Smashing: Spotify invite available from Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan

by Bill Palmer

Spotify has arrived in the United States – for a few invitees. And while Google+ invites can be handed out like unlimited candy, golden tickets into the Spotify music streaming service are limited and hard to come by. It turns out Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan is handing them out publicly, however. On his @Billy account on Twitter, Corgan stated “very excited by Spotify in America. I have a very good feeling about this” and later went on to explain that “i support Spotify for the same reason i supported Napster back in the day! Visionary music models that encourage sharing and artist loyalty.” His Spotify invite page, which is still functional as of this posting, is right here. It’s not immediately clear whether the invites Billy is offering are infinitely available or will run out.

Corgan appears to be putting his musical catalog where his mouth is, as a Spotify search reveals a hundred or more Smashing Pumpkins songs are already available within the music service. Meanwhile, Smashing Pumpkins are in the midst of making new album Oceania, a traditional-length album which fits within the larger ongoing Teargarden by Kaleidyscope project. Billy spoke with Beatweek last year about the Teargarden project in a cover story interview.

Beatweek Magazine January 2011 Double Issue: Carlos Santana and much more

Beatweek Magazine’s January 2011 Double Issue highlights:

• Carlos Santana cover story interview: his new album Guitar Heaven, Las Vegas residency, how he puts his iPad to good use, and more

• The top iPad and iPhone accessories of the year including iPad and iPhone batteries and iPad keyboards

• Interviews with Sara Bareilles, Smashing Pumpkins, Jason Derulo, Fefe Dobson, and The Black Crowes

• Macworld 2011 conversation with Paul Kent

• Much more in this massive 120-page double issue!

Read this issue now

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Smashing Pumpkins: Beatweek 2010 Indie Artist of the Year

We promise this is the first and last time we ever give our “Indie Artist of the Year” award to a world-famous band which has spent most of its existence on a major label. But not only have the Smashing Pumpkins parted ways with their label, frontman Billy Corgan and crew have walked away from the entire music industry model as we know it. Not only are they giving away every song from their new forty-four song album Teargarden By Kaleidyscope, they’re doing so as each song is finished. One MP3 at a time, the Smashing Pumpkins are helping rewrite the blueprint for being an indie artist. Here is Beatweek’s conversation with Billy Corgan.

Smashing Pumpkins Billy Corgan lets loose on light and darkness in rock music

Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has let loose on the state of rock music this evening via his Twitter account, sharing a prolonged stream of thought which touched on everything from music critics to the concept of light and darkness in rock music, and where he thinks it’s headed. Tweeting from a Pumpkins tour stop in Japan, here’s what Corgan had to say in its entirety:

“Critic Robert Hilburn once said of me that I had the talent, but didn’t have the disposition to lead. Wrong. I cannot lead darkness to light … Point being no one can lead darkness to light. Darkness only begets more pain. See current state of Rock and Roll for dire confirmation. … The days of death and destruction being prima matter for the rock and roll machine are over. No one is gonna do it better than the Crue! … The new Age has come, and music will serve as a standard bearer for a new way to connect in Love and Respect. I am happy to lead from Love. … Goodbye to the generations that are more happy to write about you if you are beautiful and dead…or dead of Spirit.”

Billy Corgan recently spoke with Beatweek about Smashing Pumpkins and more in our cover story interview.

Lakers championship: celebs weigh in on Finals victory over Celtics

Tonight’s NBA Championship victory by the Los Angeles Lakers saw responses from several celebrities who had a rooting interest one way or the other. Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan revealed that he was at the game, which he said was great for drama, but that he “didn’t like the end of the movie.” Pop star Colbie Caillat simply tweeted “Ahhhhh yeaaaaa Lakers!” while American Idol winner David Cook, known to be a Celtics fan, cleverly exclaimed “well… (expletive laden rant)” [his redaction not ours] and went on to say that Lakers-Celtics 2010 “was exciting to watch. congrats to both teams on a great series and season. get ‘em next year, Green!”

Armando Galarraga perfect game called for by Billy Corgan, David Cook

Baseball fans on all sides have asked MLB to correct the umpire mistake which cost Armando Galarraga his perfect game last night, and some of those requests have come from baseball’s more high profile fans. Former American Idol winner David Cook tweeted that he hopes “MLB fixes this and corrects the blown call” but also went on to praise umpire Jim Joyce, who blew the call, for promptly apologizing to Galarraga publicly and privately after learning of his error via video replay. Meanwhile, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, known to be a Cubs fan, opined that the Major League Baseball should “award that kid his perfect game+give him the extra out he got,the only game ever where 28 batters were faced+all retired.”

