Smashing Pumpkins - Oceania (2012)

duga · 06-12-2012, 12:48 PM

So this has been streaming on iTunes today, so of course I had to listen to it. Initial thoughts are that this is better than Zeitgeist and maybe slightly better than the stuff he has released for the Teargarden project. That's not saying too much, though. Definitely not his best since Mellon Collie as he has claimed.

Ok...I'm gonna go ahead and say it. No more beating around the bush. The above paragraph is more of my defensive fanboy side coming out. WHAT. THE. ****. HAPPENED? Did Billy Corgan just forget how to write great songs or something? I'm not even all the way through the album and I have to go ahead and write this. For every release since he reformed the band, I've given him a chance. Every time I've bought into his nonsense about how he's giving the fans what they want and THIS time it's awesome. Every time I sit here and try to convince myself that what I'm listening to isn't a shadow of the band that changed my life.

First, I'll address how Billy has described the album. More mellow, has all the emotional textures people are used to from the Pumpkins. More introspective like it used to be. Nope. Throwing in some 60's psych-inspired keyboards and a couple extra guitar effects doesn't make it more emotive. It just means you are trying too hard. It was a band effort. Well, either that is bull**** or everyone else in the band just sucks. I'll give Mike Byrne some credit, though...it's tough to fill Jimmy's shoes, but his drumming actually holds it together for the little interest I have in these songs. It's got that "Pumpkin-ness" while not retreading old material. Well, it doesn't retread old material. Because it's boring. Still no Pumpkin-ness, though. Adore and Siamese Dream are COMPLETELY different, but you can still tell it's the Pumpkins. I seriously don't know what happened, but Billy's lost it.

While slightly more interesting than the Teargarden stuff, it's still Zeitgeist with some keyboards and some "slower" moments. Maybe it's true...Billy really does have to be sad to make good music. Or something. I don't even know if that is it...because I really liked the one Zwan album and he sounded pretty happy on that one. This isn't even one of those things like with Machina where it didn't sell well, but the songwriting was still there. It wasn't his most popular album, but there is some seriously beautiful songwriting there. Even the throwaways on Machina II were amazing. To me, Billy could do no wrong. But now he is convincing me with every release that he should just pack it in.

Now, maybe I can be criticized for just giving the album one listen before writing this. Well, you go listen to it and you will see there was about as much care and forethought put into this review as there was put into those songs. Either that, or it is worse than I thought.

Billy, why don't you cut the crap and just explain why you can't write inspired songs anymore. I'm tired of getting my hopes smashed. See what I did there?

SGR · 06-15-2012, 07:33 AM

I actually think this is a great album. 5/5 for me so far. It's taken around 7 listens for me to really warm up to it. While some songs might not shine on their own, as an album it's great!

duga · 06-15-2012, 11:13 AM

I've been reading a lot of reviews that have been raving about it as well. I just don't know. I'm going to listen to it more to see if my opinion changes since I'm a sucker and I eat up everything Billy Corgan throws at me, but I just had different expectations. I keep forgetting when people say it's the best since Mellon Collie, those people don't like Adore or Machina. Personally, I think those albums are amazing and this one still doesn't beat them.

Once I lower my expectations a little it might start growing on me.

SGR · 06-15-2012, 11:26 AM

yeah man, definitely give it more of a chance! i think its possibly better than machina. (probably not Adore though)

HerelsNoWhy · 06-16-2012, 11:06 AM

Personally, this is my least favorite work. I miss the dark, driving guitars or even Billy's quivering vocals as was used in their previous work.

James Ihash · 06-16-2012, 02:56 PM

I used to love the Smashing Pumpkins, i also liked Zwan and his solo effort. But since Zetigeist I think Billy lost it...

Though I was really excited when I first listened to the samples, and was somewhat amazed when I first listened to Oceania, in the end, is just an average forgetable album.

It is way better than Zeitgeist and every other inferior song on TGBK, but it isn't something to be called "The Smashing Pumpkins". He should just forget about rock and roll and continue with his synth pop thing, like in The Future Embrace. It wasn't amazing, but at least it seemed to be honest...

