Billy Corgan

New Release: The Smashing Pumpkins- CYR & The Colour Of Love

Smashing Pumpkins

For the past couple of weeks, The Smashing Pumpkins have been teasing something new in regards to their upcoming new album. Well, this morning they released two brand new songs, “CYR” and “The Colour Of Love.” They have an Adore feel to them along with an 80’s sensibility. It also kind of reminds me a little bit of where Billy was going on his solo album, The Future Embrace. Personally, I dig this a lot. It’s done well and the songs are well written. I look forward to this whole album which is supposed to be a double album with 20 songs. So I’ll reserve full judgement until it’s all out and I can hear it all in context. In the meantime, check out these two new songs!

CYR:

 

The Colour Of Love:

 

Alternate Versions: Billy Corgan- Tonight, Tonight (Acoustic)

Stern Show on Twitter: ".@Billy Corgan treats Howard to a rare ...

I’ve spent a lot of the past year or so doing a huge deep delve into The Smashing Pumpkins and rekindling my love for this band. It’s been pretty obvious, if you haven’t been able to tell by all the posts. Being able to watch so many different live performances of the Pumpkins of just Billy solo throughout the years has been truly awesome. There are so many great shows online as well as individual performances of certain songs. The other evening as I was falling asleep, I somehow wound up thinking about the song “Tonight, Tonight” and found myself drawn into a rabbit hole of different versions of the song on YouTube. One such performance really grabbed me for some reason and that would be from back in 2012 when Billy appeared on the Howard Stern show and performed “Tonight, Tonight” at Howard’s request and gave a little history on the song. This alternate version has been stuck with me and now you can enjoy it with me!

Billy Corgan- Tonight, Tonight on The Howard Stern Show/2012:

 

Classic Soundtracks: Ransom

BILLY CORGAN - Rats - YouTube

The 1996 movie Ransom, has something very cool about it that a lot of people don’t know. Ready for this, there are seven songs written for the film that Billy Corgan wrote and performed on. Originally, Howard Shore wrote and recorded a full score for the film but Director Ron Howard rejected it and went with notable composer James Horner instead, who collaborated with Billy Corgan. As a result, there are 7 tracks written, produced and performed by Corgan that all appear on Ransom’s soundtrack; namely “Lizards,” “Rats,” “Rats With Tails,” “Spiders,” “Squirrels,” “Worms 1” and “Worms With Vocals.” The end result are these 7 songs that are pretty spectacular and badass. This is definitely worth checking out!

 

Memorable Live Performances: The Smashing Pumpkins- Live At The Metro 1993

Soma - The Smashing Pumpkins [1993] - Live @ Metro HD. - YouTube

There are certain bands that when they come out, hit a mark with such a sense of vigor and prowess that each era of the band, leaves a lasting impression. Some people tend to become very attached to “that era” and it becomes their be all end all. The Smashing Pumpkins have so many different eras and shades of themselves that have created some very dominant ones for many fans. I will say that yes, there are certain favorites of mine but, a band like this, and so many other of their peers, have this ability to forever take you on a journey as they and you grow. The Smashing Pumpkins are definitely a band that will do just that. On the bands super deluxe version of the Siamese Dream anniversary edition, there is a DVD in there from a legendary show in the band’s hometown of Chicago, at the Metro. This is one hell of a show.

 

The Smashing Pumpkins- Live At The Metro 1993:

 

Memorable TV Performances: Zwan on David Letterman

 

Billy Corgan "discussing" possible Zwan tour | News | 96.3 JACK-fm

Way back in 2003, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin’s new band Zwan made their national TV debut on the Late Show with David Letterman while promoting the debut album, (and very underrated) Mary Star of the Sea. On this evening, they performed the song “Honestly.” It’s really too bad Zwan only lasted one album. The debut is quite stunning and what could have been with this band, we will never truly know.

 

Zwan- Honestly (live on David Letterman):

 

Cover Song: The Smashing Pumpkins (Neil Young)- Cinnamon Girl

Cinnamon Girl (Ignoffo Sessions / 2012 Mix) - YouTube

One of the best things about going back through a band’s catalog is finding all the things you forgot about. Over the last couple years, I’ve rediscovered my love for The Smashing Pumpkins, and through my journey, I keep finding so many wonderful gems. For example, in the deluxe edition of Pisces Iscariot, there are so many great songs on the bonus disc. This cover of Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” was one I forgot about. It’s really a very cool cover with a different vibe, a la 90’s. The Type O Negative cover of this song is still the best but, the pumpkins sure do a damn good job with it.

 

The Smashing Pumpkins- Cinnamon Girl:

 

 

Collaborations: The Smashing Pumpkins with Chino Moreno

 

Smashing Pumpkins Joined By Chino Moreno, Davey Havok, Courtney ...

This isn’t necessarily a “collaboration” but, it did happen and it was pretty magical. A couple years ago, The Smashing Pumpkins did a few shows to celebrate them being a band for 30 years. They invited a few people to come join them on stage, Chino Moreno of Deftones fame being one of them. They performed two classic Pumpkins songs that evening, “Bodies” from Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness and “Snail” from “Gish.” It’s almost like Chino was meant to sing “Bodies” and “Snail”when you listen to him sing them. I’d love to hear the soundboard audio of these songs but, these versions are pretty good.

 

The Smashing Pumpkins with Chino Moreno:

Bodies:

 

Snail:

Alternate Versions: Billy Corgan- Stand Inside Your Love (Acoustic)

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For quite a while now, I’ve been delving deeper and deeper into The Smashing Pumpkins and Billy Corgan catalog. Along the way, I’ve discovered a plethora of songs that I forgot about and rediscovered my love of this band and what a truly great songwriter Billy is. One of the songs that I’ve really obsessed over is “Stand Inside Your Love” from the Machina album. Every time I come across a different version of this song, I get chills and find myself lost in a trance. This is truly an amazing song. Here’s a live solo acoustic version of it that I absolutely adore.

 

Billy Corgan- Stand Inside Your Love (Acoustic):

 

Cover Song: Billy Corgan- Wrecking Ball

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I’m not really a fan of “pop” music but, I can recognize a good song when I hear it. The song “Wrecking Ball” is one of those songs that are so well written and put together. Every now and then when I hear it, I can’t help but stop and listen. While on a recent deep dive into The Smashing Pumpkins and all things related to William Patrick Corgan, I came across a few live performances of him covering “Wrecking Ball” and I couldn’t help but listen to them all. His voice and arrangements really fit perfectly with this song. When you listen, you could almost get the sense that this is something he could have written in the early to mid 2000’s, around the time of Zwan. So, here it is for you to enjoy.

 
William Patrick Corgan- Wrecking Ball:

 

From The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon:

 

Deep Cuts: Tony Iommi with Billy Corgan- Black Oblivion

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Tony Iommi is the riff master. That’s undeniable. Back in 2000 (There’s that damn year again), Tony released his first “solo” album featuring many guest vocalists like Phil Anselmo, Dave Grohl, Henry Rollins, Peter Steele, Ozzy, Billy Idol, Billy Corgan and a few others. There were a couple songs on the album that always stood out to me, the one with Phil and the one with Billy Corgan. The latter of which “Black Oblivion” is one of the coolest songs on the record and it’s pretty epic too. It’s also interesting to note too that, Billy and Tony wrote two songs for the album but, only one was picked. I know I’d be very interested to hear the other one.

Tony Iommi w/Billy Corgan- Black Oblivion: