There's a school of thought that Smashing Pumpkins were a difficult band to like/ love (although they obviously had their fans, they were massive in the mid 90s) but that they had one solid gold song- and that song is great because it sounds like New Order, chiming guitars, motorik drumming, foreground melodic bassline and coming of age lyrics.
1979 came out in 1995 and sounds like Ceremony but if New Order had recorded it in 1987 rather than the wreckage of Joy Division in 1980. In an unexpected turn of events, when New Order returned in 2001 with the album Get Ready, Billy Corgan turned up on vocals with Bernard on the song Turn My Way and played guitar with them as they toured that summer. In an interview from the time Stephen Morris was asked how it was going with Corgan on board. 'He's alright I suppose', Stephen replied to the journalist, which told its own story to this reader.
In another unexpected turn of events Hardway Bros released two EPs on Monday, both out on Sean Johnston's Outre- Mer label, the first a four track EP titled My Friends and the second an EP of remixes. The My Friends EP covers the range of styles and has something for everyone: an eight minute Vietnam epic called Saigon, voices from Apocalypse Now!, congas from Sympathy For The Devil, synths from a Belgian New Beat basement; a fifteen minute wigged electronic trip called Hello My Friends; a hi hat and kick drum banger Functions For Machines; and a cover of 1979 with Duncan Gray on guitar and Sarah Rebecca on vocals, a smoothed out, gliding cover of Smashing Pumpkins with synths, guitars (courtesy of Duncan Gray) and pulsing drums. You can buy/ hear the My Friends EP here.
The remixes EP sees a regular visitor to these pages, Andy Bell wearing his GLOK hat, bring his cosmische influences to 1979. There are two remixes, bookending the EP, the first a four minute reworking, the chords and synths filtered and chopped up. At the other end of the EP comes the second GLOK remix, the GLOK Remix Reprise, gentle, blissed out, guitar led remix, a little like Ride's Vapour Trail slowed down and played acoustically, with Sarah Rebecca's vocal shimmering on top, a very different reading of the song to Billy's mid- 90s rites of passage version. The first treat of 2024.
In between Andy's pair of remixes are remixes by Warehouse Preservation Society, Djale and Tech Support which span chuggy dub, cosmic electronica and squiggly house. Get it here.
1979 is the ONLY song I like by the Pumpkins, probably because it's such a blatant (but superb) New Order homage.
ReplyDeleteReally liking the present day and more recent Andy Bell stuff too. You get a real sense that he's enjoying himself much more these days and as the listener that's so evident.
Here I come with my weekly contrarian view. I agree that Smashing Pumpkins were a hard band to like (irresponsible junkies kept in line by an incredibly annoying self-centred asshole, what's to like?) but that they had two songs that were great, neither of which was 1979. Have always found that song to embody the essence of Billy Corgan: the desire to be liked, and more importantly, to be considered cool in a way that was just fundamentally out of reach for him. I can almost see the wheels turning in his head, saying, hey, I like New Order, maybe I can get people to associate me with NO/JD, that's sacred ground, everyone would stop making fun of me then.. I think that song smacks of desperation only slightly less than a cover of Love Will Tear Us Apart would have. Of course, as annoying as he is he's also a talented motherfucker, and there's no denying that it's a pastiche that resonates instantly. I just find it icky. When Primal Scream were embarassingly trying to copy the Stooges or the Stones, the only redeeming quality is that you knew they were just doing it because they loved those bands so much - they certainly never could have kidded themselves that anyone else would think they were cool by association.
ReplyDeleteAll that, said, I bloody love "Cherub Rock" and "Today". Both gorgeous grunge anthems fully worthy of Nirvana imho.
I was going to reply to Nick and say I own a SP Best Of CD, almost certainly bought at at the height of CD times (so not cheap) and bought it solely for 1979 (this is pre- downloads so CD was my only option). And I'd almost agree that its their only great song- except like Jesse I think Today is very good and I could make a case for Tonight Tonight too. I'd have to hear Cherub Rock to remind myself of it but am happy to take Jesse the Contrarian's word for it.
ReplyDeleteI think he gets away with 1979 as long as you don't think about it too much and take it at face value. Admittedly not necessarily easy to do.
D'arcy always stuck me as cool. In that haughty but fit bass player kind of way.
Very well put, and a reminder to bands/artists that injecting your own personality into the world's process of interpreting your music is a dangerous business. I think you could reasonably sum up my contrarianism as "by the time 1979 came out, Jesse was suspicious of all things Corgan."
ReplyDeleteI think I bought the same Best Of, Adam, and I think I preferred the bonus rarities CD to the main event.
ReplyDeleteLikewise, I think my favourite version of the Pumpkins’ 1979 was the Moby remix, which bears very little trace of Sir Billy.
That said, my “other” favourite Pumpkins song is Eye, though it might just be Corgan solo on that one.
Thanks for the signpost to the Hardway Bros EPs, bought both yesterday and there are - what else? - incredible. The GLOK remixes are superb, the reprise a very close second to the main remix.
I'll hold my hand up and say that back in the day I liked quite a few Smashing Pumpkins songs.....I even went to see them live (1996 I think it was) which marked the last time I ever went into a mosh pit.
ReplyDeleteI rarely listen to them nowadays, but am happy enough when anything pops up on a mixtape or the likes.