Smashing Pumpkins Archive Subscriptions???

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I have to admit I was a late bloomer when it came to the rock band Smashing Pumpkins.

My earliest memory of their actual music was probably in '98 when my folks took me to Seattle to buy a PA system for my first band. 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings' came over the radio and I remember thinking the sound was a little 'grungy' for my taste. Keep in mind, when I was in high school I was listening to Herman's Hermits, The Hollies, The Kinks - basically the stuff hipsters listen to now ...

My other early experiences with the Smashing Pumpkins came from the kids wearing their tee-shirts who would also wear all black and have crazy black lipstick or white … blush? I don’t know make-up terminology. My buddy Ahren was also given an autographed napkin all five members of the band had signed.

At the time, I just didn’t care. I hadn’t jumped on board.

Yet something propelled me to purchase the album ‘Adore’ my freshman year of college. While other kids were off experimenting with sex and drugs, I was in the corner of some dark room tasting new music.

The release of Adore has the reputation among the SP elite to have immediately divided the flock. The hardcore enthusiasts were looking for something more like the earlier albums Gish or Siamese Dream whereas kids like me were discovering the band for the first time.

Adore soon became one of my favorite albums. I stopped listening to Herman’s Hermits – and I fell asleep listening to Adore almost every night for a year. The album is pure brilliance.

During the summer after my freshman year of college my roommate was leaving for Europe and needed to get some extra money for his trip. I had the fortune of taking advantage of his need for cash by purchasing his copies of the albums Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and Pisces Iscariot. They too became among my favorite albums. I moved to Gish and even bought a rare B-side compilation.
I bought Machina the day it came out, and when Zeitgeist came out in 2007 I bought it as well.

I remember the day. Scotty and I were on tour with our previous band (in Minneapolis several days before the bridge collapse I might add) and had hyped the album amongst ourselves for the 10 days proceeding the release date. We listened to the song Doomsday Clock over and over and tried desperately to get into the rest of the album. However Zeitgeist was a little extreme for my taste and I personally miss the more musical arrangements.

Adore continues to be the one that draws me back … the melodies … the memories … the rhythms … the dynamics … the lyrics … the places it takes me back to.

Yesterday I subscribed to the brand new Smashing Pumpkins newsletter. It has been created to communicate with fans regarding the tremendous task of going through their archives. I can only imagine how much material accumulates in 20+ years of creating and recording music.

They are considering starting a subscription service for the most hardy of their fans. For say, $300 per year, you could be among the first to hear unreleased tracks, live recordings, etc etc etc. I think this is a very creative way to market and promote your band in your music in the new economy – and in the advent of new social media technologies.

From Frank Quinta:

“I want to expand on Billy's idea of a subscription service that I mentioned in the blog. Going through and finding material that is suitable for release is a very in-depth process. The idea of a subscription service is where you can sign up for a yearly subscription, and in return you will receive a guaranteed number of tracks and releases. These releases will be from all eras of the band. Some items may not be up to the quality of a professional release, and may be rawer sounding. This could mean a track of the band rehearsing that might not sound good enough for the general population, but Billy might say that it would be good for the subscription service. We would put it up because that is the only version of that song. This is for the type of fan that is interested in getting unreleased live and studio tracks. This is the Holy Grail. One example is that you'll pay $300 for the subscription, and we'll give you 200 releases. For those of you who don't want to sign up for a subscription, we'll still sell some material to you, but the subscription members will get it first. If you don't want to purchase anything, we are also looking at distributing some material for free. Basically, if you want to get everything, you want to take a look at the subscription service.”

I will be interested to see how many people can afford a subscription? Will they entice people with a smaller monthly fee? Is there enough of a demand for these materials?

Regardless, I’m just excited because I read they might release an unfinished Adore documentary. For the album that started my long and wonderful relationship with the band Smashing Pumpkins, I welcome that release and I admire the creativity with which they approach this situation and the new climate in the recording industry.

For more information: http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/

The New Music-World Order ...

As if there is any doubt as to what has happened to music in the wake of MP3's, I was in the kitchen washing dishes when I heard the familiar intro to one of my favorite Smashing Pumpkins songs titled 'Today.'

I turned around the nook and peered into the television and saw good ol' fashioned down to earth American images ... people working hard, fruit off the farm truck - I was starting to think they leased one of their songs to a non-profit organization. Alas, it was a commercial for VISA.

In the 90's this commercial would have been enough to get people on the streets with pitchforks and torches. They'd be hunkering down at SP headquarters and calling them sell outs. I wonder how this commercial makes the band feel? Do they care? Was it a hard decision?

I certainly doubt it. The music industry has changed to such a degree that licensing your music to a big corporation like VISA is just plain smart, and it is the way to go.

