What are /r/SmashingPumpkins' favorite Products & Services?

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Like previous user mentioned, Machina II wasn’t commercially released. It’s always been available online per BC’s instructions. Here’s a good link that includes cover art, more information, and the album itself:

Machina II

As far as Zeitgeist goes, if you buy a copy online somewhere, try to find the silver Best Buy edition. It has some great bonus tracks and a making-of DVD.

For example, one like this.

Wish I could be discovering these albums for the first time. They’re among my favorites. Enjoy!

Edit: Oh, and as far as “why” Zeitgeist isn’t available anywhere, BC said something on Instagram along the lines of, “No one appreciates it now, so I’m waiting til people come around to it.” Very much paraphrasing here, but that was the idea. Bottom line, it wasn’t a successful album, so he’s crossing his arms and punishing any new fans like yourself who might want to delve further into his discography. I think he’s trying to “George Lucas” the Pumpkins legacy, so to speak, but it’s a great album.

There are two releases that have shared a similar fate to Zeitgeist: the American Gothic EP and his solo album, TheFutureEmbrace. If you haven’t heard those, I recommend them as well, particularly TheFutureEmbrace.

/rant

I found the taping of the show he's talking about here. I listened to the fan trivia that his story is centered around, and it doesn't go like he said. It's similar, but James offers his guitar pedal to give to him and Billy says on the mic that James is giving him the pedal and asks if it was used on Machina. And doesn't sound dismissive of it at all. He does tell him he wasn't cute enough to get a guitar tho, but I mean... I don't think that matters.

I don't think he's lying, but I do think 14 years of stewing about it and re-imaginging it in his mind has transformed it into a horror story. It reminds me of the telemovie based on Homer pinching the babysitter's butt to get the gummy Venus de Milo (starring Dennis Franz)

For me, aside from being my favorite band of all time, the Pumpkins did something greater for me by getting me into music. Just off the top of my head, I got into The Cure, Cheap Trick, Rainbow and The Velvet Underground because of Billy or another member name dropping them as an influence. Thanks to their musical eclecticism, it really opened my ears up to many different sounds and styles and taught me to have an open mind. In a way, they became my teachers and tastemakers long after I had ceased to have them in the general rotation of what I was listening to. As such, I've always been willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and repeated listens to see if there isn't something that speaks to me -- and sure enough, there always is.

There are some records I will always enjoy more than others (I actually like both Zeitgeist and MtaE more than Oceania!), but I can appreciate each of the albums for the new things they offer.

That said, I do understand your predicament; I was a big NIN fan in high school, but just stopped caring after The Fragile (in spite of buying everything since then). I think that might be because there was something particular I wanted from their music (anger, angst, self-loathing) and when Trent exorcised his demons, it just didn't really appeal to me anymore.

Lastly, I'll leave this link to my (in need of updating) overview of me and the Pumpkins on Rate Your Music.

https://rateyourmusic.com/list/deadmoonking/smashing_pumpkins__in_review/

You might find that overview interesting.

It's not just him and a few haters:

http://www.nme.com/blogs/smashing-pumpkins-comeback-track-solara-an-energetic-return-that-lacks-the-polish-of-the-past-2335513

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/smashing-pumpkins/solara/

Get the [silver version.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeist_(The_Smashing_Pumpkins_album\)#Alternative_versions)

$5.99 on CD on Amazon

It has 3 of the 4 possible bonus tracks, including Stellar which is widely agreed to be the best song not on the standard album. My favorite of all the songs, actually. Also comes with a dvd.

dude that's awful!! BUT it looks like amazon might get these?!?! I also saw so!e indie stores were planning to see them online if they had any left...

Shiny And Oh So Bright Vol. 1 / No Past No Future No Sun (Picture Disc) (Rsd) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HC6YYSD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_taa_u5h-BbM3MR1NA

I'm not this guy, but here's a list of a shitton of great albums from the 2010s: https://rateyourmusic.com/customchart?page=1&chart_type=top&type=album&year=2010s&genre_include=1&include_child_genres=1&genres=&include_child_genres_chk=1&include=both&origin_countries=&limit=none&countries=

I find your categorization of their styles comical, but don't take that as an insult because if you go down the rabbit hole of their catalog and come back and look at this in a year then you would too.

They cover many genres, but they do have a few consistent styles. However, 1979 really doesn't fit into one of them. If you like the heavier songs like Zero, I'll add (to what others have listed) The Aeroplane Flies High, Hello Kitty Kat, Dross, Mouths of Babes.

I really like their epic, psychedelic stuff like Starla, Drown, Rhinoceros, Porcelina of the Vast Oceans, Mayonaise.

