Blurbs: The Current Relevancy of the Smashing Pumpkins, Chicago Figureheads, Atomic Records, and Retro-styled Headphones

photo via: http://www1.chapman.edu/~reyno109/billyc.htm

• Billy Corgan himself isn't an asshole, but the musician in him is an arrogant prick, he tells the Chicago Tribune, in essence. Other highlights: James Iha is "negative," and drove Corgan "literally insane," but he was invited to join the band again. Corgan also admits rock bands aren't supposed to last 20 years, however, he places the Pumpkins on a level comparable to Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. The differences being that Young and (maybe) Springsteen were better artists, and wouldn't berate their fans, especially after subjecting them to songs with kazoos.
  

• Arrogant Chicago figureheads apparently swear a lot. On why the Pumpkins still retain their name: "It’s my band. Anyone who doubts the legitimacy of this band can go [expletive] themselves," Billy Corgan, poet, 2004-never. Also, "I've got this thing and it's fucking golden," Rod Blagojevich, Governor of Illinois, 2002-2008.

• Atomic Records, my favorite record store in Milwaukee, is closing for good. I will miss buying concert tickets and receiving a complimentary PBR, informative weekly newsletters, knowledgeable service, and its extremely accommodating owner, Rich Menning. I wrote an article for the Marquette Tribune extolling the virtues of vinyl, and he was one of the most helpful people I've ever interviewed. He e-mailed me a well-researched article on the surge in vinyl popularity to help me with my piece. His quotes were colorful, and hard to disagree with: "What satisfaction is there in stealing an MP3 vinyl off the Internet? I propose that labels release their music on vinyl and include a free CD of the content so that those who still give a damn about music - by paying for it - can have the best of both worlds. Atomic will be missed, but always still treasured.
  

• The Pumpkins playing "Siva," acoustically, at Atomic

• On my holiday wish list: retro headphones.
  

WeSC Oboe Headphones

I liked these better at first, for pure aesthetics. However, that silver grill is just for show, and the sound quality isn't that good all-around. They don't even carry volume that well, for being voluminous.

Panasonic RP HTX7

These aren't as colorful, but come in two other colors, and match my Nintendo DS lite, which I will be outfitting with an i-pod homebrew. Awesome lows, and decent midis and highs. These are selling at UrbanOutfitters, but look for them somewhere else for a better price.

photos via: 1. headphonereviews.org
and 2. urbanoutfitters.com

Pitchfork's 500 Greatest Songs?

Photo courtesy amazon.com

On Nov 11, the Pitchfork-curated book The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present hits bookshelves. Someone already chronologically transcribed all the songs in the book here, if you are interested.

While mostly comprehensive, some songs and artists are conspicuously absent. Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart"is a huge oversight. Also, how do you make a compilation of songs partially entitled "From Punk to the Present" and not include the Descendents (RIP Frank Navetta [-2008])? As much as I dislike U2, the influence of Joshua Tree was huge, even though Bono singing mostly about America while his country hardly had widespread electricity is a little off putting. Its absence is glaring.

The inclusion of Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" suggests that popularity was a factor in choosing songs, but the exclusion of George Michael's "Faith" negates this idea.

Also perplexing is that the entire lexicon of R&B was purposefully ignored, despite is popularity, radio play on 'pop' radio stations, and genre-shifting. While P4K stated its focus for the book lied on hip-hop, electronic, indie-rock, metal, experimental underground music, and pop, the complete omission of artists like The Fugees, Mary J. Blige, and Erykah Badu- makes the any "best of" list seem incomplete. I'm not saying P4K had to include everything- I wouldn't expect them to have a recording of Leonard Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic, for instance- but music with guitar, bass, musical singing, and drums shouldn't be ignored.

And including only one song by The Roots, A Tribe Called Quest, and Smashing Pumpkins? No Calexico? All these groups that were around for 10 years- plus- deserve a little more recognition. With the trouble they went to compiling this list (only including one song per album, and no more than four songs per artist), it could have been a little more inclusive.

However, I realize the best 500 songs over 19 years is difficult to determine, and most of the songs deserve their spots on the list. But for some of the artists in the 2003-2006 category, it is difficult to understand their importance: Kelly Clarkson (even though her drummer is the drummer from +/-)? The incredibly angular sounds of Johnny Boy and Fiery Furnaces? The cheesy R. Kelly? Time will judge these artists more harshly than the compilers of this list.