death. Praised by Time
as "the group's most ambitious and accomplished work yet", Mellon Collie debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in October 1995. Even more successful than Siamese Dream, it was certified nine times platinum in the United States and became the best-selling double album of the decade to date. It also garnered seven 1997 Grammy Award
nominations, including Album of the Year. The band won only the Best Hard Rock Performance
award, for the album's lead single "Bullet with Butterfly Wings
". The album spawned five singles—"Bullet with Butterfly Wings", "1979
", "Zero
", "Tonight, Tonight", and "Thirty-Three
"—of which the first three were certified gold and all but "Zero" entered the Top 40. Many of the remaining songs that did not make it onto Mellon Collie were released as B-sides to the singles, and were eventually compiled in The Aeroplane Flies High
box set. As a testament to the band's popularity, Virgin Records originally intended to limit the set to 200,000 copies, but produced more after the original run sold out due to overwhelming demand.
In 1996, the Pumpkins embarked on an extended world tour in support of Mellon Collie. Corgan's look during this period—a shaved head, a longsleeve black shirt with the word "Zero" printed on it, and silver pants—became iconic. That year, the band also made a guest appearance in an episode of The Simpsons
, "Homerpalooza
". With considerable video rotation on MTV, major industry awards, and "Zero" shirts selling in many malls
, the Pumpkins were considered one of the most popular bands of the time. But the year was far from entirely positive for the band. In May, the Smashing Pumpkins played a gig at The Point Theatre
in Dublin, Ireland. Despite the band's repeated requests for mosh
ing to stop, a seventeen-year-old fan named Bernadette O'Brien was crushed to death. The concert ended early and the following night's performance in Belfast was cancelled out of respect for her. However, while Corgan maintained that moshing's "time [had] come and gone", the band would continue to request open-floor concerts throughout the rest of the tour.
The band suffered a personal tragedy on the night of July 11, 1996, when touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin
and Chamberlin overdosed on heroin in a hotel room in New York City. Melvoin died, and Chamberlin was arrested for drug possession. A few days later, the band announced that Chamberlin had been fired as a result of the incident. The Pumpkins chose to finish the tour, and hired drummer Matt Walker
and keyboardist Dennis Flemion
. Corgan later said the decision to continue touring was the worst decision the band had ever made, damaging both their music and their reputation. Meanwhile the band had given interviews since the release of Mellon Collie stating that it would be the last conventional Pumpkins record, and that rock was becoming stale. James Iha said at the end of 1996, "The future is in electronic music. It really seems boring just to play rock music."
After the release of Mellon Collie, the Pumpkins contributed multiple songs to various compilations. Released in early 1997, the song "Eye
" relied almost exclusively on electronic instruments and signaled a drastic shift from the Pumpkins’ previous musical styles. At the time, Corgan stated his "idea [was] to reconfigure the focus and get away from the classic guitars-bass-drum rock format." Later that year, the group contributed "The End is the Beginning is the End
" to the soundtrack for the film Batman & Robin. With Matt Walker
on drums, the song featured a heavy sound similar to "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" while still having strong electronic influences. The song later won the 1998 Grammy
for Best Hard Rock Performance
. Though Corgan announced that the song represented the sound people could expect from the band in the future, the band’s next album would feature few guitar driven songs.
Recorded following the death of Corgan's mother and his divorce, 1998's Adore represented a significant change of style from the Pumpkins' previous guitar-based rock, veering into electronica. The record, cut with assistance from studio drummers and drum machines, was infused with a darker aesthetic than much of the band's earlier work. The group also modified its public image, shedding its alternative hipster look for a more subdued appearance. Although Adore received favorable reviews and was nominated for Best Alternative Performance at the Grammy Awards, the album had only sold about 830,000 copies in the United States by the end of the year, which led the music industry to consider it a failure. The album nonetheless sold three times as many copies overseas. The band embarked on a seventeen-date, fifteen-city charity North American tour in support of Adore. At each stop on the tour, the band donated 100 percent of tickets sales to a local charity organization. The tour's expenses were entirely funded out of the band's own pockets. All told, the band donated over $2.8 million to charity as a result of the tour.
In 1999, the band surprised fans by reuniting with a rehabilitated Jimmy Chamberlin for a brief tour dubbed "The Arising", which showcased both new and classic material. The lineup was short-lived, however, as upon the completion of the album Machina/The Machines of God
, the band announced the departure of Wretzky in September. Former Hole
bassist Melissa Auf der Maur
was recruited for the "Sacred and Profane" tour in support of the album and appeared in the videos accompanying its release. Released in 2000, Machina was initially promoted as the Pumpkins' return to a more traditional rock sound, after the more gothic, electronic-sounding Adore. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard charts, but quickly disappeared and as of 2007 had only been certified gold. Music journalist Jim DeRogatis
, who described the album as "one of the strongest of their career", noted that the stalled sales for Machina in comparison to teen pop
ascendant at the time "seems like concrete proof that a new wave of young pop fans has turned a deaf ear toward alternative rock."
On May 23, 2000, in a live radio interview on KROQ-FM
(Los Angeles), Billy Corgan announced the band's decision to break up at the end of that year following additional touring and recording. The group's final album before the break-up, Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music
, was released in September 2000 in a limited pressing on vinyl with permission and instructions for free redistribution on the Internet by fans. Only twenty-five copies were cut, each of which was hand numbered and given to friends of the band along with band members themselves. The album, released under the Constantinople Records
label created by Corgan, consisted of one double LP and three ten-inch EPs. Originally, the band asked Virgin to offer Machina II as a free download to anyone who bought Machina. When the record label declined, Corgan opted to release the material independently.
On December 2, 2000, The Smashing Pumpkins played a farewell concert at The Metro, the same Chicago club where their career had effectively started twelve years earlier. The four-hour-long show featured 35 songs spanning the group's career, and attendees were given a recording of the band’s first concert at The Metro, Live at Cabaret Metro 10-5-88
. The single "Untitled" was released commercially to coincide with the farewell show.
was released. The double-disc version of the album, released as a limited edition, included a B-sides/rarities collection called Judas O. The Greatest Hits Video Collection
DVD was also released at the same time, which compiled all of the Pumpkins promo videos from Gish to Machina along with unreleased material. Vieuphoria was released on DVD in 2002, as was the soundtrack album Earphoria
, previously released solely to radio stations in 1994.
Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin reunited in 2001 as members of Corgan's next project, the short-lived supergroup
Zwan
. The group's only album, Mary Star of the Sea, was released in 2003. After cancelling a few festival appearances, Corgan announced the demise of the band in 2003. During 2001, Corgan also toured as part of New Order
and provided vocals on their comeback album Get Ready
. In October 2004, Corgan released his first book, Blinking with Fists
, a collection of poetry. In June 2005, he released a solo album, TheFutureEmbrace
, which he described as "(picking) up the thread of the as-of-yet-unfinished work of the Smashing Pumpkins". Despite this, it was greeted with generally mixed reviews and lackluster sales. Only one single, "Walking Shade", was released in support of the album.
In addition to drumming with Zwan, Jimmy Chamberlin also formed an alternative rock/jazz fusion
project band called The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex
. The group released an album in 2005 titled Life Begins Again
. Corgan provided guest vocals on the track "Lokicat". James Iha served as a guitarist in A Perfect Circle
, appearing on their Thirteenth Step club tour and 2004 album, eMOTIVe
. He has also been involved with other acts such as Chino Moreno
's Team Sleep
and Vanessa and the O's
. He continues to work with his own record label as well, Scratchie Records
. D'arcy Wretzky has, aside from one radio interview in 2009, not made any public statements or appearances nor given any interviews since leaving the band in 1999. On January 25, 2000, she was arrested after she allegedly purchased three bags of crack cocaine
, but after successfully completing a court-ordered drug education program, the charges were dropped.
