This blog has lay dormant for quite some time now, and whether it be because I’ve been super busy and just haven’t got round to do anything, or possibly because I just didn’t have anything more to say, it doesn’t really matter. I’m back now, we’re alive, and I thought we’d start off on something that has been sitting quite uncomfortably with me lately.
Moshcam were kind enough to bring to my attention via their blog that Billy Corgan doesn’t want people coming to see the Smashing Pumpkins expecting to hear only their classics. No, he’d prefer people to appreciate his new stuff.
The Smashing Pumpkins frontman does make a good point, but I am offended that it came from him. Don’t keep touring as the Smashing Pumpkins but get upset when people want to hear Smashing Pumpkin’s songs. We fell in love with Siamese Dream and we fell in love with Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. If you want us to fall in love with Oceania, don’t call it a Smashing Pumpkins’ album because I don’t see Jimmy Chamberlain, I don’t see James Iha, and I don’t see D’arcy Wretzky.
Angry bitterness towards an angry and bitter man aside, there is something wrong with a scene that is only looking to hear new music, and with more and more venues closing around Australia, it seems like we aren’t helping the problem.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t guilty of this, and I too am giddy with excitement at the return of Weezer and Blink 182 (fingers-crossed Travis can make it) to Australia. But it seems like the biggest news in music in the past few years has been reunion tours.
At the Drive-In, Death from Above 1979, The Strokes, Blur, Refused, Smashing Pumpkins, Rage Against the Machine, Faith No More, Blink 182, and Pulp to name a few.
On top of that, throw in the latest hype in hologram shows, stemming from the ‘return’ of 2pac at this year’s Coachella. Admittedly, it was a mind-blowing performance but the immediate inquiry in bringing back Jim Morrison from The Doors and Jimi Hendrix is just exploitation.
So maybe Billy Corgan has a good point. He isn’t exemplifying it very well, but he is right in saying that nostalgia is killing the music industry.
I’ve been a part of the crime as much as the next person, probably more. I guess this blog is as much a resolution as it is my commentary on the way things are.
When you live in a city like Sydney that is giving you music like The Jezabels, Bluejuice, Rufus, Elizabeth Rose or The Presets, you never know what you might find and the same goes for every city.
Save a band, go to a show.
