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- From: michaelh@ualberta.ca (Mike Hamilton)
- Newsgroups: alt.music.smash-pumpkins,alt.music.alternative,alt.answers,news.answers
- Subject: Smashing Pumpkins FAQ v4.6
- Followup-To: poster
- Date: 21 Mar 1999 20:11:48 GMT
- Organization: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
- Lines: 728
- Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU
- Expires: 17 April 99
- Message-ID: <7d3jq4$o28$2@pulp.ucs.ualberta.ca>
- NNTP-Posting-Host: gpu2.srv.ualberta.ca
- Keywords: alt.music.smash-pumpkins, Listessa, Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan, alternative, music, Siamese Dream, Mellon Collie, Today, Zero, Adore
- Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu alt.music.smash-pumpkins:88033 alt.music.alternative:403214 alt.answers:40623 news.answers:153889
-
- Archive-name: music/smashing-pumpkins-faq/part2
- Posting-Frequency: monthly (17th)
- Version: 4.6
- URL: http://www.ualberta.ca/~michaelh/FAQ.txt
-
- 2. -Songs/Albums-
-
- 2.1 Short discography
-
- Gish (1991) - single for "I Am One", 'Lull' EP for "Rhinoceros"
- Peel Sessions (1992) - Siva (different version), Girl Named Sandoz,
- Smiley
- Siamese Dream (1993) - singles for "Cherub Rock", "Today", "Disarm" and
- "Rocket"
- Pisces Iscariot (1994) - B-sides from previous singles, some unreleased
- Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) - singles for "Bullet with
- Butterfly Wings", "1979", "Zero", "Tonight, Tonight", and
- "Thirty-Three"
- The Aeroplane Flies High (1996) - all MCIS singles & B-sides, plus 5
- covers
- Adore (1998) - includes singles "Ava Adore", "Perfect".
-
- Several soundtracks & compilation CDs also have unique tracks. For more
- info, check out the complete discography, maintained by Dave Asselin at:
- http://www.xero.com/sp/spdiscog.txt
-
- OR, the visually-stimulating discography by Steve Hemming at
- http://www.smashing-pumpkins.net/discography/disco.html
-
- 2.2 Finding lyrics
-
- At this time, there is no completely comprehensive (and original) lyrics
- site. Two original-work sites are currently in progress, so this will be
- updated when they are completed. At the moment, the best source is
- Siva:
-
- http://blamo.simplenet.com/sp/
-
-
- 2.3 Guitar/bass tablature
-
- Guitar tablature can be found at various SP web sites. The site with the
- most tablature I'm aware of is at Pumpkin Soup:
-
- http://www.starla.org/pumpkinsoup/
-
- More guitar tablature can be found at OLGA (the OnLine Guitar Archive)
- and its mirrors: http://www.olga.net/
-
-
- 2.3b Piano score
-
- Piano scores of songs like "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness",
- "Thru The Eyes of Ruby", "Farewell & Goodnight", "For Martha", and
- "Once In A While" can be found at:
-
- http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Backstage/5295/
-
-
- 2.4 Cover songs
-
- Songs that have been covered by SP and which appear on official releases
- are as follows:
-
- Song Title: Original Artist: Where Found:
- Clones (We're All) Alice Cooper TAFH box set
- Dancing in the Moonlight Thin Lizzy Disarm single (Heart)
- Destination Unknown Missing Person TAFH box set
- Dreamin' Blondie TAFH box set
- Girl Named Sandoz The Animals Peel Sessions, PI
- Jackie Blue Ozark Mtn Daredevils K-Tel compilation
- Landslide Fleetwood Mac PI, Disarm (Heart)
- My Blue Heaven Whiting/Donaldson 33 single, TAFH box set
- Never Let Me Down Again Depeche Mode Rocket single
- A Night Like This The Cure TAFH box set
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed (traditional) Kevin & Bean comp. tape
- Reindeer
- Sad Peter Pan Vic Chestnutt Sweet Relief II comp.
