Maybe I'm just being anal, but did anyone else notice that in all interviews since Zeitgeist, Billy has never mentioned "James" or "Darcy" specifically?

We've had this discussion at my board, and some think it's nothing, but I think it may be intentional. The whole idea of not dwelling in the past, and Billy self admitting that the band ended on bad terms kinda leads me to believe that. But at this point, as much as Billy says that he and Jimmy were 97% of the band (see the other thread), I think it's just bad form to negate the fact that these two memebers had anything to do with the production of the records. Their sheer presence obviously had *something* to do with it.

Maybe I'm just sensitive to this shit, but just my two cents. ANd yea, thinking about this is much more fun than studying for my accounting final! w00t.

all interviews and quotes you see from billy and jimmy right now are designed to push THIS album and THIS tour....of which James and Darcy are not a part....so why should he talk about them? he's not trying to sell more copies of mellon collie.

ghostchild wrote:
all interviews and quotes you see from billy and jimmy right now are designed to push THIS album and THIS tour....of which James and Darcy are not a part....so why should he talk about them? he's not trying to sell more copies of mellon collie.

That's not my point. Of course I know that the goal is to push Zeitgeist, but to alienate a part of their career that is so important to me seems foolish. And what's wrong with more sales of MCIS? More money for Billy.

TheImplodingVoice wrote:
ghostchild wrote:
all interviews and quotes you see from billy and jimmy right now are designed to push THIS album and THIS tour....of which James and Darcy are not a part....so why should he talk about them? he's not trying to sell more copies of mellon collie.

That's not my point. Of course I know that the goal is to push Zeitgeist, but to alienate a part of their career that is so important to me seems foolish. And what's wrong with more sales of MCIS? More money for Billy.

my point is that MCIS is not current. they are a touring band out there promoting a new record. james and darcy weren't a part of that record for whatever reason, and there's not really any point to talking about what happened 10 years ago.

mcis is way past diamond, promotion for it would be pointless at this point. zeitgeist is about to go platinum and james and darcy aren't apart of it. like gc said, why dwell on the past? dwell on the past if they ever go on a reunion tour.

D'arcy and James are not in The Pumpkins anymore...Billy and Jimmy said they didn't wanted to be part of this reunion so...there's nothing to say. The Pumpkins are just what we see now.

It's a new start of an old band!
For this, Billy shouldn't denie the fact that d'arcy and especially James always used to be important part of the Pumpkins.
What about all the songs James wrote (Take me down/The bells/The boy/Go/Blew away/Said sadly/Wave Song/Bugg superstar...)they were released under "The Smashing Pumpkins" as well as Billy's songs.
For this reason it's just fucked up and stupid from Billy to tell that Jimmy and he used to be 97% of the band, it's complete rubbish in my eyes!
James and D'arcy definitly were important for the music and "the old Pumpkins(incl. them)" were together for at least 12 years!
Hang on, what about Adore??? No Jimmy = No Pumpkins???
I think, Billy just tries to push his new pseudo-Pumpkins as the true core of the band, to have success with what once used to be the Smashing Pumpkins!
Maybe he hasn't even asked James and D'arcy rejoin!

DON wrote:

For this, Billy shouldn't denie the fact that d'arcy and especially James always used to be important part of the Pumpkins.

Hes not denied anything as far as the interviews Ive read/heard are concerned?

theoretical interview follows
Interviewer - So what happened to James and Darcy
Billy - Who are they?

Dont think Ive read/heard anything like that anywhere?
And I dont see why theirs any reason at this moment in time to bring up the subject himself, Especialy if Billy and James are getting on well with the new band members.
I reckon we might hear something at a latter time but certainly not during the current tour. And quite possibly after confirming if Jeff, Ginger and Lisa are permanant band members (if that ever happens)
For the time being the new members seem to be doing a good enough job so im happy.


What about all the songs James wrote (Take me down/The bells/The boy/Go/Blew away/Said sadly/Wave Song/Bugg superstar...)they were released under "The Smashing Pumpkins" as well as Billy's songs.
For this reason it's just fucked up and stupid from Billy to tell that Jimmy and he used to be 97% of the band, it's complete rubbish in my eyes!


Im going to be cruel here (for a change in character) but In my opinion none of James's solo songwriting efforts could be classed in the same league as the bands better songs.

DON wrote:
Maybe he hasn't even asked James and D'arcy rejoin!

According to Modern Drummer's interview with Jimmy, James and D'arcy were asked to rejoin but neither wanted to be part of it.


I admit I haven't heard Billy and Jimmy talk openly much about the absence of James and D'arcy, but this is a new album and a new tour, so obviously the focus of each interview is going to be about Zeitgeist, not about the band's previous albums.
Once they've completely finished touring for Zeitgeist they might talk more in-depth about things like James and D'arcy but who knows. But I don't think Billy is trying to phase out James or D'arcy.

@ pierowmaniac:
Maybe you dislike some of Jame's songs, OK, that's your opinion, but I do love them a lot especially "Blew away".

rules!

I also agree, that Billy wrote most of the best songs on his own (I think, that's the reason why we all are fans of him!!! )
BUT: Don't forget:
James wrote some of them (Soma / Mayonaise...) together with Billy, maybe that's the true reason why Billy doesn't want to play such classics anymore, although they are highly requested by fans!