Corgan insisted during this period that the band would not reform, although when Zwan broke up he announced, "I think my heart was in Smashing Pumpkins [...] I think it was naive of me to think that I could find something that would mean as much to me." Corgan said in 2005, "I never wanted to leave the Smashing Pumpkins. That was never the plan." On February 17, 2004, Corgan posted a message on his personal blog
calling Wretzky a "mean-spirited drug addict" and blaming Iha for the breakup of The Smashing Pumpkins. On June 3, 2004, he added that "the depth of my hurt [from Iha] is only matched with the depth of my gratitude". Iha responded to Corgan's claims in 2005, saying, "No, I didn't break up the band. The only person who could have done that is Billy."
On June 21, 2005, the day of the release of his album TheFutureEmbrace
, Corgan took out full-page advertisements in the Chicago Tribune
and Chicago Sun-Times
to announce that he planned to reunite the band. "For a year now", Corgan wrote, "I have walked around with a secret, a secret I chose to keep. But now I want you to be among the first to know that I have made plans to renew and revive the Smashing Pumpkins. I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams". Corgan and Chamberlin were verified as participants in the reunion, but there was question as to whether other former members of the band would participate.
In April 2007, Iha and Auf der Maur separately confirmed that they were not taking part in the reunion. Chamberlin would later state that Iha and Wretzky "didn't want to be a part of" the reunion. The Smashing Pumpkins performed live for the first time since 2000 on May 22, 2007, in Paris, France. There, the band unveiled new touring members: guitarist Jeff Schroeder
, bassist Ginger Reyes, and keyboardist Lisa Harriton
. That same month, "Tarantula" was released as the first single from the band's forthcoming album. On July 7, the band performed at the Live Earth
concert in New Jersey
.
The band's new album, Zeitgeist
, was released that same month on Reprise Records
, entering the Billboard charts at number two and selling 145,000 copies in its first week. Zeitgeist received mixed reviews, with much of the criticism targeted at the absence of half of the original lineup. The album divided the Pumpkins' fanbase. Corgan would later admit, "I know a lot of our fans are puzzled by Zeitgeist. I think they wanted this massive, grandiose work, but you don't just roll out of bed after seven years without a functioning band and go back to doing that".
Corgan and Chamberlin continued to record as a duo, releasing the four-song EP American Gothic in January 2008 and the singles "Superchrist
" and "G.L.O.W.
" later that year. That November, the group released the DVD If All Goes Wrong
, which chronicled the group's 2007 concert residences in Asheville, North Carolina
and San Francisco, California. In late 2008, the band embarked on a controversy-riddled 20th Anniversary Tour. Around this time, Corgan said the group will make no more full-length records in order to focus exclusively on singles, explaining, "The listening patterns have changed, so why are we killing ourselves to do albums, to create balance, and do the arty track to set up the single? It's done."
.
In July 2009 Billy Corgan formed a new group called Spirits in the Sky
, initially as a tribute band to Sky Saxon
of The Seeds
, who had recently passed away. The following month Corgan confirmed on the band's website that 19-year-old Spirits in the Sky drummer Mike Byrne
had replaced Chamberlin and that the pair was working on new Pumpkins recordings.
The group soon announced plans to release a 44-track concept album, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope
, for free over the Internet one track at a time. The first track, "A Song for a Son", was released in December 2009 to moderate press acclaim. In March 2010, Ginger Reyes officially left the band, prompting an open call for auditions for a new bassist. In May, Nicole Fiorentino
announced she had joined the band as bass player, and would be working on Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. The new lineup went on a world tour through the end of 2010. In late 2010, all four members contributed to the sessions for the third volume of Teargarden.
On April 26, 2011, Corgan announced that the Smashing Pumpkins would be releasing a new album titled Oceania
, which he labeled as "an album within an album" in regards to the Teargarden by Kaleidyscope project, in the fall. As with the previous recording sessions, all four band members will be contributing to the project. Also, the entire album catalog will be remastered and reissued with bonus tracks, starting with Gish and Siamese Dream in November 2011. The Pre-Gish Demos, Pisces Iscariot, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, The Aeroplane Flies High, and Adore will be released in 2012, and finally, Machina/The Machines of God and the yet commercially unreleased Machina II/Friends and Enemies of Modern Music are expected to be combined, remixed and released in 2013.
The band did a thirteen-city US tour in October 2011 followed by a European tour in November and December.
Corgan has defined the band’s aim as "trying to find a synthesis of an alternative idealism combined with classic rock musical values, and then somehow take those things into the mainstream in a subversive way." The Pumpkins’ grand, heavily overdubbed production was inspired by 1970s arena rock
bands Queen
, Boston
, and Electric Light Orchestra
, while their aggressive hard rock sound and emphasis on virtuoso guitar playing drew heavily from heavy metal
bands such as Black Sabbath
, Pantera
, and Judas Priest
. Another strong thread in the Pumpkins’ sound can be traced to ‘80s post-punk
and gothic rock
bands like Joy Division
/New Order
, Bauhaus
, The Cure
, and Depeche Mode
. Psychedelic rock
has been an influence, particularly on the early era of the band, while 1970s progressive rock
, notably Rush
, informed the band’s technical ambition and songwriting structures.
Many of Corgan's lyrics for the Pumpkins are cathartic expressions of emotion, full of personal musings and strong indictments of himself and those close to him. Music critics have often criticized Corgan's angst-filled lyrics. Jim DeRogatis
wrote in 1993 that they "too often sound like sophomoric poetry", although he viewed the lyrics of later albums Adore and Machina as an improvement.
Regarding the band's influence upon other groups, Greg Kot has said, "Whereas Nirvana spawned countless mini-Nirvanas, the Pumpkins remain an island unto themselves." However, many artists and bands have mentioned the Pumpkins as an influence, including Nelly Furtado
, Annuals
, My Chemical Romance
, Kill Hannah
, and Deftones
. Critics have found connections with the Pumpkins' sound in various Deftones albums, as well as in the work of Silversun Pickups
and early Feeder
.
, with treating music videos as an art form during the 1990s. Corgan has said, "We generally resisted the idea of what I call the classic MTV rock video, which is like lots of people jumping around and stuff." The band worked with video directors including Kevin Kerslake
("Cherub Rock"), Samuel Bayer
("Bullet with Butterfly Wings"), and, most frequently, the team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
("Rocket", "1979
", "Tonight, Tonight", "The End is the Beginning is the End", and "Perfect"). Corgan, who was frequently heavily involved in the conception of the videos, said of Dayton and Faris, "I know my [initial] versions are always darker, and they're always talking me into something a little kinder and gentler." Videos like "Today", "Rocket", and "1979" dealt with images taken from middle American culture, albeit exaggerated. The group's videos so often avoid the literal interpretation of the song lyrics that the video for "Thirty-Three", with images closely related to the words of the song, was created as an intentional stylistic departure.
The band was nominated for several MTV Video Music Awards
during the 1990s. In 1996, the group won seven VMAs total for the "1979" and "Tonight, Tonight" videos, including the top award, Video of the Year, for "Tonight, Tonight". The video was also nominated for a Grammy at the 1997 ceremony. Fans reacted with equal fervor. Of the "Tonight, Tonight" video, Corgan remarked, "I don't think we've ever had people react [like this]... it just seemed to touch a nerve."
