The Smashing Pumpkins: Oceania

[TwoOfAKind]

The three songs released so far are incredible and now I can't wait for the full release.

Also Oceania ROCKS!!!

 

[Rowsdower!]

Yeah, I really like the new ones and I agree, Oceania is amazing. I used to frequent this one Pumpkins forum (blamonet, which doesn't exist anymore) and people there were so down on Oceania it had me scratching my head. I thought the album was fantastic and possibly the best thing Billy has done since Adore (though I do love the Zwan album, Machina II and thought Zeitgeist was decent). I think he fell into a rut during that "Teargarden by Kaleidoscope" period... it's probably good he abandoned whatever he was going for there.

Here are my top 10 "Post-Crisis" Pumpkins songs since Billy (sort-of) reformed the band:

1. Inkless
2. Quasar
3. Gossamer
4. Stellar
5. The Chimera
6. Starz
7. Come On, Let's Go!
8. Sunkissed
9. Again, Again, Again
10. The Celestials

ALSO: New song has been released.

http://www.stereogum.com/1720598/the-smashing-pumpkins-drum-fife/mp3s/

 

[Rowsdower!]

SP and Marilyn Manson teamed up to cover Ava Adore. A little rough around the edges but overall pretty awesome. I've always preferred the live rock version of this song over the synth-heavy studio version. It sounds even more badass with Manson handling some of the vocals.

http://www.spin.com/articles/smashi...k&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=spinfacebook

 

[OcStat]

Got tickets to see them this weekend and I am beyond stoked. I've never seen Brad Wilk perform live and that announcement was totally out of left field yet left me very intrigued. I'm hoping a few Oceania songs will still be in the set list. It's like the whole resurrected Pumpkins era built up to that album, there are a lot of great songs on it.

I've dug the new tunes released so far. Played the first two for a while, haven't listened to Drum + Fife yet, and I heard Tiberius once...decided to wait till tomorrow to hear the rest. Tiberius was really good, any more songs like that and I'm sure it will be another quality album. I mean, I hate Motley Crüe, but Tommy Lee is obviously no slouch.

Teargarden isn't technically abandoned yet... the song at a time experiment didn't last but these albums are still a part of that whole concept...whatever that may be. I am personally wondering if the box set Billy talked about when TbK started will materialize or not. Seeing as volume. 3 never got a physical release like the first two, it's hard to say.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Listening to the new album now... some good stuff and some weird stuff that I hope grows on me. Right now, I'd say the highlights are Tiberius, Beige Beige, Drum + Fife, Run2Me and Anti-Hero. Some songs like Anaise! remind me of some of the more obtuse parts of Mellon Collie... that one in particular reminds me of We Only Come Out at Night.

All in all, I'm not in love with it like I was with Oceania but I'm digging most of the tracks.

 

[Rorschach2012]

rows, you got great taste in superheroes and music

 

[Matt Mortem]

I think this new album is so much better than Oceania. Nothing on Oceania worked for me. None of it.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Thanks, Rors!

Also, listening to the track "Dorian" now... if you're a fan of any of the REALLY early SP stuff... those rarities that showed up on the epic Mashed Potatoes boxed set and other places like "There it Goes" and "My Dahlia," you'll probably dig it. Interesting to see Corgan returning THAT far back to his roots.

 

[Rowsdower!]

I think this new album is so much better than Oceania. Nothing on Oceania worked for me. None of it.

I've heard other people say the same... I'm curious, why didn't you like it? I personally thought Quasar, The Chimera and Inkless are the most kickass tracks he's written in like the past 15 years.

EDIT: Hey! Wait a minute here! I just took a look on the previous page and found this quote by you:

I gave this is a listening. I loved it. Of course, I've essentially loved everything the Pumpkins have done. Oceania is terrific. Well done Mr. Corgan, well done.

Haha, I suppose everyone can have a change of heart over something. That's quite a 180 though. What changed your mind?

 

[Rorschach2012]

can i get a hell yeah for 90s alternative?

 

[Rowsdower!]

Hell yeah! Best era in music, IMO. And also one of the most tragic. I always wonder what might have been, had Kurt Cobain not committed suicide; had Jonathan Melvoin not ODed, resulting in Billy Corgan temporarily kicking Jimmy Chamberin out of SP; had Layne Staley not died; had Scott Weiland kicked the habit and put out a dozen more albums with STP; etc. It was too good of an era to last, I guess. I'm glad it's somewhat made a comeback with SP, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains (sort of) returning, but sadly, we'll never fully recapture the magic of that era.

(Sigh). Now I need to watch Singles again.

 

[Rorschach2012]

i listen to the radio today and it's just depressing. to think that all those great bands (nirvana, stp, aic, pj, soundgarden, etc) used to be played on popular radio stations .... damn...

the music on the radio today is just so weak. the only modern rock band i really like is Avenged Sevenfold. The recent album was amazing imo, it totally harkens back to Metallica's Black Album and classic GNR

 

[Rowsdower!]

Yeah, I don't even know what's popular anymore in mainstream rock because whatever it is, I'm sure I'd ****ing hate it.