But they've just got too many sounds, you gotta explore it all for yourself and I swear to god they will change you if you let them. I'll recommend the albums in this order: Siamese Dream, Mellon Collie, The Areoplane Flies High Box Set, Pisces Iscariot, Adore, Gish. Once you get into it, you can start finding their demos, extra b-sides and outtakes. And they are a fabulous live band that is taper friendly, so you can find hundreds of shows at archive.org.

I actually have that album! It's not bad... they didn't do much after this album. Five more minutes was another single I believe. Hear a clip here (can't really find a full version, though I really didn't look all that hard).

EDIT link

My best suggestion would be to just try to learn it by ear the best you can, shouldn't take that long really. If you want to go through some trouble though, you could snip an MP3 of him playing it, convert it to a MIDI file, then use a program like "Synthesia" to import the MIDI file into and then you would have a graphical representation of exactly what keys he was hitting.

Also, this might be nothing- but he's got "The Pianist's Picture Chords" book on his piano, which is a super popular book with tons of useful chords and inversions in it from the early 90's.. Looks like Amazon has it for cheap too. Maybe seeing these same chords he was learning might help you pick out the notes he played here as well? Just a thought..

https://www.amazon.com/Pianists-Picture-Chords-Leonard-Corp/dp/0860015289/ref=sr\_1\_1?dchild=1&keywords=The+Pianist%27s+Picture+Chords&qid=1627614465&sr=8-1#customerReviews

Like others have said, it is "The Boy."

If you just couldn't place where you heard the song, you have your answer. If you couldn't place it because you never got around to buying that particular b-side album, you can find the song on the Aeroplane Flies High Set, which is going ridiculously cheap right now on amazon at $15 for mp3s.

https://www.amazon.com/External-Portable-Rewriter-Transfer-Desktop/dp/B07PXJDHXW/ref=asc_df_B07PXJDHXW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=493040148899&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7051955716687745664&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9008167&hvtargid=pla-1158128148943&psc=1

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20 bucks and your dreams can come true.

This was my experience also. The one and only time I saw them was at the Paramount in Seattle in 2000. They seemed sort of disinterested on stage. Not much talking between songs, they didn't move much, Billy's singing wasn't very tight. Maybe this is how all their shows were, I don't know. It's just a bit strange to see a band be so static when their music is so upbeat. A friend offered me a spare ticket to a more recent show, but... I think I'd decided I like SP better from afar. I love their studio product.

When they broke up not long after seeing them, I didn't think it was too serious, like they'd get back together after getting past their shit. I was more surprised later on when it became clear that they had deeply negative feelings towards each other. Thinking back on the bad stage presence, I get the sense I'd seen a couple that could barely hide the fact they were headed for a nasty divorce.

Wow, that concert is instantly streamable too https://archive.org/details/tsp2000-05-29.csb.flac16 , what a wondrous age we live in.

When I did the thing…I did the thing

ZEROYAA Mens Night Club Metallic Gold Suit Pants/Straight Leg Trousers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6P05JN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_FKDE9PSJZJ7WKT1K2ZT9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

We're on Google Podcasts and Soundcloud, too. Let us know what you think!

Discogs has the vinyl for around $100 at the moment. If that's too much $$$ you can pick up the japanese import which also has the alt tracklist for much cheaper. Also check ebay cuz you never know.

Link provided by u/Krata666.

"Press the turtle, write the code and press the red/purple button. Wait and enjoy."

Link provided by u/Krata666 "Press the turtle, write the code and press the red/purple button. Wait and enjoy."

Here press the turtle, write the code and press the red/purple button. Wait and enjoy.

It actually sounds like the exact thing Billy would do, but that's just me. The LA show also magically 'sold out' (ie Groupon) overnight, when the previous night there were literally thousands of tickets left.

Give it a few weeks, and we will see this soon:

https://www.groupon.com/deals/gl-at-smashing-pumpkins

He's been wearing that same outfit for almost every interview. Take a look at this performance - he's actually wearing a black scarf in addition to everything else. https://www.npr.org/event/music/564795595/billy-corgan-tiny-desk-concert

Thank you for sharing! I just learned there are podcasts for Tiny Desk Concerts in both video and audio, so this can be downloaded, too.

So, I like all of their material, but my order would be: Adore>Siamese Dream>MCIS>Pisces>Aeroplane>Gish>Machina>Zeitgeist>Monuments>Oceania
Here's a list that I wrote explaining my thoughts about all these as well: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/deadmoonking/smashing_pumpkins__in_review/

I don't think Machina alienated the fanbase - I think Adore did that (not that I mean that as an insult to Adore, I love it, but I can understand why it didn't get a hugely positive reaction from fans who wanted and expected Siamese or Mellon Collie all over again), and by the time Machina came around the world had moved on and Smashing Pumpkins weren't the biggest thing around anymore. Once you've had that extreme popularity, and then you lose it, it's quite rare that a band will ever get it back.

