Alright, this isn't for those of you who found about about the reunion a month ago, or anything like that. If you're like me, and you've been following closely ever since you read Billy's article in the Tribune, I want to know how you feel now about everything that's happened, compared to what you were thinking/hoping for back when you first saw that article.



I'm sure I wasn't the only one that was a little naive, thinking..wow, I'm finally going to see Billy, Jimmy, James and maybe even D'arcy on stage again. It's not like we knew that James wouldn't be in on it, or Melissa for that matter.


So am I disappointed? No, I wouldn't say that.. But I don't think it's turned out near what my hopes were.

For me, everything so far has been just about exactly what I expected. Good (but not great on the levels we've seen before) music, a solid and extensive tour, good live shows, songs being played from all eras, and a renewed passion and fire from & to do new things that are bigger and better.

I just don't put a lot of weight on the whole absence of & thing. I honestly don't think they would have made much of an impact (if any) on the way things came out. At the end of the day this is still Billy's deal. He will always be in charge. Maybe their presence would have created more ideas that led to more songs, but I don't see the album coming out any differently than it did even if they were there.

The live shows may have been a little bit more impressive if one or both of them had been there....but again, I don't see them coming out much differently. I mean, they're still doing 2-3 hour shows and just flat out kicking ass from the start. Would James or Darcy have made that any better? Maybe....but not enough for me to be disappointed with what's going on right now.

I've said it countless times....Zeitgeist existed to get them back on track and focused on making Smashing Pumpkins music. They weren't trying to make MCIS #2...It's a great stepping stone to the next stage of their careers, and I couldn't be more excited.

ghostchild wrote:
For me, everything so far has been just about exactly what I expected. Good (but not great on the levels we've seen before) music, a solid and extensive tour, good live shows, songs being played from all eras, and a renewed passion and fire from & to do new things that are bigger and better.

I just don't put a lot of weight on the whole absence of & thing. I honestly don't think they would have made much of an impact (if any) on the way things came out. At the end of the day this is still Billy's deal. He will always be in charge. Maybe their presence would have created more ideas that led to more songs, but I don't see the album coming out any differently than it did even if they were there.

The live shows may have been a little bit more impressive if one or both of them had been there....but again, I don't see them coming out much differently. I mean, they're still doing 2-3 hour shows and just flat out kicking ass from the start. Would James or Darcy have made that any better? Maybe....but not enough for me to be disappointed with what's going on right now.

I've said it countless times....Zeitgeist existed to get them back on track and focused on making Smashing Pumpkins music. They weren't trying to make MCIS #2...It's a great stepping stone to the next stage of their careers, and I couldn't be more excited.
I couldn't have said it better, myself.

I also thought that James and Darcy would be back. And I also thought that that the pumpkins would come back with a bang and that everything would be the way it used to be.
My dad kept telling me not to get my hopes up, but I couldn't imagine a band that was once so great dissapointing me.
But it kindof did =/
mostly Billy's voice. I wish there was some way he could get back his old voice.
Don't get me wrong, I will always buy and listen to every song they release, I just hope the new stuff will be better than Zeitgeist

I come from a bit of a different perspective because literally DAYS before Billy took the ad out in the Chicago Sun-Times about wanting to get the band back together, I interviewed him and he said not to count on a reunion, EVER. Haha. Maybe he just meant it would be him and Jimmy all along.

I do miss James and D'Arcy (or heck, Melissa even!) And I do miss the chemistry those folks brought to the music and the stage. BUT I am quite digging Ginger and Jeff, too. The shows have been the best I've seen from the Pumpkins (but I only saw them previously on the Adore and Machina tours, so I don't know if I can accurately compare since I never saw the original four.)

Zeitgeist, as you probably all know by now, didn't do much for me. BUT to once again have the Pumpkins immersed in the mainstream (albeit on a much smaller scale than us children of the 90s are used to) is SUCH a thrill.

OK, for me; lookingback on it, the actual anticipation was the most exciting part - hoping everyday for another criptic message from billy, arguments with mates over the lineup etc. And the first few shows were great just hearing about them etc. I was kind of dissapointed with Zeitgeise, but the first time i saw them live on their first uk date really made up for it. Ive seen them twice since and i still think that was the best performance. Since then, I've had less interest in what theyve been doing. The few years after really geting into them before they returned, that band was like my life... i was constantly listening to them and thinking about them and having them return at that point in my life was amazing. I feel like theyve now slipped back into the music business and I can move on and do other things but ill continue to support them and follow them whatever they're doing.

As for the lineup, It was fun to hope theyd all come back but i was always sceptical, but tbh I actually think Jeff, Ginger and Lisa are all great people/musicians and im very happy with them - + it gives me one more album to be excitied about: James' second solo album, yay!

I sooo want an interview with James to see if he's still even working on that.


Trillian??????

My enthusiasm was renewed with that Rolling Stone interview. I think things are gonna get better if they win that thing against Virgin.

i've been very happy with them so far. i didn't expect a hard rock cd like they did but i thought that was a great direction for the band. and after this recent interview, my hopes are even higher

Rivers Cuomo wrote:
I sooo want an interview with James to see if he's still even working on that.


Trillian??????

I gotta get off my butt and try pursuing that ...

Trillian wrote:
Rivers Cuomo wrote:
I sooo want an interview with James to see if he's still even working on that.


Trillian??????

I gotta get off my butt and try pursuing that ...

That would be so cool.

Trillian wrote:
Rivers Cuomo wrote:
I sooo want an interview with James to see if he's still even working on that.


Trillian??????

I gotta get off my butt and try pursuing that ...

I'll sure help you with anything you need. I would love to be a part of that.

I guess the assistance I'd seek from everyone here is just pertinant questions I would ask ol James (hopefully more OUT of the Pumpkins' scope so he doesn't feel pressured and immediately says no.)

Actually I'd probably say no Pumpkins questions..he's probably more likely to say yes if he knows we're not going to "bug" him about SP.


Probably question numero uno is if he's still working on his next solo album.

Also, how Scratchie is doing. Maybe what kind of DJ stuff he's been up to. What type of music he's been into lately.


I realize these aren't all very professional interview type questions, but hey...whatev.

i completely agree trilian. you would probably have to focus more on his scope than the pumpkins scope of things when interviewing him.

I would LOVE to read an interview with James...