Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan Says 'Oceania' Breaks New Ground

Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan Says ‘Oceania’ Breaks New Ground

2012-06-25

Story by Cat Badra

Billy Corgan says Smashing Pumpkins’ new album doesn’t repeat past success

Billy Corgan-led alternative rockers Smashing Pumpkins released their latest full-length last week, “Oceania,” and Corgan hopes fans understand that the set doesn’t just repeat the band’s earlier sounds. In fact, it breaks new ground for the Pumpkins.

“A lot of people say, ‘Oh, there’s a familiarity in this “Oceania,’” Corgan told Rolling Stone magazine in a recent interview. “But…the songs on a ground level are completely different than old Smashing Pumpkins songs. There’s almost no comparison.

“But the effect of listening seems to be registering as familiar, even if it’s not constructed the same, which is kind of interesting cause I would not have anticipated that myself. I think the familiarity, though, may come in the songwriting. Maybe that’s what it was. Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions there, and maybe it is more about the literal songwriting.”

Smashing Pumpkins are set to take Oceania on the road this fall, and Corgan promises that fans who hit up their shows will to hear the entire album, from front to back, performed live. “We’re gonna play the album in sequence as part of the show,” Corgan explained. “It’ll be kind of interesting in that it’s a little bit of our ‘F you’ to all the people out there playing our old albums. So we’re excited about that.”

Still on the fence about whether or not to pick up “Oceania?” Sample every track from the album for free via the Smashing Pumpkins’ official website.

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Cat Badra

Meet the expert - Cat Badra is a music writer for Audio Ink Radio and a range of other music, sports and lifestyle publications. She's a graduate of Michigan State University with a master's degree in theater and speech. Contact her at cat@audioinkradio.com.