Eye wrote:
In terms of impact, it was as if the music world was mourning the loss of the Pumpkins and went in a downward spiral because of it or anything like that. We all what was deemed popular went downhill much earlier than that .

Oh, I disagree wholeheartedly. But I guess it depends on your interpretation of "good" and "bad" music.

Outside of mainstream alternative acts (Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Chili Peppers) it was damn near impossible for an indie band to do well on the Billboard charts or the radio. Now, amazing albums like the Juno soundtrack or Arcade Fire are landing in the No. 1 and 2 spots. Sure, we had to wade through the much of Creed for a while, and it escapes me how Nickelback is still popular, but when my Los Angeles-area stations are switching their formats from adult contemporary pop to accomodate such up and comers as MIA, MGMT and Matisyahu, there's a positive change in the wind.

And I now realize my scpiel had nothing to do with SP's demise, haha. OOPS.

Well personally I find Arcade Fire a bit underwhelming but I know others say they are 'absolutely amazing'. I am not saying it's bad music or anything, it just doesn't do anything for me at all.

But bands like that got popular well after SP bit the dust the first time around. I can't bare to listen to the radio these days because mainstream rock, save a few exceptions, is a bit generic. Also, the state of the music industry is such that while record sales are plummeting, but yet pop acts still can sell multiple platinum records, while many modern rock acts can barely break platinum, if at all.

Have any of you folks that applied heard back from them yet? This seems to have kind of faded into the distance, at least for the time being...

I haven't really heard anything from anybody that submitted something about this. Maybe the PumpkinsMediaMillitia is still sifting through resumes and essays. I don't know how many people ended up applying in time, but they had 290 people that had requested the application information.

I sent a PM to Pumpkins Media Militia asking about this. They replied to me today saying they are still reading essays.

I kind of figured that was the case

Curses, my bum got a rejection letter from the Pumpkins gods today. WONK WONK.

Anyone make it to the next round?

>>> really good

Trillian wrote:
Curses, my bum got a rejection letter from the Pumpkins gods today. WONK WONK.

Anyone make it to the next round?

i got a rejection letter also, i know of one person who made it to the next round.

i'm sorry trillian, you would have been perfect for it.

I made it to round 2.

Good on you, Ghostchild! Do you think you could post your essay here? I want to see what the employers were looking for, because it obviously was nothing I could offer!

ghostchild wrote:
I made it to round 2.

Congrats!

Great job. What does round 2 consist of? Do you have to submit another essay?

ghostchild wrote:
I made it to round 2.

yay for you, good job!!

I will share my writing with all of you once the whole process is over. Until then I'm not making it public. That's all I'll say for right now.

Well, the process is over...the writers have been hired, and I regret to say I'm not one of them. I just got this email:

Greetings finalists,

This message is to regretfully notify you of our decisions regarding
your most recent submission in regards to employment at
smashingpumpkins.com. The current positions have been filled by the
top qualifying applicants.

Although you have not been chosen among the very limited few to be
employed, we may contact you in the future, possibly even the near
future. The positions at smashingpumpkins.com are not completely
permanent. People will come and go and of course, you are part of the
top percentage of applicants. Please keep this in mind. Your
information is on file and at the top of the long list. We may even
choose to request guest columnists from time to time.

And of course, we appreciate your continued involvement with the
future of smashingpumpkins.com and your overall contributions to the
Smashing Pumpkins community. It is people like you that keep the
legacy of this amazing band thriving.

Best regards,

-The Smashing Pumpkins Media Militia




I'd expect some sort of announcement soon on sp.com as to who made it. This was an incredibly cool thing for the band to do, and I'm just glad I got to take part.