Howard Stern

ALTERNATE VERSIONS: THE SMASHING PUMPKINS- BIRCH GROVE

It’s not a surprise to anyone that’s been reading Audioeclectica for a while that I’m a giant fan of The Smashing Pumpkins. Their catalog is one of my all time favorites and there’s always something new to discover among all the albums, b-sides, live versions and then some. During the pandemic, The Smashing Pumpkins released an album called CYR that is quite the under appreciated album in their repetoire. After countless listens and hearing a handful of these songs live, it became very apparent to me that I need to talk more about this underrated gem. One song that I really want to showcase is the song “Birch Grove.” This songs is quite a beautiful song. The version that I’m featuring was performed by Billy Corgan solo while a guest on the Howard Stern show. I love this song even more after hearing this version, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. And Happy Birthday WPC!

Birch Grove (Live On Howard Stern):





Memorable Live Performances: Stone Temple Pilots- Dancing Days on Howard Stern

Yesterday I had a Stone Temple Pilots song stuck in my head (it was “Trippin On A Hole In A Paper Heart” in case you were wondering). While I had that song replaying in my mind, I found myself delving into the very underrated and unsung masterpiece album that is Tiny Music… From The Vatican Gift Shop (which I will get into on another day because that album is truly great). During that time in 1996, while out promoting the album, Stone Temple Pilots stopped by the Howard Stern show for an interview and performance. Howard, who you can tell is a fan of the band and had them on the show throughout their career, as well as just Scott Weiland, mentioned that he loved their recent cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Dancing Days,” and low and behold, STP would go on to perform it that day on the show (they also performed “Seven Caged Tigers” as well). I truly think this cover is spectacular. I don’t know how many times I’ve listened to this version over the years but, it’s definitely up there. I just love the honest and pure approach STP had to their music and time together. It’s performances like this that make me miss Scott Weiland. What a talent and voice! You are missed Scott!


Stone Temple Pilots (Led Zeppelin)- Dancing Days on Howard Stern:

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: Private Parts

51-Y6Dky1NL.jpg

The year is 1997 and the auto-biographical film Private Parts about Howard Stern is drawing in audiences. While the film went on to be a success, there was another element of the whole thing that often gets overlooked and that is the soundtrack.

(more…)