Oceania predictions

[???]

From what little we know, I have a feeling Oceania might turn out to be simultaneously the strangest and most quintessential SP record to date.

I feel that Billy's song titles are always quite evocative of each song's sound or style, and from peering into the tea leaves here I get the following initial impressions about the album. Feel free to share your own.


Quasar / Stella Polaris and the People Mover - from the live recording, we know its a psychedelic rocker with a similar riff to Tristessa and screaming guitar solos. But does the title tell us anything? Stella Polaris is, of course, the north star, but also apparently a Spanish hotel, a cruise ship and "Denmark's biggest chill-out event", according to Google. The People Mover was a ride at an old amusement park, but more commonly refers to automated public transport. So... is the song about space travel? Inner, more likely than outer, I would surmise.

Panopticon - a clear reference to the rise of surveillance culture and creeping authoritarianism. Since Zeitgeist, Billy's lyrics have become more overtly political and referential towards conspiracy theories (Doomsday Clock, United States, Freak, The Fellowship) and song titles like this suggest those themes will be present on Oceania as well.

The Celestials - Either a love song, or less likely, a reference to the "alien consciousness" Billy once claimed via Twitter to have been in communication with through a psychic chaneller. He has been interested in mystical notions for many years and has infrequently spoken about 2012 and aliens, among other things. Make of that what you will.

Oceania - Initially I'm reminded of Bjork's song Oceania which she performed at the 2004 Olympics, but perhaps Billy has also chosen the title for its universality and suggestiveness of cultural harmony. Musically I imagine it might be the album's epic jam, perhaps slightly similar to Mary Star of the Sea or Porcelina.

Pale Horse - possibly a reference to the 1991 book "Behold a Pale Horse" by the noted late conspiracy theorist Bill Cooper. I have not read it, and only have a vague idea of what its about.

The Chimera - "according to Greek mythology, the Chimera was a monstrous fire-breathing female creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, composed of the parts of multiple animals: upon the body of a lioness with a tail that ended in a snake's head, the head of a goat arose on her back at the center of her spine. The Chimera was one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna and a sibling of such monsters as Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra. The term chimera has also come to describe any mythical animal with parts taken from various animals and, more generally, an impossible or foolish fantasy". So, that one's really open to interpretation. I'm inclined to think it will be the album's progressive rock centerpiece.


So, overall I get the feeling that the album will be superficially comparable to Gish and Siamese Dream, but with a greater shoegaze element. I'm imagining lots of hazy, washed-out soundscapes and an overall mood of uneasy serenity. I believe the album will be strange for the fact that it will be musically familiar and nostalgic, but have an ominous lyrical subtext. I think the most interesting question about the album will be about how it fits into the Teargarden project, although I suspect most people at this point have stopped thinking about the theme of the Fool's Journey and how that might be served.


I'm just projecting here but its fun to imagine and see how close you were once the record's out. Anyone got their own idea about how Oceania might turn out?

[reprise85]

I admire your dedication, Isle.

But no one care

[MyOneAndOnly]

/thread

[reprise85]

I agree Oceania will probably be the epic song. There always has to be at least one 7+ minute song.

[???]

Originally Posted by reprise85

I admire your dedication, Isle.

But no one care

its this kind of discourse that distinguishes between "diehard fans" and those who are merely consumers.

[reprise85]

It's hard for me to be excited about the new SP stuff. I hope I'm surprised and it's good, but I'm just not into what BC has been putting out lately.

Anyway that was mostly a joke but if I'm not a "diehard fan" because of it then so be it I guess.

[???]

Originally Posted by reprise85

It's hard for me to be excited about the new SP stuff. I hope I'm surprised and it's good, but I'm just not into what BC has been putting out lately.

Anyway that was mostly a joke but if I'm not a "diehard fan" because of it then so be it I guess.

i know you were joking, and you're right that no one cares. i partly post this stuff for billy's amusement, in case he reads it. i learned basically everything i know about music from him, and i think he might find it interesting to see the development of a creative mind similar to his own. but i mostly just like to see my wacky ideas validated by the interest of other enquiring minds.