- Terrapin Syd Barrett I Am One 10" vinyl
- You're All I've Got The Cars TAFH box set
- Tonight
-
-
- Transmission [Joy Division], Boys Don't Cry [The Cure], Godzilla [Blue
- Oyster Cult], Out of Focus [Blue Cheer], and a bit of Sunshine of Your
- Love [Cream] can be found on CD bootlegs, as well as Rudolph the
- Red-Nosed Reindeer. Performances of "Auf Wiedersehen", "Baby Loves to
- Rock" and "If You Want My Love" with Cheap Trick are also available on
- the numerous CD boots from 10/23/95, the pre-MCIS release concert.
- When the band opened for KISS on Halloween 1998, they were dressed as
- the Beatles, and opened their set with a cover of the Beatles' "Money,
- (That's What I Want)".
-
- 2.5 Unreleased songs
-
- Recent songs that have not been released, and perhaps never will be,
- include Let Me Give the World to You, Blissed & Gone [aka "17", aka
- "Need"...], Methusela, Speed, Towers of Rabble, and Wishing You Were.
-
- 2.5b 'Mashed Potatoes' box set
-
- During the past year, the 'Mashed Potatoes' box set has been one of the
- discussed topics on the newsgroup. The 'Mashed Potatoes' box set is a
- set of CDs that Billy gave to a select group of people in 1994 (or
- there-about), and is said to contain live and unreleased songs from
- 1990 to 1992 or so. Very little, other than what is mentioned here, is
- actually known about the set, regardless of what you may hear. So, in
- short, asking about the box set will probably just get you killfiled or
- flamed, both of which you probably don't want.
-
- Please don't email me, asking for information on the set, as I have no
- information other than what is here. Thank you.
-
- 2.6 Where to find given songs
-
- Check the bootlists at either Jackboot (http://www.starla.org/jackboot/)
- or the bootleg discography, and they'll tell you every CD-boot release
- you can find something on, except where there are no recordings of the
- song.
-
- 2.7 Short guide to radio songs
-
- The following is a short guide to songs you're likely to hear on the
- radio, so if you don't know a song by name, this should help you out:
-
- 1979 - played semi-often. Drum loop with live drums, clean guitars.
- "Shakedown, 1979..." Found on MCIS & single.
-
- Ava Adore - heavy, distorted drum loop (electronic-style drums). "You'll
- always be my whore". Played heavily before and after release of 'Adore'.
-
- Bullet with Butterfly Wings - played often in 95-6. Distorted. "Despite
- all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage." Found on MCIS &
- single.
-
- Cherub Rock - played often during SD era. Opens with drum roll. "Let me
- out, let me out..." Found on Siamese Dream & single.
-
- Destination Unknown - very synthy Missing Persons cover found in TAFH.
-
- Disarm - played often a few years ago, still played occasionally.
- Acoustic guitar, timpani, cello and bells. "Disarm you with a smile..."
- "I used to be a little boy" etc. Found on Siamese Dream & single.
-
- Drown - played occasionally. Long, spacey. "No matter where you are, I
- can still hear you when you drown..." Unedited version includes a long
- feedback solo at the end. Found on Singles soundtrack.
-
- The End Is The Beginning Is The End - song from Batman and Robin
- soundtrack, released for radio play. Heavy distorted guitars, some
- synth, electronic drums.
-
- Eye - played occaisionally. Drum kit, synth. "Turn to the gates of
- Heaven, to myself be damned..." Found on Lost Highway soundtrack.
-
- Frail & Bedazzled - used to be played often, still airs occasionally.
- Heavy I/IV guitar riff, one verse drops to vocals-only. Found on PI.
-
- Landslide - solo acoustic Fleetwood Mac cover. "And I saw my reflection
- in a snow covered hill..." Found on Pisces Iscariot & Disarm Heart
- single.
-
- Muzzle - played semi-often. Distorted guitars, fairly heavy. Drums cut
- out & enter loudly back in several times. Starts off "I fear that I am
- ordinary just like everyone." Found on MCIS (-no- CDS single).
