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The Smashing Pumpkins
On Tour38,877,070 plays (1,025,919 listeners)
Listening now: thegreekgeek, Eucanus, julianajay
rock, alternative, alternative rock, grunge, 90s… see all
Chicago, United States (1988 – 2000, 2007 – present)
The Smashing Pumpkins are an influential American alternative rock band, formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Billy Corgan and James Iha met in a record store, and began performing in local nightclubs with their bassist, D’Arcy Wretzky, before they had a drummer. Jimmy Chamberlin was hired shortly after to drum on the album Gish, and ended up staying due to his fitting drumming style.
Less influenced by punk than many of their contemporaries, the Pumpkins had a densely layered, guitar-heavy sound, with powerful loud-to-soft-to-loud transitions, while still picking up grunge, heavy metal, power pop, psychedelic rock, shoegazer-style production.
In later recordings, namely Adore, the fourth album, an electronica flair filtered in after Jimmy Chamberlin temporarily left the band for drug rehab. Though Chamberlin returned for their fifth album, Machina/The Machines of God, electronica undertones remained. The emotional tone of bandleader Billy Corgan’s songs ranged from angry (X.Y.U.) to dour (
Disarm) to jubilant (Cherub Rock).
Selling more than 18.3 million albums in the United States alone (as of 2006), the Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the 1990s. However, internal fighting, diminishing sales, drug problems, cultural vitality, and what is speculated to be improper treatment from their record company, hampered the band in their later years, leading to the 2000 break-up.
Less influenced by punk than many of their contemporaries, the Pumpkins had a densely layered, guitar-heavy sound, with powerful loud-to-soft-to-loud transitions, while still picking up grunge, heavy metal, power pop, psychedelic rock, shoegazer-style production.
In later recordings, namely Adore, the fourth album, an electronica flair filtered in after Jimmy Chamberlin temporarily left the band for drug rehab. Though Chamberlin returned for their fifth album, Machina/The Machines of God, electronica undertones remained. The emotional tone of bandleader Billy Corgan’s songs ranged from angry (X.Y.U.) to dour (
Disarm) to jubilant (Cherub Rock).Selling more than 18.3 million albums in the United States alone (as of 2006), the Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the 1990s. However, internal fighting, diminishing sales, drug problems, cultural vitality, and what is speculated to be improper treatment from their record company, hampered the band in their later years, leading to the 2000 break-up.
Similar Artists
Zwan, Billy Corgan, Stone Temple Pilots, Everclear, Blind Melon, Pearl Jam, Hole… see all
See moreVideos
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Play
The Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings
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Play
Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock
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Play
The Smashing Pumpkins - Stand Inside Your Love
Top Albums
Shoutbox
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nancykitten wrote:
And then finish with it off with group suicide.
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breatheH20 wrote:
That sounds amazing! lol
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ontheupside wrote:
haha, i'm keen on that idea man, but I'll need to save up a fair while to get a plane ticket from Australia! We should all get together in Chicago; see a Bulls game, a Cubs game, go to a gig at the Metro, and find all those little bits of Pumpkin history.
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breatheH20 wrote:
Lol, I honestly feel like all of the main posters on here who i can immediately think of (absolia, unref, ontheupside, smpb, and myself) should get coffee one day so we can have these discussions in person... I feel like I'm the only Pumpkins fan in my town.... I mentioned "Set The Ray To Jerry" and most responses are "Was that on Zeitgeist?"....
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Heidality wrote:
http://rc.ucoz.org
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EdgeLike wrote:
SMASHING PUMPKINS KICK ASS!!!! I never was a big fan but they rock haaaaaaard. Need to listen more.
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rebornlet wrote:
Hah, I was totally stuck on that too, unref. The Greek 'machina' is pronounced 'mackina', so I was a little confused. You've got it right, though.
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Fox_W_Mulder wrote:
http://www.lastfm.es/user/inbincivle
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unref wrote:
Ok. I finally found out that Billy pronounces it like "machine" with an "a" at the end. I had to watch 1 1/2 documentaries to find out ;) Thanks anyways.
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unref wrote:
I have a question to you native English speakers. How do you say "Machina"? Is it more like "mashina" (like machine) or "mackina"? Thanks.
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breatheH20 wrote:
May have to try that, smpb
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smpb wrote:
So i am a huge fan of 'Mary Star of the Sea' (the actual track from Zwan's album with the same name), but i don't particularly enjoy it together with the first part of the bundle, 'Jesus, I'. So i ripped the track from my copy and edited it out (around the 7:50 mark) adding a fade in. Listening to it like that, i found out that it goes along really well with
Starla.
Putting Starla at the start and then cross fading its end with the beginning of MSotS bridges quite nicely (in my opinion, of course). It's geeky, i know, but i felt like sharing that for those of you curious enough to try. I think it's a worthwhile experience.
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ImNotSxE wrote:
Just fantastic.
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scytale1 wrote:
It's not really typical of the stuff I prefer to listen to these days but I love the way putting on a Smashing Pumpkins album takes me back to my adolescence, to me they are the greatest band to have come out of the 90's alt rock movement...
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ontheupside wrote:
i've searched high and low for a site where someone has uploaded the promo discs that have been floating around ebay recently; but no one HAS done it. god damn i want to buy those so much. Get them from archive.org, they have the Q101 rip as a FLAC.
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Catalanowned wrote:
Does anyone know which site has the highest quality Machina II tracks?
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ontheupside wrote:
the photo of him doing the rock'n'roll horns in the motion-capture suit is freaking hilarious, i love it.
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breatheH20 wrote:
Quite the appropriate song for getting off work unref, and I agree with you smpb... btw, I think it's hilarious BC is in Guitar Hero 4 lol, saw his character in the game.
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s_libretto wrote:
I stand by what i said - the wine has gone bad dude. Very bad indeed.
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Corblimeyguvnor wrote:
Zeitgeist is BClightningboltJC album. Like DUH, dude.
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ivieb
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mustpannkook
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Events
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Sep
12
Noche Smashing Pumpkins+Pearl Jam en deBar
DeBar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
10 shouts
| 15 attendees
Recent Activity
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