[reprise85]

I think it is likely he reads it. Hi Billy.

[slunken]

i want it to be good, too. and all about ancient astronaut theory, as the OP suggested.

[MyOneAndOnly]

/thread is not working... as usual

[dustrock]

Oceania has been confirmed by Billy as being an epic track...I believe there are 3 parts to it

[MyOneAndOnly]

thank gawd nobody in here is referring to it as "Oash"

[the mahatma]

I think Oash is gonna be a GREAT one. Think "Rubberman" for today's audience.

[T&T]

oash is gonna be a mystery album.

laced in concept. but billy knows to keep his mouth shut about mysteries.... hahah

[rottenugly]

I heard Mike Byrne recorded himself crying for three minutes and that's going to be the new SP single.

[MyOneAndOnly]

Originally Posted by the mahatma

I think Oash is gonna be a GREAT one. Think "Rubberman" for today's audience.

/Oboard

[TuralyonW3]

vocals vocals vocals vocals and also vocals

[Mablak]

I'm guessing any album picked at random is bound to be better than this, why are you guys so eager to torture yourselves?

[reprise85]

del

[soniclovenoize]

Originally Posted by ???

its this kind of discourse that distinguishes between "diehard fans" and those who are merely consumers.

Long ago I fell in love with this band, because many of the musical qualities I look for in music were present in Smashing Pumpkins, more-so than other artists. But as I grew older, not only did Smashing Pumpkins evolve over time so as to no longer contain the sound-elements I look for in music, but the sound-elements themselves I look for in music evolved. We both had changed. With additional alienating factors present by the turn of 2000, I was done with the band and my grieving process began. It is my theory that Netphora is less of a fan site for The Smashing Pumpkins, but an on-line support system and community for music fans who are all in the various steps of the grieving process, for their dying and/or deceased love of The Smashing Pumpkins.

I got into the band in 1994 with Siamese Dream, when I started listening to other "alt-rock" bands. As a freshman in high school, I can clearly remember my “Big 4” were Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Green Day and of course Smashing Pumpkins. Other bands danced around those Big 4 such as Soundgraden, Weezer, Stone Temple Pilots and other 90s-alt-rock mainstays. But the songwriting prowess, sound-design intricacies and variance in musical arrangements made Smashing Pumpkins the leader of the pack. The summer of 1995 exposed me to their b-side collection Pisces Iscariot, which showed me they were not simply flash-in-the-pan Johnny-come-latelies; they were the real deal. This was THE band of my generation. By the time Mellon Collie was released that fall, I had already immersed myself in the more obscure Gish and was already my high school’s resident Smashing Pumpkins psycho-fan and expert.

Three years later the band released Adore on the day of the dress rehearsal of my high school graduation. It was all-too appropriate, as my musical tastes were already starting to broaden, as I abandoned the slew of MOR 90s bands and refocused on new more idiosyncratic obsessions such as Primus and Radiohead. Because of the experimentalism of Adore (as compared to their previous work) Smashing Pumpkins were able to fight hand in hand and stay in the top position as my favorite band. It was this time I began posting on Netphoria, I believe, as well as composing bass tabs and the Smashing Pumpkins Recording Sessions for the Smashing Pumpkins on-line community. But as I went off to college and looked for even more musical directions, The Smashing Pumpkins’ time was growing short. My discovery of The Flaming Lips dethroned Smashing Pumpkins, for the simple fact that they now possessed more musical qualities I sought on music. After devouring The Flaming Lips back-catalog, it was clear to me that they fit the bill more so than Smashing Pumpkins. In 1999, both artists had a new album slated for release—along with the third place contender Radiohead. Who will win in the battle for my musical heart?