-
- Never Let Me Down Again - played occasionally. Clean guitar, mellow
- cover of Depeche Mode song: "I'm taking a ride with my best friend" etc.
- Found on Rocket CDS or 7" (hard to find).
-
- Perfect - second single from 'Adore'. Light, poppy song. "Perfect, I
- promise we'll be perfect...". Played often. Video is the "continuation"
- of the 1979 video.
-
- Rocket - played often during SD era. Layered distorted guitars. "I
- shall be free..." Found on Siamese dream & single.
-
- Thirty-Three - played semi-often. Acoustic guitar & piano, no drums.
- "And you - can make it last, forever you." Found on MCIS & single.
-
- Today - played often during SD era. Alternating clean/distorted.
- "To-day is the greatest..." etc. Found on Siamese Dream & single.
-
- Tonight, Tonight - played semi-often. Strings, clean guitar. Found on
- MCIS & single.
-
- You're All I've Got Tonight - Cars cover. Verses are mostly drums.
- Found in TAFH box set.
-
- Zero - played semi-often. Distortion/harmonics. Found on MCIS & single.
-
-
- 2.8 Songs sung by other members
-
- Billy doesn't sing -every- song... Those featuring James on lead vocals
- are (these do not include James' solo album "Let It Come Down", 1998) :
-
- Believe, The Bells, Blew Away, The Boy, Farewell & Goodnight (1st verse,
- w/ Billy), A Night Like This, ...Said Sadly (w/ guest Nina Gordon of
- Veruca Salt), Take Me Down, and Terrapin.
-
- Of course, he's also sung a few songs live (Boys Don't Cry, Country Girl,
- I Feel You, Kooks, Germans in Leather Pants etc.)
-
- D'Arcy sings on Daydream (Gish), Dreamin' (TAFH box set), and in the
- second verse of Farewell and Goodnight (MCIS), as well as backup on many
- other songs. She's also featured in Catherine's "Four Leaf Clover" and
- "Punch Me Out", and on a few Fulflej songs.
-
- Jimmy Chamberlin, the band's former drummer, sings along with D'Arcy in
- the second verse of Farewell and Goodnight.
-
- 2.9 "Secret" messages/sounds
-
- Sometimes you can hear weird noises that probably shouldn't be there, or
- people talking in the studio. Sometimes they're obvious, sometimes you
- have to strain to hear them with headphones on.
-
- NOTE: This isn't meant to be a complete listing of every time you hear a
- strange noise, but it's a list of the most interesting and notable noises
- & extra words you can find.
-
- Many more can be found at Pumpkin World's secret sounds page:
- http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2204/secrets.html
-
- Bodies
- words spoken in background of second "Love is suicide" chorus- destroy /
- despise / distrust / disobey / destroy / distrust / disloyal / disarm /
- destroy / despise / dissect / deny / destroy / despise / distrust
-
- Bury Me
- song opens with James saying something (most plausible ideas are "Boys,
- let's do it" and "Poised like an angel")
-
- Cherry
- studio talk at beginning: "Listen- wanna just start it?" "Ready, Flood?"
- "Yeah." "1, 2, 3, 4..."
-
- Dancing in the Moonlight
- Billy talks at the end about choking in the middle of the song
-
- Daydream
- click of bow hitting cello at 1:10.5, jingly noises around 1:20-21
-
- Galapogos
- incomprehensible muttering from 3:16-27
-
- Glynis
- opens with synthesized "Hello", allegedly from a Red Red Meat song
-
- Hello Kitty Kat
- ends with Billy saying "Song's over"
-
- Honey Spider I
- Billy laughs at end & says "Aha! That's everything..."
-
- La Dolly Vita
- strange, cartoonish "Ooh!" noise at 3:33; cuckoo at 3:44
-
- Marquis in Spades
- studio talk at beginning: "Rolling..." "I was just on another planet for
- a sec." "Run it back, Mole" (amp on) "Fucker."
