Alan P Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 1 hour ago, youspinmeround said: Act 1 is out. Don't see me listening to this ever again. Billy continues down the same synth pop/80s sounding It makes me sad with every new Pumpkins release that Jimmy is still in the band. His talent continues to be wasted I definitely long for more guitars and less synths, but I will say I actually had a surprisingly positive impression when I listened to the first 7 songs in the car this morning. Noticed some pretty nice drum fills and thankfully way more guitars than "Cyr." And while one of the lighter tracks, "Embracer" stuck with me more than any Pumpkins song has in a decade. I won't buy the vinyl until I hear all 33 tracks, but it's a possible purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 Oops, well I hadn't listened to "Hooray!" until just now and holy crap that is the worst SP song ever. 🤮 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highfives Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 12 minutes ago, Alan P said: Oops, well I hadn't listened to "Hooray!" until just now and holy crap that is the worst SP song ever. 🤮 I’ve heard it’s a character piece, which is why it’s so wacky. But, this goes back to just how difficult it is to write a concept album, that tells a story, but is still good enough to stand on its own as pop music. If the songs aren’t strong enough, then the story better be captivating. And so far it’s not. It reminds me of stuff like The Dear Hunter where some of those Act songs, while they serve the story well, are immediate skips because they just aren’t good songs. ethanpricington 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethanpricington Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 31 minutes ago, Alan P said: Oops, well I hadn't listened to "Hooray!" until just now and holy crap that is the worst SP song ever. 🤮 Cmon man, all you gotta do is imagine you're listening to an inferior version of Pink Floyd and it makes it all better... Alan P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjorn Posted November 17, 2022 Share Posted November 17, 2022 Hooray! is revolting. This might be the first SP album I don't buy. There are some moments that might be brilliant, I like Steps in Time quite a bit. The pervasive overuse of synths and electronic drums is frustrating enough, but the musical theater/Disney soundtrack aspect to this whole thing is just so off-putting, I can't do it. Alan P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan8765 Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 I like this record more every time I listen to it. The last two tracks are are the weakest of the lot for me, but the album definitely leaves me wanting more. So I am excited about the other two Acts. Additionally, I feel like this release, on top of the other Shiny O' so bright stuff, has left me feeling very happy with what they've released the last few years. When they broke up, I thought that was gonna be it. And as many misses are there have been since their reformation, it's great being able to see them live, it's great hearing newer songs like With Sympathy, Purple Blood, Save your tears, Schadenfreud, Butterfly suite that have really resonated with me and are just a bonus. not to mention oceania, and some stuff on Monuments. I think in time, people will once again give these albums due credit much like Zeitgeist receives these days. I saw them live last week and this band is essentially a different band. It sucks that the new songs don't feel as dynamic anymore, and that Jimmy feels under utilized lately. But that just makes me appreciate what we got back then. I still really enjoy this new stuff because I go into it not knowing what to expect. I haven't posted on the board in forever, but I feel like maybe others feel the same way I do regarding their new music. highfives 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youspinmeround Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 34 minutes ago, Ryan8765 said: I think in time, people will once again give these albums due credit much like Zeitgeist receives these days. I haven't seen any praise for Zeitgeist. Sadly it's better than this recent stuff. I would rank Oceania as their best of the sp era 2.0 faaip de oiad, backpackoat, bjorn and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faaip de oiad Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 43 minutes ago, youspinmeround said: I haven't seen any praise for Zeitgeist. Sadly it's better than this recent stuff. I would rank Oceania as their best of the sp era 2.0 💯 apart from the vocals being pretty up front, it's a really good album. It's a forgotten gem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted November 23, 2022 Share Posted November 23, 2022 Oceania is in my top 5 Corgan albums ever. And I think the only reason Zeitgeist is getting talked about (more) is because Billy pulled it from streaming, so there is mystery tied to it (but it still sucks). I do think act 1 of ATUM is decent and I am optimistic for acts 2 and 3. Seeing them live recently, while not great, did reignite my interest and been listening to the Pumpkins a lot more the last few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highfives Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 