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Rolling Stones Article on Title of New Album -

THE SOFT PARADE

On their forthcoming album, "Adore", the Smashing Pumpkins get mood and leave the guitar noise behind

Their performance is simple and tender - just Billy Corgan crooning in his pinched tenor over the solitary shimmer of his acoustic guitar. Circular in its chord patterns, straight-forward, at least on the surface, in its romantic sentiment, "Let Me Give the World to You" is the last song to be recorded for the Smashing Pumpkins' forthcoming album, Adore. But for all the naked clarity of this first take, the singer and guitarist senses deeper, stranger possibilities in the tune as he listens to a playback, his white, shaved head bent deep in thought in Studio A at Sound City in Van Nuys, California - the same room, coincidentally, where Nirvana recorded Nevermind.

"I can see where this is going," Corgan says sharply as the tape ends; he turns to producer Rick Rubin: "It's a nice Pumpkins pop song. But I can see it somewhere else, breaking up into something different." Corgan illustrates his point by swinging his arms to one side, as if he's throwing pieces of the song around the control room.

"Do you have any idea what that something is?" Rubin askes. "We can do something basic, just you and a click track. Then you can add and subtract ideas." Rubin has been invited by Corgan, who produced the other tracks on Adore, to take the reins for this final number. And Rubin does so with a sunny patience, gently prodding the chief Pumpkin to be more explicit about his ambitions for "Let Me Give the World to You."

Corgan, dressed in black from neck to toe, fishes for a reference point and comes up the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever." "It's a pop song," he says, "but then all this strange stuff goes on in it, things dropping in and out. I know what we have can be a good pop song. I want to see how fucked-up it can be."

That has been the Pumpkins' modus operandi for the past year. Since their first round of demo session for Adore back in February '97, Corgan, guitarist James Iha and bassist D'arcy have sorely tested their own sanity as a band and the promise and durability of Corgan's material: More than thirty new originals were whittled down to about fourteen for the album, which is set to be released at the end of May. They've used mulitiple drummers and scrapped weeks of inconclusive work, including sessions held last fall in Chicago with producer Brad Wood. They've cut some songs live in the studio and built others on tape, overdub by overdub. They've gone the unplugged route and jammed with drum machines. In short, the Pumpkins have made Adore, their fourth studio album, the hard way - by trial and error.

So it is with "Let Me Give the World to You." It takes three hours of going nowhere fast - including Corgan's aborted passes at the song on piano and unsuccessful experiments with tape speed and echo - to persuade Corgan, Iha and D'arcy to try the obvious: playing together in real time. As Iha threads the melody with ethereal fills on a Hammond organ and guest drummer Joey Waronker, from Beck's band, hits a tight tribal pulse, "Let Me Give the World to You" quickly ripens into something special. The spooky pneumatic tesion of the group's attack fleshes out the meloncholy and irony lacing Corgan's lyrics.

One night and fifty-eight takes later, the Pumpkins decide they've played the song to near perfection; they end up editing a composite track from the best performances. But Rubin figures the initial false starts were worth the trouble. "If you have a great song, you can make twenty different records out of it," he says, smiling through his long, thick beard. "This is one of the things I told Billy about the rest of the album. The songs are so good that there isn't necessarily a right way to do them. There is no quintessential version, just the one you're in the mood to make."

"It could have been more of an acoustic record," Iha says of Adore. "It could have been more electronic. Or it could have been done live, with more of a band sound. This album is just an amalgamation of those things." "I explored every possible avenue one could explore," Corgan declares, taking a breather one night before tackling vocal overdubs. "But it all adds up in your resolve and your understanding of what you're trying to accomplish.

"What's amazing about James and D'arcy," he notes with bona fide pride, "is that they almost never question what I want to do. I don't think there's one song on the album I've been questioned about. In fact, the questions usually come about the songs I don't want to put out. There are three songs that D'arcy really likes that probably won't make the album. She thinks I'm a fucking idiot for not putting them out."