-
- Quiet
- strange, very quiet (ha ha) voices at the end of the song. Try it with
- headphones.
-
- Silverfuck
- ends with BC saying "Alright, this take, don't give a fuck" & playing a
- few notes
-
- Siva (Peel Session)
- at 4:09, D'Arcy says she stepped on something; BC counts to 4 for re-
- entry
-
- Soma
- ends with TV evangelist clip: "and you need to resist the devil so that
- he will flee"
-
- Soothe
- "you can hear the 7am buses slithering by" at 2:18-21 (PI liner notes)
-
- Spaceboy
- ends with TV talk show clip: "Now it's, uh, kind of strange, and, uh,
- kinda hard for me to talk about, but I thought maybe you could help- um,
- when we start getting physical, rather than having intercourse, he ends
- up just masturbating himself, and I end up feeling very alienated and
- unsatisfied, and it's really come between us-". Some versions include
- the clip as the beginning of the Silverfuck track.
-
- Starla
- "listen for the police car go by" at 5:27-30 (PI liner notes)
-
- Transformer
- starts with 4 drum clicks & Billy saying "Hit it"
-
- Where Boys Fear to Tread
- DOOM explosion mentioned in liner notes: 1:20, 1:55, 2:29, 3:01, 3:44
-
-
- 2.10 Song/album meanings
-
- Discussing the meaning of songs is sometimes an interesting topic, but
- the band seem to shy away from explaining them outright. On 120 Minutes,
- November '91, Billy and D'Arcy said the following:
-
- BC: Um, my songs are really personal... and... you, it's like I'd have
- to tell everyone the story that goes behind every song, and I just...
- it's kinda- it seems silly to me that I'd have to say "Well one day I
- was walking down the street, see, and..." [shrug] it doesn't- it
- wouldn't make any difference. I- and I don't- I mean, that's one of
- my problems with the video medium, is- is having to attach symbolism
- and specifics to songs because I think in some ways it's the
- ambiguousness of things that makes people find something in their
- own... life.
- D: I sometimes think that... people get more out of a song (BC nods) if
- they don't know exactly what it's about- you can, you can listen more
- to the music, and that's mostly what we're about is music & emotions
- come from that.
- BC: Freedom. Freedom of thought. I mean, we're not here to preach or tell
- you what to think, you know, if-
- D: We're here to say 'think for yourself,' you know...
-
-
- 2.11 Vieuphoria/Earphoria - extra/unreleased songs
-
- Vieuphoria contains several songs unavailable elsewhere, which are as
- follows:
-
- Bugg Superstar - techno song playing while James talks about his dog
- (repeats "Bugg, Superstar...").
-
- Pulseczar - distorted guitar chords, no drums, weird visual effects.
- Starts with "I hear you calling from the sky"
-
- Sinfony - 53 second EBow-driven guitar piece at beginning of tape
-
- Why Am I So Tired? - instrumental played over ending credits
-
- Note that the long jam at the end of Silverfuck also appears as a riff
- called "Jackboot" in Pastichio Medley, but is not usually considered a
- completed song.
-
-
- 2.12 Differences between releases
-
- Most releases have several versions available. Special versions,
- usually imports from central Europe or Japan, sometimes contain extra
- tracks not found on the other releases. Check it out before buying to
- avoid having to buy several versions of the same single to get all the
- songs. :-)
-
- For more details, consult either discography:
- Visual Discography, found at
- http://www.smashing-pumpkins.net/discography/disco.html
- Text-version, found at http://www.xero.com/sp/spdiscog.txt
-
-
- 2.12a Gish - original/remastered
-
- The original release of Gish was on Caroline Records, has the cover image
- on the CD, and was released in 1991. The rerelease was on Virgin, has no
- picture on the CD (just the writing), and was "remastered." It's hard to
- tell by listening, although the bass was supposedly brought out a bit...
-
- 2.12b Siamese Dream - clean/explicit version, import
-
- Certain versions of Siamese Dream have the titles listed on the back,
- while others don't. This is the "clean version", assumed to be produced
- for large chain stores, due to the title "silverfuck". Aside from the
- back cover, there is no difference.
