CNNfyi.com
> News
Search
Education Partners
Harcourt
· From 'acoustics' to 'zoology,' explore our online Dictionary of Science and Technology
· Learn about the U.S. with our online atlas
· Understand the phases of the moon
· Online Stanford writing assessment

 

Pumpkins: Beatles redux, and more

 
April 7, 2000
Web posted at: 12:58 a.m. EST (0458 GMT)

RELATED SITESRelated sites

(CNN) -- While today's "alternative" rockers were growing up on '70s punk and '80s new wave, a young Billy Corgan was rocking out to classic stadium-oriented and album rock -- Black Sabbath, Cheap Trick and Pink Floyd.

After the failure of Marked, his fledgling goth-metal band, Corgan in 1988 formed Smashing Pumpkins. Corgan, the band's writer/singer, recruited D'Arcy Wretsky on bass, James Iha on guitar and Jimmy Chamberlin on drums.

As Corgan told CNN WorldBeat correspondent Serena Yang, "The band is basically modeled upon what we call like a Beatles ideal, which is that the band is about being the band and the music is the band's personality and interests."

Critics praised the group's 1991 debut, "Gish," for infusing provocative lyrics into the loudness of classic rock while maintaining the punk sensibility of D.I.Y (do it yourself).

The band's successive albums, "Siamese Dream," "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness," "Adore" and now, "MACHINA/ the machines of God," have collected more commercial and critical success. More important, each progressive album has pushed the Smashing Pumpkins to explore new musical terrain.

"It's my role as an artist to basically destroy the obvious and recreate the obvious, to put it back together into a form that maybe you wouldn't have considered," Corgan says. "I'm not into making things unimaginable."




RELATED STORIES
Smashing Pumpkins: Same drummer, different beat
March 15, 2000
Review: Pumpkins back with smashing 'MACHINA'
March 15, 2000
Promoting philanthropy, Smashing Pumpkins style
August 11, 1998
RELATED SITES
Virgin Records: Smashing Pumpkins
Official Smashing Pumpkins site

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

A join venture of
CNN.com Turner Learning
Privacy   About CNNfyi.com   Feedback Back to top   
© 2000 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved. | Terms under which this service is provided to you.