Even in rough-mix form, Adore is a bold kiss-off to the guitar-overload extremes of 1993's Siamese Dream and the 1995 double-CD beast Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, combining New Wave-style electronics and intimate Beatlesque pop in varied, startling measure. The understated guitars, nightmood keyboards and machine-generated beats in "To Sheila," "Ava Adore" and "Apples and Oranges" suggest "1979", the Pumpkins's synth-pop hit from Mellon Collie, crossed with the art-folk of R.E.M.'s Out of Time. Even "Tear" - dense, stormy and drenched in Mellotron - and the mantralike "Shame," the two songs on Adore closest to outright rock, don't need monster-guitar breaks to be heavy.

Corgan attributes much of Adore's color and character to the Pumpkins' prolonged difficulty in adjusting to the absence of drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, who was fired in July 1996 for repeated drug use and for his part in the fatal heroin overdose of keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin. Chamberlin's touring replacement, Matt Walker, was let go during the Chicago sessions last year; ex-Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron played on several songs but appears on only one album track, "For Martha." "It took letting go of the concept of bass, two guitars and drums to actualyl move forward," claims Corgan. "We're literally back to where we started, which was me, James, D'arcy and a drum machine. We played gigs like that. The strangest thing was, as soon as we stopped playing with Matt [Walker] and started playing with a drum machine, we started to play like ourselves again."

Iha points out the one song, "Pug," was initially recorded with Cameron as a "minor-key-blues death march. Then Billy put it up on the computer, got a good drum-machine program going, put on the synths, and I did maybe three guitar overdubs on it. It doesn't sound like anything you can quite put your finger on. It just sounds cool." "Shame" also features a drum machine but was actually recorded live. "I was feeling really sad one morning," Corgan explains. "I got up, wrote the song. We went in that day and did it in three hours. What you're hearing is what I felt that day."

Strangely enough, Corgan says a pivotal, if unlikely, inspiration for the sound and quirky immediacy of Adore was the early 1950's Sun recordings of Howlin' Wolf: "I was really blown away by the visceral energy. There's other things I was listening to: Son House, Muddy Waters. But I wasn't attracted to the spirit in the music. It seemed more rock & roll to me than any other rock & roll I could listen to." Corgan was so taken with the notion of a roots 'n' groove Pumpkins record that at one point he talked to both Danile Lanois and T-Bone Burnett about producing Adore.

"If I played all these songs for you on piano or acoustic guitar, it would make more sense," Corgan continues. "But I didn't feel comfortable in that skin. I wasn't offering anything new until I took it into my own space and colored it with my own crayons."

The Pumpkins are just starting to confront the issue of touring as a trio, especially behind an album as offbeat as Adore. There is talk of limiting road work to two months - the band did fourteen months on behalf of Mellon Collie - and of using extra musicians in lieu of tapes and samplers. Corgan says he also want to do a solo acoustic tour this year as an outlet for all the new songs that didn't make Adore: "I'm not even going to release them as B-sides. The idea is to starting working on a solo acoustic record over time."

But, as Corgan insists, "the energy around the new record is going to dictate what happens. Fuck, everybody might hate it. I don't know. I'd be lying if I said, 'The record company hates it, the fans hate it - right, I'm going to go out on tour.' I'll just stay home."

-- by David Fricke

title of new album! (UNCONFIRMED) -

I read this in a news group, alt.music.smash-pumpkins. This is confirmed but as she says the name for the new album is "adore". Could someone please read the article she wrote and get back to me if it's true or not:

just read the new edition of rolling stone with jack nickelson on the cover, and theres an article about SP's new album. according to this article, the album is called "adore". what do you all think? billy had a huge amount of songs (30+) and they had to pick 14 from them. sounds like its going to be a great album!

carrie.
np: SP - bodies

c a r r i e f a y - ** starla **
http://www.students.uiuc.edu/~c-fay
** starla@uiuc.edu **
"i want to catch a falling starla
just don't fall if i'm not there." --jim

Manson Talks About Corgan's Influence On Next Album -

Marilyn Manson is taking time away from making his next album to pitch his new autobiography, "Long Hard Road Out Of Hell."