-
- There are also differences in the inserts- after the initial pressing,
- someone decided to save money by taking all the photographs, which were
- on their own page in the first pressing, and combining them all onto 2
- pages, turning the booklet into a foldout, and rendering the handwritten
- lyrics quite small and difficult to read. Canadian editions of Siamese
- Dream are ALL the full insert - with pages for every song. The
- repressing included an address for fan club info and lyrics-
- unbeknownst to the 'fan club' person (read 'mail reader') for some time-
- resulting in many returned letters, until every- thing was finally
- explained...
-
- The Japanese import version contains a bonus track, labelled "Hikari
- Express". This is simply "Pissant", which can be found on Pisces
- Iscariot.
-
- 2.12c Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - 3LP
-
- Mellon Collie was released on vinyl in March of 1996. This came out on 3
- 12" vinyls. Here is an explanation of the availability of this, as found
- in the text discography:
-
- "The 3LP version of MCIS was originally solicited in February of 1996 as
- a limited-to-5000, numbered edition. When it was finally released in
- April, it was allegedly limited to 15,000. Since that time, numbers above
- 18,000 have been confirmed, leaving open the question of how many copies
- were actually pressed."
-
- Most recently, Mark Andrew Hamilton has reported that Virgin Records has
- re-issued the set, and has it listed as "In-stock" in their catalogues.
- More will be posted here as it comes available.
-
- 2.12d Adore - Japanese version
-
- The Japanese version of Adore includes a bonus track, "Once in a While",
- which is also found on the US and UK versions of the Ava Adore single.
-
- 2.12e Ava Adore - 7" vinyl
-
- The UK Ava Adore 7" was supposed to be limited to 5000 copies. But,
- as with the Mellon Collie 3-LP, many more (up to 3000 more, I think)
- appeared.
-
- 2.12f Earphoria - promo/bootleg
-
- The promo for Vieuphoria, entitled "Earphoria", exists as a promo (rare)
- and as various bootlegged/copied versions. The promo CD is light blue
- with pink SP-hearts, and includes a picture of James and Bugg on the back
- of the liner. The bootlegged versions are usually cheap copies- image
- quality on the liner is obviously inferior, some versions are missing the
- picture of James & Bugg, and some of the CDs are simply black hearts on
- blank CDs. Some versions also mess up the tracks by combining French
- Movie Theme and Pissant onto one track, and splitting Silverfuck into two
- tracks. The biggest apparent difference, though, is price- the promo
- will usually cost significantly more, if you can find it anywhere.
-
- Also note that there's a bootleg CD entitled "Billy Don't Be a Hero" that
- is, essentially, a copy of Earphoria.
-
- 2.12g Import/domestic singles
-
- Differences in singles are quite common- generally US and UK singles are
- limited to two or three B-sides, for chart/ratings purposes- including
- more songs would change their status from 'single' to 'EP', which would
- mean they couldn't be counted in certain charts. Usually, where
- different versions of a single exist, the US version will simply omit
- certain B- sides, UK releases will be split into two parts, and Japanese
- or central European releases (Germany, Holland, etc.) will include all
- tracks.
-
- CD singles for I Am One, Cherub Rock, Rocket, Bullet with Butterfly
- Wings, and Zero either exist only in one form (from one country), or have
- the same number of tracks on each release (except that the box set
- release of BwBW also includes 5 cover songs).
-
- Disarm is in two parts from the UK, labelled "Heart" and "Smile".
- Tonight, Tonight, Thirty-Three, and Perfect, as well as having 2-part
- UK singles, also have a US counterpart with omitted B-sides.
-
- 1979, Tonight, Tonight, and Perfect have central-Europe releases with all
- B-sides included. 1979 and Perfect also have US releases with omitted
- B-sides.