Shortly after the band's initial breakup, the Greatest Hits Video Collection
was released, collecting the band's music videos from 1991-2000 and including commentary from Corgan, Iha, Chamberlin, and various music video directors with outtakes, live performances, and the "Try Try Try" extended short film. The band has released several music videos since the reunion to YouTube
and other online sources.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan
Billy Corgan
William Patrick "Billy" Corgan, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet best known as the frontman and sole permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins. Formed by Corgan and guitarist James Iha in Chicago, Illinois in 1987, the band quickly gained steam with the...
frontman (lead vocals, lead guitar) and James Iha
James Iha
James Yoshinobu Iha b. March 26, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois) is a Japanese American rock musician. He is best known as having been a guitarist and co-founder of the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins and for his eclectic musical projects of recent years, most notably being a permanent...
(rhythm guitar), the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin
Jimmy Chamberlin
Jimmy Chamberlin is an American drummer, songwriter, and producer. He is best known as the former drummer for the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. After a drug-related incident with touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin in 1996, Chamberlin was fired from the band and joined The Last...
(drums), D'arcy Wretzky
D'arcy Wretzky
D'arcy Elizabeth Wretzky is an American musician. She is best known for her work as the original bass player of the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins...
(bass), and currently includes Jeff Schroeder
Jeff Schroeder
Jeff Schroeder is a Korean American rock musician, who became a guitarist with the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins in 2007. He is currently finishing his Ph.D...
(rhythm guitar, backing vocals) Mike Byrne
Mike Byrne (musician)
Michael William Byrne is the drummer for The Smashing Pumpkins. When Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan called for rehearsals to replace Jimmy Chamberlin, Byrne auditioned and was chosen out of thousands of applicants...
(drums), and Nicole Fiorentino
Nicole Fiorentino
Nicole Fiorentino is an American bass guitarist. Originally a touring member of the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins , she became an official member in 2010...
(bass guitar, backing vocals) amongst its membership.
Disavowing the punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
roots of many of their alt-rock contemporaries, the Pumpkins have a diverse, densely layered and guitar-heavy sound, containing elements of gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
, grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, dream pop
Dream pop
Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s, when bands like The Passions, Dif Juz, Lowlife and A.R. Kane began fusing post-punk and ethereal experiments with bittersweet pop melodies into dreamy, sensual soundscapes. The term was almost...
, psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, shoegaze
Shoegazing
Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...
r-style production and, in later recordings, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
. Frontman Billy Corgan is the group's primary songwriter—his grand musical ambitions and cathartic lyrics have shaped the band's albums and songs, which have been described as "anguished, bruised reports from Billy Corgan's nightmare-land".
The Smashing Pumpkins broke into the musical mainstream with their second album, Siamese Dream
Siamese Dream
Siamese Dream is the second album by the American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 27, 1993 on Virgin Records. The album fused diverse influences such as shoegazing, dream pop, grunge, classic rock, heavy metal, and progressive rock.Despite recording sessions fraught...
(1993). The group built its audience with extensive touring and their follow-up, the double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is the third album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released October 24, 1995 on Virgin Records. Produced by frontman Billy Corgan with Flood and Alan Moulder, the twenty-eight-track album was released as a two-disc CD and triple LP...
(1995), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
album chart. With 18.75 million albums sold in the United States alone, The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the 1990s. However, internal fighting, drug use, and diminishing record sales led to a 2000 break-up.
In 2006, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin reconvened to record a new Smashing Pumpkins album, Zeitgeist
Zeitgeist (The Smashing Pumpkins album)
Zeitgeist is the seventh album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 10, 2007 in the United States and Canada. It was the first album The Smashing Pumpkins released after their 2000 disbandment and 2005 reunion. The album was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, Billy...
. The band toured with a rotating lineup of between five and nine musicians through much of 2007 and 2008 before Chamberlin left the band in early 2009. New drummer Mike Byrne and bassist/vocalist Nicole Fiorentino solidified a new lineup with Corgan and Schroeder, toured through much of 2010, and are currently recording the albums Teargarden by Kaleidyscope
Teargarden by Kaleidyscope
Teargarden by Kaleidyscope is the eighth album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. A series of 44 individual songs, it is being released one track at a time through free MP3 downloads over the course of several years...
and Oceania
Oceania (album)
-Personnel:*Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion*Jeff Schroeder – guitar*Nicole Fiorentino – bass guitar, backing vocals*Mike Byrne – drums, backing vocals*Bob Ludwig – mastering...
.
Early years: 1988–1991
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
band The Marked, singer and guitarist Billy Corgan left St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
, Florida, to return to his native city of Chicago, where he took a job in a record store and hatched the idea of a new band that would be called "The Smashing Pumpkins". While working there, he met guitarist James Iha. Adorning themselves with paisley
Paisley (design)
Paisley or Paisley pattern is a droplet-shaped vegetable motif of Indian, Pakistani and Persian origin. The pattern is sometimes called "Persian pickles" by American traditionalists, especially quiltmakers,The Persian Pickle Club, Sandra Dallas. St. Martin's Press,...
and other psychedelic trappings, the two began writing songs together (with the aid of a drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
) that were heavily influenced by The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
and New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
. The duo performed live for the first time on July 9, 1988, at the Polish bar Chicago 21. This performance included only Corgan and Iha with a drum machine. Shortly thereafter, Corgan met D'arcy Wretzky after a show by the Dan Reed Network
Dan Reed Network
The Dan Reed Network is a funk rock band formed by Dan Reed in Portland, Oregon, United States, in 1984. Dan Reed lended his vocals to a 1990 rap rock collaboration with the Portland Trail Blazers, "Bust a Bucket".-Breathless beginnings:...
where they argued the merits of the band. After finding out Wretzky played bass, Corgan recruited her into the lineup and the now-trio played a show at the Avalon Nightclub. After this show, Cabaret Metro
Metro Chicago
This page is about the concert hall; for the metro region surrounding Chicago, see Chicago metropolitan area.Metro is a concert hall at 3730 N. Clark Street in Chicago, Illinois that plays host to a variety of local, regional and national emerging bands and musicians. The Metro was first opened in...
owner Joe Shanahan
Joe Shanahan
Joe Shanahan is the founder and owner of Metro Chicago and Smart Bar in Chicago, Illinois. He is also the part owner of the Daily Bar and Grill, as well as Double Door....
agreed to book the band on the condition that they replace the drum machine with a live drummer.
Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was recommended by a friend of Corgan's. Chamberlin knew little of alternative music and immediately changed the sound of the nascent band. As Corgan recalled of the period, "We were completely into the sad-rock, Cure kind of thing. It took about two or three practices before I realized that the power in his playing was something that enabled us to rock harder than we could ever have imagined." On October 5, 1988, the complete band took the stage for the first time at the Cabaret Metro.
In 1989, The Smashing Pumpkins made their first appearance on record with the compilation album Light Into Dark, which featured several Chicago alternative bands. The group released its first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "I Am One
I Am One
"I Am One" is the debut single by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the band's first ever release and remains the only single issued by the band with co-writing credits to both Billy Corgan and James Iha. It charted on the UK Singles Chart at a peak position of number...
", in 1990 on local Chicago label Limited Potential. The single sold out and they released a follow-up, "Tristessa
Tristessa (song)
"Tristessa" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. The single was the Pumpkins' second ever release, and their first, and only, release on Sub Pop. Sub Pop released it as their "Single of the Month". It was written by Billy Corgan and later re-recorded for their debut...
", on Sub Pop
Sub Pop
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
, after which they signed to Caroline Records. The band recorded their 1991 debut album Gish
Gish
Gish is the debut album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released in May 1991 through Caroline Records. Frontman Billy Corgan described Gish as a "very spiritual album"...
with producer Butch Vig
Butch Vig
Butch Vig is an American musician and record producer, best known internationally as the drummer of the Madison, Wisconsin-based alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of multi-platinum selling album Nevermind by Nirvana....
at his Smart Studios
Smart Studios
Smart Studios was a recording studio located at 1254 E Washington Ave in Madison, Wisconsin. It was set up in 1983 by Butch Vig and Steve Marker to produce local bands....
in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, for $20,000. In order to gain the consistency he desired, Corgan often played all instruments save drums, which created tension in the band. The music fused heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
guitars, psychedelia and dream pop
Dream pop
Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s, when bands like The Passions, Dif Juz, Lowlife and A.R. Kane began fusing post-punk and ethereal experiments with bittersweet pop melodies into dreamy, sensual soundscapes. The term was almost...