I think that it's possible that Billy and Jimmy don't want to bring them up because the media can twist and turn what people say around and they just don't want to take any shots. Even though Billy made the statement that 97% of all Pumpkins records is Jimmy and Billy I don't think people were surprised because they already knew it. Everybody has heard about how Billy recorded all the guitar and bass for SD (which I don't know if thats true) and people weren't surprised about that either. I like the way they are dealing with the situation. The past is the past.

I think they'll never explain what's happened within the band...our questions we'll never be answered

I love how people keep saying..."Well James and Darcy weren't a part of this album" and "The Pumpkins only want to push Zeitgeist - Not Mellon Collie"

But if any of this is true than u must remember that Jeff and Ginger were not a part of this album either but Billy has no problem mentioning their names right now. Who knows - after he drops them u'll probably never know they were Pumpkins either -(Not that I feel they ever were) The thing is Billy wants to control the legacy of the Pumpkins by saying "the pumpkins is 97% me and Jimmy" but would he have said that during the adore era or during the recording of SD while Jimmy was MIA on a drug benge or even back when HE AND JAMES first started the band and Jimmy wasn't even a thought in Billy: I'll just hook up a drum machine's brain!?!?!

OH, and If they really just want to push Zeitgeist and not MCIS then why play ALL those old songs from Mellon Collie???...maybe it's because that's what half the crowd is there to hear anyway. I mean - I know alot of people who say they wish they would only play the old stuff. Face it - the new SP is living off of the legacy that James and Darcy helped build. In closing, alot of people liked James and D'arcy and they were very important to the overall appeal and success of the band - even if they didnt play every note on every song.

Well to Billy's credit I never heard him say that D'arcy and Jimmy weren't a crucial part of the band. He just said him and Jimmy recorded all the stuff. But that's only 50% of the issue. When it comes to live shows I think Billy was pretty grateful to have James and D'arcy around. Really dependable people who took pride in what they were doing and even though it didn't look like it I think they enjoyed being there. Another note on Zeitgeist is that to me it's more of a way to get the fanbase going again. A vast majority of the fans just wanna hear Mellon Collie so I think to please the fans Billy plays it for them to get their support back. Alot of people were dissapointed that James wasn't in the group anymore but to me it's still the Pumpkins. Everything Corgan does is the Pumpkins, some just have differen't names that others. Through time I'm sure he'll phase out the older songs and play more new ones just like he did when touring Adore and Machina.

Believe wrote:
I love how people keep saying..."Well James and Darcy weren't a part of this album" and "The Pumpkins only want to push Zeitgeist - Not Mellon Collie"

But if any of this is true than u must remember that Jeff and Ginger were not a part of this album either but Billy has no problem mentioning their names right now. Who knows - after he drops them u'll probably never know they were Pumpkins either -(Not that I feel they ever were) The thing is Billy wants to control the legacy of the Pumpkins by saying "the pumpkins is 97% me and Jimmy" but would he have said that during the adore era or during the recording of SD while Jimmy was MIA on a drug benge or even back when HE AND JAMES first started the band and Jimmy wasn't even a thought in Billy: I'll just hook up a drum machine's brain!?!?!

OH, and If they really just want to push Zeitgeist and not MCIS then why play ALL those old songs from Mellon Collie???...maybe it's because that's what half the crowd is there to hear anyway. I mean - I know alot of people who say they wish they would only play the old stuff. Face it - the new SP is living off of the legacy that James and Darcy helped build. In closing, alot of people liked James and D'arcy and they were very important to the overall appeal and success of the band - even if they didnt play every note on every song.


here we go again with the "i refuse to appreciate anything SP is doing now" jargon....

billy has no problem mentioning jeff and ginger? show me one interview where he's talked about them. show me one quote. he's never brought them up one way or the other. we all know they had absolutely nothing to do with the recording of the album. they are just touring musicians that happen to be along for the ride.

the 97% is billy and jimmy quote is being twisted way out of context. actually watch the DVD and listen to what he's talking about when he says it and maybe it'll make sense to you.....mabye.

and they're playing MCIS songs on the tour because zeit is 14 songs...they could play the whole album and the show would be over in an hour. they've giving people who pay for the tickets their money's worth because they actually care about their fans unlike some bands out there today.

and they're playing MCIS songs on the tour because zeit is 14 songs...they could play the whole album and the show would be over in an hour. they've giving people who pay for the tickets their money's worth because they actually care about their fans unlike some bands out there today.

You're right. He could just be a jerk and say "whatever, forget about the old stuff. I'll just play new stuff." I'm glad they give the fans a good mixture of songs live. I really think fans should be grateful too because this is what the majority wanted. Speaking for myself I wanted the pumpkins to reunite and tour again not thinking really about who was going to be in the band or if James would come back or whatever. The only thing I wanted was Jimmy and Billy. Everything else didn't make a difference. Plus, after the way the band ended last time do you honestly think that James or D'arcy would've come back? And even now I don't really care. Billy is the Pumpkins to me. I saw the Pumpkins live before the break-up a couple of times and twice since the reunion and I can't honestly tell any big difference except the show quality sounds alot better now. Not that they sounded bad before, it's just that you can tell they've really perfected their craft.