Where has this come from?! Why after 20 years has Billy posted on the band's website that he wants them to be known as an American Gothic band?

It's really weird. Didn't he come up with the genre Cyber-rock in the mid 90s?!?!!

I wish he didn't take everything so seriously (just his song writing). They're just words Billy, the music speaks for itself!!

Also what about the Psychedelic side of the Pumpkins? It was only a month ago when everyone was excited about the Linda Strawberry poster and commenting on Billy's description "Psychedelic Goth"

http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/news_5293

I think it's great that they are distinguishing themselves from every other band out there. No other band can compare in my opinion. Best band ever!

thier sound has always been diffrent from thier contemporaries, and just finding the words to describe it are difficult, so whatever billy comes up with i know will ecompass what he is trying to get at.

thats true bwobw

melabonbon wrote:
There is the expression "Define yourself before others define you" and I think that fits. Basically a label is going to be put on what someone does anyway, so why not make up your own label for yourself?

I second that notion. It's like a feminist calling herself a bitch and reclaiming what might be perceived as a demeaning word ("gothic" could be seen as depressing, dark, melodramatic, whatever).

Make my job easier, too. Now I don't have to grab a thesaurus when writing reviews/interviews with the Pumpkins, hehe. Thanks, Billy!

I always thought of Smashing Pumpkins as alternative. American Gothic is just some nice acoustic songs they wrote. The opposite of Gothic in my opinion. :\

its not going to be acoustic when g.l.o.w. gets released if thats the idea...

bulletwoutbutterflywings wrote:
i think american gothic fits, when i hear it i don't think of the "goth" scene, i think of something beautiful, but a little dark, a little romatic, a little dangerous. all of that rolled into one.

I like how you put that. I think of it the same way.

Honestly. What was the point of naming it American Gothic?

Labels are generally pointless. Not every Pumpkins song could be put in one genre really, other than just general rock. If Billy wants to say SP are "american gothic", that's fine, in as much as it's as meaningless as any other label they could be given.

I dislike the word "gothic" with a passion. Whenever I hear that word, despite what comes before it, other than "not", I automatically think "posers." I understand that's a little bit prejudice I guess, but it's true. And, honestly, who would know what the hell American Gothic means without actually having listened to Smashing Pumpkins? If I told someone who's never listened to them that they play "American Gothic," that says nothing about what the band is, in my opinion.

Alt Rock works for me, because it gets the point across that it's rock, it's alt, and it kicks ass. Now, the Adore era is a bit different and the Machina era is more metal than Alt Rock. But if you want to take all of Billy's music, put it in a box, shake it up, and open the box...I still think you get Alt Rock as the dominant theme. With a little bit of experimental on the side. People generally respect the Alternative Rock label. When you start labeling Billy's music as "gothic," you have to take on the sometimes negative connotation that the word brings.

Now, I'm not trying to be one of those whiny bitches who complains about everything post-millenium that Billy's done, because I'm not one. I just think sometimes things like this would've just been better left alone. They got this far without an official label, so to quote my southern heritage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Then again, maybe he was joking. Who knows. It's Billy.

why don't they just call it Smashing Pumpkins music..lol
I still like it being labeled AG, but everyone would understand to some level if it was called SP music

yeah, i just consider them to be the pumpkins. i think it works- and we all know what that means music wise.

The banner on sp.com says "Purveyors of fine American Gothic music since 1987"

PistolPete wrote:
The banner on sp.com says "Purveyors of fine American Gothic music since 1987"

haha i saw that.

Haha, cheeky buggers.

I wonder if they named the American Gothic EP after this genre, or if this is just a sudden epiphany that Billy had that he had to tell everyone about?