, garnering them comparisons to Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band's original line-up featured Perry Farrell , Dave Navarro , Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins . After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001, both times...
. Gish became a minor success, with the single "Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros (song)
"Rhinoceros" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins from their debut album, Gish. It was written by Billy Corgan and is one of the few songs from Gish that has been performed consistently throughout the band's career....
" receiving some airplay on modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
radio. After releasing the Lull EP
Lull (EP)
Lull is an EP by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released in 1991.- Background :"Rhinoceros" was taken from Gish , "Blue" later appeared on Pisces Iscariot, and a live version of "Slunk" later appeared on Vieuphoria and its soundtrack album Earphoria."Bye June" is a 1989...
in October 1991 on Caroline Records, the band formally signed with Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
, which was affiliated with Caroline. The band supported the album with a tour that included opening for bands such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
, Jane's Addiction, and Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
. During the tour, Iha and Wretzky went through a messy breakup, Chamberlin became addicted to narcotics and alcohol, and Corgan entered a deep depression, writing some songs for the upcoming album in the parking garage where he lived at the time.
Mainstream success: 1992–1994
With the breakthrough of alternative rock into the American mainstream due to the popularity of grungeGrunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
bands such as Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
and Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
, The Smashing Pumpkins were poised for major commercial success. At this time, the Pumpkins were routinely lumped in with the grunge movement, with Corgan protesting, "We've graduated now from [being called] 'the next Jane's Addiction' to 'the next Nirvana,' now we're 'the next Pearl Jam.'"
Amid this environment of intense internal pressure for the band to break through to widespread popularity, the band relocated to Marietta, Georgia
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
in late 1992 to begin work on their second album, with Butch Vig returning as producer. The decision to record so far away from their hometown was motivated partly by the band's desire to avoid friends and distractions during the recording, but largely as a desperate attempt to cut Chamberlin off from his known drug connections. The recording environment for Siamese Dream
Siamese Dream
Siamese Dream is the second album by the American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 27, 1993 on Virgin Records. The album fused diverse influences such as shoegazing, dream pop, grunge, classic rock, heavy metal, and progressive rock.Despite recording sessions fraught...
was quickly marred by discord within the band. As was the case with Gish, Corgan and Vig decided that Corgan should play nearly all of the guitar and bass parts on the album, contributing to an air of resentment. The contemporary music press began to portray Corgan as a tyrant. Corgan's depression, meanwhile, had deepened to the point where he contemplated suicide, and he compensated by practically living in the studio. Meanwhile, Chamberlin quickly managed to find new connections and was often absent without any contact for days at a time. In all, it took over four months to complete the record, with the budget exceeding $250,000.
Despite all the problems in its recording, Siamese Dream debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, and sold over four million copies in the U.S. alone. Alongside the band's mounting mainstream recognition, the band's reputation as careerists among their former peers in the independent music community was worsened. Indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Pavement's
Pavement (band)
Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...
1994 song "Range Life" directly mocks the band in its lyrics, although Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Joseph Malkmus is an indie rock musician and icon, and a member of the band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.-Early years:...
, lead singer of Pavement, has stated, "I never dissed their music. I just dissed their status." Former Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....
frontman Bob Mould
Bob Mould
Robert Arthur "Bob" Mould is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s.-Early life:...
called them "the grunge Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
", and fellow Chicago musician/producer Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
wrote a scathing letter in response to an article praising the band, derisively comparing them to REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon is an American rock band. Formed in 1967, the band grew in popularity during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. Hi Infidelity is the group's most commercially successful album, selling over ten million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US...
("by, of and for the mainstream") and concluding their ultimate insignificance. The opening track and lead single of Siamese Dream, "Cherub Rock
Cherub Rock
"Cherub Rock" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the first single from their second album, Siamese Dream , and was written by lead vocalist and guitarist Billy Corgan...
", directly addresses Corgan's feud with the "indie-world".
In 1994, Virgin released the B-sides/rarities compilation Pisces Iscariot
Pisces Iscariot
Pisces Iscariot is a compilation album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins released in 1994 through Virgin Records, consisting of B-sides and outtakes. Reaching number 4 in the U.S. upon its 1994 release, Pisces Iscariot was certified platinum by the RIAA on November 23, 1994...
which charted higher than Siamese Dream by reaching number four on the Billboard 200. Also released was a VHS cassette titled Vieuphoria
Vieuphoria
Vieuphoria is a long form music video by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, originally released on VHS on October 4, 1994 and DVD on November 26, 2002...
featuring a mix of live performances and behind-the-scenes footage. Following relentless touring to support the recordings, including headline slots on the 1994 Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
tour and at Reading Festival in 1995, the band took time off to write the follow-up album.
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness: 1995–1997
Corgan worked nonstop over the next year and wrote, according to statements in interviews, about fifty-six songs for the next album. Following this spell of concentrated creativity, the Pumpkins went back into the studio with producers Flood and Alan MoulderAlan Moulder
Alan Moulder is one of Britain's premier alternative rock record producers. He has worked with such artists as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Elastica, Gary Numan, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Curve, Ride, Lush and My Bloody Valentine, Lostprophets, Shihad, Ivyrise and Placebo, as well as with many American...
to work on what Corgan described as "The Wall
The Wall
The Wall is the eleventh studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. Released as a double album on 30 November 1979, it was subsequently performed live with elaborate theatrical effects, and adapted into a feature film, Pink Floyd—The Wall.As with the band's previous three...
for Generation X
Generation X
Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the Western post–World War II baby boom ended. While there is no universally agreed upon time frame, the term generally includes people born from the early 1960's through the early 1980's, usually no later than 1981 or...
", a comparison with the 1979 Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
two-LP concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
.
The result was Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is the third album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released October 24, 1995 on Virgin Records. Produced by frontman Billy Corgan with Flood and Alan Moulder, the twenty-eight-track album was released as a two-disc CD and triple LP...
, a double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
featuring twenty-eight songs and lasting over two hours (the vinyl version of the album contained three records, two extra songs, and an alternate tracklisting). The songs were intended to hang together conceptually as a symbol of the cycle of life and death. Praised by Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
as "the group's most ambitious and accomplished work yet", Mellon Collie debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in October 1995. Even more successful than Siamese Dream, it was certified nine times platinum in the United States and became the best-selling double album of the decade to date. It also garnered seven 1997 Grammy Award
Grammy Awards of 1997
The 39th Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.- Award winners :*Record of the Year**Babyface & Eric Clapton for "Change the World"*Album of the Year...
nominations, including Album of the Year. The band won only the Best Hard Rock Performance
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, for works containing quality performances in the hard rock music genre...
award, for the album's lead single "Bullet with Butterfly Wings
Bullet with Butterfly Wings
"Bullet with Butterfly Wings" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the lead single from the band's 1995 double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The song won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. This song was the band's first Top 40...
". The album spawned five singles—"Bullet with Butterfly Wings", "1979
1979 (song)
"1979" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. Released in 1996 as the second single from their third studio album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, "1979" was written by frontman Billy Corgan, and features loops and samples that were uncharacteristic of previous...
", "Zero
Zero (song)
"Zero" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the third single from their third album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, and was a return to the familiar angsty rock of the first single, "Bullet with Butterfly Wings". This style of their music was called...
