"About 40 Comments" for Billy Corgan to Improve Oceania

[jczeroman]

As soon as I heard the album I had about 40 comments for him that I thought would have improved his album because I would have been the friend who would have said 'you could write a better lyric there...here's a little better...

While I do think that Oceania is a decent album, there are several annoying, lazy and otherwise crappy moments on the album which I think drag it down from "great" to "good."

I encourage all to add their own comments.

[jczeroman]

Much of the melody from the bridge of Violet Rays sounds like Billy wrote it in five minutes, and that after watching Cats on Broadway or something. It should either be rewritten or he should have just left it off.

[dean_r_koontz]

hmm this is the dumbest thread i've read today thank you.

[MyOneAndOnly]

jczeroman, post your latest album and I'll post 40 ways it could be better.

[ohnoitsbonnie]

Dusty screamed

[jczeroman]

Originally Posted by scottytheoneand

jczeroman, post your latest album and I'll post 40 ways it could be better.

One doesn't need to make a good album in order to have some helpful, constructive criticism, if this is what you mean.

[jczeroman]

Once the opinionated middle-class American netphorians wake up, they'll back me up. Surely netphoria can come up with 40 comments for Billy.

[PumpkinFan88]

Haha. Constructive!

[Trotskilicious]

record 12 and pick 10

it's not 1996 anymore you don't have to fill up the cd

[duovamp]

MAKE YOUR DAMN ART FOR ME ME ME!

[Trotskilicious]

ban duovamp from live performances

[soniclovenoize]

Assuming it would take 1 minute to review the subject at hand and then another minute to write it down, that would mean you are asking me to invest nearly a hour and a half into something that will never be seen by Billy Corgan nor taken into consideration. Furthermore, what motive would I have to invest my personal time into the music of someone else if I personally receive no benefit from it?

A better use of my time--and yours--is to use that hour and a half instead to make your own music, and review ways to improve that, just as scotty was implying. Why dwell on the music made by someone you don't even know, while you could be expressing yourself and making something for yourself?

[Trotskilicious]

Originally Posted by soniclovenoize

Why dwell on the music made by someone you don't even know, while you could be expressing yourself and making something for yourself?

so self-awareness isn't your strong suit

[soniclovenoize]

Self awareness of what?

[D.]

LOL

[soniclovenoize]

At least someone appreciated that. Even if it was D

[Trotskilicious]

even if?

d is great.

[soniclovenoize]

Nah. "D" for "doucher"

[Trotskilicious]

you're a terrible person

[CrabbMan]

Is that intro for pinwheels really necessary? I've listened to the album a handful of times now, and that intro is not growing on me.

Also, the album has hints of a psychedelic sound, but clearly it's coming from a songwriter that is not using psychedelics.

[soniclovenoize]

Originally Posted by CrabbMan

Also, the album has hints of a psychedelic sound, but clearly it's coming from a songwriter that is not using psychedelics.

But is that necessary for something to be called psychedelic?

[meangreensp]

Originally Posted by CrabbMan

Also, the album has hints of a psychedelic sound, but clearly it's coming from a songwriter that is not using psychedelics.

That's gotta be the dumbest thing I've ever heard on Netphoria. Didn't know you needed to use psychedelics to make a psychedelic sound. Wayne Coyne doesn't use LSD anymore, but his music is clearly still psychedelic.

[Trotskilicious]

he doesn't need to use lsd with all the flashbacks

[CrabbMan]

My statement was made mostly tongue-in-cheek. Still, I doubt it's just a coincidence that some of the most innovative and truly moving music was created by people who were actively using psychedelics.

[Cool As Ice Cream]

[The Omega Concern]

the energy of the band is off kilter. For one, there's no jealousy within it. Billy was fighting against the world (and Seattle) and his own bandmates and himself when they came of age. I'm sure there were times he was fed up with all 3 of the original members and be like, "fuck it, I'll show them..." and off he went to overachieving land.

Now...the music lacks for me because I can see this lack of chemistry between the leader of this band and his hired guns with Zero internal conflict between any of them. It's too comfortable a setting and I don't feel any edge from this group anymore --despite all the big sounds and production and riffs and conka-conka drums, etc.

[D.]

