Billy Corgan Says Smashing Pumpkins’ New Album Won’t Be Pop-Oriented

2015-01-18

Story by Cat Badra

Smashing Pumpkins’ last album, ‘Monuments to an Elegy,’ was a ‘pop record,’ but that won’t happen again

The Smashing Pumpkins released their latest album, “Monuments to an Elegy,” last month, and now, frontman Billy Corgan is getting everything in line to release the group’s next, and maybe final, release, “Day for Night.” As the process continues, even Corgan says he’s surprised by the direction of the new music.

“Before ‘Monuments to an Elegy’ was released, the plan was to take ‘Day for Night’ in an experimental direction,” Corgan told NME. “I was thinking ‘I’ll make a pop record, then I’ll make a weird, arty record.’ But, seeing ‘Monuments’ come out and going to back the ‘Day for Night’ demos, I feel that The Smashing Pumpkins shouldn’t be an arty band anymore.”

Corgan added that “Day for Night” won’t have the pop stylings of “Monuments to an Elegy.”

“‘Monuments’ is really cool, and I love having re-embraced my pop leanings,” he said. “But is that why I really started the band? Is it what drove me forward? Not at all. ‘Monuments’ is me solving a problem of how to get the Smashing Pumpkins back into the mainstream. I had to solve that problem before I can solve problem two, which is where ‘Day for Night’ comes in.”

“Monuments to an Elegy” reached No. 33 on the Billboard 200.

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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.