Trick or Treat?
So it’s October and that makes me think of Halloween and when I think of Halloween I think of witches, ghosts, trick or treat and of course pumpkins. Speaking of pumpkins, what’s going on with the whole Smashing Pumpkins reunion?" It’s been over a year now since Billy Corgan announced to the world that he wanted to “renew and revive the Smashing Pumpkins.” The Tribune article was a great teaser that has yet to deliver. Don’t get me wrong I know the rumors are true and in fact he’s in the studio right now in L.A. However I guess the bigger questions is not if but why if it’s just him and Jimmy Chamberlin representing the “New” Smashing Pumpkins? I know it would be great to hear all of those great tunes again that he hasn’t played live since Decenber 2nd of 2000 when the Pumpkins officially broke up at Chicago’s Metro. Blah blah blah. But why not play those songs anyway as Billy Corgan, Zwan or whatever you want to become next? Does it really feel right without James Iha and D’arcy back in the fold as well? Not to me. One of the things that made the Pixies reunion work so well and not turn into Frank Black’s Pixies was the simple fact it was the Pixies. When you looked on stage it wasn’t just Frank in the spotlight it was also Kim Deal smiling back at you puffing a cigarette and it was Joey Santiago with a little less hair on guitar backed by magic lover David Lovering hiding in the shadows on drums. Of course it’s the music but it’s also the people that you grew up with connected to those songs as well that makes the band, isn’t it? I recently watched the Smashing Pumpkins Grea-*test*-('") Hits Video Collection and it brought me back to the decade of the 1990’s. A decade that was a total mess for me but the music was so fucking great. One of those bands was the Pumpkins with songs like the beautiful “Drown” from the Singles soundtrack to the perfection of pop with “Today”. Billy and the band delivered a perfect amount of distortion along with thought provoking lyrics that helped me to get through that difficult time in my life. Billy might have been behind most of it in the studio if not all of it but it was everyone else that helped to make it work live. So in closing if you say things like "I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams" then really mean it. While all of the original members are still alive and kicking shouldn't you do it the right way or not at all? I know you were the genius behind the Pumpkins there’s no question in my mind, all I’m saying is the sum of the parts equal the whole. Without that all you have is the Smashing Pumpkins in name only with two original members.http://www.luminomagazine.com/mw/content/view/1457/1/