Okay, yes, I know that I have now dedicated four blog entries here to Corgan and his absurd and dismissive petty judgments, which I suspect are little more than thinly disguised jealousy at bands that enjoyed more lasting success than did his own bands (Smashing Pumpkins and Zwan).
In those previous posts, I did mention that there likely is a certain artistic competitiveness that can actually help bands, and lift them to a higher level in creativity. This, I suspect, was what happened in the sixties, perhaps most transparently between the Beach Boys and the Beatles. But the more bands back then experimented, the more other bands took that experimentation and tried new things on their own, as well.
That is why we consider the sixties an age of musical experimentation, and I do not chalk it off simply to drugs, which obviously, was also a major source of experimentation during that age. But I do not think it was the only reason, nor even the biggest reason, necessarily.
The spirit of competitiveness certainly played a part in the incredibly rapid progression of music from what it sounded like in the early part of the sixties, and what it sounded like in the latter part of the decade. This was particularly true of, again, The Beatles. Listen to the stuff from when they first came to America in 1964. Then listen to their later stuff, staring perhaps with Rubber Soul, and certainly by the time that they released Revolver. Then, of course, you get Sgt. Pepper's, let alone other albums like Magical Mystery Tour, the White Album, Let it Be, and Abbey Road.
Those are some of the greatest rock albums in history, and there is a reason for it. It certainly was, at least in part, hearing what other bands were doing, and gaining from it. Pushing themselves to create something different, and to keep on going.
It made them better.
They used that competitive spirit to transcend the limits of their early music, and to grow better over time. To allow their music to grow. I think an argument could be made that the spirit of competitiveness that existed within the band helped to make The Beatles as a band better. They each had their own style and personalities that they brought to the band, and these meshed together to create something unique as a band. Again, it was to the benefit of the band as a whole that they used this natural competitiveness.
Then, there is another kind of competitiveness, and I suspect that the results are not so pretty.
The thing is that while the former type of competitiveness can help to lift musicians, but the other takes away from the quality of music. It is this latter kind of competitiveness that Billy Corgan seems to be engaging in.
Instead of focusing on what can make his music better, Corgan is trying to detract from the accomplishments of others. Even if he feels that way, as he apparently does, you do not need to voice those opinions. When you do so, there is a risk that comes with it.
In this case, the risk is that his personal animosity will detract from his music. I hesitate to get the new album form Smashing Pumpkins, precisely because Corgan made those comments. I wonder how good it can possibly be, if he is so insecure about it that he has to try and chop down more popular groups from his era, and from the same genre as the Pumpkins.
His jealousy is not making his band better. Far from it. If anything, it takes away from their notable accomplishments in the musical world.
Now, when I think of him, or the Smashing Pumpkins, at least a part of me will remember his jealous voice expressing jealousy, which to me, gets in the way of wonderment at his creative genius. His creativity is a positive, and it makes you marvel at what a human being can create. Petty jealousy knocks him down quite a few pegs, and makes his limitations far more real. It will be hard to simply think of him and only think of the music that he created, and which I enjoyed. Now, at least in part, he will be defined with comments that, frankly, would likely have been better left unsaid.
And that, I think, will be my last word on this particular topic.
Here is the link to my published article on Billy Corgan for the Guardian Liberty Voice:
Billy Corgan Making a Lot of Headlines Lately
http://guardianlv.com/2014/12/billy-corgan-making-a-lot-of-headlines-lately/
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