Zer0 · 06-16-2012, 04:08 PM

I didn't go into this album expecting much, considering the wave of frustrating mediocrity that was Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, but here we go. This album isn't actually too bad. Not particularly great either but seems better than everything that Billy has released under the Smashing Pumpkins name since it was revived. I've said this before and I'll say it again, I would respect Billy a lot more if he released this under his own name as a solo project rather than under what was once one of the greatest bands of the 90's. Nothing can compare to the likes of Siamese Dream, Gish and Adore so there is no real point trying to better those albums and this album isn't going to come close either.

That said there are some good songs on this album, namely 'The Celestials', 'Glissandra' and 'Inkless', the latter has a main riff very reminiscent of early 90's Pumpkins songs like 'Hummer'. There are some very average and forgettable moments as well but overall not bad and could have been a lot worse.

duga · 06-16-2012, 06:08 PM

That's exactly what I was hoping to avoid saying for this album... "it could have been worse". There has been plenty of "it could have been worse" churned out by them recently. I just can't stand it because I know what Billy is capable of. There was a point where even his throwaway tracks were worth tracking down. I'm going to chalk it up up to being middle aged I guess.

Good for Jimmy getting the hell out.

Zer0 · 06-16-2012, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duga

That's exactly what I was hoping to avoid saying for this album... "it could have been worse". There has been plenty of "it could have been worse" churned out by them recently. I just can't stand it because I know what Billy is capable of. There was a point where even his throwaway tracks were worth tracking down. I'm going to chalk it up up to being middle aged I guess.

Good for Jimmy getting the hell out.

I really don't think he's capable of reaching such heights again, he said all he needed to say a long time ago, which is why I (reluctantly) went into this album with very low expectations.

I'll probably only end up listening to this album a few times and then confine it to the same fate as Zeitgeist. We pretty much have all the Pumpkins music we could ever need with their classic albums and the insane amount of non-album material, I don't really see the need for any more.

James Ihash · 06-16-2012, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zer0

I really don't think he's capable of reaching such heights again, he said all he needed to say a long time ago, which is why I (reluctantly) went into this album with very low expectations.

I'll probably only end up listening to this album a few times and then confine it to the same fate as Zeitgeist. We pretty much have all the Pumpkins music we could ever need with their classic albums and the insane amount of non-album material, I don't really see the need for any more.

Well, the thing is that their music is so diverse that, in the end, I kinda of hope there's still some aspect that billy hasn't fully developed, like the electronic side, which I think is awesome... But after Zetigeist and Oceania, I realize this is silly...

View Poll Results: What did you think of the album?
Very poor	0	0%
Poor	2	8.70%
Average	9	39.13%
Good	8	34.78%
Very good	4	17.39%
Voters: 23. You may not vote on this poll

06-12-2012, 12:48 PM	#1 (permalink)
duga MB quadrant's JM Vincent Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 3,762	Smashing Pumpkins - Oceania (2012) So this has been streaming on iTunes today, so of course I had to listen to it. Initial thoughts are that this is better than Zeitgeist and maybe slightly better than the stuff he has released for the Teargarden project. That's not saying too much, though. Definitely not his best since Mellon Collie as he has claimed. Ok...I'm gonna go ahead and say it. No more beating around the bush. The above paragraph is more of my defensive fanboy side coming out. WHAT. THE. **. HAPPENED? Did Billy Corgan just forget how to write great songs or something? I'm not even all the way through the album and I have to go ahead and write this. For every release since he reformed the band, I've given him a chance. Every time I've bought into his nonsense about how he's giving the fans what they want and THIS time it's awesome. Every time I sit here and try to convince myself that what I'm listening to isn't a shadow of the band that changed my life. First, I'll address how Billy has described the album. More mellow, has all the emotional textures people are used to from the Pumpkins. More introspective like it used to be. Nope. Throwing in some 60's psych-inspired keyboards and a couple extra guitar effects doesn't make it more emotive. It just means you are trying too hard. It was a band effort. Well, either that is bull** or everyone else in the band just sucks. I'll give Mike Byrne some credit, though...it's tough to fill Jimmy's shoes, but his drumming actually holds it together for the little interest I have in these songs. It's got that "Pumpkin-ness" while not retreading old material. Well, it doesn't retread old material. Because it's boring. Still no Pumpkin-ness, though. Adore and Siamese Dream are COMPLETELY different, but you can still tell it's the Pumpkins. I seriously don't know what happened, but Billy's lost it. While slightly more interesting than the Teargarden stuff, it's still Zeitgeist with some keyboards and some "slower" moments. Maybe it's true...Billy really does have to be sad to make good music. Or something. I don't even know if that is it...because I really liked the one Zwan album and he sounded pretty happy on that one. This isn't even one of those things like with Machina where it didn't sell well, but the songwriting was still there. It wasn't his most popular album, but there is some seriously beautiful songwriting there. Even the throwaways on Machina II were amazing. To me, Billy could do no wrong. But now he is convincing me with every release that he should just pack it in. Now, maybe I can be criticized for just giving the album one listen before writing this. Well, you go listen to it and you will see there was about as much care and forethought put into this review as there was put into those songs. Either that, or it is worse than I thought. Billy, why don't you cut the crap and just explain why you can't write inspired songs anymore. I'm tired of getting my hopes smashed. See what I did there? __________________ Confusion will be my epitaph...