", "Tonight, Tonight", and "Thirty-Three
Thirty-Three (song)
"Thirty-Three" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the fifth and final single from their third album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. It was also the first single released after the firing of Jimmy Chamberlin and death of Jonathan Melvoin...
"—of which the first three were certified gold and all but "Zero" entered the Top 40. Many of the remaining songs that did not make it onto Mellon Collie were released as B-sides to the singles, and were eventually compiled in The Aeroplane Flies High
The Aeroplane Flies High
The Aeroplane Flies High is a five-disc box set released by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins in 1996. It contains expanded versions of the five singles from their album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and also included a 44-page booklet with pictures and writings by the...
box set. As a testament to the band's popularity, Virgin Records originally intended to limit the set to 200,000 copies, but produced more after the original run sold out due to overwhelming demand.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, "Homerpalooza
Homerpalooza
"Homerpalooza" is the 24th episode of The Simpsons seventh season and originally aired on May 19, 1996. The plot focuses around Homer's depression about aging and no longer being cool, and his quest to become cool again by joining the "Hullabalooza" music festival as a carnival freak. The episode...
". With considerable video rotation on MTV, major industry awards, and "Zero" shirts selling in many malls
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
, the Pumpkins were considered one of the most popular bands of the time. But the year was far from entirely positive for the band. In May, the Smashing Pumpkins played a gig at The Point Theatre
Point Theatre
The Point Theatre was a concert and events venue in Ireland, that ran from 1988–2007, enjoyed by in excess of 2 million people. It was located on the North Wall Quay of the River Liffey, amongst the Dublin Docklands...
in Dublin, Ireland. Despite the band's repeated requests for mosh
Mosh
Moshing is a dance in which participants push or slam into each other. They also flail their limbs to breakdowns of hardcore punk and its sub-genres. It is most associated with aggressive music genres, such as hardcore punk and heavy metal...
ing to stop, a seventeen-year-old fan named Bernadette O'Brien was crushed to death. The concert ended early and the following night's performance in Belfast was cancelled out of respect for her. However, while Corgan maintained that moshing's "time [had] come and gone", the band would continue to request open-floor concerts throughout the rest of the tour.
The band suffered a personal tragedy on the night of July 11, 1996, when touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin
Jonathan Melvoin
Jonathan Melvoin was an American musician active in the 1980s and 1990s.He was the brother of Susannah and Wendy Melvoin of Prince and the Revolution. He first learned to play drums, and was cited by friends and relatives as one of those people who could play anything...
and Chamberlin overdosed on heroin in a hotel room in New York City. Melvoin died, and Chamberlin was arrested for drug possession. A few days later, the band announced that Chamberlin had been fired as a result of the incident. The Pumpkins chose to finish the tour, and hired drummer Matt Walker
Matt Walker (drummer)
Matt Walker is a musician and former drummer for Filter, The Smashing Pumpkins and current drummer for Morrissey.Matt Walker began his career in Chicago in the mid 80s, when Matt began playing drums for the already well known Scott Bennett of Scott Bennett & The Obvious and did double duty playing...
and keyboardist Dennis Flemion
Dennis Flemion
Dennis Flemion is a founding member, with his younger brother Jimmy, of controversial independent rock band The Frogs. He is the primary percussionist for the band...
. Corgan later said the decision to continue touring was the worst decision the band had ever made, damaging both their music and their reputation. Meanwhile the band had given interviews since the release of Mellon Collie stating that it would be the last conventional Pumpkins record, and that rock was becoming stale. James Iha said at the end of 1996, "The future is in electronic music. It really seems boring just to play rock music."
Adore, Machina, and breakup: 1998–2000
Eye (song)
"Eye" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released in 1996 on the soundtrack to the David Lynch film Lost Highway...
" relied almost exclusively on electronic instruments and signaled a drastic shift from the Pumpkins’ previous musical styles. At the time, Corgan stated his "idea [was] to reconfigure the focus and get away from the classic guitars-bass-drum rock format." Later that year, the group contributed "The End is the Beginning is the End
The End Is the Beginning Is the End
"The End Is the Beginning Is the End" is a Grammy Award-winning song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It is the first full-band song released as a single by the Smashing Pumpkins in the aftermath of their 1995 album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness...
" to the soundtrack for the film Batman & Robin. With Matt Walker
Matt Walker (drummer)
Matt Walker is a musician and former drummer for Filter, The Smashing Pumpkins and current drummer for Morrissey.Matt Walker began his career in Chicago in the mid 80s, when Matt began playing drums for the already well known Scott Bennett of Scott Bennett & The Obvious and did double duty playing...
on drums, the song featured a heavy sound similar to "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" while still having strong electronic influences. The song later won the 1998 Grammy
Grammy Awards of 1998
The 40th Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1998. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Rock icon Bob Dylan, Alison Krauss, and R...
for Best Hard Rock Performance
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, for works containing quality performances in the hard rock music genre...
. Though Corgan announced that the song represented the sound people could expect from the band in the future, the band’s next album would feature few guitar driven songs.
Recorded following the death of Corgan's mother and his divorce, 1998's Adore represented a significant change of style from the Pumpkins' previous guitar-based rock, veering into electronica. The record, cut with assistance from studio drummers and drum machines, was infused with a darker aesthetic than much of the band's earlier work. The group also modified its public image, shedding its alternative hipster look for a more subdued appearance. Although Adore received favorable reviews and was nominated for Best Alternative Performance at the Grammy Awards, the album had only sold about 830,000 copies in the United States by the end of the year, which led the music industry to consider it a failure. The album nonetheless sold three times as many copies overseas. The band embarked on a seventeen-date, fifteen-city charity North American tour in support of Adore. At each stop on the tour, the band donated 100 percent of tickets sales to a local charity organization. The tour's expenses were entirely funded out of the band's own pockets. All told, the band donated over $2.8 million to charity as a result of the tour.
In 1999, the band surprised fans by reuniting with a rehabilitated Jimmy Chamberlin for a brief tour dubbed "The Arising", which showcased both new and classic material. The lineup was short-lived, however, as upon the completion of the album Machina/The Machines of God
MACHINA/The Machines of God
Machina/The Machines of God is the fifth album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on February 29, 2000 by Virgin Records. A concept album, it marked the return of drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and was intended to be the band's final official LP release prior to their first...
, the band announced the departure of Wretzky in September. Former Hole
Hole (band)
Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
bassist Melissa Auf der Maur
Melissa Auf der Maur
Melissa Auf der Maur is a Canadian rock musician from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her career has included 5 years as bassist with the band Hole and she later toured with The Smashing Pumpkins for their 2000 tour. Her second solo album, Out of Our Minds, was released on March 30, 2010. She is also a...
was recruited for the "Sacred and Profane" tour in support of the album and appeared in the videos accompanying its release. Released in 2000, Machina was initially promoted as the Pumpkins' return to a more traditional rock sound, after the more gothic, electronic-sounding Adore. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard charts, but quickly disappeared and as of 2007 had only been certified gold. Music journalist Jim DeRogatis
Jim DeRogatis
James "Jim" DeRogatis is an American music critic and co-host of Sound Opinions. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as Spin, Guitar World and Modern Drummer, and for fifteen years was the pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.He joined Columbia College Chicago as a full-time...
, who described the album as "one of the strongest of their career", noted that the stalled sales for Machina in comparison to teen pop
Teen pop
Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards teenagers. Teen pop copies genres and styles such as pop, dance, R&B, hip hop, country and rock....
ascendant at the time "seems like concrete proof that a new wave of young pop fans has turned a deaf ear toward alternative rock."
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
(Los Angeles), Billy Corgan announced the band's decision to break up at the end of that year following additional touring and recording. The group's final album before the break-up, Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music
MACHINA II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music
Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music is the sixth album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was released for free on the Internet on September 5, 2000...
