“Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has lambasted the iTunes and Facebook culture for helping to take the danger out of rock ‘n’ roll,” Electronista reports.
“In an interview with Antiquiet, Corgan vented his disdain for the ‘cuddliness’ of social networking and iTunes,” Electronista reports. “He thinks that the phenomenon of iTunes and Facebook could be holding back the next generation of genuine rock talent from ‘kicking their own door in’ as bands such as The Clash and Nirvana had done in the past.”
Electronista reports, “His comments, ironically, come at a time when his band’s latest album Oceania is a featured album on the iTunes Store and can be streamed for free ahead of its release.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Not just ironically, but hypocritically, too.
Billy who?
Corgan. Grammy award winning composer, has sold more than 35 million albums and was also a New York Times best selling author.
Currently releasing a critically acclaimed new album after an extremely successful 25 year career.
The question should be: Who the hell are you?
Hey Billy: Joe Strummer would have loved iTunes.. it gets the music to the people! that’s the point of it all. I can download an album faster than I can find my car keys! iTunes will soon release all albums, with or without a traditional record label involved. 30% to Apple is a BARGAIN! Of course you must have really enjoyed getting bent over by your record label… it’s affected your thinking! The only “danger” facing rock and roll is buying one of your recent albums! barf~
Corgan added, “Now Myspace, that was edgy. Why can’t iTunes just be more like that?”
I find it increasingly interesting that old bands are being negative about iTunes. What it is, is iTunes has open the door and embraced independent artist in a way never before witnessed on such a global scale. iTunes is showing the old crap bands like the Smashing Pumpkin Heads that you don’t need a major label contract to be successful on a global scale.
Don’t think I right check out some of my favorite indie artists on iTunes: November-7, Inkubus Sukkubus, Noctura, Gypsy Soul and this is just a very short list of some of my favorite ones and I didn’t include any well known artist that have turned indie over the past few years.
Proving that you don’t need to be signed to a label and you don’t need to be the CASH to have as success and enjoy it as much or even more then most bands strapped to a label telling you what to do, how to do it and making as much money off of the signed band as they can before canceling their contract and dropping them like a hot rotten pile of steaming bull $h!t Billy Corgan is spewing out of his hole.
Pretty harsh you guys, hostility as Apple fanboys is pretty silly and undermines your remarks – he perhaps could have spoke in a different way, but the click-culture where you can pick and genre and click to hear music is great convenience but does have a dark side – or at least a side different from what was once the case.
I think the ease of getting music has made it less valuable for both listeners and artists alike. And the rampant copying (and ITunes allows you to add your own files and populate your own iPod with copied music BTW) also makes it less inviting for recording musicians today. Anyone notice the relentless touring of aging bands in recent years? Its because they are not getting a lot of revenue from record sales or iTunes sales. Sorry, but that is the new state of the music industry, right or wrong.
If there was ever a has been its billy corgan.. I’d prolly be pissed too if I was him. Pissed at life. He’s probably still drinking… Ne’er mind him