The GRUNGE Thread

[Yves]

I was a big Smashing Pumpkins fan back in the day and saw them on their Siamese Dream tour, but when I tried to go back and listen to their stuff, I found I couldn't get passed Corgan's vocals...

[MudShark22]

Speaking of STP

[MudShark22]

Re: No. 6 (or self titled 2011):

Personally, the band peaked with No. 4. That album should have been hugely successful.
No. 5 (aka Shangri-La-Dee-da) and No. 6 (self titled 2011) are great shuffle play discs but somehow do not 'hang' cohesively like Tiny Music... or No. 4

I prefer Talk Show to Army of Anyone as the Queen influence is stronger on the former.

[fictionmusic]

I was a big Smashing Pumpkins fan back in the day and saw them on their Siamese Dream tour, but when I tried to go back and listen to their stuff, I found I couldn't get passed Corgan's vocals...

I was never a fan of the band. They never seemed to have the muscular bass and drum combo many of the other bands had (nor any weird chords or chord progressions for that matter), but that whiny ass voice on top of it all was a deal breaker for me.



A friend of mine who hangs with some Chicago power players once in awhile, hung out with Corgan for a night and told me he was a super nice guy.

[Paulie]

They never seemed to have the muscular bass and drum combo

I agree the bass was never anything special, but the drums? It doesn't get much more muscular than Chamberlin!

For the record, I too cannot stand Corgan's voice.

[iguana]

For the record, I too cannot stand Corgan's voice.

he has his ears in the right place, though!



smashing pumpkins = grunge? no. alternative rock? yes. a great band? defo. bring back d’arcy, though!

[davis]

FYI, AIC will be touring a new album soon I assume most of you know. http://aliceinchains.com/tour/ I just got a copy of Black Gives Way to Blue.

[JIF]

FYI, AIC will be touring a new album soon I assume most of you know. http://aliceinchains.com/tour/ I just got a copy of Black Gives Way to Blue.

I started a thread about the new album not too long ago.

[Yanks2014]

Do you ever have STP's self-titled reunion cd? If so, what do you think of it? I would also like your thoughts on the Army Of Anyone cd.

i knew they did a reunion tour, didn't even know they did an album. I'll have to look into this.

[Yanks2014]

Re: No. 6 (or self titled 2011):
Personally, the band peaked with No. 4. That album should have been hugely successful.
No. 5 (aka Shangri-La-Dee-da) and No. 6 (self titled 2011) are great shuffle play discs but somehow do not 'hang' cohesively like Tiny Music... or No. 4
I prefer Talk Show to Army of Anyone as the Queen influence is stronger on the former.

I disagree about #4, as I found it to be their weakest effort -though still quite good. And "Shangri-La" is by far their most melodic, really a very pretty, but still rocking album. I thought it deserved a better fate, but was a nice swan song.
Talk Show is more of a power pop album, less hard rock. Still like it of course.

[Yanks2014]

smashing pumpkins = grunge? no. alternative rock? yes. a great band? defo. bring back d’arcy, though!

I always thought of them as grunge, though alt rock fits them too. Corgan's voice can be tough to get past at times, but I always thought they were very creative. Still, I kind of wonder why they didn't hire a proper singer, that would have taken their music to a higher level.

[JIF]

I always thought of them as grunge, though alt rock fits them too. Corgan's voice can be tough to get past at times, but I always thought they were very creative. Still, I kind of wonder why they didn't hire a proper singer, that would have taken their music to a higher level.

Another singer? Taking their music to another level? The Pumpkins were already very grand. They were the Queen of the grunge scene.

[No Pride]

I don't know enough about Grunge to make any worthwhile comments. I strongly disliked it at the time and avoided it whenever possible. What albums I heard of Soungarden, Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Smashing Pumkins, I didn't like. Didn't like the lo-fi guitar sounds or the frequent lack of strong melody. I found King's X and Extreme to be a refreshing return of rock music that I could enjoy.

