billycorgan.com

Recently I have been transfixed into a shadow world of broken promises, broken dreams, fulfilled destiny, childhood awkwardness, band dissension, and other skeletons from closets. I was brought there courtesy of the man himself, Billy Corgan. He has been posting various "chapters" of what appears to be his autobiography and updates on his current travels. This has been a fascinating read for anyone, especially a fan of Corgans work. He has been closely guarded with his upbringing in the past and he's finally threw open the windows, letting all the light in. You really do get a sense of why he is the way he is and why he's turned in to the person and musician he's become. He seems to be updating it almost daily with new chapters. Check it out when you have time. It's a long read, but worth it.

Official Website



• billycorgan.com

What's spinning in my players...

1)Hum - "Downward is Heavenward"
With rumors of a Hum reunion swirling, (OK, not really, but there is a little talk
among the three fans left that they'll record later this year), I've rediscovered
one of my favorites from long ago. Fuzzy guitars and even fuzzier sounds, I'm glad
I re-found this.
2)The Black Crowes - "Amorica"
With rumors of a Black Crowes reuni... no, wait! They have! They're touring
again in support of Tom Petty this summer. This is a classic rock record that is
so overlooked, it's criminal. Not their masterpiece (that came on "Southern
Harmony"), but their second best album in my opinion.
3)Ani Difranco - "Living in Clip"
I refuse to apologize for liking Ani Difanco. I wish there were more like her in
the music industry. Severely independent, she releases her records through her own
record company and tours like hell to support them. This is a terrific live record
that captures her at the peak of her shows.
4)Beck - "Guero"
A fantastic album that is getting comparisons to "Odelay". A review to come later.

The Over-rated Nirvana...

Many critics in recent weeks have been singing the praises of the recent release of a box set by Nirvana. I want to start this post by saying one thing first and foremost: I like Nirvana, own all the albums, think they were a good band and enjoyable for their time. Now that that's out of the way, I want to say another thing that's been on my mind. Nirvana are probably (maybe only eclipsed by the Sex Pistols, more to come on these clowns in the future...) the most overrated band of all time. Many critics have compared Kurt Cobain to John Lennon and made other grand statements about how he was the voice of a generation. This is really, really far off. The only reason Kurt Cobain is considered in such high regard these days is because he cowardly took his own life. His band was no more important than any of the other bands exploding at the time, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins were all as "great" if not more so. Many times a magazine will try to convince me that Nirvana is one of the top five bands of all time, and I put the rag down, shake my head and just stare off in to the distance puzzled. How can one make an argument that Niravana belongs in the same league as artists such as The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, U2, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, etc... ? Quite simply, you can't.
Nevermind was a great album, and that was about it for Nirvana. But you can't take a band that released one great album and seriously make an argument that they belong in a group that released albums of similar quality but volumes of it. Would Nirvana have released a few more landmark albums had Kurt Cobain not killed himself. Maybe, but more than likely not. One album does not a legend make in my book. Some will say that I'm being too hard on them, no one will ever be a "Beatles" or "Bob Dylan" and I would say that maybe that's the point. Those bands are considered the greatest based upon a volume of classic work, whereas Nirvana has one "landmark" album to lean on. In conclusion, he wasn't the "voice of a generation" (in fairness, he would tell you so himself...), Nirvana weren't the only band that blew hair metal back where it belonged, and they will never belong in a list of the top ten greatest of all time.

The Smashing Pumpkins Digital Catalog...

One of the more puzzling omissions from download services such as ITunes or Napster has been the Smashing Pumpkins catalog. That all changed today when Billy Corgan released all the Pumpkins albums and a large amount of rare tracks and B-sides to these services. People can now download any album or any individual track from these records and I say it's about time. There's even some things in there for the Pumpkins diehard like myself, from the cover of "Terrapin" (originally done by Syd Barrett) to "Bullet Train to Osaka" to any track from the "Aeroplane Flies High" box set. These are all welcome additions for all Pumpkins fans, casual to the insanely obsessed who is starting to worry his family and friends.