Smashing Pumpkins

[oaktree137]

I read an article about the new Smashing Pumpkins drummer Mike Byrne, and although I am not the greatest fan of their music I thought something I read about in the magazine that they are doing is really cool. Instead of doing a regular album, they have decided to undergo a way different project. They are releasing 44 songs all based around on theme, 1 at a time. Sort of like how t.v. series release one episode at a time. I think this is a really cool idea, and it lets them focus on each song individually and keeps listeners on their toes. Not only that but all of it is free! If you go to their website you can get the songs they've made so far (6)... I think its pretty cool, what do you guys think?

[Bish]

Definitely interesting to think about.

In this day and age, marketing seems to be taking new twists, left and right.

[MrB]

They are back to doing free, you say? Good to know.

I've greatly enjoyed their work. In 2000ish they were angry at Virgin Records for not allowing them to make Machina a double album as Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was. So, they made a label, pressed about 25 vinyls of the unreleased material, and distributed it to the operators of the fan sites with the instructions to make it available to anyone who was interested.

Then, Napster and Limewire took off.

In the winter/fall of 1999 they redesigned their web site and did something similar, posting a few new songs from the upcomig album for free.

Then, in 2007(?), they released Zeitgeist with Reprise and released something like five or six different versions of the album:

-a basic edition with red cover art
-one on iTunes with Blue cover artwork and a bonus track
-a "deluxe" artwork edition, also red color theme
-one with a purple color through Target (?) with a bonus track, but not the same bonus track as the blue iTunes one...

and

-one with an orange cover, I believe through Best Buy, with yet a different bonus track

Confused? Fans like me were. Some went to boards like this, but based around the band, and arranged ways to sample each of the bonus tracks to figure out which edition would be the way to go.

After a while, yet another edition (silver) was released through Best Buy that featured most of the bonus tracks and a bonus DVD documentary. I bought that one.

Looking back, I think they pulled this to burn through their contract obligations with Reprise so they could work in the mode that they are now. From a fan standpoint, I hated the gimmick and the mess.


I'm curious to see if Corgan will actually follow through and release all forty-four songs. This wouldn't be the first project he's started and then ditched halfway.

Thanks for the heads-up though, I'll go look for it.

[tamadrummer1242]

I love smashing pumpkins!!!

And so far I'm liking their new album

[Homeularis]

Glad to hear theyre back.
I dig em too.