You gotta listen to an album more than once or twice to get into it. Believe me a lot of songs fell short the first tome around... now i love most of it.
My whole issue with Billy Corgan (and I fucking LOVE 1991-2012 SP) is that I think he’s become a really distant and strange person, somewhat alienated from humanity and regular people. That’s why he hides behind weird obscure concept albums and some of the most unrelatable lyrics ever written over the last decade. It’s a tragedy what happened to him creatively bc we know how powerful he was. Billy needing SP to chart in 2023 (or 2018, 2014, etc) has bugged me so much bc if he was just in touch w the culture more, he’d realize that culture has changed so much. Traditional rock isn’t really played on mainstream radio anymore. MTV died. I remember when Cyr came out he said he was going after a “contemporary sound”, and I was like oh boy that means this is probably not gonna be good. Why not just do what you’re good at instead of trying to fit into what the latest trend is. Is Pearl Jam on the charts? Is Alice In Chains on the charts? I wish he’d stop concerning himself w this stuff and settle into sticking what he’s great at Atum is an album for people who live in abandon castles hundreds of miles away from civilization. Idk how many of those ppl there are but nobody else can relate to this art. I’ve given it several attempts to try and connect with it. Didn’t happen. It just put me in a bad mood bc of how steep a drop off it’s been for them
Exactly. Billy's obsession with needing to chart and stay an arena band has led to so many poor decisions and bad music. And like you say, the sad part is, he doesn't need to. We saw them at a 1,150 capacity club in 2010 and it was visceral, intimate, and perfect for a band with such a legacy. I wish that would be enough for him.
@@noteverysingle I remember in an interview from a while back Billy talking about Chris Cornell and his death, and basically insinuating that Cornell took his own life bc Soundgarden was playing in small venues (they had just played in a 5000 seat theater) and that after being an arena act how difficult that is This guys mindset is so not healthy 😅 I wish it’d change. Anyway, I saw them at Webster Hall in 2014 with the Brad Wilk, Mark Stoermer lineup. Great show in an intimate venue.
all i want from SP is for them to make a hazy, distorted, heavy, shoegazie album again. thats the sound theyre best at and its the ONE sound they dont wanna go back to smh. my bloody valentine stuck to what they do best and thats why their last album was so revered. i wish SP could understand what their strengths are and lean into that.
Amazing take tbh, it’s such a signature sound, and billy is a capable musician. I’d love to hear a modern take on aggressive fuzzed out shoegaze. Freak USA is like the last time we heard any fuzz outside the classics.
Smashing Pumpkins is like the band version of what Sonic The Hedgehog is to Video Games. Arguably hasn't had a good release since the 90's, but there is so much potential and the fans want it so bad, so they keep it alive in the hope that there will be a return to form.
This album is amazing. It’s gets better with each listen, and I honestly think it’s lazy to disregard it upon one or two listens. It truly has everything!
It's an interesting point. How many times does someone have to listen to an album to know they don't like it? 3? 5? I really think two can be plenty but it's subjective.
@@noteverysingle I think there will never be a set amount of listens for something to click with somebody. After relisten upon relisten, songs grow on me a lot. If I listen to a song twice and never come back, I might miss something.
Yes, how can you have a opinion on new music with only one listen? DMB’s new record for example- first listen.. eh. Second gets interesting, third listen very good!
@noteverysingle there isn’t a number of listens as much as there is often times a contextual “aha” moment. Sometimes it’s having the song in a movie or trailer. Other times it’s playing as a backdrop or when you are least expect it and then the music can hit you with no pretense. An example would be the watchmen trailer. Until that moment NO ONE liked the beginning is the end is the b…
Multiple listens are a must ( actually with any new music this is true). It really gets better with each listen. If you only listened once it’s hard to have a valid opinion.
Seriously anyone who judges this album based on just a few listens is really missing out. It is an epic Masterpiece and one of Smashing Pumpkins greatest albums. I can't even tell you how many times I've listened to it now. Easily over 50 times
Well, hoping a SP album will be rocking is like hoping for 'The Bends 2' from Radiohead.. but then they don't claim their latest weirdness is a sequel to The Bends!
@@noteverysingle True, more if the same. But do not fear: he recently said on his podcast that he's finished yet another album (after Atum), and it's 'the most rocking thing they've done for about 15 years' - since Zeitgeist, then? I will laugh when it turns out to be just Cyr 2 or something..
Atum is Billy trying to be a third rate Muse meets M83, and it is godawful. He even rips off M83's Outro at one point. This album is the first Pumpkins record that made me embarrassed playing. It's a cringe-filled mess. The little rock you do get in this "rock opera" is the blandest and most uninspired of it all. Adore was the last great Pumpkins record, and it's been downhill ever since.
@@davidashton1305 Does it really not make sense to you? A band can be inspired from another artist and take that inspiration to somewhere completely new. Most of Atum though sounds derivative of other music. He may have inspired Muse, but Muse don't really sound like Smashing Pumpkins when it comes to their own music. Whereas there are a couple of tunes on Atum that sound like Muse copies, like Beyond The Vale. The end strings of Fireflies literally rips off M83's Outro. The problem with Atum is Billy is trying hard to recreate and copy what others have done instead of just being The Smashing Pumpkins.
@@NEOREV_MUSIC yeah that's an interesting theory that certainly could be true, but I also feel that, though Billy has somewhat of a pulse on what's popular, he (oddly) doesn't listen to that much current music. On Stern he mentioned that his favorite radio station is 60s Gold on Sirius, for example. He also just doesn't strike me as an artist who wants to rip anyone off that blatantly, but he could subconsciously be imitating current things he's been exposed to, like M83. All in all, I think we both agree that the last few albums just aren't very good. At the end of the day, it's about the songs.
Wow. Pumpkins fans are very brutal. I’ve been seeing this ever since Adore came out in 1998. I got into them in high school when Mellon Collie came out. When Adore came out, fans just screamed “What is this crap?” I’ve even heard from many say that Siamese Dream is their best album. Personally, I think Atum in its entirety is their best work. But if you don’t like it, you don’t like it. There’s nothing wrong with that. Although I disagree with just about everything I heard, it’s still a solid review.
Honestly, Billy Corgan hasn't been good since machina! That was there last good band album. That album was 24 years ago . Atum is too artsy fartsy for me to get what they are trying to say with this record!? And i also dont like that 3rd hacky guitarist jeff!!! Im old school!!!
Starting from Zeitgeist onward.... it's just been pretty bad. I hate dumping on SP like this but dear God....post Machina/2 is just unlistenable. I'm dumbfounded by anyone who can call both Siamese Dream & Mellon Collie great, good or (me) masterpieces and then actually enjoy the new material. Don't give me..."they'll never sound the way that they used to" business. I just want some solid, passionate songs... synthy or guitar....who cares? It's just not good. In fairness...I do like two tracks from Cyr... Purple Blood & Anno Santo. TWO tracks from over like....8 cds!! The whole...."this is a sequel to Mellon Collie & Machina" is just so silly too. Insulting to two great/good albums.
That's a great point - they have made great passionate songs with both synths and guitars. It doesn't matter the instrument, what's missing is the edge and the amazing songwriting.
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