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A New Smashing Pumpkins Song… That Doesn’t Totally Suck
By Skwerl
Monday, December 7, 2009
Smashing Pumpkins (AKA Billy Corgan) has released A Song For A Son, the first of a promised 44 tracks to be released one at a time, eventually to be released as an album called Teargarden By Kaleidyscope. We reported the details of the plan in September.
Pitchfork called it “Epic,” suggesting it be thought of as Stairway To Heaven “Part 2.” That’s a bit misleading of course because Pitchfork writers don’t understand the meaning of the word epic any more than Sarah Palin understands the meaning of the word rogue. But a good writer doesn’t get hung up on details like the meanings of the words they’re using, so far be it from me to criticize the expression.
To put the recommendation into context, I dug all the way back to Friday, the last time Pitchfork called something “Epic.” As the final gasps of warbled synth-rock chirping escaped the fragments of my speakers, my blinding rage subsided, and I gave A Song For A Son a spin.
In this case, “Epic” just means it’s six minutes long, has some piano, and a guitar solo. Stairway To Heaven Part 2? Only in some hipster’s wildest delusions. Billy Corgan is no Robert Plant, to put it kindly.
Still, it’s the best thing we’ve gotten from Corgan in a long time. Corgan’s typically restrained vocals are especially high in the mix, not helped by repetitive high-school-poetic lyrics. However, the music composition truly has a classic quality, more mature and cultivated than perhaps anything in the band’s entire back catalogue. I’ve made a lot of excuses for Corgan here, and honestly, I’m getting a little tired of it. But if this is an indication of the craftsmanship of Teargarden By Kaleidyscope, it still has a chance of validating all this ink.
Did Tenacious D write these lyrics???
haha ink.
You are right, that doesn’t totally suck. Compositionally good, lyrically wanting. But something else seems missing…..vocals are too way out front, and the overall production sounds kinda tinny. Needs more bass. Cool, but not really heavy like it could be.
right, right. i was careful to avoid saying that it didn’t suck, or that it totally doesn’t suck. only that it doesn’t totally suck.
enough to keep some hope alive. hoping some of the other 44 songs are as good, yet not as ruined by the mix / vocals / lyrics.
Hmm. That was actually kind of good. Please everybody turn the volume down before you listen otherwise you’ll jump out your panties when Billy’s voice comes in. For a second I thought the bald weirdo had snuck up behind me in my house. Push those vocals back in the mix and bring that organ forward some. This track has my attention. Ball is in your court Mr. Corgan.
The drumming on this is horrendous. hands down worst drumming I have ever heard on an SP track. Is Jimmy Chamberlin back on smack? someone needs to get him back in the practice shack, stat!
I really liked this. Apparently a higher quality downloadable version will be released at midnight tonight via their official website. I thought the drums were pretty great during the guitar solo, which was pretty “epic”. Hoping the download will sound a lil better production wise, but otherwise thought this was really good.
@shannon: Jimmy Chamberlin left! 19-year-old Mike Byrne is handling the drums now. And yeah, the song is OK.
Never really liked SP other than Machina (gave my iPod its name too, heh), but this was good according to the SP scale. And yeah, seems like Corgan likes his voice too much.
SP is one of those bands that was always supposed to be cooler than they actually were, just like STP. This song sucks, just like most SP songs. They had a few good jams, but I’d be amazed if they/he has any more.
Let’s go back in time and play this alongside Gish, or Siamese Dream, or even Mellon Collie, which had a batch of its own throwaway tracks. Does this track hold up? Does it even come close to sounding like anything that could compare to the songs on those albums? Hell no is the answer to that. Let’s not go dumbing down our expectations to fit dwindling capabilities.
I never was the biggest SP fan in the world and this song has done nothing to change that. As many have said the vocals are far too loud and it was far from epic. I’ll just go listen to the new Cold War Kids song again instead.
Nothing extraordinary here. Corgan’s vocal abilities are better displayed in this tune than perhaps they ever have been — which I think explains, or is perhaps explained by, the fact that they are so front and center. But this attempt at retroversion falls short — this song blows. What’s more saddening is that Corgan, the alleged musical maverick and once-respectable musician that he is, is utilizing the same formula employed by many creatively defunct artists, in that he’s [yet again] attempting to “go in a new direction” [that doesn't suit him]. Let’s call this song what it is — SHIT.
That’s some seriously terrible, terrible production.
But yeah I guess the song doesn’t totally suck.
I don’t think the pumpkins were ever one of those bands were front to back the album was all good tracks. They came close, but there was always a few stinkers. Not to be to optimistic but I’d hope billy peak with the first of the 44 tracks
I disagree, Porkspam. Front to back, every song on Siamese Dream is a gem. No stinkers there. Mellon Collie had a few less-than-stellar songs, but, c’mon, there’s 28 songs on that. And very little filler. Front to back, that is a pretty complete album also.
I love Smashing Pumpkins, every song ever. Their music means a lot to me, and you guys arent giving Billy’s talent and prowess near enough recognition. He’s a better musician than anyone writing on this page and probably always will be. Albeit, the new drummer sucks.
Chamberlin was a BEAST. Listen to Bring The Light from Zeitgeist and tell me im wrong.
I thing this song wants to hit the mark, but doesn’t quite make it there.
Lyrically, wtf.
Musically, Thin Lizzy.
Production-ally, fail.
if he’s so damn talented why is all of his solo stuff (which includes this and most of zeitgeist) suck so hard, compared to oh say.. zwan, which was practically fuckin’ transcendental live, and was at least tolerable otherwise.
Yikes. How could he have not improved his singing after so many years.
It wounds me deeply to hear Billy Corgan as the musical equivalent of the blind squirrel looking for the proverbial nut. The same Billy Corgan who provided the soundtrack for my late teens and early 20s. The same Billy Corgan that guided me through my first experiences with love and heartache. The same guy who wrote Drown, I Am One, Soma, Mayonaise, Porcelina of the Vast Oceans, Thru the Eyes of Ruby, Crestfallen and For Martha. It almost seems appropriate that as I’m trying in vain to find more music that makes me feel the way I felt the first time I listened to Siamese Dream or Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Billy is impotently trying to grasp at the ethereal qualities that used to make him so idolized.
There are bright points to this song – the intro and the first part of the guitar solo – just enough to make me look forward to seeing if he recaptured some magic on the next of the 44 tracks. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that each track will provide just enough of a tease of what The Smashing Pumpkins used to be that it will come together in an undeniable train wreck and make us all feel older for it.
[...] Smashing Pumpkins tracks to eventually be released as an album called Teargarden By Kaleidyscope. There was a debate over whether the first song was any good, and as someone with a memory stretching more than five [...]
UUGGHHH… the drums?!!!!! the drums are horrific. great song , but what are they thinking with this new drummer??? this kid is aweful!
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