Once Manson's current book tour wraps up, he'll return to work on the album, which head Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan has been helping out with, but only in a friendly, consulting sort of way and not necessarily in any official capacity.

When Manson was in New York City last weekend to launch the book tour, he told MTV News that Corgan has already been influential in shaping the sound of the next album.

"Billy's been a great encouragement for us to experiment musically," Manson told MTV News.

"(He encouraged us) to go back to our roots [700k QuickTime] and try and make an album that holds true to where we were coming from, kind of our glam intentions, kind of more Iggy Pop, David Bowie, even Pink Floyd and The Beatles, some Rolling Stones type of sound, and to take that to the next level. His involvement has been more on a friendship level and just an opinion level. We may write some songs together, but that hasn't happened yet."

Manson will take his book push to "Late Night With David Letterman" on Thursday, and will be signing copies of the tome on Friday at Tower Books in Bloomingdale, Illinois near Chicago.

The Smashing Pumpkins' Musical Drum Chairs Change Again -

The Smashing Pumpkins' Musical Drum Chairs Change Again

Contrary to published reports, Beck drummer Joey Waronker has not officially joined the Smashing Pumpkins as a full- time member. He has drummed on some songs on the group's next album, which is being recording in a Los Angeles studio now, according to a spokesperson at the Pumpkins' management firm, Q Prime Inc.

Rumors have been flying since the departure of drummer Matt Walker, who left to pursue his other band the Cupcakes, which is signed to DreamWorks Records, as previously reported in allstar. Ex-Soundgarden skinsman Matt Cameron was widely reported to be the new band member -- a report he recently shot down. He is, however, contributing to select tracks on the album, as are other musicians. A spokesperson for Beck's management firm, Gold Mountain Entertainment, also confirms that Waronker has not left and is still a member of Beck's band.

As previously reported in allstar, other talent involved in the project includes Bon Harris, formerly of Nitzer Ebb, and producer Flood. Word has it that tensions are running high between Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, who is producing the album, and Rick Rubin, who is lending a production hand to a song or two on the set.

The Smashing Pumpkins' album is tentatively scheduled for release in May or June on Virgin Records.

-Tina Johnson

JamTV February 17. -

It looks as if the rumors are true: Smashing Pumpkins are going electronica:

A recent press statement announced that the Pumpkins would be working with Bon Harris, a former member of the British dance-industrial group Nitzer Ebb, to give their forthcoming album an "electronic edge."

"This is a very different record for Smashing Pumpkins, with probably 50 percent of it being electronic-oriented," Harris reports from Los Angeles, where he is currently in the studio with the band. "Billy [Corgan] gives me free reign with what I'm doing. He gives me the songs, I go work on them, [and] bring them back."

In related news, Harris, Corgan and noted producer Flood are working on material for Harris's newest project, Maven, which also features former Ethyl Meatplow drummer John Napier.

(Seth Hindin)

Coming Soon Billboards. -

After hearing from some people that they've seen the Smashing Pumpkins on the "coming soon" billboard at music stores I decided to go check it out, I went 2 music stores in my area but nothing was to be found but when I was downtown later at a larger music store they had it under "coming soon" but still have no date, the guy said it's under the data base and it is most likely coming out in May or early June. This is great news!

No Sp on the X-files. -

After watching and taping the X-files episode i was unable to find the Pumpkins in it however there was a girl in the show that looked like D'arcy but was clearly not. Was this all a rumor? or will it be on next week? If it is not on next week then I guess it is just a rumor. Next weeks episode is about Vampires, Billy would make a great Vampire. Anyways there was a unique reference in the X-files which may or may not be a coincedence.

SCULLY: "And what was your role in all this? Were you the bass player?"

ICQ us. -

Yes we have ICQ, I've added it to the Contact page and here for now. Send us a message/question anytime we'd be happy to help you.

New Counter. - A new and improved counter has been added, the old one reset to many times.

