What is it that makes us follow a specific football team ,religion and rockband.
In a sea of choices that this world serves up to us we seem to make connections with different influences all the time.
Take the Smashing Pumpkins for instance,there are plenty of other good rock bands out there, but for reasons I'm not quite sure of they seem to reach out to me like no other band does.
The front man Billy Corgan is a self taught guitar hero just like those before him,but somehow he seems so different from the rest.
I don't want to sound all holy and preach but I think that the compulsion to worship has been built into our D.N.A by a higher intelligence than our own.
By supporting or following an idea or a person we fullfill a basic instinct within ourselves.

Wow, what a cool thread!!!
Maybe you're going to far into science, but there MUST be something that makes us follwing some directions in life.
What is it that makes you to fall in love with that single girl out of thousands, what is it that makes you love every single line of Soma and what is it that makes you following Jesus Christ, Allah or noone but your own sanity???
We just don't know, but it seems like humans have a specific kind of antenna for emotional influences (sorry for my bad English ) which cling on to YOUR personal thoughts, feelings and history. Why did we stumble over the Pumpkins?
For me, it was the most truly emotional music I've heard in my life so far (I was at the age of 15 in that time) and what I felt while listening to Ruby or In my body was nothing but true longing and love captured as music...it's the same with the 1979-vid for me. I don't know why, but every time I watch it, it nearby makes me cry..but why???
So I think, it could be a basic instinct, to find things persons or music, too, around us which refelct our innerst and deepest wishes and feelings, like the music of the Pumpkins did for me so many times in my life.
"In my body, you'll never find me, you'll never pull me out; in my body, the lonley creature, the lonley creature screams!"

Nothing left to say
(Kool thing, never wrote that much ever before on a topic)

this is interesting..I keep asking myself why I keep coming back for more. It's the love for the band, the loving energy that passes through your body while listening to the music, lyrics, drums, or whatever comes along from them, they have my attention . I don't know how it happens, but it feels right so I stay and want more. They inspire me to create, to explore life more, bring light, meaning,purpose
they just have a way of kicking your ass full of something that goes through your heart forever

Well, most people follow the religion they're brought up with. Most people follow their local football team or at least the local "big" team.
As for bands... if you find a band whose music and songs connect with you then you want to listen to them so you buy their CDs and see their shows. And if one band seems better to you than any other then you follow them more than the others you like. Seems pretty straight forward to me.
If you didn't take interest in anything then you'd be pretty bored most of the time.

I think it must be wired into us soomehow. There is something very calming about being able to focus your thoughts and energy on one specific thing at a time. Maybe it's just in our nature to seek to out things that calm us? I don't know, I just know that when I listen to the Pumpkins all I can think about is the awesome guitar riffs, Billy's beautifully strange voice, and the amazing drumming of Jimmy. The rest of the world fades away.

"The rest of the world fades away."

Thats the best way to sum it up i think.

What I am saying is that for me its not just about liking music.
I like lots of music ,its about a certain something that sets of a spark of imagination in us.
When hear lots of other rock bands I like them ,it doesn't mean that I buy their records or want see their live show.
Are we really all just sheep being lead by the nose?
If so,then 'Billy' must be my shepherd because the pumpkins do it for me everytime.

Dav, I'll tell ya, I find the comparison to a religion fitting. I got into SP as a lost 12-year-old who had nothing to relate to. I found SP, and their music gave me emotional solace. I'd never heard of such an intelligent and philosophical artist before Billy (save Lennon/McCartney, of course!) And then the admiration turned to worship because I felt that defining myself as a Pumpkinhead made me someone. I believed in Billy when I didn't believe in me.

These days, I stick with SP because of the sense of community (I've tried posting at other bands' boards but I find the lot of them to be quite catty. I don't know what it is, but generally SP fans seem so much cooler and empathetic than other mega-fans.) And though the effect of their music has waned on me over the years, I still give great reverence to what they have done for me.

Listening to SP is like going home for me.

It is nice to know there are other people who feel the way I do. You say(write) things very well davkco. It IS about more than just liking music. I, too, like lots of other bands. But SP makes me feel more connected with myself. It is like a part of my very soul. Whenever I feel out of sorts their music gets me back on the right path. I guess it's kinda like the way a religious person feels when they go to their temple/church, etc. I just thought maybe I was crazy for feeling that way.

Listening to SP is like going home for me.[/quote]

trillian, i love this comment of yours as well. i think it perfectly describes the relationship i have with the pumpkins. as all of you have said, its more than just the music; its the art, music, lyrics, emotion, life trials, and everything else that it feels like we have all "shared" together with the pumpkins. i remember waking up one morning on a day in mid-july back in 1996, turning on the tv and finding the news headline of jonathon melvoin overdosing and jimmy being in serious condition. it was like a bullet to the heart. it felt like someone had just told me some terrible news about a family member or other loved one. whether i am actually related to any member of the band or not, it still feels like i always have a connection to their ups and downs. in a sense, we are all in a sort of family who continue to grow and share stories with one another each passing year.

Muzzleofearth, I totally remember feeling like a family member had died when Melvoin passed away. What scared me even more was that I first learned of it from my dad watching the news and telling me, "The drummer from that band you like died." I mean, thank god he was wrong, but Melvoin's death was the beginning of the end of the Pumpkins as we knew them.

following the pumpkins is kinda of my religion so i guess billy is my pastor, jimmy's the head deacon member james and darcy are missionaries and jeff,ginger,lisa are members of the church choir.

corganvision wrote:
following the pumpkins is kinda of my religion so i guess billy is my pastor, jimmy's the head deacon member james and darcy are missionaries and jeff,ginger,lisa are members of the church choir.

AMEN!

corganvision wrote:
following the pumpkins is kinda of my religion so i guess billy is my pastor, jimmy's the head deacon member james and darcy are missionaries and jeff,ginger,lisa are members of the church choir.

hahaha and Bugg would be the usher or something

"james and darcy are missionaries"

now that is brilliantly funny. hopefully they are away spreading the good news of the sp. i doubt it... but am hopeful

Muzzleofearth wrote:
"james and darcy are missionaries"

now that is brilliantly funny. hopefully they are away spreading the good news of the sp. i doubt it... but am hopeful

i would fully doubt that haha