PUMPKINS PARIS, FIRST IMPRESSIONS

[tigersscareme]

lucky.
 
 i love paris.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

Maybe he can get the 8 million dollar condo this time around!
 
 From the Chicago Tribune:
 
 
 Billy Corgan buys a piece of the Gold Coast
 
 Ten months after selling his Victorian painted lady mansion in Lake View for $1 million, former Smashing Pumpkins lead singer and chief songwriter Billy Corgan has paid $2.95 million for a recently renovated, historic six-room condominium on the Gold Coast.
 
 After disbanding the Smashing Pumpkins, Corgan formed a new group, Zwan, which is playing three sold-out shows at the Double Door this weekend.
 
 Through his tour manager, Corgan declined to comment on the purchase of the two-bedroom condo. His tour manager confirmed that the singer-songwriter recently has been staying at the condo while rehearsing for Zwan's current tour, but said the Chicago-area native ultimately intends to lease the condo in a 110-year-old building to someone else. The unit has an oak-paneled living room, reception room, balcony framed by granite columns, four fireplaces, walnut parquet floors and a large terrace.
 
 Corgan has shown an affinity for vintage properties. After moving out of the more than 100-year-old Lake View home at 3448 N. Greenview Ave., which he owned from 1993 to 2001, Corgan temporarily stayed in a penthouse in the Haberdasher Square loft development, 728 W. Jackson Blvd., a former manufacturing building that dates to 1926. And in 2000, the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois awarded Corgan its President's Award for his commitment to historic preservation.
 
 Since Corgan sold his Lake View home, one Smashing Pumpkins Web site reported that he has been living in Italy, but in interviews he has declined any comment on his permanent residence.

[Darth Ed]

Show of hands, everyone: Who cares about the real estate holdings of musicians besides Rhett? Anyone?

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

Obviously, the Chicago Tribune thinks some people do.
 
 Oh, and by the way, I'm not a musician.
 
 

Originally posted by Darth Ed:
  Show of hands, everyone: Who cares about the real estate holdings of musicians besides Rhett? Anyone?

[Darth Ed]

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
 Oh, and by the way, I'm not a musician.

I didn't say you were.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

But you implied that with you question....
 
 Who cares about the real estate holdings of musicians besides Rhett?
 
 

Originally posted by Darth Ed:
   

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
 [QB]Oh, and by the way, I'm not a musician.

Um, I didn't say you were. [/b]

[Darth Ed]

Very well. I shall rephrase the question to disambiguate:
 
 Who besides Rhett cares about the real estate holdings of musicians?

[Brian_Wallace]

Originally posted by nkotb:
  I just don't really get the level of excitement.  Can anyone explain it to me?  I can get the "never seen them before" vibe; I'd probably jump on that bandwagon if I hadn't gotten a chance to see them in their prime.  But to say "the Pumpkins are back" seems SUPER over the top to me.  
 
 If Paul & Ringo put a band together, played all Beatles songs and toured the world, would the Beatles be back?  That's fairly similar: one main songwriter and a drummer.
 
 Again, I'm not trying to be a killjoy...I'd really like to know why it's so exciting.

I'm 100% with you on this one. I liked "Gish" and thought of them as sort of a My Bloody Valentine that actually released records. (Just like I initially thought Oasis was a Stones Roses that actually released records.  I was severly disappointed on both counts.) But after that they lost me. Billy Corgan and his minions insisted upon themselves.
 
 And this new album?  Doesn't the cover of "Zeitgeist" look exactly like an Offspring album cover?
 
 As for the Beatles, at least you can say baby boomers are efficient. Let's consolidate! What are Ringo and Paul? A drummer and a bass player! Who have died from the Who? A drummer and bass player! Get 'em together! Pete Townsend, Roger Daltrey, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. The Whotles. Think about it. They could sell-out two (maybe three!) nights at Wolf Trap!
 
 Brian

[Julian, Alleged Computer F**kface]

Billy Corgan has tens of millions of dollars. He's turned down opportunities to use Today and Tonite Tonite in commercials that would have paid over ten million dollars. So, I don't think he's exactly aching for cash. I don't see why it's so hard to believe he actually wants to play Pumpkins material and isn't looking for cash. Their solo shows are selling for $20-25 a ticket when they could easily charge three times as much and sell out the same venues.

