Bill Simmons of ESPN and Chuck Klosterman of Esquire and Spin magazines recently exchanged emails on pop culture and sports. They came up with an interesting idea that I think makes for a great discussion:
Bill Simmons: If Billy Corgan died in '94 instead of Kurt Cobain, would MTV have been running "The Smashing Pumpkins, 10 Years Later" retrospectives this summer? Chuck Klosterman: A: No, his retrospective would only run on MTV2. Had Corgan died, it would have been a bigger deal than Shannon Hoon, but still way smaller than Cobain. Plus, in the spring of '94, the Pumpkins had only released "Gish" and "Siamese Dream," and these were not iconic records. "Siamese Dream" is very good, and the songs were absolutely everywhere, but it did not become a definitive sonic backdrop for the national aesthetic. When people hear the first nine seconds of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," they immediately associate those chords with that specific cultural era; when people hear the first nine seconds of "Today," they often think to themselves, "Is this 'Cherub Rock'?"
Simmons: I agree with your take on the Pumpkins. As much as it hurts. Although I still believe that
their best 10 songs are better than Nirvana's best 10 songs, the fact remains, Nirvana came first and paved the way. It's like comparing David Thompson to Doctor J. The stats might back you up, but you still can't do it.
Alright, a few subquestion to add to the mix:
(1) Do the Foo Fighters never happen?
(2) Does James Iha start the Foo Fighters instead?
(3) Who's not thankful that Zwan never happened?
(4) Does Courtney not freak out, Melissa nevers leaves, and Hole becomes a multi-platinum dynasty for chick rock? Or does she simply become the next Yoko Ono?
(5) Does Curt Cobain become the Axl Rose of the Alternative era? Everybody waits for the comeback but he can't get his shit together, so the rest of the guys get it together and
then the Foo Fighters happen?
(6) Is Nirvana's 4th or 5th album a concept album, compared to Pet Sounds at it's release, calls it the end for Nirvana and 20 years later heralded as the greatest album of all time?
(7) Is anybody else surprised that Billy Corgan is still here? Scratch that.
(7) Do we sit around and talk all day about catching the secret Nirvana shows at the Black Cat to warm up for their big Tour?
(
Oh, and are the Pumpkins 10 best better than Nirvana's ten best?
