A video from a press conference for Smashing Pumpkins’ 2023 The World Is a Vampire festival has resurfaced. In the clip, a radio host asked frontman Billy Corgan why the band’s newer albums, like ATUM, sound like “plastic” compared to their previous material. Expanding on the question, he emphasized that the criticism isn’t meant in a “bad way.”
He then described the Pumpkins’ newer sound as “plastic,” while older records like Gish and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness sound like they have “more soul.”
Needless to say, the rock star didn’t take the critique well. Now, Billy didn’t go full meltdown. But the sarcasm was thick.
“First of all, I respect your opinion, but I think what people have a hard time understanding is that a musician is like an instrument; you vibrate to the world around you,” Corgan responded, with an air of sarcasm. “So, the world of 1992 was very organic. It was very much in the clubs, and we played for years ’til we figured out who we were.”
Taking on a more combative tone, he continued, “Look at the world you live in now. Is that an organic world? I can make organic music all day if you want me to. If you want me to make music just for you that reminds you of 1992, you pay me $1 million, and I’ll do it for you.”
Corgan then claimed this was the “most successful” the Pumpkins have been since the late ’90s. “So maybe we’re not making music for you, but we’re making music for young people who understand the sound of the street,” he added. “So, it is what it is, but always from the heart.”
