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So this has been bothering me for quite some time now.
Being 17 myself, I’ve never had the chance to see the original Pumpkins or even really experience the time when everybody knew who they were. I bought my first Pumpkins cd (Adore) almost three years ago. The Pumpkins immediately clicked with me in a way no other band has ever done since. I decided to delve deeper into Pumpkins history, just by looking for ‘Smashing Pumpkins’ on Google. Of course, I came across all the mainstream press and they really weren’t on Billy’s side at that time. The first impressions I got were: stay away from Zeitgeist, the Pumpkins aren’t the same band anymore. So that’s what I did. I bought MCIS, SD, Gish and MACHINA. I fell in love with all those records and I couldn’t believe that the same man who wrote those songs was ruining the band’s name now. But hell, if ‘everyone’ says he does, who am I to disagree? That was before I checked out Teargarden and Zeitgeist. I ended up loving these records.
When I saw the Pumpkins last year for the first time, I felt like I was the youngest fan in the entire Heineken Music Hall. Everyone seemed to be at least 30 years old, mostly fans from the very beginning. All the negative press seems to scare potential new fans away. Just when Oceania came out and both the fanbase and the press responded very positive, Billy ‘pisses on Radiohead’. Of course Oceania was kicked out of the headlines, Billy was depicted as an asshole again.
Now I know there ARE younger SP fans out there. I run the biggest SP blog on Tumblr (the-smashing-pumpkins) and I have around 650 followers there, mostly teenagers, so there is hope.
Do you guys think there will ever be a new, young hardcore fanbase of the band, considering the way the press seems to make this almost impossible?
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This will happen because I know if I have kids they WILL be Pumpkins fans!
But seriously,I don’t see why not.Alot of indie and emo/punk bands cite the band as a major influence,and I know when I was younger and heard my favourite bands talking about their favourite bands,I made a point of checking them out. Especially these days when we have google,youtube and all these other forms of online media,it makes it so much easier for people to check them out,whereas when I was younger,I had to take the gamble and buy the album if nobody I knew had it.
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This will happen because I know if I have kids they WILL be Pumpkins fans!
But seriously,I don’t see why not.Alot of indie and emo/punk bands cite the band as a major influence,and I know when I was younger and heard my favourite bands talking about their favourite bands,I made a point of checking them out. Especially these days when we have google,youtube and all these other forms of online media,it makes it so much easier for people to check them out,whereas when I was younger,I had to take the gamble and buy the album if nobody I knew had it.[/quote:2l4qq7cv]
That’s true, but the internet can also be a con for music. With digital music around, people don’t see the worth of physical copies. Which is kinda sad in my opinion, since I love just looking at my collection… But anyway, the overall attention span seems shorter. Being a fan now means having more than 10 songs on your iPod. At least, that’s my experience.
That being sad, things like Guitar Hero are a great way of introducing people to the band. Billy appearing in Guitar Hero: World Tour was a good move!
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I love buying physical copies to look at too.
I’ve only ever purchased 1 digital track in my whole life and that was ‘killing in the name’ a couple of years ago to try and get it to number 1 to stop x factor bands getting to number 1. I already had it on the cd album,cd single,7”single and 12” single.
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I love buying physical copies to look at too.
I’ve only ever purchased 1 digital track in my whole life and that was ‘killing in the name’ a couple of years ago to try and get it to number 1 to stop x factor bands getting to number 1. I already had it on the cd album,cd single,7”single and 12” single.
[/quote:3mxqvfym]Hahaha well that was for a good cause then! I just refuse to pay for things I can’t touch. Virtual music is worthless to me.
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Very interesting subject, King. Very. It’s quite funny to realize that back in the days I was already a little old and a late discovering Smashing Pumpkins (1994, I was 27 years old). The first time I saw them live was in 1996. In those years the new fans of now were born… Funny.
I think every band gets the fans it deserves. When Smashing Pumpkins make music that appeals to the younger generation, new hardcore fans (like you!?) will emerge. And they do.
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Very interesting subject, King. Very. It’s quite funny to realize that back in the days I was already a little old and a late discovering Smashing Pumpkins (1994, I was 27 years old). The first time I saw them live was in 1996.[/quote:vz1zb5pb]
And me in 1993, as a 19 year old.
the first show I went to was also in 1996, and there were plenty of teenagers younger than me. I think it’s great they appeal to younger fans now, just as they did back then. -
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All up front in the middle, wearing a Zero shirt! Weren’t you guys really early for the show, sitting in front of the doors?[/quote:1lfzn6ui]
No, we weren’t sitting in front of the doors. But I remember seeing you. Didn’t you catch Mike’s drumstick? Great to have you on spfreaks
[/quote:1lfzn6ui]Yes I did, I have it right here.
I must admit that a lot of the night is a bit of a blur, seeing the Pumpkins must have made a huge impression on me haha! But really, it’s cool to see you guys again on here! -
I was second row, a rather tall guy. I was with a Malaysian girl, a friend of my wife (who was pregnant at the time, and didn’t dare to rock out lol). We let her first row, since she is not that tall. And of course there was Milan behind us. I went to Brussels with him the day before to see the Pumpkins in Vorst Nationaal. But the HMH gig was even better!
Next to me, in HMH, on my left was a tall guy also (didn’t know him) that handed me a beer as a surprise for watching his place for him when he went for a beer. Another remarkable moment was when Billy did the solo of I Am One, and he stood right in front of us between the speakers. It was awesome! Anis, the Malaysian girl, was screaming her lungs out!
I don’t remember talking to you King, but I might have… It was an awesome night indeed!
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I think MCIS was the first Smashing Pumpkins album i ever heard, back when it came out ( I was 17 years old).At that time, i dident pay to much attention to the band, though i thought MCIS was quiet a good album.
What sold me was the Adore album.Yet today, its still my fav album ever made by a group.Since 1998, ive been a fan..Today i still love the band, and i consider myself as a hardcore fan, and i always will be, for better and worse. -
Well to me I don’t think there will ever be as big of a fanbase that existed in the 90s but a great majority of those fans were just there because of what was trendy in the 90s. They were there because they saw the shirt, the merchandise and Mellon Collie and Siamese Dream were essentially trendy cds back then. I am not saying that those cds are not good but they were just a cooler band and got a lot of exposure compared to now. As for the hardcore fans, I don’t think there will ever be as many fans from this generation that will hardcore fans in the future. There were many more fans back then so we have to think that since there was more exposure than more hardcore fans would exist with all the other fans. With the new fans though, there is no trend to follow so mostly all of them will be hardcore fans just not as many since the band isn’t getting any exposure.
I hoped that made a little bit of sense. I am quite tired and couldn’t really put into words what was in my mind.
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