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/