The Flaming Lips released The Soft Bulletin in the summer of 1999, a radical departure from their previous work, and it set me back, giving Smashing Pumpkins an opportunity to take their lead. But the new songs leaked on their Arising Tour were not of the caliber of their previous material, even in fetal form; even the Double Door shows and the Viper Room shows demonstrated the genius of Corgan’s writing before the album was even finished. But this new material, although exciting with the return of Chamberlin, seemed to be treading water and rested solely on the renewed percussive drive rather than solid songwriting and creative arrangements. When Machina was finally released, I was hungry for new, brilliant Corgan material, but for the first time for any Smashing Pumpkins release, I was let down. The album was too long and bloated; some of the material was certainly not up to par with their previous songwriting; the production was muddy and inorganic; the packaging and artwork was unusually cryptic and unlike their former character. The release of Radiohead’s Kid A left me further confused as the musical direction of my 90’s-rock favorites. What has happened? Little did I know, at the time, this was the death of my love for Smashing Pumpkins, which only intensified as the years progressed.

The first nail in the coffin was the actual break-up of The Smashing Pumpkins in the conclusion of 2000. Over that year I was able to musically digest all three albums: Machina, Soft Bulletin and Kid A. While I had grown to accept Machina for what it was, in contrast I was able to appreciate the genius of The Soft Bulletin and Kid A. The later were challenging albums that required the listener to think outside the box, something I was able to do at that point in time; Machina was just your average album, a misstep for otherwise creative minds. But sentimentalism overtook me, and I refused to give up on Smashing Pumpkins at this point. But Corgan’s announcement that the band was breaking up shattered that nostalgia. But why did Corgan do it? One sub-par album and lack of record sales was not a great excuse to end a band, a dream, an obsession. I was now entering the denial stage of the grief cycle. This signaled to me that the band was finished, and that I should move on. Not only were Radiohead and The Flaming Lips all-too active, but I had also recently discovered other current and active bands that seemed more musically rewarding, such as elaborate Texas rockers the pAper chase and The Polyphonic Spree and local art-punk heroes Lifter Puller. The old always make-way for the new.

The final nail in the coffin was the forming of Zwan. I had always maintained the original break-up of the band was pointless and unnecessary, and they clearly had some life in them, if only to recover from Machina. But the forming of a band with not only Chamberlin behind the kit, but with classic Corgan songwriting, stylistic similarities to The Smashing Pumpkins and even a female bass player? This was a lie; Corgan should not have broken up the band if his next project was simply Smashing Pumpkins 2.0. This was supposed to be the new Smashing Pumpkins album! Why did my love have to die if it was just to be continued a year and a half later? But my love was already invested in the other aforementioned acts. All that remained was contempt for Billy Corgan. I was now in the anger stage of the grief cycle.

Graduating from college in 2002, my musical tastes began to change yet again as my eyes set upon the slew of Elephant 6 bands such as Olivia Tremor Control, The Sunshine Fix, Circulatory System, of Montreal and Neutral Milk Hotel, that seemed to break all the rules that my 90s alt-rock favorites seemed to construct. In 2004 my daughter was born and my 200+ collection of Smashing Pumpkins CDs tapes and vinyl were sold for diaper-money. I did not at all regret it, as I was more interested in her well being, and I had already created a modest collection of Elephant 6 discs to construct my life’s soundtrack. Now I realize I was in the acceptance and reinvestment stages of the grieving process. I had long ago accepted the death of my favorite band, but I knew there would always be better bands, new musical discoveries to be made. Besides, would Smashing Pumpkins continue to define me musically anyways? No, they did not. Siamese Dream was always there to enjoy, but I had accepted that this band no longer exists and never will… ever.

Over this time, I would continually go back to Netphoria, but not because of my love for The Smashing Pumpkins. At the time I labeled it as “out of habit” but I believe there are deeper psychological reasons why I—and all of us—keep coming back to this god forsaken forum. Because I needed help in dealing with my grief in losing my favorite band, the soundtrack to my adolescence, and although I never realized it at the time, this is what Netphoria provided. We are all at various stages of our grief cycle: Denial, Anger, Sadness, Acceptance and Reinvestment. Netphoria is a self-help forum, a place to find guidance and support for our grief, to talk to others who have lost someone dear to us—the same someone: Billy Corgan and his bandmates.

I urge you all to take a step back and realize what’s going on, and try to understand what stage you are at. I have already been through it all, and I am here to help, as a sort of councilor or mediator. Learn from my experiences. I wish you all luck.