Does VISA tying the Smashing Pumpkins make me like their brand more? Not necessarily, but I must admit it pulls at my heartstrings a bit. However, VISA's problem isn't necessarily an image problem - it's the fact that they are selling me a predatory service, charging me ridiculous fees if I am a day late on my monthly payment (of which, the day seems to change from month to month), and giving me an interest rate that isn't in my best interest.

So marketing team of VISA who I am almost certain is reading this, kudos to you. I hope you paid the Smashing Pumpkins well.

And to the Smashing Pumpkins who may or may not have a social media monitoring team - thank you for all the great music and I wish you would come back to Portland, OR and put me on the guestlist +1 because I haven't had a decent job in years and wouldn't be able to afford a ticket if you came to town.

Rick Emerson is moving ...

Well, well, well.

Today I have learned of some very interesting news. The Rick Emerson Show ... a Portland, OR staple and probably the finest thing to originate in this city since old growth trees - is moving on.

I had been hoping they would move to AM 620 ... but they moved to KUFO.

I have mixed feelings. Of course, it is a very exciting opportunity for all those involved ... Sarah X Dylan, Rick Emerson himself, and even Ritchie too. But the best part is that Tim Riley is coming back. I thought he was the greatest even before he was martyred in the wake of his firing.

But the Rick Emerson Show has been a great treat for me over the years. I have listened on and off for three years ... between stops on my delivery route ... between commercials on KNRK and pledge drives on OPB. It's a great show. It is like Seinfeld for nerds. I don't understand half of the crap they are talking about and often times when they get into comic book stuff I tune out.

Today they were talking about watching a bum pissing into a bottle outside their office window and I wished I could casually say into the mic "Must be a worker at the VISO packaging plant." Except I'd be murdered by them since VISO is a major sponsor. I tried it once ... I think I had a sugar-free version or something ... but my meager budget can't afford it and I am just not into that whole scene to begin with.

But other times they are the perfect distraction from my horribly mundane and underpaying job. Of which - I got my hours cut today for doing a "great job." Seriously ... I was thanked for all the leads I had generated in four short weeks, and then told that I created a lot of work for people to follow up on ... and was then told that I could go back to working in the warehouse stuffing envelopes until they came up with something else. Needless to say I clocked out early today ...

But moving on - I am not going to be able to listen to the Rick Emerson Show any more. This is a great career move and I hope they get past it as quickly as they can ... I hope they collect a ton more fans and sponsoring and success and I hope they turn into an afternoon show.

Let's face it ... PDX has NOTHING to offer in the afternoon. No offense everyone ... but I am sick of hearing Joy Division followed by Cake followed by Smells Like Teen Spirit on one station ... Enya followed by Keane followed by John Mayer on another station ... and a bunch of butt rock on the other. The oldies ... they are ok from time to time ... any other AM talkers are just shite. Sean Hannity and Rush and Mark Levine are the worst. I actually signed an underground petition that had over 275,000 signatures that said I would never support any sponsor of Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, or Mark Levine.

I am going to end this blog by giving my top 5 Rick Emerson Show moments:

5. The Oscillating Fan Remix
4. Rick trying to convince the audience he didn't have an opinion in the last election
3. The announcement of the return of Tim Riley, and the move to KUFO
2. The departure of Tim Riley on December 8th?
1. Performing the 'Portland Theme Song' on air with a previous band

My Crazy Irish Dream ...

Last night I went to bed reading the news about the shooting in the North of Ireland. It occurred in a town called Massereene ... I had never been there but the name rings a bell.

Apparently these two young British soldiers in their early 20's were ordering pizzas, and when the pizza delivery boys opened the door some members of the 'REAL IRA' - a dissident group - opened fire upon the soldiers. They also wounded the pizza delivery boys and then approached the soldiers laying on the ground and shot them execution style.

This is a tragic story for many reasons. First of all, those British kids were just doing what they were told. They were pawns of old fat British lawmakers clinging onto conservative ideals and delusions of the olden days. They were young. They were kids. They shouldn't have been killed.

On the same token, what the media is doing to the perpetrators of this crime is equally horrific. I think this story is being horribly and purposefully framed. The lazy news organizations around the entire world immediately start throwing the terrorism card around without giving us any real investigative journalism. Does anyone ask WHY these people might have shot two soldiers? Does anyone ask WHY British soldiers are in IRELAND? Or, is it just easier to accept it as the status quo ... and is it easier to label criminals and murderers as 'terrorists' because they are upsetting our status quo?

We don't know the full story yet folks.

For example, part of the REAL story is that the British had recently ordered a special unit into the area to spy on the local population.

I think killing and murder is the wrongest of the wrong - I don't care if it is under the guise of war or whatever. But irresponsible journalism is just as bad. And using the word 'terrorism' in situations like this only helps to support an entire system built on a house of cards, ie, the occupation of the North of Ireland.