 

[OcStat]

The last truly great brand to break into the mainstream was The Mars Volta, in my opinion. Their guitarist Omar Rodriguez made it onto the cover of Rolling Stone several times, and the band one a Grammy for one of the gnarliest songs you'll ever hear, Wax Simulacra. Still, even that was years ago and mainstream music has declined even further since then.

For the most part though Rock is gone from the radio, and whatever "rock" is there, is heartless and hollow. The Pumpkins survive in the mainstream in spite of the current climate but that is because Billy knows how to maneuver through it.

My favorite rock bands playing now probably would never see the same level of world wide success as the bands in the '90's, but they are writing some great stuff, RX Bandits and Circa Survive are the first two that come to mind. I'll be seeing RX this weekend also, the day after SP. Road trip!!

Just got the new SP album and am going to listen to it now on my work commute. On sale for 7 bucks!

 

[OcStat]

For those interested, and who don't already know: The Smashing Pumpkins will be performing with their original drummer Jimmy Chamberlain for the "End Times" Tour, co-headlining with Marilyn Manson.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/c...mberlin-billy-corgan-2015-tour-marilyn-manson

I can't find the article I read yesterday that had the latest quotes from Jimmy, but basically he is playing this tour, as he has obligations to a company he runs, and is learning new songs and old live arrangements for sets specific to this tour.

 

[Rowsdower!]

For those interested, and who don't already know: The Smashing Pumpkins will be performing with their original drummer Jimmy Chamberlain for the "End Times" Tour, co-headlining with Marilyn Manson.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/c...mberlin-billy-corgan-2015-tour-marilyn-manson

I can't find the article I read yesterday that had the latest quotes from Jimmy, but basically he is playing this tour, as he has obligations to a company he runs, and is learning new songs and old live arrangements for sets specific to this tour.

Whoa, thanks for the update! I hadn't heard that Jimmy would be performing with Billy again. I may need to check it out. Jimmy is fantastic live. And I've always wanted to see Manson.

 

[OcStat]

Yeah he really hasn't done much music wise to my knowledge since "This"/Skysaw, they did a tour with Minus the Bear after their EP came out and then kind of disappeared. I saw a video of him at a conference promoting his company which I believe is called LiveOne, I guess that has taken most of his time. I got to see SP with Jimmy before he left in 08, and it was awesome. Pumpkins are headlining too.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Yeah, Jimmy is a beast. I'll try not to get my hopes up, but it would be awesome if him and Billy collaborated on some new material. Even though (in my opinion) Oceania was a much better album than Zeitgeist, it would have been even better with Jimmy's drumming.

But Monuments is the first SP album I stopped listening to after a month or so. It has some solid material on it, just not enough. I think only having 9 tracks really hurts it. If it had 12 or 14 (and a few of those extra tracks were really good) then I could forgive the weaker moments on the album. But if you release an album with only 9 songs on it, they'd better ALL be good.

 

[OcStat]

I wasn't sure of Monuments at first listen but it grew on me. It has a solid groove throughout that the Pumpkins haven't really done before... like an album of "Today"s or something. Refined, straight forward, an album that is just rock and roll, does give it a unique feel amongst the discography. The drums leave something to be desired but Lee does a good job laying down a steady beat and embellishing just enough, "Being Beige" and "One and All". Though that first fill on Monuments is so flat, the rest of that tune is on point. Agreed on Oceania, if it would have been better with Jimmy, Monuments could have been better with Mike Byrne. Both albums being better with Jimmy goes without saying, haha. I'd like to see how Jimmy plays the Monument songs, seemed like Brad Wilk stuck to what Tommy was playing.

Good thing about Monuments to an Elegy is it is only part 1 of 2. It doesn't have any songs rushing to the top of my favorites list, much as I like some and as catchy as they can be, but when we get the next album it will be interesting to see how they work together.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Yeah, that's true. Perhaps Monuments 2 or whatever it's called will click with me more.

 

[John G. Lodge]

I have Oceania and Pisces Iscariot pending. Monuments was short, yet cool.

 

[OcStat]

If you don't have the Oceania Live in NY DVD or Blu-ray I recommend it, the whole album from start to finish and a second set that has some great songs.

I was listening to Machina I and mannnn I can not wait for that remaster, hopefully it's taking so long because the "final" Metro show will be included. Billy did say, if I recall correctly, that the Machina remaster will have both I and II.

 

[Zantera]

I definitely hold Oceania higher than Monuments, mainly because I think Billy Corgan makes such great music when he is channeling more of a progressive rock vibe, like on the title track of Oceania. The Pumpkins have plenty of great short songs, but a lot of the ones on Monuments are over before they get interesting, whereas on Oceania they all feel unique and bring something new to the album.

 

[OcStat]

I definitely hold Oceania higher than Monuments, mainly because I think Billy Corgan makes such great music when he is channeling more of a progressive rock vibe, like on the title track of Oceania. The Pumpkins have plenty of great short songs, but a lot of the ones on Monuments are over before they get interesting, whereas on Oceania they all feel unique and bring something new to the album.

That is the best Pumpkins song of the resurrected era.

 

[Zantera]

It's definitely a strong contender. Top 3 for me for sure. Oceania, Pinwheels, and as much hate as the album gets, I think United States is a clear highlight of Zeitgeist. Hearing that song really makes me miss Jimmy on the drums.