Smashing Pumpkins reveal 2010 tour dates for July, August

Smashing Pumpkins have revealed several summer 2010 tour dates via their official Facebook page just moments ago. Here’s what has been announced thus far:

TUE 7/13 Richmond,VA The NationalTHU 7/15 Norfolk, VA The NorvaFRI 7/16 Charlotte, NC FillmoreSAT 7/17 Charleston, SC Music FarmMON 7/19 Orlando, FL House of Blues, TUE 7/20 Ft. Lauderdale, FL RevolutionWED 7/21 Tampa, FL RitzFRI 7/23 New Orleans, LA House of Blues Howlin WolfSAT 7/24 Memphis, TN Minglewood HallSAT 8/7 Tokyo Marine Stadium / MesseSUN 8/8 Osaka Maishima / Summer Sonic SiteTUE 8/10 Tokyo Tokyo Studio CoastWED 8/11 Tokyo Tokyo Studio Coast.

The Pumpkins also stated that they plan to tour South America and Australia at some point in 2010 and then “hope” to return the the United States later in 2010. Smashing Pumpkins consist of founding singer-guitarist Billy Corgan along with various other musicians. Corgan told Beatweek all about the 2010 incarnation of Smashing Pumpkins and current album Teargarden by Kaleidyscope in our current cover story interview.

Smashing Pumpkins hosting live Ustream chat from studio right now

Smashing Pumpkins are currently hosting a live Ustream video chat from their Coldwater recording studio. Billy Corgan and his bandmates are working on their current project “Teargarden by Kaleidyscope” and are offering fans the opportunity to get a peek inside the recording process. Teargarden is an in-progress forty-four song digital opus being released one song at a time over the next three years. The live chat is visible on Ustream. Smashing Pumpkins are the cover story interview for the current issue of Beatweek Magazine, which you can read in full for free right here.

Smashing Pumpkins: the Beatweek interview with Billy Corgan

It’s a new decade for Smashing Pumpkins, and founding frontman Billy Corgan is restocking the band’s roster and taking a unique approach with new album “Teargarden by Kaleidyscope” in that the forty-four song opus is being written, recorded, and released one song at a time, all available for free online. In our cover story interview, Billy fills us in on how the already partially-released new album is coming along, how it’s going with the new Pumpkins lineup in the studio, why he’s given up on the record industry machine, and why he feels like after the twists and turns of the last decade, he and Smashing Pumpkins are now “back in the deep end of the pool” when it comes to creating music…

You’ve released just a few songs so far out of a planned forty-four songs for Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. How far along are you in terms of creating the album?

Currently I’m working on finishing songs 7 and 8, and I would say of all the songs I’ve worked on so far that these two are the ones I’m most excited by. Sounds like the best of old school SP set into the future.

“Widow Wake My Mind” has something of a funk/psychedelic tinge to it. Can we expect more songs along those lines, or should we not be reading anything into the early songs yet?

Not only is the album a work in-progress, but its also a journey in-progress. I’m still figuring out what I’m trying to say, and the act of releasing them as I go along is definitely informing my decisions in a fresh way. It is doing a good job of keeping me in the moment, and I have lots of directions I plan to go before it would all said and done.

Is “Teargarden by Kaleidyscope” the title of one of the forthcoming songs, or where did that title come from?

It’s a title I had in my pocket for about 5 years. I was inspired by the idea of trying to find a mythical place that symbolizes both the end and beginning of our life’s spiritual journey.

The previous Pumpkins album sold pretty well through the traditional album pricing model. Why give this one away for free?

Well, as I’ve said a few times free isn’t free. It isn’t easy taking all this on on my own, but the reason I choose to do it is I didn’t want to negotiate anymore with a broken system until it is fixed. I wanted to move at the speed the internet is moving, which of course is lightning speed. In this thinking I have tremendous flexibility to reach people in all sorts of different contexts without constantly asking them to give me more, more, more. Right now it is all about the music and I love it.

Why release one song at a time?

I think there is so much information out there it is hard to expect anyone to take the time to really sit and digest a full body of songs without something being overlooked.

You released Machina II as a digital-only album a decade ago. Was there anything you learned from that process that helped you formulate your plans for the Teargarden release?

I learned that music was more readily found without a commercial demand attached to it. It gave me the courage to announce the new album the way that I did without too much worry, knowing that eventually it would go where it needed to at it’s own pace.

Are you trying to change the way music is distributed in general, or is this just a personal choice?

I have given up on the old music business. If anyone else wants to work within that system I can understand why. I am not fighting any causes for this kind of thing because history shows me that no one really cares too much about the business side. Fans just want exciting music and I agree with them that that is the most important thing. That said, I am in talks with the Pumpkins old label EMI to release a lot of unreleased materials and I really sense that they are ready to work with me to create a new way to put fans and my music together that takes care of everybody. So I am encouraged by that.

New Pumpkins drummer Mike Byrne just turned twenty. How has his presence, his youth, impacted the music?

His enthusiasm is great, and he is a good barometer if what I’m trying to do is just not interesting enough. He is still learning so in some ways I have to slow down a bit because he just doesn’t have the experience and sometimes me slowing down isn’t a bad thing.

At this rate it’ll take you a couple years to push all the songs out the door one by one. Are you committed to this release model no matter what, or might you adjust it based on how things end up going?

The plans is to keep going along until I’m done. But God doesn’t always agree with my plans. Hopefully nothing we’ll get in the way of completing the vision of what I’ve said out to do. So far the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

The Teargarden by Kaleidyscope process is still just getting underway.