[wHATcOLOR]

Originally Posted by ???

an overall mood of uneasy serenity.

what does that mean

[Grox]

thats a repost ive seen that before

[T&T]

Originally Posted by Grox

thats a repost ive seen that before

thats a repost ive seen that before

[killtrocity]

holy shit lots of tl;dr in fact idk why I went in here I obviously have no care

[???]

Originally Posted by wHATcOLOR

what does that mean

like the calm before the storm

[MyOneAndOnly]

Originally Posted by soniclovenoize

Long ago I fell in love with this band, because many of the musical qualities I look for in music were present in Smashing Pumpkins, more-so than other artists. But as I grew older, not only did Smashing Pumpkins evolve over time so as to no longer contain the sound-elements I look for in music, but the sound-elements themselves I look for in music evolved. We both had changed. With additional alienating factors present by the turn of 2000, I was done with the band and my grieving process began. It is my theory that Netphora is less of a fan site for The Smashing Pumpkins, but an on-line support system and community for music fans who are all in the various steps of the grieving process, for their dying and/or deceased love of The Smashing Pumpkins.

I got into the band in 1994 with Siamese Dream, when I started listening to other "alt-rock" bands. As a freshman in high school, I can clearly remember my “Big 4” were Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Green Day and of course Smashing Pumpkins. Other bands danced around those Big 4 such as Soundgraden, Weezer, Stone Temple Pilots and other 90s-alt-rock mainstays. But the songwriting prowess, sound-design intricacies and variance in musical arrangements made Smashing Pumpkins the leader of the pack. The summer of 1995 exposed me to their b-side collection Pisces Iscariot, which showed me they were not simply flash-in-the-pan Johnny-come-latelies; they were the real deal. This was THE band of my generation. By the time Mellon Collie was released that fall, I had already immersed myself in the more obscure Gish and was already my high school’s resident Smashing Pumpkins psycho-fan and expert.

Three years later the band released Adore on the day of the dress rehearsal of my high school graduation. It was all-too appropriate, as my musical tastes were already starting to broaden, as I abandoned the slew of MOR 90s bands and refocused on new more idiosyncratic obsessions such as Primus and Radiohead. Because of the experimentalism of Adore (as compared to their previous work) Smashing Pumpkins were able to fight hand in hand and stay in the top position as my favorite band. It was this time I began posting on Netphoria, I believe, as well as composing bass tabs and the Smashing Pumpkins Recording Sessions for the Smashing Pumpkins on-line community. But as I went off to college and looked for even more musical directions, The Smashing Pumpkins’ time was growing short. My discovery of The Flaming Lips dethroned Smashing Pumpkins, for the simple fact that they now possessed more musical qualities I sought on music. After devouring The Flaming Lips back-catalog, it was clear to me that they fit the bill more so than Smashing Pumpkins. In 1999, both artists had a new album slated for release—along with the third place contender Radiohead. Who will win in the battle for my musical heart?

The Flaming Lips released The Soft Bulletin in the summer of 1999, a radical departure from their previous work, and it set me back, giving Smashing Pumpkins an opportunity to take their lead. But the new songs leaked on their Arising Tour were not of the caliber of their previous material, even in fetal form; even the Double Door shows and the Viper Room shows demonstrated the genius of Corgan’s writing before the album was even finished. But this new material, although exciting with the return of Chamberlin, seemed to be treading water and rested solely on the renewed percussive drive rather than solid songwriting and creative arrangements. When Machina was finally released, I was hungry for new, brilliant Corgan material, but for the first time for any Smashing Pumpkins release, I was let down. The album was too long and bloated; some of the material was certainly not up to par with their previous songwriting; the production was muddy and inorganic; the packaging and artwork was unusually cryptic and unlike their former character. The release of Radiohead’s Kid A left me further confused as the musical direction of my 90’s-rock favorites. What has happened? Little did I know, at the time, this was the death of my love for Smashing Pumpkins, which only intensified as the years progressed.

