The Smashing Pumpkins 1992-01-15
| January 15, 1992 – Hilversum, NL | |
|---|---|
| Live performance by The Smashing Pumpkins | |
| Artist | The Smashing Pumpkins |
| Date | January 15, 1992 |
| Venue | VPRO Radio |
| Location | Hilversum, NL |
| Venue type | Radio studio |
| Personnel | Billy Corgan, James Iha, D'arcy Wretzky, Jimmy Chamberlin |
| Order of bands | The Smashing Pumpkins |
Setlist[edit | edit source]
- "Snail"
- "Kill Your Parents"
- "Siva" [6:22]
- (interview)
- "Crush"
- "Silverfuck" [9:35]
Banter[edit | edit source]
BC: Hello?
Snail
BC: This next song is called Kill Your Parents.
Kill Your Parents
> Siva
Interviewer: Billy, welcome in the studio.
BC: Hello
Interviewer: You wanted to request a record on this show a record from Queen.
BC: Mm hmm.
Interview: Are you a Queen fan?
BC: Yes.
Interviewer: Why?
BC: They're just an amazing band and there's not really been another band like them, I think. And then, obviously Freddie Mercury dying makes it kinda more obvious, I guess, now.
Interviewer: Are they an influence on your music?
BC: Mm hmm, yeah, very much so. And uh, I think when you look at, you know, all the bad disco '70s period, they were one of the coolest bands around, so, I mean, growing up at that time....
Interviewer: You got influenced by them.
BC: At least not mustache wise, but music wise.
Interviewer: The first thing that comes to mind when you hear the Smashing Pumpkins is the dynamic intention in the songs. Is tension a key word for the Smashing Pumpkins?
BC: Umm, I think sex would be the key word.
Interviewer: Why?
BC: ‘Cause our music’s kinda like having sex. Heh heh heh.
Interviewer: Can you explain a bit?
BC: Well, sometimes you go fast and sometimes you go slow. Heh, sometimes you stop. Heh heh.
Interviewer: Okay, that explains it, heh heh. Sometimes it seems like there's several songs in one song...
BC: Yeah.
Interviewer: ...aren't you tempted to make three songs out of that?
BC: Yeah, sometimes I am, but um, I guess maybe it's the fear of dying or something that makes me want to cram as much into one song as I can.
Interviewer: How do you write songs?
BC: Unfortunately I kinda sit around and wait for it to happen, you know, like a thunderbolt from heaven or hell and uh, it's not the best way to write songs but there's something about an inspired moment that's kind of untouchable. So um, once I have the inspiration part, then it's kind of a somewhat mechanical process to not play the same thing over and over for five minutes until you bore everybody out at the door.
Interviewer: Do you do something to create that inspiration?
BC: Can you ask me that again, I didn’t hear the last part.
Interviewer: Do you do something to create that inspiration?
BC: Yeah, I try not to, um...you know, watch too much TV and uh...
Interviewer: Don't poison your mind.
BC: ...it's kind of a zen concept, yeah, you know? Obviously your mind has to be somewhat open and um, there's a certain mental preparation necessary for that when those moments in your life come that you can seize them and take the opportunity, so there is kind of a mental awareness that's necessary at all times. Beyond that, I don't know, there's no black and white way to write a song.
Interviewer: It seems like your songs are more based on hooks, guitar riffs than on melodies, huh?
BC: Oh, I would disagree. I would very much disagree. See, I can write guitar riffs all day but it's very much the marriage of melody and the guitar, you know, that I think makes what I do a little different than say someone who just writes guitar riffs. Sometimes the best guitar riffs don't make for a very good song and there's a lot of great guitar riffs that we throw away.
Interviewer: The dynamic of the sound of the Smashing Pumpkins, doesn't that make the band very hard to record?
BC: Yes, very much so. It's probably gonna take about 10 years off my life, trying to record our band properly.
Interviewer: You have been here on the Eine Abend in Wien Festival that's five months ago, what did change for the band since then?
BC: Since then? Oh, um, I've had about three nervous breakdowns and um, the band sold a lot of records in America and we did a couple tours, we toured with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, a whole national tour in America and um, you know my mother likes me again.
Interviewer: Is that the nicest thing about success?
BC: Success is such a weird thing, you know? I don’t want to sound like I'm detracting from anything but so much comes with it and um....
Interviewer: Like what?
BC: I don't wanna say responsibility because that's not necessarily the right way to explain it, but I think as you open up doors for yourself, you're also kind of obligated to walk through them, if you push yourself up to a point, you should keep going. So having pushed our band to the point of this, we just want to keep on going and with that comes a lot more stress and strain and preparation, I don't know, whatever, I mean our lives are kind of -- you know, we don't live like normal lives, we live these kind of weird troll existences, so I mean, yeah, you know, I have some money in the bank and yeah, people know who I am, but I'm not a normal human being anymore, so it’s just strange--
Interviewer: You look quite normal to me.
BC: It's a strange trade-off, um, underneath this walks a psychopath.
Interviewer: Last question: Are there any concrete plans for an album, a new album?
BC: Yeah, but I don’t know, we may come back to Europe and we may do the Lollapalooza festival and we may do a lot of things, so our next album may not come out -– I know our next album at least won't come out until 1993 but I don't know, we're gonna be one of those bands that never puts out a second record, it would’ve been the greatest record in the world but we didn’t quite make it.
Interviewer: Okay, you’re gonna do two songs for us now, Billy.
BC: Mm hmm.
Interviewer: Okay, you can walk over to the other stage.
BC: Okay.
Crush
> Silverfuck