Some call him the greatest songwriter of the 90s while others think he is just a whinging old bald man, but one thing’s for sure, at the age of 45 Billy Corgan doesn’t mince words. With The Smashing Pumpkins’ new album Oceania due out this month, Corgan has started doing the interview rounds, and he’s not holding back. Speaking about ‘rock ‘n’ roll with Antiquiet, Corgan said: “I’ll piss on fuckin’ Radiohead, because of all this pomposity…Obviously there’s a level of reverence, but there’s also a level of intelligence to even know what to piss on. Cause I’m not pissing on Rainbow. I’m not pissing on Deep Purple.”
He also spoke about his dislike for modern technology, especially Facebook:
“Look, we’re all insecure in our own ways, most of us. You’ve got a Facebook with a few hundred friends. If you do something truly radical, are you ready to withstand the forty negative comments? Most people aren’t. So they’re getting peer pressured at levels they don’t even realize. It’s what you don’t say. It’s like the government spying on us. Right? Now it becomes about what we don’t say. The same thing with culture. I’m just willing to say it, and deal with the forty negative comments.”
Read the full interview at Antiquiet.
The Smashing Pumpkins will tour Australia in July, closing out the Sunday night at Splendour in the Grass. Oceania will be released on 19th June through EMI and Martha’s Music.