, was released in September 2000 in a limited pressing on vinyl with permission and instructions for free redistribution on the Internet by fans. Only twenty-five copies were cut, each of which was hand numbered and given to friends of the band along with band members themselves. The album, released under the Constantinople Records
Constantinople Records
Constantinople Records is an upstart record label created by Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins. Little is known about the label and no official website or company exists. The US Patent Office's website listed the label as being trademarked by Corgan. When word of the label was made public, a...
label created by Corgan, consisted of one double LP and three ten-inch EPs. Originally, the band asked Virgin to offer Machina II as a free download to anyone who bought Machina. When the record label declined, Corgan opted to release the material independently.
On December 2, 2000, The Smashing Pumpkins played a farewell concert at The Metro, the same Chicago club where their career had effectively started twelve years earlier. The four-hour-long show featured 35 songs spanning the group's career, and attendees were given a recording of the band’s first concert at The Metro, Live at Cabaret Metro 10-5-88
Live at Cabaret Metro 10-5-88
Live at Cabaret Metro 10-5-88 is a live album from The Smashing Pumpkins. It was recorded during the band's first concert at the Cabaret Metro on October 5, 1988. This was the band's fourth gig and their first with Jimmy Chamberlin. Approximately 1,200 copies of the CD were made and distributed to...
. The single "Untitled" was released commercially to coincide with the farewell show.
Post-breakup: 2001–2004
In 2001, the compilation Rotten ApplesRotten Apples
Rotten Apples is a greatest hits compilation album by alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. In the US, it was released in 2001 along with a bonus disc titled Judas O. The album's concluding track, "Untitled", was the Pumpkins' final recording before their breakup...
was released. The double-disc version of the album, released as a limited edition, included a B-sides/rarities collection called Judas O. The Greatest Hits Video Collection
Greatest Hits Video Collection
The Smashing Pumpkins - Greatest Hits Video Collection is a video album containing nearly all of The Smashing Pumpkins music videos released prior to the band's breakup in late 2000...
DVD was also released at the same time, which compiled all of the Pumpkins promo videos from Gish to Machina along with unreleased material. Vieuphoria was released on DVD in 2002, as was the soundtrack album Earphoria
Earphoria
Earphoria is a live album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It is the soundtrack of the band's Vieuphoria video. While the video has been widely available since its initial release, the CD was only released in a limited number of promo CD copies in 1994, and was subsequently...
, previously released solely to radio stations in 1994.
Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin reunited in 2001 as members of Corgan's next project, the short-lived supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
Zwan
Zwan
Zwan was an American alternative rock band that was formed by members of The Smashing Pumpkins, Slint, Tortoise, Chavez, and A Perfect Circle. Zwan was started in late 2001 by Billy Corgan, lead singer and guitarist of The Smashing Pumpkins, after the Pumpkins disbanded in December 2000. The band...
. The group's only album, Mary Star of the Sea, was released in 2003. After cancelling a few festival appearances, Corgan announced the demise of the band in 2003. During 2001, Corgan also toured as part of New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
and provided vocals on their comeback album Get Ready
Get Ready (New Order album)
Get Ready is the seventh studio album by the English rock band New Order. Released in August 2001 by London Records, this was the group's first album in eight years, following 1993's Republic....
. In October 2004, Corgan released his first book, Blinking with Fists
Blinking with Fists
Blinking with Fists is the debut book of poetry by The Smashing Pumpkins and former Zwan frontman, Billy Corgan. The progress and writing of the poems was covered in Billy's online . The Volume of 57 poems was published by Faber and Faber in 2004 and was greeted by mixed reviews...
, a collection of poetry. In June 2005, he released a solo album, TheFutureEmbrace
TheFutureEmbrace
TheFutureEmbrace is the only solo album by Billy Corgan, frontman of the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. Released in June 2005, the album's sound was markedly different than most of Corgan's earlier work, eschewing his characteristic "drums, bass, big-guitars sound" in favor of an...
, which he described as "(picking) up the thread of the as-of-yet-unfinished work of the Smashing Pumpkins". Despite this, it was greeted with generally mixed reviews and lackluster sales. Only one single, "Walking Shade", was released in support of the album.
In addition to drumming with Zwan, Jimmy Chamberlin also formed an alternative rock/jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
project band called The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex
Jimmy Chamberlin Complex
The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex is an alternative rock/jazz fusion band, founded by Jimmy Chamberlin and Billy Mohler. Their debut album entitled Life Begins Again was released on January 25, 2005...
. The group released an album in 2005 titled Life Begins Again
Life Begins Again
Life Begins Again is the debut album by the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex . It was released on January 25, 2005 and as an Enhanced CD...
. Corgan provided guest vocals on the track "Lokicat". James Iha served as a guitarist in A Perfect Circle
A Perfect Circle
A Perfect Circle is an American rock supergroup formed in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. The original incarnation of the band also included Paz Lenchantin on bass, Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, and Tim Alexander on drums...
, appearing on their Thirteenth Step club tour and 2004 album, eMOTIVe
EMOTIVe
-Personnel:* Charles Clouser - Programming* Critter - Engineer* Steve Duda - Digital engineer* Joshua Eustis - Drums, engineer, Fender Rhodes, mixing* Jason Freese - Sax , sax * Steven R Gilmore - Design, photography, sleeve art, poster design...
. He has also been involved with other acts such as Chino Moreno
Chino Moreno
Chino Moreno is an American musician. He is best known as the lead singer and contributing guitarist of Deftones. He is also a member of the side-project bands Team Sleep and Crosses....
's Team Sleep
Team Sleep
Team Sleep is an American experimental alternative rock group led by singer/guitarist Chino Moreno, better known for fronting the Sacramento-based band Deftones....
and Vanessa and the O's
Vanessa and the O's
Vanessa and the O's formed in 2003/2004 when Vanessa Contenay-Quinones got together with Swedes Andreas Mattson and Niclas Frisk later joining up with James Iha in New York.They recorded the album La Ballade d'O over the next 18 months...
. He continues to work with his own record label as well, Scratchie Records
Scratchie Records
Scratchie Records was an independent record label founded in 1995 by James Iha and D'arcy Wretzky , Adam Schlesinger , Kerry Brown and Jeremy Freeman....
. D'arcy Wretzky has, aside from one radio interview in 2009, not made any public statements or appearances nor given any interviews since leaving the band in 1999. On January 25, 2000, she was arrested after she allegedly purchased three bags of crack cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, but after successfully completing a court-ordered drug education program, the charges were dropped.
Corgan insisted during this period that the band would not reform, although when Zwan broke up he announced, "I think my heart was in Smashing Pumpkins [...] I think it was naive of me to think that I could find something that would mean as much to me." Corgan said in 2005, "I never wanted to leave the Smashing Pumpkins. That was never the plan." On February 17, 2004, Corgan posted a message on his personal blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
calling Wretzky a "mean-spirited drug addict" and blaming Iha for the breakup of The Smashing Pumpkins. On June 3, 2004, he added that "the depth of my hurt [from Iha] is only matched with the depth of my gratitude". Iha responded to Corgan's claims in 2005, saying, "No, I didn't break up the band. The only person who could have done that is Billy."
Reformation: 2005–2008
TheFutureEmbrace
TheFutureEmbrace is the only solo album by Billy Corgan, frontman of the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. Released in June 2005, the album's sound was markedly different than most of Corgan's earlier work, eschewing his characteristic "drums, bass, big-guitars sound" in favor of an...
, Corgan took out full-page advertisements in the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
and Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
to announce that he planned to reunite the band. "For a year now", Corgan wrote, "I have walked around with a secret, a secret I chose to keep. But now I want you to be among the first to know that I have made plans to renew and revive the Smashing Pumpkins. I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams". Corgan and Chamberlin were verified as participants in the reunion, but there was question as to whether other former members of the band would participate.
