The Smashing Pumpkins played a  two night show in NYC at a club and a bit of controversy sparked while there. Billy Corgan and the band were booed by the fans. Not only that, a fan from the crowd got on stage, speaking through the mic, harrasing Billy Corgan about how much their show sucked because the band Smashing Pumpkins hardily ever played their biggest hits played on the radio. The Pumpkins mostly played their obscure material, in other words, songs that aren’t hits. That’s what the fans were upset at the band about.

Blabbermouth reports:

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=108618

In defense for Billy and the band, the fans are just being whiny pussies. This is why the major label industry sucks. Most of the so called fans only want to hear the “hits” at concerts. They seem to get bored at any obscure song being played by a band, any band, not just the Pumpkins.

Understand the truth, music fans. Bands play what they fuckin’ want to play at their shows. It’s their show, their music. Don’t like it? Then why did you go? I personally love it when bands play obscure and not well known songs at their concerts. In fact, I would be bored to death if a band played nothing but hit songs you hear 20 times a day on the radio. It’s good to have a variety of setlists at your shows. Bands simply don’t want to be playing the same damn songs at every show and that’s where the Pumpkins come from.

I go to a band concert to hear music and enjoy myself. I don’t care what song a band or artist plays, I just want to hear them playing live. That’s the Pumpkins job. They are a live band. The Pumpkins didn’t do anything wrong here. Just fans whining. That’s all I’m seeing.

Billy said so himself, the 20 year Anniversary of the Smashing Pumpkins is a celebration of where the band is, not where they’ve been. Meaning that the tour is supposed to celebrate the music of the Pumpkins of the last 20 years, it is not about their mainstream success. Which means you won’t be hearing a lot of radio hits of the Pumpkins on this tour and Billy admits this will take a lot of heat from the fans by saying “Enjoy if you will, we realize it’s not for everybody”. Makes perfectly sense to me.

Those “fans” are not actual fans of the Smashing Pumpkins, they are probably radio fanboys that want to hear nothing but hit songs. A true Smashing Pumpkins fan would let the band play whatever they wanted. Fuck the hits. I want to hear the music, like a piece of art and experiencing the buzz of a live performance, that’s what it’s all about.

Kev

Wow! The Smashing Pumpkins really do have some beef against the Virgin Records label do they? Billy Corgan is not the only one who sued the label, James Iha and D’arcy Wretzky-Brown is suing the label too, the two former members are accusing the label of not paying them their profits when they signed the deal with Billy Corgan. It is for downloads and other digital material of the Smashing Pumpkins music such as Itunes  and sites like those.

Billboard reports:

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003831909

Why is money so important to these rock stars? If that was me, I wouldn’t care. I’d be flattered if my songs were sold digitally if I was a famous rock star, but unfortunately to these two, it’s understandable why they want their money from Virgin since they are no longer in the band. When was the last time you saw James Iha or D’arcy do something musically? Nothing from what I see.

Kev

Jimmy Chamberlin wrote on the Pumpkins official blog that the band will not record another album on CD. But he claims that the band will never break up and always will be making music, just not on CD’s you buy at the record stores. Sounds to me the band will release songs in mp3’s similar to what Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead has done.

From the Pumpkins blog:

http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/blog_3471

Don’t worry, Billy and Jimmy will release another Pumpkins CD down the road again although they claim they won’t.

Kev

Billy Corgan spoke to Billboard.com over the phone while touring in Australia with the band. He continues to slam Virgin Records and Billy sounds pretty pissed off in this interview.

Read it here:

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003741748

I’m sure you all know that “Zeit Geist” wasn’t released on Virgin Records, so the band and Virgin Records obviously had a long history of negative grudges.

I respect the band for this, it’s their music. If you own the music, you can sue who you want to who ever uses it without permission.

It’s all about copyright, copyright, copyright. Remember that!

Kev

Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins has filed a lawsuit against the label Virgin Records, claiming the label had no rights for using their band name and music for promotional and “Pepsi Stuff” advertisements with Amazon and Pepsi Co. Virgin Records has been the Pumpkins longtime record label for more than 17 years. The lawsuit demands that the label should pay the band with the profits earned in the promotion and to stop using the Pumpkins name or music in the future.

The band says they work extremely hard to keep the Smashing Pumpkins music alive to this day and they don’t want promotion threatening their artistic integrity…

More on it here:

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20080325/D8VKF1IO0.html

I said it before and will say it again.

If you’re a musician or a solo performer who own your music by copyright, you have the right to do what you please with it.

So don’t get pissed at a band for going on a suing rampage, they have every right to be doing what they are doing.

It’s all about respecting the copyright and protecting a bands music.

Kev