4 hours ago, youspinmeround said: I haven't seen any praise for Zeitgeist. Sadly it's better than this recent stuff. I would rank Oceania as their best of the sp era 2.0 It’s been pretty common lately, especially on the SP subreddit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfranciosa Posted November 24, 2022 Share Posted November 24, 2022 4 hours ago, faaip de oiad said: 💯 apart from the vocals being pretty up front, it's a really good album. It's a forgotten gem This might be for you (it's very much improved): faaip de oiad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjorn Posted November 26, 2022 Share Posted November 26, 2022 I’d love to see a reissue of Zeitgeist, preferably with a new mix and master to make it sound less compressed. There are some really good songs on there, and nothing really bad, I just find the production awfully hard to listen to. I’m a big fan of the bonus tracks, Ma Belle and Stellar in particular. You can really hear the creative dynamic between Billy and Jimmy in those songs, which sadly still seems to be absent somehow. faaip de oiad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beags Posted November 27, 2022 Author Share Posted November 27, 2022 On 11/24/2022 at 6:38 AM, Ryan8765 said: I like this record more every time I listen to it. The last two tracks are are the weakest of the lot for me, but the album definitely leaves me wanting more. So I am excited about the other two Acts. Additionally, I feel like this release, on top of the other Shiny O' so bright stuff, has left me feeling very happy with what they've released the last few years. When they broke up, I thought that was gonna be it. And as many misses are there have been since their reformation, it's great being able to see them live, it's great hearing newer songs like With Sympathy, Purple Blood, Save your tears, Schadenfreud, Butterfly suite that have really resonated with me and are just a bonus. not to mention oceania, and some stuff on Monuments. I think in time, people will once again give these albums due credit much like Zeitgeist receives these days. I saw them live last week and this band is essentially a different band. It sucks that the new songs don't feel as dynamic anymore, and that Jimmy feels under utilized lately. But that just makes me appreciate what we got back then. I still really enjoy this new stuff because I go into it not knowing what to expect. I haven't posted on the board in forever, but I feel like maybe others feel the same way I do regarding their new music. Have you given The Gold Mask time to sink in? I genuinely think it's the best track on the album, with Steps in Time a close 2nd. Overall though, this was a polarising listen track by track on the podcast. I can honestly say, this is my favourite SP album since Machina though. It's everything I wanted Cyr to be, it has far more life to it. Yes, it still feels very much like Corgan is pulling literally every string here and Jimmy and James are there to pose for photos and collect their weekly pay cheque, but this is the most coherent collection of songs he's put out for a very long time imo. I totally get that people don't dig what he's doing with the synth-y thing and that's totally understandable, but I think it's unrealistic to think he's going to release Siamese Dream or MCIS 2.0 at this point. All you can do is take or leave what he's putting out, but personally I've got incredibly high hopes for acts 2 and 3 based on what i've heard from act 1 and from the live performances of other tracks. Especially keen to see what the two 8min+ tracks sound like, he's got a good track record with those. bjorn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesecrets0308 Posted November 28, 2022 Share Posted November 28, 2022 On 11/23/2022 at 3:15 PM, youspinmeround said: I haven't seen any praise for Zeitgeist. Sadly it's better than this recent stuff. I would rank Oceania as their best of the sp era 2.0 Absolutely agree. Oceania is a very solid album. It actually sounds like the Pumpkins that made all their 90s material so good. While I understand the desire for artists to "evolve", to me this seems like there's just nothing in it for me to connect with. And for crying out loud... why in the world is Jimmy's amazing drum talent being wasted album after album if he's back in the band? Unless I'm missing something, has there even been a classic Jimmy drum track in any of the new material? The kid in Oceania did about as good of a Jimmy impression with his drum work on that album than I think anyone could ever do. Alan P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjorn Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 I love Oceania. I even like it a bit more than Machina because it has such a well-constructed flow. The band was in a good creative groove for a moment there, too bad it fizzled out so quickly. I like most of Monuments (Tiberius is classic SP in my book), but being so short it really suffers from the weaker tracks (Run 2 Me? Oof…). The whole artistic evolution thing is so tough, and as an artistic person myself, I can totally sympathize with musicians trying to navigate that. If I ever made anything half as successful as MCIS, I know it would seriously disrupt my ability to