While speaking with NME, Moby shared an anecdote about how he once inadvertently angered Billy Corgan with a joke. When asked if they ever discussed working together after Moby jokingly called Corgan a “deadbeat” during a 1997 MTV chat, Moby explained that his attempt at humor backfired. He had made the joke because Corgan hadn’t completed a remix for him, and it ended up upsetting Corgan.
Talking about the incident, Moby admitted that his sense of humor sometimes misses the mark, citing similar experiences with other artists like Eminem. Despite the initial misunderstanding, Moby and Corgan eventually patched things up when they toured together with New Order in 2000, where Corgan was playing guitar.
“That was one of the many times I thought I was being funny – which speaks to a massive shortcoming in my comedy! Clearly that happened with Eminem as well [thinking] ‘I’m being funny!’ and then he hated me. With Billy, we were supposed to trade remixes and I jokingly called him a deadbeat because he never did a remix for me and he got mad. But later, I went on tour with New Order in 2000 and he was their guitar player, so we became friends.”
Moby also mentioned feeling a connection with Corgan and other musicians like Beck, noting that many of them were music nerds who unexpectedly found success. He described a shared sense of disbelief among them at transitioning from fans listening to records in their bedrooms to becoming cover stars on major magazines like Rolling Stone.
“There are many individual music nerds that go on to have success that they never expected, and I feel a kinship with all of them. Whether it’s Billy or Beck, none of us expected this. We felt we were going to be nerds listening to records in our bedroom and then suddenly you’re on the cover of Rolling Stone, thinking: ‘OK, what do I do now?’”
In 1997, Moby made headlines when he called Billy Corgan a ‘deadbeat’ on MTV, claiming that Corgan owed him a remix while they were at the Q101 Jamboree near Chicago, Corgan’s hometown. Moby later apologized for the remark. In another interview, he explained the context behind his statement:
“A lot of times when I do remixes, rather than get the artist to pay me, I work on a barter system. Right now my debtors, people who owe me, are Soundgarden and the Smashing Pumpkins. I did remixes for them and they didn’t pay me anything for them.”
He elaborated further:
“We did it with the understanding that they were supposed to do a remix for me, but unfortunately… with the Smashing Pumpkins, I did a remix a year and a half ago, and every time I see Billy, I ask him where my remix is. But I can understand he’s kind of busy.”
In related news, Billy Corgan also said that he will go to an early grave.