Originally Posted by soniclovenoize

Nah. "D" for "doucher"

Fuck I ever do to you?

Not chill, BRO

[duovamp]

Srsly, fuckin' look at that avatar. That's D. right there - cool like a motherfucker. Anyone who has a problem with that man has a problem with me.

[john's ego]

Originally Posted by soniclovenoize

Self awareness of what?

Originally Posted by soniclovenoize

Although I previously had claimed this album was most likely going to be shitty, the truth is I had no real idea. This was because although Corgan is clearly at the lowest point of his career, there were also some glimmers of hope. I actually thought Astral Planes and Freak were alright songs, and pretty much every one of the Oceania songs debuted on the last tour piqued my interest. “It could go either way” is what I really thought, and I wasn’t excited about this album per se—merely interested which way the direction will fall.

In hearing it all, I’d say it teeters back in forth between the lowest of the low and the highest of the, well, low. Surely, this is nothing close to anything achieved by “SP1”, Gish through Machina. The dynamics that Corgan and Chamberlin created together is absent, as well as the creativity, dynamics and consistently-solid songwriting. But certainly, Oceania is better than Shitgeist, The Snoozer Embrace and Smelly Farts of the Sea. Clearly this batch of songs is the cream of the crop harvested in the Teargden By Crappyscope.

The impression I have is what I felt for all of Teargarden: this is a continuation of the musical themes and songwriting established at the very tail end of Machina and into Zwan. To put it bluntly, this is simply what Billy Corgan’s songs sound like now. I would not say they are more contrived or formulaic, but refined. You can tell he has reached a point where the act of songwriting has become so easy and thoughtless, the songs themselves have become a shadow of what they were a decade ago. He knows he has to work hard to produce something of real value, and it shows. In effect, we can have some real stinkers, mingling with real gems--just like the whole of Mary Star of The Sea and Shitgeist. Luckily, he has filtered the stinkers for the most part on Oceania, and it is 2/3rds pretty impressive. The stinkers must have been reserved for Teargarden. But don’t get me wrong: when Oceania smells, it smells BAD.

The sonic landscape and vocalization also goes with the refined-Corgan approach, and this album, in essence, could very well be the second Zwan album that never existed. If Chamberlin had drummed on this album, it very well could have been Zwan. That must say a lot about his former Zwan bandmates, of how much they actually contributed to the sonic landscape of the band…

Speaking of, one thing that must be touched upon is this new line-up: What exactly is Smashing Pumpkins Mark 3? We are essentially left with a more apt guitar player to emulate Corgan’s own playing; a more creative and flowery bass player; and a less interesting drummer. While the first two aspects are simply improved James and D’Arcy clones, the third point hits the band hard—but not hard enough to totally knock them out. To say that it does is just ignorance. Without a doubt, The Kid is no Jimmy Chamberlin. But then again, NO ONE is Jimmy Chamberlin. So then we come to the crux, should this be a moot point then? I believe it is. I will give the young man credit: no one can fill Chamberlin’s shoes, so, hey! don’t even bother trying. At least he has balls to step up. But I will say the biggest drawback is the drumsound itself. Who the hell engineered this album? The drums sound soulless and lack character. In comparison to soundboard tapes, it doesn’t seem to be the little tike’s drumming, but poor mixing and/or recording of his drums.

Let us look at the individual songs…

Quasar – Compositionally pretty average and obviously written as an introduction to the album. At least other openers such as Cherub Rock or To Sheila had some substance; Quasar does not. Decent enough performance and production though. B-

Panopticon – A solid song, probably one of the best he’s written in ten years. It would sit alongside the best tracks of Mary Star of The Sea easily, and that is fine by me. A-

The Celestials – not bad, but not convincingly good either. Nice contrast to the previous two songs, but the formula of ‘Hit single as the third track’ has completely worn thin for this band and Corgan’s intent is completely transparent here. It seems to try to be that hit single he drastically needs, but falls completely short. But it’s an enjoyably song, still above anything grown in a Teargarden. B

Violet Rays – The album starts to turn sour as we soon realize that Corgan has already turned to the filler tracks so early in the album’s running order to sandwich the good tracks. Violet Rays is of little value in the SP discography, barely a Machina b-side. It is completely forgettable. C-