In April 2007, Iha and Auf der Maur separately confirmed that they were not taking part in the reunion. Chamberlin would later state that Iha and Wretzky "didn't want to be a part of" the reunion. The Smashing Pumpkins performed live for the first time since 2000 on May 22, 2007, in Paris, France. There, the band unveiled new touring members: guitarist Jeff Schroeder
Jeff Schroeder
Jeff Schroeder is a Korean American rock musician, who became a guitarist with the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins in 2007. He is currently finishing his Ph.D...
, bassist Ginger Reyes, and keyboardist Lisa Harriton
Lisa Harriton
Lisa Rae Harriton is an English rock musician, who became a touring keyboardist and back-up vocalist with the alternative rock band, The Smashing Pumpkins in 2007. She is also a singer/songwriter serving up a soulful blend of pop infused with jazz and world influences...
. That same month, "Tarantula" was released as the first single from the band's forthcoming album. On July 7, the band performed at the Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...
concert in New Jersey
Live Earth concert, New York City
The Live Earth concert for North America was held at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA on July 7, 2007.-Running order:In order of appearance:*Kenna - "Out Of Control", "Face The Gun", "Sun Red Sky Blue"...
.
The band's new album, Zeitgeist
Zeitgeist (The Smashing Pumpkins album)
Zeitgeist is the seventh album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 10, 2007 in the United States and Canada. It was the first album The Smashing Pumpkins released after their 2000 disbandment and 2005 reunion. The album was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, Billy...
, was released that same month on Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
, entering the Billboard charts at number two and selling 145,000 copies in its first week. Zeitgeist received mixed reviews, with much of the criticism targeted at the absence of half of the original lineup. The album divided the Pumpkins' fanbase. Corgan would later admit, "I know a lot of our fans are puzzled by Zeitgeist. I think they wanted this massive, grandiose work, but you don't just roll out of bed after seven years without a functioning band and go back to doing that".
Corgan and Chamberlin continued to record as a duo, releasing the four-song EP American Gothic in January 2008 and the singles "Superchrist
Superchrist
"Superchrist" is a 2008 song by The Smashing Pumpkins.-History:The song originated during the sessions for Zeitgeist, but, according to Billy Corgan, "We didn't feel we understood the song and thought playing it on tour would help us sort it out". The band first performed the song on July 24,...
" and "G.L.O.W.
G.L.O.W.
"G.L.O.W." is a song by the American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It premiered on Chicago alternative rock station Q101 on September 29, 2008...
" later that year. That November, the group released the DVD If All Goes Wrong
If All Goes Wrong
If All Goes Wrong is a feature-length documentary about The Smashing Pumpkins, which chronicles the band's residencies at The Orange Peel in Asheville and The Fillmore in San Francisco in summer 2007. It was screened, in competition, at Ghent Film Festival in October 2008...
, which chronicled the group's 2007 concert residences in Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
and San Francisco, California. In late 2008, the band embarked on a controversy-riddled 20th Anniversary Tour. Around this time, Corgan said the group will make no more full-length records in order to focus exclusively on singles, explaining, "The listening patterns have changed, so why are we killing ourselves to do albums, to create balance, and do the arty track to set up the single? It's done."
Teargarden by Kaleidyscope and Oceania: 2009–present
In March 2009, Corgan announced on the band website that Chamberlin had left the group and would be replaced. Chamberlin subsequently stated that his departure from the band is "a positive move forward for me. I can no longer commit all of my energy into something that I don't fully possess." Chamberlin stressed that the split was amicable, commenting, "I am glad [Corgan] has chosen to continue under the name. It is his right." Corgan later stated that he fired Chamberlin. Chamberlin soon formed the band Skysaw, which has released an album and toured in support of Minus the BearMinus the Bear
Minus the Bear is an American indie rock band from Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2001, the group features current and former members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving...
.
In July 2009 Billy Corgan formed a new group called Spirits in the Sky
Spirits in the Sky
Spirits in the Sky is a casual supergroup led by Billy Corgan, frontman of The Smashing Pumpkins. The band convened, initially, in July 2009 to perform at a memorial concert for the late Sky Saxon of The Seeds. The band played three songs - a Seeds cover, a cover of "Spirit in the Sky", and a new...
, initially as a tribute band to Sky Saxon
Sky Saxon
Sky "Sunlight" Saxon was an American rock and roll musician who was best known as the leader and singer of the 1960s Los Angeles psychedelic garage rock band The Seeds.-Biography:...
of The Seeds
The Seeds
The Seeds were an American rock band. The group, whose repertoire spread between garage rock and acid rock, are considered one of the pioneers of punk rock.-History:...
, who had recently passed away. The following month Corgan confirmed on the band's website that 19-year-old Spirits in the Sky drummer Mike Byrne
Mike Byrne (musician)
Michael William Byrne is the drummer for The Smashing Pumpkins. When Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan called for rehearsals to replace Jimmy Chamberlin, Byrne auditioned and was chosen out of thousands of applicants...
had replaced Chamberlin and that the pair was working on new Pumpkins recordings.
The group soon announced plans to release a 44-track concept album, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope
Teargarden by Kaleidyscope
Teargarden by Kaleidyscope is the eighth album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. A series of 44 individual songs, it is being released one track at a time through free MP3 downloads over the course of several years...
, for free over the Internet one track at a time. The first track, "A Song for a Son", was released in December 2009 to moderate press acclaim. In March 2010, Ginger Reyes officially left the band, prompting an open call for auditions for a new bassist. In May, Nicole Fiorentino
Nicole Fiorentino
Nicole Fiorentino is an American bass guitarist. Originally a touring member of the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins , she became an official member in 2010...
announced she had joined the band as bass player, and would be working on Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. The new lineup went on a world tour through the end of 2010. In late 2010, all four members contributed to the sessions for the third volume of Teargarden.
On April 26, 2011, Corgan announced that the Smashing Pumpkins would be releasing a new album titled Oceania
Oceania (album)
-Personnel:*Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion*Jeff Schroeder – guitar*Nicole Fiorentino – bass guitar, backing vocals*Mike Byrne – drums, backing vocals*Bob Ludwig – mastering...
, which he labeled as "an album within an album" in regards to the Teargarden by Kaleidyscope project, in the fall. As with the previous recording sessions, all four band members will be contributing to the project. Also, the entire album catalog will be remastered and reissued with bonus tracks, starting with Gish and Siamese Dream in November 2011. The Pre-Gish Demos, Pisces Iscariot, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, The Aeroplane Flies High, and Adore will be released in 2012, and finally, Machina/The Machines of God and the yet commercially unreleased Machina II/Friends and Enemies of Modern Music are expected to be combined, remixed and released in 2013.
The band did a thirteen-city US tour in October 2011 followed by a European tour in November and December.
Musical style, influences and legacy
The direction of the band is dominated by its sole permanent member Billy Corgan, who is the principle songwriter, lead singer, and sonic architect behind the group’s recordings. Corgan has justified his continued use of the name, minus the other original members, by stressing that "for whatever reason, the Smashing Pumpkins, the idea of the band or the spirit of the band, has always pushed me to force myself out of my comfort zone." Journalist Greg Kot wrote, "The music [of The Smashing Pumpkins] would not be what it is without his ambition and vision, and his famously fractured relationships with his family, friends, and bandmembers." Corgan has said he strives for atmospheric soundscapes that essentially tell the listener, "Welcome to Pumpkin Land, this is what it sounds like on Planet Pumpkin."Arena rock
Arena rock is a term used to describe rock music that utilised large arena venues, particularly sports venues, for concerts or series of concerts linked in tours...
bands Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, Boston
Boston (band)
Boston is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts that achieved its most notable successes during the 1970s and 1980s. Centered on guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and producer Tom Scholz, the band is a staple of classic rock radio playlists...