But in retrospect, it was better than most of the rock music we get on the radio today, what little of it that's left, that is.

[MudShark22]

I disagree about #4, as I found it to be their weakest effort -though still quite good.

While I respect your opinion; I personally cannot fathom how No. 4 is STP's weakest. All 11 tunes would make my top 20 STP songs.

[fictionmusic]

I agree the bass was never anything special, but the drums? It doesn't get much more muscular than Chamberlin!

.

true, but I'd rather have two out of two (like STP) than one out of two

[AcousticWalden]

Love the grunge movement and agree put 80s synth pop sound to bed.
Love the godfather of grunge (young) more.

[JIF]

Love the grunge movement and agree put 80s synth pop sound to bed.
Love the godfather of grunge (young) more.

Actually, the critics say that grunge puts '80s hair metal to band. In fact, I seem to recall many grunge musicians dissing hair metal in interviews.

[Yanks2014]

Another singer? Taking their music to another level? The Pumpkins were already very grand. They were the Queen of the grunge scene.

Corgan couldn't sing to save his life, his voice is just plain awful. Yeah, I really beleive their music would have been a lot better with someone who could actually carry a tune. Not every vocalist has to be pitch perfect with smooth vocal tones, I get it. But they need to at least be lsitenable and competant. Corgan was neither. I like some of their music in spite of his singing. I don't get this idea of settling for something that is sub-par. Oh, the music was great, so we will forgive his awful voice. Why? I have higher standards than that. SP were a cool, creative band, but they could have been so much better.

[Yanks2014]

While I respect your opinion; I personally cannot fathom how No. 4 is STP's weakest. All 11 tunes would make my top 20 STP songs.

It's simply a matter of me enjoying the other 4 albums more, with my favorite being "Purple". "weakest" is probably the wrong word choice on my end as it's still a good album. I do however find the music of #4 a bit more raw and abrassive, which is why I prefer the others a bit.

[Yodelgoat]

This is where I comment on how poor of a human being Mister Cobain is, and how much better off the planet is since his escape.

[davis]

This is where I comment on how poor of a human being Mister Cobain is, and how much better off the planet is since his escape.

If you listen just right, you can hear people whispering about how he had help escaping... http://www.amazon.com/Love-Death-Mur...ds=kurt+cobain

[davis]

Corgan couldn't sing to save his life, his voice is just plain awful.... Corgan was neither. I like some of their music in spite of his singing. I don't get this idea of settling for something that is sub-par. Oh, the music was great, so we will forgive his awful voice.

Your chest much be lighter now your comments remind me of my dad's comment that 'Bob Dylan is a songwriter who tries to be a performer', which he said a long time ago after watching some performance video with me. I like Dylan's way of performing, but I also understand my dad's comment and what you've said.

[TCC]

Those years were great!
I was into to much jazz, new age, classical and prog
Some bands work better for me, but, finally, it is great music!!

And want some more!!

Cheers.

Ps: Foo Fighters' first album: wow!!... a genius behind Cobain!!.
Great record and it is the only one I really like from FF.

[Yanks2014]

This is where I comment on how poor of a human being Mister Cobain is, and how much better off the planet is since his escape.

I couldn't stand the guy, but really, this is just wrong to say.

[Yanks2014]

Your chest much be lighter now your comments remind me of my dad's comment that 'Bob Dylan is a songwriter who tries to be a performer', which he said a long time ago after watching some performance video with me. I like Dylan's way of performing, but I also understand my dad's comment and what you've said.

You bring up Dylan, but I'm dead serious when I say I can't understand why he chose to sing his own songs when he was so untalented a vocalist. I've always wondered if it was about ego, or not wanting to pay another singer. I get the feeling with Smashing Pumpkins, Corgan was likely the only member willing to try and sing in the early days. Just a theory of course. I don't mean to pick on the guy, he seems to come across as very likable and genuine, and I can't think of several SP songs I really like. But if I were starting a band, he'd be one of the last people I'd want to handle vocal duties.