A return to form???

[BlissedandGone2]

How many post-breakup pumpkins albums has Billy claimed was a return to form? I’m actually pretty sure he’s said this about every album he’s put out starting with zeitgeist and it may have actually started with Machina. I even remember when Untitled was released he had a speech about “people told me this sounds like the old smashing pumpkins and I had to laugh because we could always be that pumpkins we just chose not to.”

Anyways, can’t wait to hear about how ATUM part 2 is actually the return to form we’ve been anticipating. And then part 3.

[enthusaroo]

I think part 3 might be better.. because it has the longer songs that will sound like rock.

Having said that the quality of these recent albums is low.. the synths are super cheesy and production is bad.. it's simply not enjoyable to listen to.

I don't know who finds joy listening to music that sounds this bad.

It's definitely disappointing as a long time fan of the Pumpkins 'classic' work.. and even with some good memories about a few good songs from the Zeitgeist and Oceania eras.. each album keeps getting worse and worse.

If this were an album released by any other band.. nobody would even give it a second listen. it would go straight into garbage bin.

[paranoid]

I listened to a radio interview with billy today where he said someone who had heard the whole thing said that it sounds like all of the pumpkins eras rolled into one record.

what era's are we hearing in act 1 so far? besides cyr, of course lol

[enthusaroo]

Originally Posted by paranoid

I listened to a radio interview with billy today where he said someone who had heard the whole thing said that it sounds like all of the pumpkins eras rolled into one record.

what era's are we hearing in act 1 so far? besides cyr, of course lol

haha true

[ilikeplanets]

Honestly, every era rolled into one would be an incomprehensible mess, so that's probably what he means and he's right

[Disco King]

I remember when he said Teargarden would be "heavy and psychedelic" like early Pumpkins.

[paranoid]

I think a lot of era's are showing up here but it's all presented with a modern sheen over it, which is why i think most of us here hate it. That part of it is starting to grow on me, because I do like a good amount of modern pop.

for fun- Not gonna mention Cyr on any of this because the presence of Cyr is obvious.

ATUM- Machina if Machina was more influenced by pink floyd.
Butterfly Suite- Future Embrace meets Oceania (specifically pinwheels)
Good In Goodbye- if the heavier stuff on Oceania was played by the real band plus jeff
Embracer- teargarden, maybe. i dunno.
With Ado- piano plodding throughout has Adore vibes, touch of dorian
Hooligan- don't know i can't deal with this one
steps in time- Zwan and Shiny (silvery sometimes) with a little siamese dream (fuzz leads, triple guitar leads)
where rain must fall- an attempt at 1920s/30's style, so MCIS in that regard, but vaguely.
Beyond the Vale- Zeitgeist and anno satana
Hooray-
Gold Mask- Jimmy recycling a partial beat from skysaw, mostly sounds like DIA from future embrace.

[ilikeplanets]

I like pop too, but I don't think the melodies on ATUM are hooky enough, or the lyrics are catchy enough, to be good pop. And the instrumentation isn't strong enough or innovative enough to be good rock. It's suffering from jack of all trades syndrome. I definitely believe he IS trying to do everything at once to make it mind blowing, but it's not translating.

[paranoid]

Originally Posted by ilikeplanets

I definitely believe he IS trying to do everything at once to make it mind blowing

which is a lot of pop records right now. a genre mish mash. not saying it's a good thing but i get what he's doing.

[ilikeplanets]

Experimental mash ups can be pretty cool, but there needs to be a wow moment to make that work. These tracks are all lukewarm.

[Funbags]

Originally Posted by enthusaroo

I don't know who finds joy listening to music that sounds this bad.

Something about the Cyr/ATUM sound really creeps me out. It's cold, sterile, and processed.

I'm sure Billy thinks he' competing at the highest levels, but it sounds like pure shit.

[houseofglass11]

There are some people here who are on sad machines. What are Billy’s biggest sycophants thinking about the album so far? I’m sure they are seeing only the positive in it.

[TheAlter]

Originally Posted by BlissedandGone2

when Untitled was released he had a speech about “people told me this sounds like the old smashing pumpkins and I had to laugh because we could always be that pumpkins we just chose not to.”

Lol sure, bet now he’d offer Yoko Corgan to the Billboard demon gods for a new Untitled

[Ram27]

Originally Posted by Funbags

Something about the Cyr/ATUM sound really creeps me out. It's cold, sterile, and processed.