Machina 1 is my 4th favourite SP album, after Mellon Collie, Adore, and Siamese. I still think it's a 9/10 album, but a couple songs that I'm not so keen on (Crying Tree, Blue Skies) put it just below the others. Everlasting Gaze, Stand Inside Your Love, This Time, Try Try Try, I Of the Mourning, Age of Innocence, Glass + the Ghost Children, and Wound are all amazing songs. Personally, I'd say This Time and Wound are top 10 Pumpkins, all time.

Machina 2 I'm not incredibly keen on. It has highlights (Glass, Cash Car Star, Let Me Give The World To You, the last of which is another of my all-time favourite SP songs), but as a whole I think it's pretty average. This download includes both the full album, and some extra songs from the era (basically a 'leftovers' album), but of the extra songs I only really like Try, Try, Try (alt), personally.

where did the rest of my post go? I'm so bad at this whole reddit thing. I was complaining about something and it disappeared. I'm getting back into playing guitar. The chords on Chordify look more difficult than what he is doing in this video. And / or wrong. If someone knows of tabs, hook me up. Or just throw in your two cents. I could pause several times and watch closely but it'd be nice to have something to work from.

What chordify says: https://chordify.net/chords/smashing-pumpkins-transmission-stefan-vasile

I have a few things not in this, namely a better version of Make it happen, and studio demos of Baby/Tallulahlu + Owata acoustic demo + have faith be merrie

I'll be adding a link in a minute.

https://www.filemail.com/d/mnzxzphrjkrjwnl

IT's going to be available for a week.

tracklist:
Baby (new demo) (instrumental).mp3 (2.25 MB)
Baby (new demo).mp3 (3.46 MB)
Blessed mother (live 10).mp3 (7.58 MB)
Have Faithe, Be Merrie.mp3 (5.55 MB)
Lightning strikes (acoustic demo).mp3 (1.87 MB)
Lonely is the Name (Demo III).mp3 (9.17 MB)
Make It Happen [Live].mp3 (4.82 MB)
Owata [acoustic demo snippet].mp3 (454.04 kB)
Shadowland.mp3 (2.45 MB)
Tallulah lu (live 10).mp3 (5.80 MB)
The rite of spring.mp3 (1.54 MB)

Yep! These are very very good!

https://www.amazon.com/MOBILE-FIDELITY-SOUND-INNER-SLEEVES/dp/B001LQSFKY/ref=sxin\_15\_ac\_d\_pm?ac\_md=3-2-QWJvdmUgJDI1-ac\_d\_pm\_pm\_pm&cv\_ct\_cx=vinyl+record+sleeves&dchild=1&keywords=vinyl+record+sleeves&pd\_rd\_i=B001LQSFKY&...

The boxset can be ordered HERE for 96,22 Euros.

It says it's not in stock yet, but if you order now Amazon will confirm delivery date soon. I just ordered a copy & I don't mind waiting a bit for delivery. It only pops up available every few months & it's always sold out pretty quick, so get in if you want one.

Appreciate the late reply to this thread but it’s apparently coming back into stock on Amazon. I just picked up a copy! Hope that helps!

Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness [VINYL] https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008Z9L94O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabt1_rh8RFbAQTN1M4

ugh sorry I thought I had sent a link with the first post. The price went back up so maybe they ran out of that stock. weird.

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https://www.amazon.com/Mellon-Collie-Infinite-Sadness-LP/dp/B008Z9L94O/ref=tmm_vnl_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Assuming you mean the big reissue boxset?

https://www.amazon.com/Double-Oversize-Plastic-Outersleeves-Records/dp/B001719NXQ

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I have no idea how good these are, but I literally just searched "clear sleeves for vinyl box sets" and got results...

Wow. Looks like maybe I just lucked out.

It was here. (Copied from the Amazon app, so I hope the link works). Looks like it’s gone now. I purchased it this morning so I hope it holds up.

Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness [4 LP] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008Z9L94O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_IGrCFb38BJD2G

My purchase was sold and shipped by Amazon. Not a third party.

After doing some thinking today at work I went ahead and purchased the Clear/Black Marble vinyl release on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Cotillions-LP-Clear-Black-Marble/dp/B08225FGPS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Z8AOCQ8C74SB&keywords=cotillions+william+corgan&qid=1579122679&s=music&sprefix=cottill%2Caps%2C178&sr=1-1

Hopefully my CD release will be here within a reasonable time. If not, I have the vinyl and digital release. You can never have enough formats!

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Here's the tour playlist in another format.