Pumpkins get Beck's Drummer. -

Pumpkins Smash Beck's Lineup

The Smashing Pumpkins chose a new drummer and are making waves in L.A. of late. Tensions in the studio are running high between co-producers Billy Corgan and Rick Rubin and, more notably, the band has snagged Beck's drummer, Joey Waronker right from under his nose

Of course Waronker's name is familiar -- not only is he the older brother of the late That Dog's Anna, but his father Lenny is the number two bigwig at Dreamworks and former president of Warner Brothers for many years. But Waronker himself is no slouch: he played drums on John Doe's Thing's Rest of Us in 1996 along with Steve McDonald of Red Kross (and sister Anna's boyfriend), and Smokey Hormel from Beck's band. Also, Waronker has earned extra spending money as a much-in- demand session drummer. This leave-taking will be a huge loss to Beck's band, whose live act got a tremendous boost after Waronker joined.

The news of his defection, confirmed by a source at Virgin records (who asked to remain anonymous, no doubt for fear of facing the wrath of Billy), does not surprise intimates of the younger Waronker. "Joey is a really ambitious guy; he's always had big dreams," said one. However, former colleague and almost-family member McDonald insisted that he was unaware of the switch, but he knew his compatriot had worked with them on occasion. "I don't know whether Joey has joined the Smashing Pumpkins, but I do know he's played with them," he said.

Waronker began his career after a stint in college in Minnesota, when he and some friends began a band named after a favorite professor, Mr Mink. They put out a two albums on Caroline Records before being drafted to the majors, releasing one album for Atlantic in 1996, but by that time Waronker was no longer in the band. His varied experience is no doubt one of the reasons the Pumpkins tapped him. "He can play anything," said McDonald, "from the hard rock of Walter Mink to the eclectic sixties sounds of Beck. He's a Hal Blaine for the nineties."

In related news: The Pumpkins are putting the finishing touches on the new album, cut at Los Angeles' Village Recorder. Most of the record was produced by both Billy Corgan and the inimitable Flood, a few tracks produced by Rick Rubin. And as you know from earlier reports, former Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron's work will show up on 10-12 of the cuts. Virgin Records says the album would be in stores in June.

-Jaan Uhelszki

James Iha with "Let it Come Down" is now out. -

James Iha's new solo album was finnaly released today to any music store near you. Let it Come Down is the name and despite bad reviews James Iha feels optimistic about. He will most likely not tour himself but will perform his songs once the Pumpkins go touring again after they release their new album too. Don't expect a pumpkins sound to this CD, James Iha has his own unique sound, it's a little different but still very good in my own opinion, check out the lyrics for it here.

Let it Come Down Article -

Pumpkin's solo effort not so smashing

James Iha
Let it Come Down (Virgin)

Smashing Pumpkins' fans might like something to tide them over until the next release from the enduring kings of the '90s alternative scene.
But Let it Come Down is not that something -- not if the listener craves the Pumpkins' signature sound: layers of distorted guitars, heavy-metal riffs, dense, richly textured music and angst-ridden lyrics.
That's the stuff of frontman Billy Corgan, not band guitarist James Iha, at least not on his first solo outing.
Iha's heroes are folk-rock icons Crosby, Stills & Nash, Neil Young, and Gram Parsons, and acoustic folk-melodic pop terrain is what he travels here.
Iha has an earnest if average singing style that expresses a lyrical preoccupation with love that borders on pathological.
"Love will carry me over land to the sea" he sings in a hoarse whisper in the atmospheric "Winter"
There are some pleasant moments here, but nothing that remains once the eject button is pushed.

-Betsy Powell
The Toronto Star

WE NEED FTP SPACE! -

We are in desperate need of free FTP space, if someone could be so kind and donate some space to us it would really be appreciated. The space is needed to store audio .mp3 clips as well as some quick time movie files if you can help us out please contact us by sending us an e-mail. Thanks very much.

Contributed a Simpsons video to Soma Video Archive -

I sent the Smashing Pumpkins Simpsons clips to Soma's Video Archive. In the past I have also contributed The full video of The End is the Beginning is the End and an interview with Pumpkins at the Much Music Video awards. I will also be sending him some more videos in the future so keep your eye open.

Viper Room Audio -

Here is some of the new songs the pumpkins played at the Viper Room, all files are in realaudio so you must have realaudio to listen to them. I will try and get some .MP3's soon for a higher quality sound.