My Love Is Winter – Probably one of the best songs on the album, a stand-out track as Stand Inside Your Love was on Machina or Honestly on Mary Star of The Sea. Unfortunately, it lacks the awe-inspiring lyrics and fantastic hooks of the previous decade’s hit singles. Although excellent when in the context of this album, it becomes a decent Mellon Collie b-side when compared to the rest of Corgan’s discography. A-

One Diamond, One Heart –Well, at least Owata was interesting in the slightest, something that cannot be said of this song. I don’t know what’s sadder here: this song, or the fact that there must not have been a better song to take its place on the album. D+

Pinwheels – What begins as a pretty obvious rip of “Baba O’Riley” turns into a cleverly-arranged song that somehow manages to not build into the expected rocker. As much as I would have liked the drums to come in and rock-out, I applause Corgan for holding back. Stand-out track. B+

Oceania – I think most people should think that the fact that there is an epic, nearly-10-minute track on every single Smashing Pumpkins song is completely contrived. But we all ignore this because the songs are generally quite fantastic and fit perfectly in the context of its album; we seem to overlook its contrivance. Upon hearing the live versions of this song, I was not able to forget it this time: it was obviously a number of fragments, crammed together to make The Stereotype Epic Smashing Pumpkins Song For Side B. But upon hearing this studio version, I was pleasantly surprised how cohesive the title track and I reversed my opinion. Apparently, the live interpretation was lacking the crystal clear vision Corgan had intended all along for these perfectly fitted fragments. My only complaint is the lack of resolution in the song’s inappropriate fade. Imagine the final phrases of Iha’s closing solo of Glass + The Ghost Children fading out… Or the power being pulled on Starla halfway through the closing solo. This is the impression I received, Corgan effectively ruining what could have been his crown achievement over the last decade. B

Pale Horse – This is inarguably Corgan’s finest moment on the album, and possibly the finest moment he’s ever had since Machina. This is one of the few songs on this album that could stand proudly alongside his entire discography. Pale Horse could have been the Machina outtake that everyone lamented was not included on the album, or the Double Door song that no one understood why it wasn’t recorded for Mellon Collie. Excellent use of percussion and restraint, gathering atmosphere for the mysterious and vividly interesting lyrics. A

The Chimera – Unfortunately by this point in Oceania, it seems Corgan has run through all his great ideas after the fantastic triad of Pinwheels-Oceania-Pale Horse. The remainder of the album is forgettable, not only by comparison, but on its own right. The Chimera is a completely throw-away rocker, nothing short of a Zwan outtake you could leave or take. C

Glissandra – Flashy, characteristic Corgan song titles won’t save this album at this point, as the barrage of throw-away Zwan ditties continue. This song should have been left roadside with Paz, Pajo and Sweeny. C

Inkless – A surprise hopeful amongst the duds, Inkless is mistakenly tagged near the end of the album and nearly forgotten. Sounding like a riff salvaged from the Pasticio Medley, it references an era long gone and shall never return. But it’s too easy for our judgment to be clouded in nostalgia; this classic Pumpkins sound is grounded in the lack of Chamberlin, and it becomes painfully obvious way Oceania sounds the way it is in the first place: there is no other Chamberlin, don’t even bother trying. You can try to relive the past, but what’s gone is always gone. B-

Wildflower - Throughout Oceania, we feel that Corgan is grasping for his former power, and we can feel the electricity just barely scraping his fingertips as he reaches harder and harder. Mid album, we think he might actually grab a hold of it! But after a closing run of forgettable songs and frankly a completely amateur and embarrassing closing tune, we see that it is realistically far, far out of reach. Maybe he is over the hill, out of ideas. Maybe it’s the lack of a prodigal drummer. Or maybe this is all intentional, a part of some sick masterplan. Either way, this album full of hopefulness is closed with a complete lack thereof, a dreadful snoozer. Wildflower is, without a doubt the worst album-closer of the entire Smashing Pumpkins catalog, and we are reminded of where and WHEN we are. This is not 1994, this is 2012. There is no Chamberlin and The Smashing Pumpkins are forgettable adult alternative of varying degrees of brilliance and failure. D+

Overall rating: C+/B-

[Trotskilicious]

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