The Smashing Pumpkins Are Really Good + The Tragic Demise Of Music Television

The Smashing Pumpkins are really good. I always liked them when they were popular, and I got all their albums from Siamese Dream through MACHINA a long time ago. I also got Greatest Hits and Zeitgeist when they were released. Anyway, for the longest time, I only listened to the singles off those records, which are all really good songs, but there is so much more on all those records. Billy Corgan is a great songwriter, and a lot of the time you think of him as having a strong metal influence, and songs like Zero are great, but a lot of my favorite Smashing Pumpkins songs are love songs. Corgan can write the sweetest melodies and lyrics and create arrangements and instrumentation that highlights that sweetness, just listen to Cupid De Locke from Mellon Collie And the Infinite sadness. Anyway, there is such a vast array of material on such a small number of records, it's really amazing. It makes me want to get Gish, Pisces Iscariot, other various B-sides collections, and Corgan's other side projects (Zwan and his solo album).

So, I was listening to the Smashing Pumpkins and it got me thinking about music videos. The video for 1979 is about all these kids having a great time, then the video for the song Perfect shows the same kids a few years later, and everything's not going so well. And that got me to thinking about how music videos used to be important cultural/artistic statements; they used to be a vital part of America's cultural fabric. They used to mean something, but you don't really see them anymore. It's not that they're not artistic anymore, they still could be, but no one cares because no one has the opportunity to see them. The only way you'll see a music video of an artist is if you're a big fan and you're looking for it on youtube or itunes or something like that. TV doesn't show music videos anymore, I guess cause they don't bring in viewers. It's kind of sad though, because they used to be an important cultural medium. So, that's that. Watch music videos if you can, they're often good.

Smashing Pumpkins "1979"


Smashing Pumpkins "Perfect"


Also, buy records, like Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness by the Smashing Pumpkins

Hugz 'n' kissiz,
Sean