I'm sure Billy thinks he' competing at the highest levels, but it sounds like pure shit.

creeps me out is definitely a huge factor

it's the sound of someone losing their mind in a 30s asylum.

not in a good way, or an arty way, or a cool dark way. in a bad, un-aesthetic, unpleasant way.

[LaBelle]

Saying anything Billy Corgan is doing lately sounds like current music is like equating a child making a sand mound to the person who designed the eiffel tower.

[T&T]

What are the characteristics of a Virgin Era Pumpkins anyways?

contrarian
bombastic
delicate
no genre limitations.

[eviltimeban]

There'll come a point when Billy might realise this type music isn't selling and not getting him where he wants to go. He's trying to "compete at the highest levels" with this "contemporary" music, but he's not charting high. The last few albums didn't chart high, and Act 1 probably isn't going to chart at all as you can't buy it / download it.

So what does he do then? Ditch the synths and change the sound? Or break up the band completely? Has he spoken about what they're going to do after Atum is out (besides the 10 extra songs).

[T&T]

he's been making music on his tearms for years. I'll think he'll keep doing just that.

[LaBelle]

He'll blame others for his failures, change up the arrangement slightly to chase whatever music trend was big in 2013 he discovers today and the cycle begins anew.

[Ram27]

i saw dino jr live recently, and am really getting into them. despite lineup stuff and personality stuff, the new stuff rips just as hard as the old stuff, same energy, same sound, still fresh

and it makes cyr suck ass even more. knowing corgan is doing this AGAIN! this is the second fucking album cycle in a row with broken promises and the same fucking shitty fucking tepid diarrhea synth garbage for 3 hours

[Ram27]

imagine if corgan came out with this



no one would be compromising with the dancing robots. actually the story of the robot is rather poignant

[ourruseoffools]

Originally Posted by Ram27

imagine if corgan came out with this



no one would be compromising with the dancing robots. actually the story of the robot is rather poignant

I know Dino’s engineer personally… he has a real old school aesthetic meaning that he gets results more akin to what you all are wanting from the Pumpkins… billy’s not interested in making records like this nowadays so i think you all should come to terms with it and find other bands that scratch that itch for you.

There are plenty of modern bands who work this way and get great results from it

[ourruseoffools]

Billy wants to make shit in his home studio between zoom calls for NWA business while his kids are at school… locking up with a bunch of guys pouring over guitar overdubs for days on end isn’t in the cards for him

[ilikeplanets]

Just from a listener's perspective, it doesn't seem like there's a way to capture the sound of 40 guitar parts on top of each other without actually recording 40 guitar parts on top of each other. And I agree, that will not happen. There won't be music as good because it's too all-consuming to make for him/most people with more going on in their life.

[BlissedandGone2]

It’s funny I just watched a clip they posted about the Rubano tapes and Billy says listening through them he was surprised to hear MCIS and Adore and every other form of the band IN THE FUTURE in those tapes. He’s basically now not only saying the current and future versions of the band sound like the classic band, but also retroactively saying the pre-classic band hinted at the classic and post classic band. Like I get it in someways it all sounds like pumpkins to him, but this is a weird way to cover all the bases while also claiming every era is so unique and different.

Meanwhile, I think we just want the dude to write and produce some good, thoughtful and moving music.

[paranoid]

Originally Posted by ourruseoffools

I know Dino’s engineer personally… he has a real old school aesthetic meaning that he gets results more akin to what you all are wanting from the Pumpkins… billy’s not interested in making records like this nowadays so i think you all should come to terms with it and find other bands that scratch that itch for you.

There are plenty of modern bands who work this way and get great results from it

Justin or John?

I know Dino Jr personally (we share a rehearsal space). they constantly complain about how much they hate touring lol and a lot of us sit there and go "you guys are dino jr wtf"

[paranoid]

Here I am playing a jam with their tour manager John, he also joins them onstage at times on a drum kit behind murph. Dude has also played with thurston moore in duos and chelsea light moving. western mass is legit

sorry humble brag i just like the comparison to a band i know and what i know goes on behind the scenes etc etc

[ilikeplanets]

Yo hook me up with a signed copy of Farm

[paranoid]

Originally Posted by ilikeplanets

Yo hook me up with a signed copy of Farm

ok

[MyOneAndOnly]

Originally Posted by BlissedandGone2

Anyways, can’t wait to hear about how ATUM part 2 is actually the return to form we’ve been anticipating. And then part 3.

i never want to hear another thing from Bill