-
- Today and Tonight, Tonight also have Japanese import versions: Today
- features Hello Kitty Kat, Obscured, French Movie Theme, and Apathy's Last
- Kiss (only otherwise available on the Today 7"). Tonight, Tonight has
- the same tracks as the central-Europe release (i.e. all 6 B-sides).
-
- For detailed information on singles and the different versions, consult
- either discography.
-
- 2.12h Vinyl - variant B-sides
-
- The B-sides (and C-sides, where they exist) of vinyl releases often
- differ from those of cassette and CD/CDS releases. Following is a list
- of songs that can only be found on vinyl (excluding unofficial/bootleg
- releases):
-
- Daughter - Reflex magazine 7" flexi-disc (good luck)
- Bullet Train to Osaka - I Am One 10"
- Honey Spider I - Tristessa 12"
- Honey Spider II - Pisces Iscariot bonus 7"
- Infinite Sadness - MCIS triple vinyl (3x12")
- My Dahlia - Light Into Dark compilation 12"
- Not Worth Asking - I Am One 7", Pisces Iscariot bonus 7"
- Purr Snickety - Cherub Rock 7" (also in Siamese Singles box set)
- Siamese Dream - Disarm 7" (also in Siamese Singles box set)
- Sun - Light Into Dark compilation 12"
- Terrapin [Syd Barrett] - I Am One 10"
-
- The original 7" version of I Am One can be found on the Absolute Middle
- of Nowhere #17 compilation CD, and the Today 7" b-side "Apathy's Last
- Kiss" can be found on the Japanese Today import CDS.
-
- 2.13 Common/recurring lyrics
-
- Billy has been known to use a few words or phrases several times, so to
- keep people from constantly re-'discovering' them :-) here's a list:
-
- june: 1979, Bye June, Mayonaise, Rhinoceros, Tales of a Scorched
- Earth, Where Boys Fear to Tread
- my one and only: By Starlight, Lily, XYU, Zero
-
- On Q101 radio (Chicago), 10/95, someone actually asked about this- the
- reply was that he simply did that to see if people would notice. A more
- likely explanation is simply that he likes those words, and/or they rhyme
- well...
-
- 2.14 Photos/Cover art
-
- Since some people wonder where all those pictures come from in all the
- releases, here's a brief synopsis:
-
- SD insert - random pictures found by the graphic artist, not related to
- the band (same goes for Cherub Rock cover)
- Today cover - D'Arcy's sisters
- Pisces Iscariot cover (CD) - of continuous debate. Some say it's James,
- Courtney Love said it's her with a cherry in her mouth, Billy said
- it's his now-ex wife, Chris, although he may have been referring to
- the necklace picture on the inside liner
- Bullet with Butterfly Wings insert - from an advertisement in the 1800s
- for some sort of youth potion called, "Brittle's Blood Bitters".
- Zero insert - a Giorgio Armani model (NOT Yelena Yemchuk, the
- photographer)
- Thirty-Three - cover painting=Rasputin, insert=Lenin
- Adore cover - Amy Wesson
- Adore insert- the pictures on the inside of the CD liner were taken while
- the band was on tour in Poland during the Mellon Collie tour, it is
- assumed
- Ava Adore cover - Amy Wesson also.
- Perfect single covers - unknown (so far)
-
- 2.15 mp3s
-
- Recently, this has been one of the most commonly asked questions.
-
- "What are mp3s?"
- mp3s are a type of sound file that combines high sound quality with
- relatively low (compared to .wav files) file size. The average 4
- minute song in mp3 format is approximately 4 to 5 megabytes in size,
- or about 1 megabyte for every minute of high quality sound. The same
- song in wav format is about 50 megabytes, even at the same sampling
- rate.
-
- "I want some!"
- "Hey, this is great!", you must be thinking. "These should be
- everywhere! Free mp3s for everyone!". 'Fraid not, kiddos. While
- there have been large archives in the past (Smashing Pumpkins Audio
- Archive had over 600 at it's peak), they cost a lot to maintain, as
- large amounts of filespace are needed to host these songs. The RIAA
- also has a problem with these mp3 sites because they feel that with
- easy access to such high quality songs for free, people will stop
- buying CDs. Many mp3 sites are shut down for this reason.
