On my way home from yesterday's shopping spree, I heard the new Smashing Pumpkins single, 'Tarantula' on the radio. Apparently the band's back together (no brooding James Iha, though), have a new album (Zeitgeist, out July 10), and are touring it this summer. Not just touring it, maybe beating a dead horse with it? Turns out the Smashing Pumpkins are playing eleven (sold out) shows at the Fillmore in July. Incredible.
I listened to the song ('Tarantula,' remember? We are talking about 'Tarantula') with no particular expectations; I've always been fairly indifferent to this band. Yeah, I'll admit they were pretty decent, good even, but I was never bowled over by them. Jake was, and perhaps he can explain why. I was pretty much too into Oasis in the 90's to notice anything that wasn't regularly covered in the British music magazines.
That might explain my first reaction to 'Tarantula,' which was, "It's like an Oasis song, but in 2007." Now, I know Oasis are still making music in 2007 (actually, I don't know that, but I assume they are), but does anyone care? I'm not going to say their stuff is bad, not at all, I still listen to "Definitely Maybe" every once in a while. But it's the 21st century now. Shouldn't things in the music world have progressed beyond a guy with a whiny voice (read: Billy and Liam) intoning lame lyrics (Billy: "I wanna be there when you're happy/ I wanna love you when you're sad;" Liam: "Maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me/ 'cos after all, you're my Wonderwall." Uhuh) with a really predictable music structure? Where's the music revolution I've been waiting for? Because this stuff is boring. Not necessarily bad, but boring to be sure.
Not only that, but guitar solos embarrass me if they aren't in heavy metal songs, and 'Tarantula' is rife with them.
Jake?
2 comments:
Thanks for the long awaited Pumpkins post. Don't be disappointed too quicky though. The radio traditionally doesn't always play the best songs from every soon-to-be-released album. One example is Ava Adore from the ablbum, Adore.
Ava was clearly not the best song on that album.
Two more comments about this song. First, I wonder where it was placed on the CD. I can totally see this being an opening song for them.
Second, is it me, or does the guitar solo towards the end sound like something Guns N'Roses would play, both new-era and Slash era.
Jake, Alice, Ben any thoughts?
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