Having eschewed the idea of releasing albums in favor of new, alternative methods of music distribution, the Smashing Pumpkins have released their latest song as the soundtrack to a commercial for the Hyundai Genesis.  The commercial premiered before the kickoff to the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Years into the digital music era, artists are still struggling to figure out how to make a living off their creations.  They have experimented with everything from stringent digital copyright protection to giving away music for free.  The Pumpkins have moved to what some may consider the bleeding edge of the music distribution model: releasing songs via new media (or mass media).

Some say the model is nothing new, and it has a name:  selling out.

Who wants honey / as long as there’s some money?

Corgan has already been attacked for the band’s direction as far as music releases go, with their decision to release their single “G.L.O.W.” as part of the new “Guitar Hero: World Tour.”  A lot of observers seem to have a difficult time resolving the Pumpkins’ desire to push forward in new directions while still capitalizing on the cachet they retain from their past successes.

At times, Corgan seems to struggle with resolving the two himself, alternating between cursing fans for failing to respect the band and its direction and earnestly pleading the band’s case for its choices.  He uses the monumental success of their mid-90s work as evidence that they know what they’re doing, then at other times is dismissive of it, saying in one interview that “We spun a roulette wheel and we got it right.”

Come align for the big fight / to rock for you

Having grown weary of battling record labels, bandmates, and anyone else who has complicated his creative life, Corgan and his new compatriots seem determined to blaze a new path through uncharted territory, even if it means going to war with Pumpkins fans themselves.

Corgan recently told the Chicago Tribune:

Our primary function now is to be a singles band, that drives Pumpkins Inc. through singles. We’ll still be creative, but in a different form. We won’t do shows like this anymore, where we try to draw a good crowd and balance the past with the present. We’ll go small and do exactly what we want to do and stop playing catalogue. We’ll be like a new band that can’t rely on old gimmicks. [. . .]  We don’t want a pat on the back: Good to have you back. We want a reaction, even if it’s a negative reaction.

Those fans are more than ready for what Corgan wants to offer:  music delivered in ways that are meaningful to them.  Fans will pay for what they perceive to be value (which generally means more than “just” music–they want a full “experience”), but as they’ve shown, they will quite vocally walk away when they feel they aren’t getting their money’s worth.

“Our intention is to work within popular [media] to bring counterculture, radical ideas into the mainstream,” Corgan said.  The mainstream is obviously receptive; the only question that remains is whether Corgan’s message is the one they’re waiting to hear.

The best things in life…

The Pumpkins got a payday, but it doesn’t have to come from your pocket.  For the price of an email address, you can download  F.O.L., courtesy of the Hyundai Genesis.

And if you missed it, check out the commercial here.

And one more thing.

I owe a special thanks to miss Julie M. T. for guiding me into and through all things Smashing Pumpkins.  Check out her poetry, cultural insights, and saga-in-many-parts about meeting Mr. Corgan himself at Gossip and the Devil.

Last week I had the opportunity to catch the debut of the Smashing Pumpkins documentary If All Goes Wrong, chronicling the newly reformed band’s residencies in Asheville, NC and San Francisco. The film is a combination of live concert DVD and “Behind The Music” sort of expose, combined in an engaging fashion.

The most interesting aspect of the movie is that aside from one memorable exception, no Pumpkins “classics” are featured.  Every featured song is new–most of them written the day they were recorded.  The focus of the film is Billy Corgan’s obsessive, relentless creativity, shown as an all-consuming force that pushes him and, therefore, the rest of his band.  Accompanying the three-hour residency shows are grueling marathon rehearsals that strain the Pumpkins’ three neophyte members, all experienced musicians who seem to barely weather the onslaught of Corgan’s prolific songwriting and perfectionism.

The intimacy of the film shows how Corgan uses his creative process as a wall between a world that seems to overwhelm and threaten him on a regular basis.   He admits that a childhood of abuse has left him struggling with boundaries. Nowhere is that more evident than the myriad awkward and uncomfortable interactions with fans, the interviewer and even his own bandmates that the movie unflinchingly captures.

Longtime drummer Jimmy Chamberlin is one of the few immune to Corgan’s mercurial nature.  Chamberlin himself has come a long way from the hard-partying drug addict from the Pumpkins’ past, something Corgan touches on as well.  It seems that everyone from the “original” Pumpkins has moved on, yet Corgan is trapped by his own hyperactive mind and its demons that couldn’t be properly exorcised by a solo career or his failed band Zwan–only through the guise of the Pumpkins.

It’s obvious that Corgan believes this course his only option.  It wasn’t his choice to reform the Pumpkins, replacing guitarist James Iha and bassist D’Arcy.  It had to be done, likewise the extensive residencies that seem to blend together as the film progresses.  As one undertaking a journey of Herculean proportions, Corgan stubbornly pushes through the tasks that present themselves in order to to mold these diverse musicians into a cohesive unit to actualize his visions.

Corgan meets his challenges with alternating zen and fury.  He blows off harsh words from critics, but becomes so frustrated when he forgets earlier-improvised lyrics that he throws his guitar across the room.  He is alternately bemused and insulted by the mixed reactions of the audiences to his new songs, some of which stretch on past the half-hour mark.  He becomes petulant at times when the interviewer touches sensitive subjects, then flippantly shrugs off his discomfort.

As the pressure to match the public’s expectations as well as his own grows, Corgan sinks so far into himself that he neglects the interpersonal relationships that are the glue of any band.  It is only when his new bandmates, who are still trying to find their own voices in this maelstrom, have their own breakdowns that Corgan begins to realize that that unless something gives, the new Pumpkins could come apart before it even fully gets off the ground.

After Corgan takes the stage for the final encore of their residency, there seems to be a hint of a promise that he might finally be able to move on , as his fellow Pumpkins had over eight years ago.

Corgan’s songwriting process is an effective narrative thread to tell the larger story of the “new” Pumpkins.  The multi-angle, split-screen shots are artful and not distracting, and there is just the right balance of performance footage and interview.  While the movie was naturally “Billy-centric,” I felt the other members of the band were adequately represented.  In the end, as ever, the Pumpkins are the story of Billy Corgan marshaling those he has drawn to him in order to realize his vision, and If All Goes Wrong succeeds in illustrating that point, in all its light and dark.

The Pumpkins have several teaser clips available on YouTube, but if you don’t need the hard sell, If All Goes Wrong is now available for you to own, so go pick it up!