, and Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
, while their aggressive hard rock sound and emphasis on virtuoso guitar playing drew heavily from heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
bands such as Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, Pantera
Pantera
Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as...
, and Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
. Another strong thread in the Pumpkins’ sound can be traced to ‘80s post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
and gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
bands like Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
/New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
, Bauhaus
Bauhaus (band)
Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...
, The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, and Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
. Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
has been an influence, particularly on the early era of the band, while 1970s progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, notably Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
, informed the band’s technical ambition and songwriting structures.
Many of Corgan's lyrics for the Pumpkins are cathartic expressions of emotion, full of personal musings and strong indictments of himself and those close to him. Music critics have often criticized Corgan's angst-filled lyrics. Jim DeRogatis
Jim DeRogatis
James "Jim" DeRogatis is an American music critic and co-host of Sound Opinions. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as Spin, Guitar World and Modern Drummer, and for fifteen years was the pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.He joined Columbia College Chicago as a full-time...
wrote in 1993 that they "too often sound like sophomoric poetry", although he viewed the lyrics of later albums Adore and Machina as an improvement.
Regarding the band's influence upon other groups, Greg Kot has said, "Whereas Nirvana spawned countless mini-Nirvanas, the Pumpkins remain an island unto themselves." However, many artists and bands have mentioned the Pumpkins as an influence, including Nelly Furtado
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
, Annuals
Annuals
Annuals is a six-piece indie-pop outfit from Raleigh and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band was started by Adam Baker in 2003 as a side project of the still active sister band Sunfold, formerly known as Sedona and headed up by lead guitarist Kenny Florence....
, My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance is an American alternative rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way and have a diverse sound incorporating elements of punk, emo, glam metal, and progressive rock...
, Kill Hannah
Kill Hannah
Kill Hannah is a rock band formed in 1993 in Chicago. The band has released six studio albums, seven EPs, and two compilation albums as well as three DVDs.-History:...
, and Deftones
Deftones
Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
. Critics have found connections with the Pumpkins' sound in various Deftones albums, as well as in the work of Silversun Pickups
Silversun Pickups
Silversun Pickups is an alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2002. The band comprises Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Christopher Guanlao, and Joe Lester....
and early Feeder
Feeder
-Technology:* Feeder , any of several devices used in apiculture to supplement or replace natural food sources* Feeder , another name for a riser, a reservoir built into a metal casting mold to prevent cavities due to shrinkage...
.
Music videos
The Smashing Pumpkins have been praised for being "responsible for some of the '90s' most striking and memorable video clips" and for having "approached videos from a completely artistic standpoint rather than mere commercials to sell albums". MTV's 2001 anniversary special Testimony: 20 Years of Rock on MTV credited the Pumpkins, along with Nine Inch NailsNine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
, with treating music videos as an art form during the 1990s. Corgan has said, "We generally resisted the idea of what I call the classic MTV rock video, which is like lots of people jumping around and stuff." The band worked with video directors including Kevin Kerslake
Kevin Kerslake
Kevin Kerslake is an American music video director. He has directed videos for Stone Temple Pilots, Filter, R.E.M., 311, Faith No More, Green Day, The Used, 10 Years, Depeche Mode, The Smashing Pumpkins, Papa Roach, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Rise Against, Insane Clown Posse, The Offspring, and Blue...
("Cherub Rock"), Samuel Bayer
Samuel Bayer
Samuel David Bayer is an American commercial, music video and film director, and cinematographer.-Early life:Bayer was born in Syracuse, New York...
("Bullet with Butterfly Wings"), and, most frequently, the team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris are a team of American music video directors, also husband and wife, that received critical acclaim for their feature film directorial debut, Little Miss Sunshine....
("Rocket", "1979
1979 (song)
"1979" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. Released in 1996 as the second single from their third studio album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, "1979" was written by frontman Billy Corgan, and features loops and samples that were uncharacteristic of previous...
", "Tonight, Tonight", "The End is the Beginning is the End", and "Perfect"). Corgan, who was frequently heavily involved in the conception of the videos, said of Dayton and Faris, "I know my [initial] versions are always darker, and they're always talking me into something a little kinder and gentler." Videos like "Today", "Rocket", and "1979" dealt with images taken from middle American culture, albeit exaggerated. The group's videos so often avoid the literal interpretation of the song lyrics that the video for "Thirty-Three", with images closely related to the words of the song, was created as an intentional stylistic departure.
The band was nominated for several MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
during the 1990s. In 1996, the group won seven VMAs total for the "1979" and "Tonight, Tonight" videos, including the top award, Video of the Year, for "Tonight, Tonight". The video was also nominated for a Grammy at the 1997 ceremony. Fans reacted with equal fervor. Of the "Tonight, Tonight" video, Corgan remarked, "I don't think we've ever had people react [like this]... it just seemed to touch a nerve."
Shortly after the band's initial breakup, the Greatest Hits Video Collection
Greatest Hits Video Collection
The Smashing Pumpkins - Greatest Hits Video Collection is a video album containing nearly all of The Smashing Pumpkins music videos released prior to the band's breakup in late 2000...
was released, collecting the band's music videos from 1991-2000 and including commentary from Corgan, Iha, Chamberlin, and various music video directors with outtakes, live performances, and the "Try Try Try" extended short film. The band has released several music videos since the reunion to YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and other online sources.
Discography
- GishGishGish is the debut album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released in May 1991 through Caroline Records. Frontman Billy Corgan described Gish as a "very spiritual album"...
(1991) - Siamese DreamSiamese DreamSiamese Dream is the second album by the American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 27, 1993 on Virgin Records. The album fused diverse influences such as shoegazing, dream pop, grunge, classic rock, heavy metal, and progressive rock.Despite recording sessions fraught...
(1993) - Mellon Collie and the Infinite SadnessMellon Collie and the Infinite SadnessMellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is the third album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released October 24, 1995 on Virgin Records. Produced by frontman Billy Corgan with Flood and Alan Moulder, the twenty-eight-track album was released as a two-disc CD and triple LP...
(1995) - Adore (1998)
- Machina/The Machines of GodMACHINA/The Machines of GodMachina/The Machines of God is the fifth album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on February 29, 2000 by Virgin Records. A concept album, it marked the return of drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and was intended to be the band's final official LP release prior to their first...
(2000) - Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern MusicMACHINA II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern MusicMachina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music is the sixth album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was released for free on the Internet on September 5, 2000...
(2000) - ZeitgeistZeitgeist (The Smashing Pumpkins album)Zeitgeist is the seventh album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on July 10, 2007 in the United States and Canada. It was the first album The Smashing Pumpkins released after their 2000 disbandment and 2005 reunion. The album was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, Billy...
(2007) - Teargarden by KaleidyscopeTeargarden by KaleidyscopeTeargarden by Kaleidyscope is the eighth album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. A series of 44 individual songs, it is being released one track at a time through free MP3 downloads over the course of several years...
(2009 – present) - OceaniaOceania (album)-Personnel:*Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion*Jeff Schroeder – guitar*Nicole Fiorentino – bass guitar, backing vocals*Mike Byrne – drums, backing vocals*Bob Ludwig – mastering...
(2012)
See also
- List of The Smashing Pumpkins band members
- List of The Smashing Pumpkins awards and nominations
- Timeline of alternative rockTimeline of alternative rock__NOTOC_1980 - 1981 - 1982 - 1983 - 1984 - 1985 - 1986 - 1987 - 1988 - 1989 - 1990 - 1991 - 1992 - 1993 - 1994 - 1995 - 1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2010 - See also- 1979 :* Newly formed bands...