Look at the picture I attached to this post. I found it attached to an article at CNN.com today. Go ahead and look at it. Versus showing a map of the globe and highlighting where the North of Ireland is located - the media WARP THE MAP to make it look as though the North of Ireland belongs to Britain. They lazily use Google Earth to create the map ... This is the mass media trying to distort reality in order to further the agenda of the British government.

Britain is solely responsible for this so called terrorism and the government should be ashamed for their part in the death of these two boys.

You'd think after so much history - especially that of the 20th century - Britain could have realized one country cannot occupy another country without angering the local population.

Think about recent history:

When America invaded Iraq our leaders told us our soldiers would be greeted as liberators ... with OPEN ARMS. If by open arms they meant 'our soldiers are going to be shot in the face and blown up' then Donny Rumsfeld and the rest of the Bush Administration hit the nail on the head!

When we invaded Afghanistan our leaders told us the population would be so grateful to be rid of the Taliban that we would be greeted with open arms. The Obama administration finally told us the truth which the Bush administration couldn't. WE ARE LOSING IN AFGHANISTAN TOO!

People ... Ireland is under occupation. I have no qualms about saying it. It doesn't matter that the land was seized 600 years ago during a dysphemistically named "War of the Roses." The fact is that while Britain has given over half the world back to their native peoples they remain with their claws sinking deeply into the North of Ireland. Is it proximity? Is it because Ireland has a smaller population and can't throw bodies at the issue as India had once done? It is both of those reasons, and more.

I admit - it is a complicated situation. There are people up in the North that WANT to remain loyal subjects of the British empire. But they are on the wrong side of history. We have seen this before ... the white people in the southern states of America who enacted the Jim Crow laws, for example. Boy, they wanted that PASSIONATELY ... but those bastards were on the WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY.

There are approximately 15 million Irish-Americans in the United States. On St. Paddy's Day there are 300 million Irish-Americans ... it is time we come up with a real solution for that island ... and I think America has to be more involved and I think it is time we pressure Britain to do the right thing.

Pontification Station ...

It's early and I am in the middle of my morning routine - a routine that has become quite nerdy.

I start out reading the headlines from CNN.com. Often times I check out the world section because I like to see what kind of politics are going on in Western Europe. I then go to Reuters to read about financial news (as written by Chinese and Indian interns) - I then go to the Seattle Times web site, the Port Townsend Leader online, sometimes the Irish Times and BBC ... but usually lastly the Oregonian just because I think it is a crap paper and their web site sucks.

But on CNN.com this morning there was an article by senior commentator Ed Rollins. It was his opinion on why the GOP Rush Limbaugh debate was idiotic. As he pointed out, the republican party has a dismal approval rating at this time and they need NEW ideas.

THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO SAY FOR YEARS!!!

To make things easy, here is my suggestion. If the republican party has an idea, they need to take that idea, think about it, and come up with the OPPOSITE of that idea and make THAT idea their party policy. For example, Bush Administration memos are now coming out that gave the military infinite search and seizure capabilities in regards to terrorism ... a complete slap in the face to the FOURTH AMENDMENT PEOPLE! They need to take the opposite on that policy.

According to bradycampaign.org - approximately 100,000 Americans are injured or killed by guns each year including 20,000 children. For years republicans have fought any effort to create stricter gun regulation claiming it would go against the 5th amendment. Yet we have seen that in practice they don't really give a shite about slapping amendments around the kitchen table so again, they need to take the OPPOSITE on that policy. In addition ... do they really think the founding fathers could have ever foreseen an era where mentally ill people would mow down citizens with automatic weapons on an all but monthly basis! I doubt George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or Ben Franklin would have ever said "From my cold dead hands ..." (Aaron Burr might have?)

Finally, for years republicans have been denying global climate change. They see no need to change practices that decimate ecosystems ... clear cut forests, clog rivers with debris, drive cars that get 12 miles to the gallon.

They apparently cannot see the BIG picture ... you know, the one where acid rain falls or salmon returns die off setting off chain reactions or our fishing industry is on the verge of collapse in some parts of the world. Or perhaps the one where we give GM billions of dollars because they made big crappy cars for years and then TODAY claim they still may claim bankruptcy!!! What the F did you guys do with all that money?

Why is regulation bad fellas? If industry is allowed to regulate themselves they have ORGIES of spending, law breaking, lying ... and maybe real orgies too ... buuuut on the taxpayer dime!

I have been saying this for years people - the republican party is the party of jackasses. If you find yourself a little conservative ... say you think fiscal conservatism is good ... or you don't like abortions ... or you think there needs to be more morality in Washington - the republican and conservative movements are not for you ... I'm telling you ... you will only be disappointed!

Cheers.