Okay, The Smashing Pumpkins were one of my favorites. In fact, during the Fall of 1993, they were probably my favorite band in the world. Their second LP, Siamese Dream, still sounds like a gift from God. It's easily one of the greatest records of the 1990s and one of my all-time favorites. That album, and 1991's Gish, are one of the best one-two punches in alt-rock (second maybe to Pearl Jam's Ten and Vs.).

Anyway, I followed them all the way through. I felt their massive breakthrough, 1995's Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, was great (though bloated). I felt 1998's Adore was terrific, even if it disappointed the mainstream fanbase. Their final album, 2000's MACHINA, is not bad but you can certainly hear the band's last breath throughout. And, I continued to follow Billy Corgan, even through his next band, the one-album wonder Zwan.

Corgan has his solo debut, TheFutureEmbrace, arriving in stores this week. I'll probably buy it, even though reviews have not been great. That's how much I follow what Billy Corgan does. But, I must ask, what does Billy Corgan want now? He's apparently taken out full-page ads this week in Chicago (his hometown) declaring things like: "I want you to be among the first to know that I have made plans to renew and revive the Smashing Pumpkins. I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams."

Why is he doing this the same week his solo debut is out in stores? A publicity stunt? It's a pretty odd one, if that's the point. I personally hope the Pumpkins get back together if: 1. all original members are part of the lineup and 2. Corgan relaxes and starts singing again. The latter albums suffered from his decision to turn singing into hoarse screaming.

Here's a full story from Billboard. In the meantime, we're at the mercy of Billy Corgan's bizarre decisions.

Really, no one knows what he wants. I don't even know if he does. He seems to, but damn...this guy keeps people on their toes. Publicity stunt? I don't think so. If it was a publicity stunt he would have done it earlier to get more people hyped about the CD, more radio stations would have been promoting it. One thing you absolutely can't do is say "oh, he's doing it because his album didn't sell." Why? He drops this bomb on the day the album comes out....no one even knows how much it will sell. The not too secret info in Chicago is that 1. Billy and Jimmy were really THE band. 2. Billy never wanted to end it. I don't think we'll get D'arcy.....James, maybe....but not D'arcy. Who knows what he'll do with this. One thing that's admirable (read a couple of the interviews he did since dropping the bomb) is that he's not doing a cash in reunion.......he wants to move ahead with the music. He's not going to be all Pixie-like and just go around playing the old stuff. He'll make new music under the moniker and make it fully active again. He has never given the fans everything they wanted.....he's not going to give a simple reunion tour playing the hits from all the albums. From the sound of it, it will be new.....whatever "it" is.

I already spent a lot on the reunion, but do yourself a favor and pick up the new CD. At first I didn't know what to think of it (and was pretty weirded out at how un-Corgan it could sound) but after a few listens it really grew on me. Don't expect to be blown away at the first listen.....you'll get it around the 2,3,or 4th.

Yeah, based on a few comments that seem to have come out (Search Billy Corgan on Google News, he's running his mouth everywhere), it seems like D'arcy is definitely a no, and James is a probably not.

Billy seems to be trying to figure out a way he can have him and Jimmy in a band and call it the Smashing Pumpkins.

He and Jimmy might have been totally responsible for Siamese Dream, but somehow it just won't be the same without Iha.

I do believe Billy when he said that James was the one who broke up the band though...he seemed miserable through that whole farewell tour, like it was torture being up on stage with Billy and Jimmy. Who needs that?

I dug Zwan better than anything on the last three Pumpkins albums (Adore-Machina II), though.

I'll agree with the statement that James seemed miserable. Personally, I always though Corgan always got a lot of crap for what he has done. Some of it is justified, but this guy gets more crap than Lars from Metallica and I think Lars has done more to hurt his own fans with the whole Napster thing. Corgan put a whole album worth of stuff on the internet. You may not like him as a person (he can be a jerk, that's well documented), but he really doesn't go with the flow of anything and I really respect that. Do yourself a favor and listen to Adore-Machina again. I actually got into SP even more through those albums because they sound just so different....and the songs themselves are good.

As for SP in the future...I agree, I don't think Iha is in and it may be better for it. In the studio, him and D'arcy were not the key players. They did some stuff, but SP was generally Jimmy and Billy. I don't know if you have done this, but go read his "confessions" on his official site...very interesting read (sad at times too). He talks about Adore and how James and D'arcy hardly go into the studio.