[Zantera]

I'm gonna say NO. While it would be possible for another singer/guitarist to go in and play the songs and do a good job, Billy is the main driving force of the band. His amazing creative ability is what has created most of the songs, and I can't see anyone else replace him. He's just way too good and important to be replaced.

[M9R]

Razorstar, on 19 July 2012 - 03:26 AM, said:

RHETORICAL QUESTION ALERT.

Article in The Guardian based on the Daily Beast interview:

(For clarification: er... I wrote this. It's a fun rhetorical thing asking broader questions about music and identity, not a serious issue (I doubt Billy was being properly serious) or a dig at what I can confidently say is my favourite band (check my posting history, I've been an on/off O-board contributor since 1999), so try not to flame me for flippancy. Ta.)

link fixed

http://www.guardian....ut-billy-corgan

Can you have peanut butter without jelly if thats all youve had all your life

[BlueSkiesBringTears]

...is there even a remotely logical point to jump into this conversation? Get some jobs, or something, kids.

[M9R]

jobs? I am on vacation (surfing SP forums sure beats drugs and alcohol)lol

[Whicker]

I sometimes dream that billy will retire from playing live and I would be his stage presence Lol. In all seriousness I don't think the band could continue without him.

[davidp2007]

Razorstar, on 24 July 2012 - 03:36 AM, said:

Again, you did read the article, right?





Have to take issue with this if you're calling me out on journalistic integrity. It's not misleadingly referenced at all- that quote is self contained and self explanatory. I read the entire piece, and it doesn't change the meaning of that comment alone. I don't think Billy was being at all serious, I think he was just trying to get a reaction as usual, to start a conversartion, but that quote can hardly be taken out of context, it's VERY clear.

I meant the article as a conversation starter- what is a classic band? Can they still be the same people? Your comments on Pink Floyd and Genesis are exactly the conversation I wanted to have.

Incidentally I'd suggest when Roger Waters left Pink Floyd they ceased to be Pink Floyd. But that's just an opinion.

I don't think he was being serious either. Billy has talked a lot over the years about what people's image of the band is, and even commented that people had a rosey picture of what they did, but it does not match the reality. That particular paraphrase was from the XM Artist Confidential. I think many of us have emotional connection to the original four as they were the Pumpkins for many years. But at least some of us have embraced new members as well. Melissa was essentially treated by the band as a 'honorary Pumpkin' and I think a lot of us also saw her that way too.

While in an ideal world it would have been nice to have the four original members back together, it obviously wasn't going to work and Billy often talks about how toxic was on a personal level to be in that version of the band. But I think it's The Smashing Pumpkins if Billy is part of it, based on the way he is approaching the music. So I don't count Zwan or Billy solo in this, while others might. Even if you don't think it's good Smashing Pumpkins or as good as the original, to me it's still Smashing Pumpkins.

Now with this new line-up I think they are doing justice the new music and the old music, perhaps much more so than the previous incarnations since the reformation. I think for example Nicole fits more in both the visual and auditory aesthetic of the Pumpkins than Ginger. Jeff seems to mesh well with Billy. Mike is still no Jimmy Chamberlin, but he's young and it's hard to match Jimmy. I think he is getting better and better, and I enjoy his drumming. I know others have been pretty vocal that they disagree with this, but anyways, this is my opinion :p/>.

After all that, to answer your question I will have to say no, you can't have SP without Billy Corgan. The original members, while they didn't play as much on the albums, did have an impact on the music just from the dynamic but Billy still was the main driving force behind everything. You need his voice and performance, not just his lyrics to make it the Pumpkins.

Don't get me wrong, I like SP songs performed by others just fine, sometimes a lot. I know some people don't like covers, I tend to like them on a case by case basis. But that is different than embracing a band called SP when its principal songwriter and vocalist would no longer be performing with the band. Before 1996, I think we took it for granted that SP's lineup after October 5, 1988 was unchanging, while other bands were constantly changing their lineup. But the reality is band's do change lineups, but with SP it's different. The band is bigger than the individual members as he suggests. However, you both need the right dynamic to be make it good or great SP, and the one constant always has to be Billy. For better or worse, Billy Corgan makes the band The Smashing Pumpkins.

[M9R]

davidp2007, on 07 August 2012 - 10:21 PM, said:

For better or worse, Billy Corgan makes the band The Smashing Pumpkins.

The fans make the band A.K.A The Smashing Pumpkins.

[gravymonster]

Razorstar, on 19 July 2012 - 03:26 AM, said:

RHETORICAL QUESTION ALERT.

Article in The Guardian based on the Daily Beast interview:

(For clarification: er... I wrote this. It's a fun rhetorical thing asking broader questions about music and identity, not a serious issue (I doubt Billy was being properly serious) or a dig at what I can confidently say is my favourite band (check my posting history, I've been an on/off O-board contributor since 1999), so try not to flame me for flippancy. Ta.)

link fixed

http://www.guardian....ut-billy-corgan

I guess i'll stop lurking for this. About 13 years ago I posted on the smashing pumpkins usenet a series of posts a bunch of fake news articles detailing a transformation of the band to where it eventually had no original members. It was right after Melissa joined the band. I was mostly being bored and silly when I wrote them but now they seem sort of apropos. Anyway. I attatched them here. Someone might find them funny. They were written by a much younger me. But as dumb as they are, I think they still capture just how dumb it would be to have SP without Billy.

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