the Smashing Pumpkins

[joethelion]

I just copied + pasted this from another blog...

even though James really added little to nothing to the actual music (as I understand it) - I'm kinda bummed that he's (probably) not a part of the new album

...oh, and I managed to get the mentioned photo's below... I reeeeeealllly doubt that they're for the inside cover of the album. They actually look like photo's taken off of a tv screen -> unless they're intentionally going for that aesthetic

Smashing Pumpkins Robbed — Plus, Has New Lineup Already Been Revealed?
Two 21-year-olds nabbed for stealing photos, guitar picks from Chicago rehearsal space.

Smashing Pumpkins fans are eager to find out who is joining Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin in the soon-to-relaunch group and to hear ita upcoming reunion album, Zeitgeist. But a pair of 21-year-old men might have taken their fandom a bit too far over the weekend.

At the same time, MTV News reached out to the woman who has reportedly been tapped to be the new Pumpkins bassist and found out ... well, that we'll all find out who's joining Jimmy and Billy in a few weeks (see "Smashing Pumpkins Reunion Is Under Way, According To Sources" and "Smashing Pumpkins Drummer Offers More Clues About Forthcoming LP").

Joshua Kuhl of Madison, Wisconsin, and Simon Brown of Rockford, Illinois, allegedly broke into a Chicago rehearsal space being used by the Pumpkins on Friday night and made off with three guitar picks and 39 photographs that police suspect the men may have tried to sell online, according to Chicago Police Department spokesman Marcel Bright. The pair were arrested Monday and charged with felony burglary after other tenants of the building provided a description that led police to the suspects.

Bright did not know how many of the photos — which were briefly posted on Pumpkins fan site Netphoria.org — were discovered during the arrests. According to Netphoria webmaster Andrew Pakula, one of the two suspects posted the photos along with information about the theft. Among the allegedly pilfered shots that Bright said police suspect were slated for use in the album packaging and promotional materials are images of Paris Hilton posing in front of an exploding bomb, the grim reaper at a podium featuring the presidential seal with a black-and-white Pumpkins flag in the back, a person in a business suit wearing a devil mask while being crucified, five blond children saluting, a close-up of Corgan in a hoodie and another of him standing next to a topless woman.

The band's management released a statement on Tuesday confirming that the burglary had taken place. "The two people who are now in jail illegally gained access to the band's private space and stole various items belonging to them over the course of several hours while the band had left for the evening," the statement read. "The band's management says the group feels their rights have been violated by this crime and will always pursue their rights and the law to protect their property and the safety of themselves, their families and their fans."

A group spokesperson would not comment on what images were taken or what they were intended for.

A statement posted on Netphoria by the moderator confirmed that the photos were briefly available and chided the overzealous fans for crossing a line. "What this person did amounts to theft and [the] band takes this very seriously as does Netphoria. I know everyone here is hungry for more information on the new album but this is not the way to go about it. Nobody here should condone or be supportive of the actions this individual took. It is unfortunate that the person chose Netphoria to leak these stolen works. Netphoria has always been a free and open forum without hard censorship but obviously in a case like this a line was crossed and I will not tolerate actions like this which is why numerous posts and threads were deleted last night."

The shots were taken down at the band's request, according to the post. Brown and Kuhl appeared on Tuesday in bond court, where each was ordered to be held on $100,000 bond and scheduled to appear in court again on Monday. A court spokesperson was not able to confirm if the two were released on bond pending their next court date.

Kuhl and Brown don't appear to have divulged the biggest secret of all: Just who is in the Pumpkins these days? At South by Southwest in March, former guitarist James Iha confirmed to MTV News that he was not onboard, and original bassist D'arcy Wretzky has virtually disappeared since leaving the group in 1999.

The group's publicist, Mitch Schneider, said Pumpkins management has not yet confirmed the lineup to him, but the Chicago Tribune recently reported that the group's new bassist is Ginger Reyes (formerly of the Halo Friendlies) and Iha's replacement is Jeff Schroeder, guitarist for the obscure Southern California noise-pop band Lassie Foundation.

On Wednesday (May 9), MTV News reached Reyes — whose defunct girl-pop group is best known for landing the song "Me vs. the World" on the 2003 "Freaky Friday" soundtrack — to get confirmation that she's the new Pumpkins bassist. She said she couldn't comment but confirmed that she's still making music and that she might have something to say "in a few weeks." Schroeder could not be reached for comment.

[den]

That story is pretty silly. As much as I like the Smashing Pumpkins, I'm not looking forward a lot to any new stuff. It's good that they (or whoever the line-up is) is making new music, but I don't have any expectations. I never got Corgan's solo album, and Zwan was, well, lacking a bit. I like the Pumpkins' really old stuff, pretty much all released before I really got into them. I don't know, it's almost like without the nostalgia, SP just doesn't have the same effect. But still, new music is always has a little promise, especially when it's a band you like.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Never really got into the pumpkins, they were amazing live.

If D'arcy were still around I'd love to see them again.

[thee carp dreamer]

i heard the 30 sec sample of tarantula. it's fucking shite.

[GreenPea]

Musicians need to learn to retire. I haven't liked anything Pumkins related since Siamese Dream.

[Strangelet]

the smashing pumpkins story is a lot like the guns and roses story. A perfectly talented group of musicians that harmonize styles and talents so well slowly mutates into some vehicle for the lead singer's ego.

Its nice to see jimmy chamberlain back but the pumpkins without iha and darcy? blah. just another silly outpouring of the pain and tribulation billy corgan is what I'm expecting.

[Scott Warner]

ita upcoming reunion album, Zeitgeist.

SEMIOTICS ALERT: Naming your record 'Zeitgeist' pretty much guarantees your music will not be represenative of the zeitgeist, particularly if you're Billy Corgan.

[joethelion]

well - I got a full length copy of the new track (Tarantula), and I have to say - it's not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be

there are bits that remind me of like SD-era and other elements that remind me a bit of the Machina-era (although not as dark)

definitely makes me feel more positive than "Honestly" did before the Zwan album or whatever the single was for the Billy solo album

I also don't get why people are sooooo obsessed with James and D'Arcy, I mean - wasn't their actual studio input pretty minimal? Or am I just remembering that wrong?

[Scott Warner]

I also don't get why people are sooooo obsessed with James and D'Arcy, I mean - wasn't their actual studio input pretty minimal? Or am I just remembering that wrong?

Yeah, from what I understand 'Siamese Dream' was basically Billy in the studio all by himself.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

It's the little things that make life interesting.

However minut their input was, they were a significant part of the original equation that was.