Thanks to Bill Martin from Bill's Smashing Pumpkins Page who got and encoded these great new songs.

Jimmy Chamberlin update -

Looks like Jimmy Chamberlin will be a movie star in a serial killer movie.

JOEY RAMONE, SEBASTIAN BACH APPEAR IN BIG-HAIR SERIAL KILLER FILM

"When Bach's locks lock with the killer, all hair cuts loose," reads the press release about the forthcoming independent film, Final Rinse, featuring Sebastian Bach and Joey Ramone in a plot about a serial killer who kills and coifs big-haired rockers. (No, this is not a joke.)

Ramone will be playing a nightclub MC, while Bach will be playing -- appropriately -- the lead singer of a band. The movie also features performances by Biohazard, Slaughter, Mars Needs Women, the Dictators, the Independents, and the Last Hard Men, which consists of Bach, Kelley Deal, Jimmy Chamberlin, and Jimmy Flemion. Final Rinse was directed by Robert D. Tucker, and co-written by Tucker and Arthur Schurr.

In the plot, Detective Max Block (Terrence Goodman) goes undercover with his partner Joe Tackle (Michael Hannon) in pursuit of a serial killer named Trojan, played by David Cale (He Said, She Said, Men Don't Leave).

The film's producers, Polyvinyl Film, are currently looking for distribution, and a soundtrack, featuring the bands in the movie, is also in the works.

Pumpkins on the Simpsons Again -

U2, Smashing Pumpkins and Sonic Youth entered a Los Angeles Studio to record vocal tracks for an upcoming Simpson's Episode entitled, "Trash of the Titans". The ecologically-themed show is scheduled for airing on May 24 1998.

Vieuphoria 2 Track list update -

The 160 minute video will include two hours and forty minutes of the Smashing Pumpkins from the Mellon Collie era. It will be much like the original Vieuphoria, but longer. Vieuphoria 2 will have 18 live songs from the Infinite Sadness tour, and will include songs from all three albums, as well as b-sides. And like Vieuphoria, this fan-produced sequel will include short non-musical segments from T.V. appearances such as Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Simpsons.

The final set list for the video is as follows (in order):

 1. Tonight, Tonight - 9/4/96
 2. Zero - 1/27/96
 3. Where Boys fear to Tread - 1/30/96
 4. Drown - 12/16/96
 5. In the Arms of Sleep - 1/3/96
 6. Rocket - 2/7/96
 7. Muzzle - 10/25/96
 8. Siva - 9/22/96
 9. Bullet with Butterfly Wings - 6/27/97
10. Thru the Eyes of Ruby - 5/15/96
11. Thirty-Three - 1/2/96
12. Galapogos - 12/7/96
13. Bodies - 7/5/96
14. Porcelina of the Vast Oceans / Beautiful / Rocket - 7/10/96
15. X.Y.U. - 4/7/96
16. 1979 - 10/5/96
17. The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right) - 12/14/96
18. Silverfuck & Farewell and Goodnight - 5/15/96

In addition, Vieuphoria II: The Infinite Sadness Tour will include a sheet listing some of the Smashing Pumpkins mailing lists available on the Internet and information on joining these lists.

The person in charge of Vieuphoria 2, Peter Thornton, has access to television production room, so Vieuphoria will be more like a professional video than a poorly constructed underground fan bootleg. In other words, it will look very cool!

www.netphoria.org is born! -

www.netphoria.org has been born! A start of a new pumpkins domain that will bring you the best pumpkins material on the internet, the internet's premiere smashing pumpkins site. In the next few weeks www.netphoria.org will be growing to included more and more pumpkins info to make this the best pumpkins site out there and you can help by joing the staff or even getting your sites hosted, e-mail us for more details.

Matt Cameron is not a Pumpkin -

Matt Cameron says he won't be turning into a Pumpkin.

The former Soundgarden drummer, making an appearance at a net chat for a Seattle drum company last week, told the chat room: "I have no intentions of joining the Smashing Pumpkins." Cameron said that he recorded seven songs with the band, but he didn't know if they were going to make it on the final record.

