Following the release of the band’s “reunion” album, Zeitgeist, and a recent 20th anniversary tour that’s become notoriously uncomfortable for everyone involved, Billy Corgan has announced that the Smashing Pumpkins will no longer release albums.
“There is no point. People don’t even listen to it all. They put it on their iPod, they drag over the two singles, and skip over the rest,” he told the Chicago Tribune[via NME.com].
But that’s not to say that the band will no longer be making music. “Our primary function now is to be a singles band, that drives Pumpkins Inc through singles. We’ll still be creative, but in a different form,” Corgan added.
The towering alt-rock demigod then turned the interview toward condemning those fans he deemed Pumpkins-haters-in-disguise — those whose expectations he feels have sabotaged the band’s recent shows.
“Get out. We don’t want you,” he said. “We’ve never been that band. That happy band. We picked up where we left off.”
As for the historic unhappiness of the band, Corgan is quick to give credit where he feels it is due: ex-Pumpkins guitarist James Iha. “The real story [behind the split in 2000] was [Iha] was driving me out of my mind,” he said. “He was so negative.”
Totally. What could it possibly be like being around so much negativity, Billy, especially for someone who is clearly such a ray of sunshine?