[Sage 703]

Originally posted by Brian_Walalce:
   

Originally posted by nkotb:
  I just don't really get the level of excitement.  Can anyone explain it to me?  I can get the "never seen them before" vibe; I'd probably jump on that bandwagon if I hadn't gotten a chance to see them in their prime.  But to say "the Pumpkins are back" seems SUPER over the top to me.  
 
 If Paul & Ringo put a band together, played all Beatles songs and toured the world, would the Beatles be back?  That's fairly similar: one main songwriter and a drummer.
 
 Again, I'm not trying to be a killjoy...I'd really like to know why it's so exciting.

I'm 100% with you on this one. I liked "Gish" and thought of them as sort of a My Bloody Valentine that actually released records. (Just like I initially thought Oasis was a Stones Roses that actually released records.  I was severly disappointed on both counts.) But after that they lost me. Billy Corgan and his minions insisted upon themselves.
 
 And this new album?  Doesn't the cover of "Zeitgeist" look exactly like an Offspring album cover?
 
 As for the Beatles, at least you can say baby boomers are efficient. Let's consolidate! What are Ringo and Paul? A drummer and a bass player! Who have died from the Who? A drummer and bass player! Get 'em together! Pete Townsend, Roger Daltrey, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. The Whotles. Think about it. They could sell-out two (maybe three!) nights at Wolf Trap!
 
 Brian [/b]

You have the wrong analogy.  If Paul McCartney and John Lennon got together and started writing songs again, would that be worthy of the Beatles moniker?
 
 Corgan and Chamberlin were the songwriters in the Smashing Pumpkins.  That's a much more appropriate comparison.

[nkotb]

But that's exactly my point.  Why not just play Pumpkins material?  Why brand it the Smashing Pumpkins when it's clearly not the same band?  What's different about his solo album and Zeitgeist, especially if he's the main songwriter of both?
 
 Everyone is shitting their pants over the reunion.  If he had decided to tour under his name, even with Jimmy Chamberlain playing drums and playing the exact same set lists, a fraction of people would care.  By putting that name on it, he knows people will respond.  That sounds a little greedy to me.
 
 

Originally posted by Julian, faux celeb-porn CONNOISSEUR:
 I don't see why it's so hard to believe he actually wants to play Pumpkins material and isn't looking for cash.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

Hey, if Bonnie Princess Billy can do it, why not Billy Princess Zwan?
 
 

Originally posted by nkotb:
  But that's exactly my point.  Why not just play Pumpkins material?  Why brand it the Smashing Pumpkins when it's clearly not the same band?  What's different about his solo album and Zeitgeist, especially if he's the main songwriter of both?
 
 Everyone is shitting their pants over the reunion.  If he had decided to tour under his name, even with Jimmy Chamberlain playing drums and playing the exact same set lists, a fraction of people would care.  By putting that name on it, he knows people will respond.  That sounds a little greedy to me.
 
   

Originally posted by Julian, faux celeb-porn CONNOISSEUR:
 I don't see why it's so hard to believe he actually wants to play Pumpkins material and isn't looking for cash.

[/b]

[nkotb]

According to allmusic.com, Corgan wrote a vast majority of the songs.  James Iha was credited with at least co-writing credit on 6 songs. Chamberlain on none.  Just saying.
 
 

Originally posted by callat703:
 Corgan and Chamberlin were the songwriters in the Smashing Pumpkins.  That's a much more appropriate comparison.

[Sage 703]

Originally posted by nkotb:
  According to allmusic.com, Corgan wrote a vast majority of the songs.  James Iha was credited with at least co-writing credit on 6 songs. Chamberlain on none.  Just saying.
 
   

Originally posted by callat703:
 Corgan and Chamberlin were the songwriters in the Smashing Pumpkins.  That's a much more appropriate comparison.

[/b]

So six songs out of a catalogue of what?  A few hundred, counting B sides?
 
 Songs credited to James Iha:
 
 ...Said Sadly
 Believe
 Blew Away
 Bugg Superstar
 Go
 Take Me Down
 The Bells
 The Boy
 
 Quick!  Somebody sing the refrain from The Bells!
 
 I think it's safe to say this version of the band will not be playing any of these songs.  
 
 If you've read any interviews with Billy Corgan, he has (throughout the band's history) cited Jimmy Chamberlin as his songwriting partner and creative foil.  Just sayin'.

[nkotb]

Right.  So how is this not a Billy Corgan solo show?
 
 

Originally posted by callat703:
 I think it's safe to say this version of the band will not be playing any of these songs.