He reserved his most enthusiastic responses for his current band, Wellwater Conspiracy, who he said were recording their second CD. The group performed last night in Vancouver, Canada, opening for Everclear and the headlining Canadian act, Our Lady Peace.

Cameron told fans that another of his side projects, Hater, has recorded a second album, but there were no plans for it's release. He added that Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil was busy organizing a album of his old band's b-sides for release "hopefully in about a year."

James Solo Album - Let it Come Down Lyrics - Lyrics for James Solo Album "Let it Come Down" has been added, you can go to the lyrics page or click here to see them directly.

James Solo Album - Let it Come Down - More Info -

Release Date: Feb 10, 1998

Whatever you might expect the first solo album by a Smashing Pumpkins member to sound like, it probably wouldn't be anything like the music on James Iha's Let It Come Down. 'With the help of producer Jim Scoti (whose credits include Tom Petty, Bobbie Robertson and Whiskeytown) and a tasty studio ensemble made up of old and new friends, Iha has created an album of earnest, engaging songs that are refreshingly free of trendiness and irony.

The laid-back feel of this solo effort (the first by any Smashing Pumpkins member) has a lot to do with the band I'm in". Iha explains. "The Pumpkins tour a lot and when we're not on the road we're in the studio. I play electric, saturated, distorted guitar every night. When I go back to the hotel or home on a break, I don't want to play through a Marshall stack I'm sure a lot of these songs are reactions to that sound."

Iha's own music has evolved gradually and naturally during the last several years. "I'd always Mitten instrumentals, liked to make up my own chords," he says. Then I started learning how to sing and eventually began wanting to do my own songs, sing them and arrange them the way I heard them in my head. On my album I tried to make the songs believable and able to stand up with just my voice and acoustic guitar.

The album was recorded in Iha's home studio in Chicago. "It would have been no different recording In a real studio than in my basement," Iha says. "I have all the same equipment, old mics, weird guitars, old amps fairly retro, but not entirely.

Scott's sonic approach, James says, Is "immediate honest and doesn't hide anything. Jim's really musical even though he doesn't play an Instrument. He knows what he likes and what doesn't work. He really helped me shape the record in the right direction. The songs are like a marriage of electric and acoustic, all Eight and feeling good, and very organic."

For contributors, James asked his Scrathie Records partner Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne, Ivy) to play piano, and tapped Matt Walker (former Pumpkins touring drummer, now in the band Cupcakes) and Matts bass playing brother, Solomon Snyder, as the rhythm section. Scott, meanwhile, called on pedal steel and lap steel specialist Greg Leisz (Matthew) Sweet, k.d.lang), along with Neal Casal (harmony vocals, electric guitar and John Ginty (Hammond B-3, melodica). This talented ensemble, whose members shared an understated virtuosity and dedication to the song rather than flash functioned as the contemporary equivalent of the now-legendary early-70's units that played on those timeless singer/songwriter albums by the likes of Jackson Browne and James Taylor. The tight and nuanced performances of this studio band delighted Iha, who reveres the recordings of such '70's icons as Crosby, Stills & Nash, Neil Young, Gram Parsons and the Band.

Those artists really inspire me", he says. "I love the sound and feeling of their records. But at the same time, 1 didn't want my album to sound retro or stylised, and I don't think my songs sound like those people. I don't try to write Neil Young songs or Robbie Robertson songs because I can't - my voice, my limited vocabulary of acoustic guitar chords or chord voicings are kind of odd. I just wanted all the songs to be upfront, melodic, honest and direct.


Nina Gordon of Veruca Salt sang on one of the tracks called Beauty, he adds. "When I played her some of the other songs, she said, "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, sounds like a record my parents listened to. James' soft laugh suggests that he was pleased by Gordons' remark.

Indeed, Iha has nimbly sidestepped trendiness on Let It Come Down. Although the music has a tootsy feel, he didn't make an alt.-country album by any means. And while the tracks are filled with the sound of vintage instruments, it's quite obvious that this record is about timeless emotion, not fashionable gear.