06-15-2012, 11:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
duga MB quadrant's JM Vincent Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 3,762	I've been reading a lot of reviews that have been raving about it as well. I just don't know. I'm going to listen to it more to see if my opinion changes since I'm a sucker and I eat up everything Billy Corgan throws at me, but I just had different expectations. I keep forgetting when people say it's the best since Mellon Collie, those people don't like Adore or Machina. Personally, I think those albums are amazing and this one still doesn't beat them. Once I lower my expectations a little it might start growing on me. __________________ Confusion will be my epitaph...

06-16-2012, 04:08 PM	#7 (permalink)
Zer0 ∞ Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Ireland Posts: 3,792	I didn't go into this album expecting much, considering the wave of frustrating mediocrity that was Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, but here we go. This album isn't actually too bad. Not particularly great either but seems better than everything that Billy has released under the Smashing Pumpkins name since it was revived. I've said this before and I'll say it again, I would respect Billy a lot more if he released this under his own name as a solo project rather than under what was once one of the greatest bands of the 90's. Nothing can compare to the likes of Siamese Dream, Gish and Adore so there is no real point trying to better those albums and this album isn't going to come close either. That said there are some good songs on this album, namely 'The Celestials', 'Glissandra' and 'Inkless', the latter has a main riff very reminiscent of early 90's Pumpkins songs like 'Hummer'. There are some very average and forgettable moments as well but overall not bad and could have been a lot worse. __________________ Last FM \| RYM \| The Final Sound

06-16-2012, 06:08 PM	#8 (permalink)
duga MB quadrant's JM Vincent Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 3,762	That's exactly what I was hoping to avoid saying for this album... "it could have been worse". There has been plenty of "it could have been worse" churned out by them recently. I just can't stand it because I know what Billy is capable of. There was a point where even his throwaway tracks were worth tracking down. I'm going to chalk it up up to being middle aged I guess. Good for Jimmy getting the hell out. __________________ Confusion will be my epitaph...

06-15-2012, 07:33 AM	#2 (permalink)
SGR No Ice In My Bourbon Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: /dev/null Posts: 4,326	I actually think this is a great album. 5/5 for me so far. It's taken around 7 listens for me to really warm up to it. While some songs might not shine on their own, as an album it's great!

06-15-2012, 11:26 AM	#4 (permalink)
SGR No Ice In My Bourbon Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: /dev/null Posts: 4,326	yeah man, definitely give it more of a chance! i think its possibly better than machina. (probably not Adore though)

06-16-2012, 11:06 AM	#5 (permalink)
HerelsNoWhy Groupie Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 1	Personally, this is my least favorite work. I miss the dark, driving guitars or even Billy's quivering vocals as was used in their previous work.

06-16-2012, 02:56 PM	#6 (permalink)
James Ihash Groupie Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Land of Drizzle Posts: 47	I used to love the Smashing Pumpkins, i also liked Zwan and his solo effort. But since Zetigeist I think Billy lost it... Though I was really excited when I first listened to the samples, and was somewhat amazed when I first listened to Oceania, in the end, is just an average forgetable album. It is way better than Zeitgeist and every other inferior song on TGBK, but it isn't something to be called "The Smashing Pumpkins". He should just forget about rock and roll and continue with his synth pop thing, like in The Future Embrace. It wasn't amazing, but at least it seemed to be honest...