NYT Interview Is Up
 

I helped hook up D'arcy with the writer, glad she gave him a comment.

Really surprised Billy and company barely said anything in response, I was expecting to maybe get a different side of the story.

That's pretty cool. Overall, I gotta say this article is a letdown. It's not that different from any other interview in the last decade. Really just Billy talking about how the band fits into the world today. I want to know more about story behind the reunion, like why Iha reached out first. That surprised me.

I do like that new group shot though.

“I would say 80 percent of the things that I get sort of held up and mocked for, I’m doing intentionally,” Mr. Corgan said. “It’s sort of funny to me that they actually think I’m that stupid.”

LOL OK

D'arcy's not coming back then. Ever.

So be it. I look forward to hearing the new music. And if they tour the UK / Ireland, I'll go.

It's really well written, but not that interesting because I just don't have any reason to care what Billy says anymore. Anything positive is likely a lie

yeah, that's a great photo. would be better without jeff and with d'arcy though

not sure how jimmy or james can stand being around this guy

And god Jimmy's just the best

sorry to wank so much but that dude is...probably the most inspirational person I can think of. battling with addiction in the 90s while still playing the shit out of the drums, and being totally sober and positive and cool in the 2000s. the couple interactions i've had with him have been great. super classy guy, the polar opposite of corgan

It would have been a great opportunity for Corgan to elaborate on what happened with D'arcy. No matter how flimsy his excuse would have been, just discussing it for a few sentences would have gone a long way towards rehabbing the situation. Instead, it just adds credence to all of D'arcy's (already credible) statements.

Also, my favorite quote in the whole interview

As much crap as we've given Billy, it has become clear James is probably in this just as much for money as Corgan.

(He did, however, mention one grudge that lingered: After the band played its final shows together in 2000, Mr. Corgan proposed renting out the venue Metro in Chicago, “our sort of home temple,” and record a “Let It Be”-style farewell album; Mr. Iha refused.)

MACHINA III

Agreed, the D'arcy thing really lifted the veil of complete bullshit he projects.

It's crazy, I would have been so excited to hear of a Billy/James/Jimmy reunion 5 years ago - instead the whole thing leaves me feeling very little thanks to the execution of it all

Imagine meeting this guy at a party or some type of extended family get-together. What impression would you come away with?

YeH I wish there was some more juice to this.

Personal highlights:

- Billy loves comparing himself to dead icons who can’t defend themselves.him and Kurt were the two great “scribes” of the 90s, and now him and Lou Reed are the two greatest heels??

- when he says “I could say I wrote all the songs and did all the work, but I wont” but you just did dude!

The project was similar to what they did on the Residency shows. They would write play and record a new song every night. James and Melissa didn't like the idea.

Exactly. Now that I think about it, I'm really pissed how badly Billy handled this. If you told me in 2015 I could see Jimmy and James play Pumpkins tunes 30 minutes from home, I'd be over the moon. But Billy just....ruined it. Just come out and say why she won't be back, even if it's drugs - be straight with your fanbase, please. And the photo leak thing was incredibly fucked up.

And I'm still a bit salty Jeff is involved. I know he's been tight with Billy since 2007, and he seems like a good guy, but Corgan's managed to burn bridges with so many other fucking people...why not the one guy who's been the hallmark of bad Pumpkins records?

I'm reserving judgment on Jeff until we've heard the first show. If he persists with his usual wanking, I'll cop to his presence being another awful idea. However, when he first started playing with the band in 2007, during the first run of festivals and European shows, Jeff's main role was playing James/Billy's leads when Corgan played rhythm. At this point, he almost always played the parts as they sounded on the album. It was not until the residencies, when Jeff started adding parts to new sons and improvising more on older songs, that his playing became bland.

Point being, this tour seems to be about sticking to the oldies,and I would assume, playing them as closely to the album as possible. If Jeff "sticks to the script," I actually think we might have an opportunity to hear some really great live versions of old songs. If it ends up like the 2016 shows, where Jeff just plays scales over Billy and James to feel like he belongs, I'll be pissed.

Just re-read the NYT article. I would say this most interesting thing was that James was the one who reached to Billy.

all this article demonstrates is that the pumpkins were never quite as truly big as other rock arena bands, like guns and roses as an example. they were a strange alternative band that had a huge moment for a few years.. so a reunion without darcy stage is ultimately not going to get them anywhere.

and if we're being completely honest about darcy here, yeah, there was plenty of empircal evidence that it wasn't a wise idea to bring her out on the road. it's amazing and wonderful that she's finally calling Corgan out on his bullshit years later, but i don't think Corgan was wrong in his having doubts of her coming back after not being on stage since 1999. could he have handled it better? yes. could she have handled it better? yes.

bridge burned forever? i said 'asshole' out loud after reading that. but he's said the same about courtney love many times before and low and behold they're buds again.

He'll rebuild that bridge when Reunion 2.0 is nice and marketable and absolutely unavoidable.

...and yet he didn't even meet her to see for himself how she was doing musically, physically and mentally.

Lmao at James hair. How is it so fucking thick. I've never even seen a chick with hair that thick.

Is it me or the interview kind of says nothing really.

The interview has kind of a subtle anti-Billy vibe. There's some good stuff in there, but I think I could have gotten more out of him. He seemed very guarded.

He's a shit person, so there's your motive.

Also Corgan started reciting lyrics from the new album during the interview? That seems compulsive.