The first nail in the coffin was the actual break-up of The Smashing Pumpkins in the conclusion of 2000. Over that year I was able to musically digest all three albums: Machina, Soft Bulletin and Kid A. While I had grown to accept Machina for what it was, in contrast I was able to appreciate the genius of The Soft Bulletin and Kid A. The later were challenging albums that required the listener to think outside the box, something I was able to do at that point in time; Machina was just your average album, a misstep for otherwise creative minds. But sentimentalism overtook me, and I refused to give up on Smashing Pumpkins at this point. But Corgan’s announcement that the band was breaking up shattered that nostalgia. But why did Corgan do it? One sub-par album and lack of record sales was not a great excuse to end a band, a dream, an obsession. I was now entering the denial stage of the grief cycle. This signaled to me that the band was finished, and that I should move on. Not only were Radiohead and The Flaming Lips all-too active, but I had also recently discovered other current and active bands that seemed more musically rewarding, such as elaborate Texas rockers the pAper chase and The Polyphonic Spree and local art-punk heroes Lifter Puller. The old always make-way for the new.

The final nail in the coffin was the forming of Zwan. I had always maintained the original break-up of the band was pointless and unnecessary, and they clearly had some life in them, if only to recover from Machina. But the forming of a band with not only Chamberlin behind the kit, but with classic Corgan songwriting, stylistic similarities to The Smashing Pumpkins and even a female bass player? This was a lie; Corgan should not have broken up the band if his next project was simply Smashing Pumpkins 2.0. This was supposed to be the new Smashing Pumpkins album! Why did my love have to die if it was just to be continued a year and a half later? But my love was already invested in the other aforementioned acts. All that remained was contempt for Billy Corgan. I was now in the anger stage of the grief cycle.

Graduating from college in 2002, my musical tastes began to change yet again as my eyes set upon the slew of Elephant 6 bands such as Olivia Tremor Control, The Sunshine Fix, Circulatory System, of Montreal and Neutral Milk Hotel, that seemed to break all the rules that my 90s alt-rock favorites seemed to construct. In 2004 my daughter was born and my 200+ collection of Smashing Pumpkins CDs tapes and vinyl were sold for diaper-money. I did not at all regret it, as I was more interested in her well being, and I had already created a modest collection of Elephant 6 discs to construct my life’s soundtrack. Now I realize I was in the acceptance and reinvestment stages of the grieving process. I had long ago accepted the death of my favorite band, but I knew there would always be better bands, new musical discoveries to be made. Besides, would Smashing Pumpkins continue to define me musically anyways? No, they did not. Siamese Dream was always there to enjoy, but I had accepted that this band no longer exists and never will… ever.

Over this time, I would continually go back to Netphoria, but not because of my love for The Smashing Pumpkins. At the time I labeled it as “out of habit” but I believe there are deeper psychological reasons why I—and all of us—keep coming back to this god forsaken forum. Because I needed help in dealing with my grief in losing my favorite band, the soundtrack to my adolescence, and although I never realized it at the time, this is what Netphoria provided. We are all at various stages of our grief cycle: Denial, Anger, Sadness, Acceptance and Reinvestment. Netphoria is a self-help forum, a place to find guidance and support for our grief, to talk to others who have lost someone dear to us—the same someone: Billy Corgan and his bandmates.

I urge you all to take a step back and realize what’s going on, and try to understand what stage you are at. I have already been through it all, and I am here to help, as a sort of councilor or mediator. Learn from my experiences. I wish you all luck.

you should start a blog..

You make me look like boarder, though. keep it up.

[MyOneAndOnly]

Originally Posted by T&T

thats a repost ive seen that before

thats a repost ive seen that before

[brendo_91]

Originally Posted by Mablak

I'm guessing any album picked at random is bound to be better than this, why are you guys so eager to torture yourselves?

Any SP album, or any album ever?

Originally Posted by wHATcOLOR

what does that mean

I suppose an 'uneasy serenity' would be like meditating, with a cock up your ass. Or something.

[ilikeplanets]

I'm expecting him to cut out a little bit of the synth but not expecting the band to get its edge back - look at the members!

[dustrock]

Will sound like Zwan