What else should we know about it that no one’s thought to ask yet?

Most questions I get seem to focused on the business aspects, with almost no questions about the artistic process involved. So if I was going to say anything it would be that I feel really good about the work I’m doing and the direction I’m headed, and although the past few years have been confusing at times for me and my fans, I’m glad I stuck to a path that I felt would help me get back to a place of great creative enthusiasm. It is not an easy road but I really feel I’m back in the deep end of the pool.

What motivated you and Kerry Brown to launch a record label?

Label is still a question mark.

What should we know about everythingfromheretothere.com?

Not much to say other than it is a spiritual site that I still have plans for, but as I’m working on writing a book it is the place currently I have the least time for. I’m still trying to figure out how to contribute more there in a visual way and not just posting screeds.

A number of Pumpkins songs are featured in the latest Tap Tap Revenge game for iPhone. Do you think this kind of thing will be a legitimate promotional model for musicians in the long term?

I love anything that puts music and young people in the same location. Long term I have no idea. Technology is moving too fast to predict anything.

I’ve been wanting to ask you this for awhile: Most people named William who go by “Billy” in childhood (myself included) have ended up switching to “Bill” at some point in adulthood. What made you stick with “Billy”?

My real name is William. It is probably time to give up the ghost of Billy.

What should we expect this year in terms of Smashing Pumpkins tour dates?

Tour stuff is still being worked out, but there are plans to perhaps tour America, Asia, and a few other places. Wherever SP goes there is always a ripple in the fabric of time and a bunch of demons come tripping out looking for the party so each decision is made carefully and often with pause. Because you just never know who might show up at our shows and exactly what they might be looking for when they do arrive. We just want to make people happy.

Learn more at SmashingPumpkins.com • iTunes • MySpace • Facebook • Smashing Pumpkins on Twitter • Billy Corgan on Twitter

Beatweek’s Spring Double Issue: Smashing Pumpkins, Kate Nash, Creed Bratton from The Office, iPhone, iPad

Beatweek issue 72: Smashing Pumpkins, Kate Nash, Creed Bratton, iPad apps

Beatweek’s Spring Double Issue: Smashing Pumpkins, The Office’s Creed Bratton, Kate Nash, Glee

UPDATE: this issue has been released. You can find it right here.

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This Tuesday, May 25th, Beatweek Magazine will release its Spring 2010 Double Issue featuring a cover story interview with Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins as he discusses the band’s new album and more. Also included: interviews with British pop star Kate Nash, Creed Bratton from NBC’s The Office, Infantree, Larissa Ness, Malina Moye, and more.

On the tech side, our Spring Double Issue will include hands on reviews of new iPhone battery cradles, along with a look at the new Glee app for iPad and iPhone and a whole lot more.

The double issue will be available for free in digital format at Beatweek.com on this Tuesday, May 25th.

Smashing Pumpkins to perform new song on Leno tonight

Smashing Pumpkins will perform a new song from their work-in-progress album Teargarden by Kaleidyscope on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight. The song, a trippy mid temp affair entitled Widow Wake My Mind, is one of a handful of song which have so far been debuted from the new album, which is being released one song at a time (as each song is written) via free download and will stretch to a total of forty-four songs over a period of two to three years. Founding singer-guitarist Billy Corgan still leads the band, while the drummer’s chair is now filled by twenty year old newcomer Mike Byrne, who was selected through an open audition process.

Corgan recently told Beatweek about the new Smashing Pumpkins song, the new album, the new drummer, and various other Pumpkins related topics.

Also scheduled for the Tonight Show tonight are Heidi Klum and Ken Jeong. Jimmy Fallon follows with Rosario Dawson, the NFL’s Tony Siragusa, and New Kids On The Block.

Billy Corgan talks new Smashing Pumpkins album

When pioneering alt-rockers Smashing Pumpkins take the Tonight Show stage tonight, they’ll be performing a song from an in-progress forty-four song opus entitled “Teargarden by Kaleidyscope” which frontman Billy Corgan tells us he plans to release one free digital song at a time over the next few years. Working with new drummer Mike Byrne, the founding Pumpkins singer-guitarist has told Beatweek that the project is still a work in progress, with only a few of the songs having been written and released so far: “I’m still figuring out what I’m trying to say,” Billy tells us, “and the act of releasing them as I go along is definitely informing my decisions in a fresh way.”

And while there are plans to release the songs in physical form in groups of four, there’s no record label involvement at all this time around because he’s “given up on the old music business.” That having been said, Billy also says he’s in talks with former Smashing Pumpkins label EMI to try to get some of the older unreleased Pumpkins material out the door.

Billy told us a whole lot more about the new Smashing Pumpkins album along with various other topics, so needless to say we’ll be bringing it to you in full when the time comes – but in the mean time we wanted to give you a heads up that the band will be performing new song “Widow Wake My Mind” tonight on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. You should tune in for it – you’d better believe we’ll be watching.

image via smashingpumpkins.com