continue producing art that is genuine to myself and my interests, but also speak to whomever loved what I did before. As a listener, I welcome bands trying to move their sound forward, even if doesn’t always work, I find that to be more interesting than repeating what already works. With ATUM, Corgan seems to be digging into the more flamboyant side of his musical tastes, and he’s not pandering to his older fans (with the music itself at least, trying to tack this album on to his previous work by declaring it a sequel is questionable at best), which I can appreciate. What I struggle with is that he’s steering head-first into a musical aesthetic that I just don’t connect with at all. I’m not mad about that. I’m not about to rejoin Netphoria and make a hobby out of hating Billy, that’s pretty soulless. But I also think it’s good to thoughtfully critique things, and I agree that the way Jimmy is seemingly being constrained in these newer albums is hard to reconcile. thesecrets0308, Alan P and faaip de oiad 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjorn Posted May 7, 2023 Share Posted May 7, 2023 Anyone had a chance to listen to the vinyl yet? I got over my initial frustrations and ended up preordering the standard version. To my surprise, I‘ve come around to the album. There are still plenty of choices I‘m not thrilled about, but I‘ve found it surprisingly enjoyable to listen to, especially with the LP format dividing things up into chunks. There is some really great stuff in here, especially some of the mellower, mid-paced stuff that didn‘t click at first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faaip de oiad Posted May 7, 2023 Share Posted May 7, 2023 47 minutes ago, bjorn said: especially with the LP format dividing things up into chunks. This really interests me a lot. I'm expecting my copy tomorrow I think? Always a little apprehensive when getting new SP tbh. But looking forward to getting this. bjorn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjorn Posted May 8, 2023 Share Posted May 8, 2023 I almost cancelled my order a few times based on the streaming version. For whatever reason, once I played through the actual records I felt much differently. The sound feels a lot more natural in this format, which helps a lot. I guess the biggest surprise for me is that even at its gargantuan length, it somehow keeps me wanting to listen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highfives Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 On 5/7/2023 at 2:52 PM, bjorn said: Anyone had a chance to listen to the vinyl yet? I got over my initial frustrations and ended up preordering the standard version. To my surprise, I‘ve come around to the album. There are still plenty of choices I‘m not thrilled about, but I‘ve found it surprisingly enjoyable to listen to, especially with the LP format dividing things up into chunks. There is some really great stuff in here, especially some of the mellower, mid-paced stuff that didn‘t click at first. I listened to it this weekend. Although it was a bit dirty, the vinyl sounds good. The packaging is nice but I am bummed the CD got a lyric book but the vinyl set didn’t. But the vinyl did get the Act I spoken story which I heard is super cool (haven’t listened yet). It seems this album is still divisive, but I love it. SP seem to be unable to get out from under their own expectations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjorn Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 Agreed. They could probably have printed the lyrics on the inner sleeves at least. The audio story is fun, though not something I'd listen to repeatedly. Even so, the fact that it's only the first act, and not the whole story, is a bit irksome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjorn Posted May 10, 2023 Share Posted May 10, 2023 Now I really want to hear these. Others have said they sound a lot different, but I guess no one around here bought the box? Justinadamk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highfives Posted May 10, 2023 Share Posted May 10, 2023 5 hours ago, bjorn said: Now I really want to hear these. Others have said they sound a lot different, but I guess no one around here bought the box? I was about to pull the trigger on it and it sold out. There are some clips on the SP subreddit if you want samples of the songs. It’s very 60s psychedelic, like flower power stuff. Live drums, Rhodes, mellotron. Sounds kinda like the Teargarden era stuff but better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjorn Posted May 10, 2023 Share Posted May 10, 2023 Thanks! Looks like there are plans to release these as a stand album. Heard Simmatar today, you're definitely right about the vibe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeCeCe Posted May 10, 2023 Share Posted May 10, 2023 2 hours ago, bjorn said: Thanks! Looks like there are plans to release these as a stand album. Where did you hear that? Hope its true! Justinadamk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjorn Posted May 10, 2023 Share Posted May 10, 2023 Billy mentioned it on his podcast. Obviously this is no guarantee that it will happen, but it would be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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