-
- "Can I set up a site?"
- Since the downfall of the indisputable King of mp3 sites in November
- of 1997 (the Smashing Pumkpins Audio Archive), many FTP sites and
- various internet sites have tried to take its place, but most have
- been unable to keep up with the demand for live (and occasionally,
- studio album) mp3s, and have shut down within a month or two, whether
- it be due to lack of server space, or the RIAA shutting them down.
- If you watch the newsgroups, (alt.music.smash-pumpkins or
- alt.binaries.smash-pumpkins), new mp3 sites will pop up, then quite
- often disappear. Keep your eyes open, as a permanent site may one
- day be revived.
-
- However, in the meantime, there are alternatives. RealAudio is a
- very cheap alternative, albeit quite a quality difference. For more
- information on RealAudio, visit the website at http://www.real.com.
- Smashing Pumpkins RealAudio songs are available at:
-
- http://www.smashing-pumpkins.net
-
- The SPLRA sometimes posts recent concerts in mp3 or RealAudio for
- download, so check their website too: http://www.starla.org/splra.
-
-
- 3. -Band Info-
-
- 3.1 Origin of name
-
- Most answers to this question are only semi-serious, as they've heard it
- way too often. The March '93 fan club newsletter gave the following
- story:
-
- "Gene Simmons came to us in a dream and said: 'Joe Strummer is a pumpkin,
- drunken and smashed.'"
-
- On Vieuphoria, they simply said "It's a joke." However, the most serious
- answer comes from an interview with D'Arcy by the Washington Post
- (11/19/93):
-
- "The name of the band is a stupid name, a dumb bad joke and a bad idea,
- OK?" she says. "Billy named the band before there even was a band. He was
- like, 'I'm gonna have a band and it's gonna be called this.' 'Smashing'
- is not a verb, it's an adjective. It's not like we like to smash pumpkins
- or anything. And we are not amused by pumpkin jokes anymore."
-
- So, there you have it. "Smashing" is an adjective, not a verb (think
- British here if you're still having trouble). :-)
-
- 3.2 First appearance
-
- Billy and James first appeared in a Polish bar called Track in 1988.
- Their first radio broadcast was on WNUR in Evanston that year. (Info
- from the March '93 fan club newsletter). The first gig as a complete
- band was on 07.09.88 (July 9, 1988) at Chicago 21. This show did not
- include Jimmy, as he had not yet been hired. It consisted of James,
- D'arcy, and of course, Billy.
-
- 3.3 Short Bios
-
- Since everyone MUST know their birthdays, here they are:
-
- Billy Corgan: March 17, 1967
- D'Arcy: May 1, 1968
- James Iha: March 26, 1968
- Jimmy Chamberlin (former drummer): June 10, 1964
-
- For people obsessed with looking through old high school yearbooks: Billy
- went to Glenbard North in Carol Stream, IL, James went to Elk Grove
- Village HS, IL, and D'Arcy went to L.C. Mohr in South Haven, MI.
-
- 3.4 Recording sessions
-
- As you may have heard, most of the recording for Siamese Dream was done
- by Billy (drums excluded). His reasoning: "I was obsessed to meet a
- standard that was beyond our capability. I was more concerned about
- technical efficiency than heart." The MCIS sessions were "a joy,
- compared to the tense Siamese Dream recording," and all members worked
- collectively.
-
- For information pertaining to when and where particular songs and
- albums were recorded, consult the Recording Sessions, by Jesse
- Miller (only the mirrors could be located at time of release):
-
- http://www.netphoria.org/recording/recording.html
- http://www.smashing-pumpkins.net/recording.html
-
- 3.5 Is Billy left-handed or right-handed?
-
- Billy is left-handed. He writes with his left hand. However, he
- plays the guitar as if he was right-handed. This is because he felt
- that it was silly to have his weak hand doing the tough fret-work.
