Smashing Pumpkins
Machina/The Machines of God
25th Anniversary 2XLP
Why did we ever hate Billy Corgan? I know he’s eccentric (like wearing that mumu on stage), but he also seems like a good hang. Yes, he has an inflated opinion of himself, but isn’t it kind of merited? He wrote some of the most transcendent music of the Nineties, made us all accept that high-pitched screechy voice, his weird music and even co-wrote other mega hits – like Hole’s Celebrity Skin. Does he really have to prove himself? I read an interview with him recently and he seems like he’s self-aware, and apparently really into professional wrestling.
All eyes were on Smashing Pumpkins during Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. We rediscovered our love for Siamese Dream, and were a little worried when Adore came out because, let’s be honest, that late Nineties techno production didn’t sound great even then. Also, Adore wasn’t exactly the smash hit everyone thought it could be. I had heard all the Mellon Collie singles and dedicated myself to exploring Adore. I don’t know if it resonated with me as much as I wanted. I don’t know if it did with many of us. So, Machina/ The Machines of God had to make a big splash, otherwise it would quickly sink. Can you guess what it did? I mean, why raise expectations with a name like that.
I lost touch with the Smashing Pumpkins right around Machina, so all I’ve been witnessing are side projects, quasi-reunions and what seems like a full blown rebirth of Smashing Pumpkins. I don’t know if their new albums have the kind of pop culture impact that their Nineties output did. Certainly, critically, they’re considered meh. Honestly, I can think of much worse. And they are having a resurgence; and according to Corgan, their audience is skewing younger and younger these days.
Maybe things started unravelling around Machina. Maybe Corgan was distracted or needed time off from the band, but listening to it now, years later, it doesn’t sound so bad. It’s much more straightforward than I remember Adore being. And “I of the Mourning” sounds like it should be a hit. You don’t even have to look up if it was promoted as such (it was), you can hear it’s got radio qualities all over it. This is a rock record, not the goth techno stuff of Adore. I might listen to this more someday.
Why did we rebel against this band and this album? Were we as tired of this band as Corgan possibly was at this point. Did we get distracted by something else? Was the new band lineup unacceptable? Did it not rock hard enough?
Adore might have been ahead of its time because a lot of us are getting it just now, decades later. Maybe the same thing will happen to Machina. Maybe it’ll happen within the next decade.
photo: turntablelab.com
