When it was announced Smashing Pumpkins had reformed and hit the studio (read more), the blogosphere erupted with confusion. As the mystery remains over who’s onboard in the band’s final lineup (only Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain have officially signed on to the new project), fans of the alt-rock staples circulate online rumors suggesting singer James Iha and bassist D’arcy Wretzky are out, and that Melissa Auf Der Mar and former-Jane’s Addiction member Eric Avery are competing for the latter’s slot. As of press time, a solid 50% of SPIN.com voters have said they don’t think Smashing Pumpkins should reunite without all their original members (see results), and most fans remain similarly skeptical the band’s reformation won’t be much of a success.
Here’s what Smashing Pumpkins fans are saying:
“Auf Der mar should be on bass, and I hope Iha comes back. But Corgan is still Corgan, and he’s the only one that matters.” — Hadji42, spin.com
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“I love the Pumpkins as much as a ’90s music loving alterna-dude can, but I’m not counting on anything stellar with the new album. I’m thinking it might be another Chinese Democracy a la Guns ‘N Roses. Axl Rose has been promising the album for 10 years now. Having already taken 14 months to get into the studio after Corgan released the newspaper ad, he’s already on track with GnR.” — blogcritics.org
“I love SMP, but if there’s no James Iha, I’ll be crestfallen.” — redatm
“This reminds me of when Michael Jordan came out of retirement one too many times. It’s just sad.” — Jordan, youaintnopicasso.com
“Smashing Pumpkins was on top of the music world when they split. Let’s see if they can recapture the sound that their fans loved.” — Michael, aolmusicnewsblog.com
Talk: How did you vote in our pool on whether Smashing Pumpkins should reunite even without all their original members? COMMENT
On the Web: smashingpumpkins.com