- Another reason is that when Billy and his father went to buy a
- guitar, Billy asked which was more common. He went with a
- right-handed guitar.
-
- 3.6 Equipment
-
- I'm not an equipment expert (I don't even have an electric guitar), so I
- can't provide detailed lists of everything you'll need to perfectly
- imitate that pumpkin sound.
- The SP Guitar and Amp Settings Archive has lots of great info,
- at: http://www.smashing-pumpkins.org/forever/
-
- The intro articles at the beginning of the tablature books for SD, MCIS
- and Adore are also of interest.
-
- 3.6a Special effects
-
- One of the cool effects I -can- explain is the 'reverse echo' used on the
- "bang bang" part of Silverfuck, as well as other songs. The track is
- recorded, then flipped backwards, and echo/reverb is added. It's then
- flipped back to forwards, so the effect is that of echoing -into- the
- note. Pretty cool, eh? :-) This is also heavily used by the Cure (see
- "End" from Wish).
-
- 3.6b EBow
-
- An EBow (electronic/electromagnetic bow) is a small, hand-held magnetic
- device that causes guitar strings to vibrate continuously, resulting in a
- long, sustained tone. These are used most notably on Sinfony, Soma, &
- Drown. James uses EBows a lot live, on songs like Shame, & Porcelina.
- There's even a web site for EBows at http://www.ebow.com.
-
- 3.7 Personal info for the prying fan
-
- I'm not about to invade their privacy, but here's what they (apparently)
- don't mind letting us know via press, etc.:
-
- D'Arcy was involved with James for a while in the early days of the band.
- She is now married to Kerry Brown, drummer of Catherine.
-
- Billy is separated from former wife Chris, and is dating photographer/
- director Yelena Yemchuk.
-
-
- 3.9 Silly rumors (Small Wonder, Sea Monkeys, etc.)
-
- Every once in a while, someone will resurrect a really stupid rumor (see
- "Troll" under 1.5). No, Billy was not in the TV show "Small Wonder" (the
- character of Jamie Lawson was played by Jerry Supiran, if you must know),
- and who cares if Marilyn Manson supposedly had him snort Sea Monkeys
- (Manson even admitted later that that was a joke)? Such rumors aren't
- even worth bringing up (so please don't).
-
- 3.10 SP Fan Club
-
- The "fan club" started when the Siamese Dream liner notes included the
- words "smashing pumpkins fan club information" next to their PO box
- address (which was different on both releases of Gish). Since then,
- there have been a few newsletters & t-shirt order forms, but the one
- person running it (Laura Ann) is a bit more enthusiastic than the rest of
- the band, who hasn't been giving her stuff to send out. For now, Laura
- serves mainly to read their mail, attempt to answer basic questions, and
- sell T-shirts. Until further notice, however, it may be wise to hold off
- on "joining," since the $3 "membership" fee isn't really going anywhere.
- But if you don't mind sending money to someone to send off to an
- accountant somewhere or if you just feel like sending mail, the address
- is:
-
- SPFC, PO Box 578010, Chicago, IL 60657.
-
-
- 3.11 Contacting the band
-
- Send all meaningful mail to the address listed above. Try to hold back
- on short, meaningless messages like "You rule!", as they've already
- gotten tons of those already. Do NOT send mail to (or visit) their
- homes, and do not ask for their home addresses. Have some respect for
- their privacy.
-
- As for email, there's no such address. If the band had a publicly-
- available email address, it would be instantly flooded, requiring a large
- staff to read it all. If any members were to have email addresses, they
- would be for personal/business reasons, so keep that in mind before
- asking for them.
-
-
- |--[mike*hamilton]--(michaelh@ualberta.ca)--|
- |--please stop loving me, please stop loving me, I am none of these things--|
-
- |--[smashing*pumpkins*faq]--(http://www.ualberta.ca/~michaelh/FAQ.txt)--|
- |--[lifepoint*mp3*files]--(http://members.tripod.com/PegRecs/index.html--|
-
-