Billy Corgan has made the headlines again for his comments towards 90’s counterparts Soundgarden and Pavement, suggesting the respective bands are cashing in on their nostalgic appeal. According to Diffuser, Corgan has in the past made comments about the perils of 90’s alternative acts reforming just to peddle their existing wares, claiming such reunion tours “subvert the original meaning of the grunge generation’s music, which is rebellion.”
“There are those bands that are essentially coming back only to make money — playing their old albums, and maybe somewhere in the back of their minds they’re thinking there might be a future,” Corgan explained during an interview with the Philippine Star. “I am not in that business, obviously. I condemn anybody who’s in that business but doesn’t admit [he’s] in that business.”
“When Soundgarden came back and they just played their old songs, great… I was a fan of Soundgarden, but call it for what it is. They’re just out there to have one more round at the till; same with Pavement and these other bands.”
Now it should be noted these are just excerpts taken from an interview and placed into the subjective format of print where tone can be easily misconstrued. For anyone who listened to Corgan ‘Taking 5‘ with triple j’s Zan Rowe recently, or any other interviews he gave while over in Australaia for Splendour in the Grass with The Smashing Pumpkins, the often quoted musician comes across as someone who gives plenty of consideration behind his comments as opposed to simply dismissing other musical acts via some notion of arrogance.
