Smashing Pumpkins Monuments To An Elegy
Smashing Pumpkins Monuments To An Elegy
I loved 2012's Oceania. As a lifelong Pumpkins
fan, I felt like a fire had been reignited with that album. It had
momentum, the sound was trademark Pumpkins without being beholden to the
90's-era records (of which I'm still fond), and Billy Corgan got his
mojo back in terms of lyrical prowess, which was dropping in and out
from the days of Zeitgeist to the genesis of his Teargarden project.
Above all, though, Oceania sounded like there was a full band driving it
for the first time in ages. Yes, Billy Corgan has and always will be
the heart and soul of the Pumpkins, but it was refreshing to experience
an album that sounded like a collaborative effort instead of the
patchwork that characterized the first Teargarden tracks.
Having said that, Monuments To An Elegy is the second full-length album in the Teargarden "song cycle" (something I struggle to accept as valid because the initial project was pitched as a conceptual effort, released as individual tracks and later, packaged as a mega box set. Billy, it's ok to admit that your ambition was undermined by your execution, but it doesn't make sense to pretend that the project is still alive when the whole idea behind Teargarden was to prove that albums are a dead format. Ok, end rant.) This is also the first of two records, with Day For Night slated for release next year. I'm not sure if these albums are intended to be two parts of a whole, but at least we're getting this one sooner rather than later.
Unfortunately, the band has once again been chopped down to two members, leaving only guitarist Jeff Schroeder and of course, Billy. Tommy Lee has picked up the sticks (for this record at least), and the length of this record is considerably shorter than anything Billy has released to date.Read more
Having said that, Monuments To An Elegy is the second full-length album in the Teargarden "song cycle" (something I struggle to accept as valid because the initial project was pitched as a conceptual effort, released as individual tracks and later, packaged as a mega box set. Billy, it's ok to admit that your ambition was undermined by your execution, but it doesn't make sense to pretend that the project is still alive when the whole idea behind Teargarden was to prove that albums are a dead format. Ok, end rant.) This is also the first of two records, with Day For Night slated for release next year. I'm not sure if these albums are intended to be two parts of a whole, but at least we're getting this one sooner rather than later.
Unfortunately, the band has once again been chopped down to two members, leaving only guitarist Jeff Schroeder and of course, Billy. Tommy Lee has picked up the sticks (for this record at least), and the length of this record is considerably shorter than anything Billy has released to date.Read more
%2BSeeds%2BBy%2BSeed%2BNeeds.jpg "Pumpkins Breaking (Cucurbita maxima) Seeds By Seed Needs")