Hello, hello.
Another day, another round of unpleasant weather in Minneapolis. Spring is on the way, though, and the snow doesn't seem to stick to the pavement as much anymore. I recall fondly the mornings in summer when I could could be out and running around the lake, the sun shining warmly already at 5:30. That seems completely impossible at the moment. Time will change that of course. In the meantime I'll do a sharp change of course from yesterday, a hard left turn from modern hip-hop releases into my comfort zone - under appreciated and neglected albums from the turn of the millennium.
I've written about how much I love the Smashing Pumpkins before. Their bloated, ego-driven prog-rock holds a special place in my heart, due in part to my obsession with them as an adolescent. Another facet to my devotion was the style and sounds to which they would give life. The tones in both instruements and overall feel were enchanting in the most mystifying way. My short piece on the demo of 'Depresso' expounded on the nature of how specific sounds and choices give rise to emotional feelings in the body - I think some of this is in part to having a deep appreciation for the writing style of Billy Corgan. It didn't always happen, but there were more instances of that elusive experience when listening to Corgan's song-writing than other musicians. What helped me was the sheer volume in their ouvre and the changes they were willing to make.
I mentioned the massive output the Pumpkins had during their creative high-point in my first article about them. What I didn't examine in writing that was that soon after this the band suffered crippling setbacks in the form of their touring keyboardist overdosing on heroin while getting high with their drummer, Jimmy Chamberlin. The band was forced to cope with these harsh and unforgiving circumstances - Chamberlain was fired and they had to press on, having lost a friend and two band mates. At the time they were the biggest band in the world and all eyes were on them as to how they would follow up the mega-success that was Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness. When Corgan hired a replacement drummers and booked studio time no one knew what to expect. Rumors suggested the next album would be a wounded, heartfelt, acoustic album of low-key songs. Releases that preceded the album on soundtracks, the songs Eye and The End Is The Beginning Is The End (and it's infamous flipped version), indicated the polar opposite - intense, electronic music that pushed them farther out of their comfort zone. What we got, in the end, was both.
Adore stands as an example of what a band does when it loses direction. It is not a massive, chart-topping album, nor is it a revitalization of a band spinning its wheels and running on fumes. It is, instead, an album of the band's core essence when the armor comes off. The Pumpkins were known for their arena rocking, guitar-solo heavy alternative anthems. Here we had a band creating music that was described upon release as "out of time". There are strong elements of acoustic, natural sounds driving the music. Almost half the songs on the album are centered around or feature piano, an unusual move for the band. Conversely, the songs are also pervaded by electronic elements - anything that goes beyond a middling tempo is very synth and drum machine heavy. Interestingly the band had started ten years prior in Chicago with these same three artists using a drum machine. Here they were, Grammy winning, multi-platinum artists back to the same formation they came from, a little older and wiser, feeling no doubt wounded and introspective.
The songs are at times quiet and lilting, other times sorrowful and mourning. The longest track, the piano driven "For Martha" is a tribute to Corgan's late mother. The song 'Apples + Oranjes' features no actual instruments, just electronic elements with Corgan singing over the top. This allows for them to create a soundscape that is unlike anything they had done before; it's an atmospheric song with an ethereal quality they'd only touched on in previous attempts. Had they not been forced out of their comfort zone, such a song wouldn't otherwise exist. A personal favorite of mine, the slow and plodding 'Shame', is very simple and seemingly straight-forward in its approach. When listening to it, the song gives the sense of being slightly out of synch or not quite lined up properly, that slight dischord adding to the melancholy of its tone. It turns out this is exactly what Corgan was aiming for when writing and recording it, as he has said he wanted it to give the feeling of putting something small under a microscope and looking at it so closely that it goes a little out of focus. When I read that the song instantly clicked in my head - Corgan did exacty that, it feels like this small, minute song that is blown up to the point that the cohesiveness is lost just a bit. It's haunting and lovely.
The album was an anomaly in the band's career and seemingly a tipping point. They never quite hit the same hits after this that they had with previous efforts, like a star athlete never fully recovering from a serious injury. They eventually rehired Chamberlin and recorded one last rawking album, the concepttual Machina/The Machines of God, but the reception was mixed at best. While many were no doubt thrilled to see the divisive band taken off their alterna-rock pedastel, I still love to listen to this album. Corgan said at the time of its release that its not meant stadium tours, rather the listener should put headphones and listen in a quiet room. He was totally right - it's great for a quiet night of writing.
Another day, another round of unpleasant weather in Minneapolis. Spring is on the way, though, and the snow doesn't seem to stick to the pavement as much anymore. I recall fondly the mornings in summer when I could could be out and running around the lake, the sun shining warmly already at 5:30. That seems completely impossible at the moment. Time will change that of course. In the meantime I'll do a sharp change of course from yesterday, a hard left turn from modern hip-hop releases into my comfort zone - under appreciated and neglected albums from the turn of the millennium.
I've written about how much I love the Smashing Pumpkins before. Their bloated, ego-driven prog-rock holds a special place in my heart, due in part to my obsession with them as an adolescent. Another facet to my devotion was the style and sounds to which they would give life. The tones in both instruements and overall feel were enchanting in the most mystifying way. My short piece on the demo of 'Depresso' expounded on the nature of how specific sounds and choices give rise to emotional feelings in the body - I think some of this is in part to having a deep appreciation for the writing style of Billy Corgan. It didn't always happen, but there were more instances of that elusive experience when listening to Corgan's song-writing than other musicians. What helped me was the sheer volume in their ouvre and the changes they were willing to make.
The songs are at times quiet and lilting, other times sorrowful and mourning. The longest track, the piano driven "For Martha" is a tribute to Corgan's late mother. The song 'Apples + Oranjes' features no actual instruments, just electronic elements with Corgan singing over the top. This allows for them to create a soundscape that is unlike anything they had done before; it's an atmospheric song with an ethereal quality they'd only touched on in previous attempts. Had they not been forced out of their comfort zone, such a song wouldn't otherwise exist. A personal favorite of mine, the slow and plodding 'Shame', is very simple and seemingly straight-forward in its approach. When listening to it, the song gives the sense of being slightly out of synch or not quite lined up properly, that slight dischord adding to the melancholy of its tone. It turns out this is exactly what Corgan was aiming for when writing and recording it, as he has said he wanted it to give the feeling of putting something small under a microscope and looking at it so closely that it goes a little out of focus. When I read that the song instantly clicked in my head - Corgan did exacty that, it feels like this small, minute song that is blown up to the point that the cohesiveness is lost just a bit. It's haunting and lovely.
