| The Smashing Pumpkins | |
|---|---|
Current line-up of The Smashing Pumpkins (left to right): Nicole Fiorentino, Mike Byrne, Billy Corgan, and Jeff Schroeder performing at the Orbit Room in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 8, 2010 |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Years active | 1988–2000, 2006–present |
| Labels | Caroline, Virgin, Hut, Constantinople, Martha's Music/Rocket Science |
| Associated acts | Starchildren, Zwan, Spirits in the Sky |
| Website | www.smashingpumpkins.com |
| Members | |
| Billy Corgan Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne Nicole Fiorentino |
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| Past members | |
| James Iha D'arcy Wretzky Jimmy Chamberlin Melissa Auf der Maur |
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The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988.[1] Formed by frontman Billy Corgan (lead vocals, lead guitar) and James Iha (rhythm guitar), the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin (drums), D'arcy Wretzky (bass), and currently includes Jeff Schroeder (rhythm guitar, backing vocals) Mike Byrne (drums), and Nicole Fiorentino (bass guitar, backing vocals) amongst its membership.
Disavowing the punk rock roots of many of their alt-rock contemporaries,[2] the Pumpkins have a diverse, densely layered and guitar-heavy sound, containing elements of gothic rock, grunge, heavy metal, dream pop, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, shoegazer-style production and, in later recordings, electronica. Frontman Billy Corgan is the group's primary songwriter—his grand musical ambitions and cathartic lyrics have shaped the band's albums and songs, which have been described as "anguished, bruised reports from Billy Corgan's nightmare-land".[3]
The Smashing Pumpkins broke into the musical mainstream with their second album, Siamese Dream (1993). The group built its audience with extensive touring and their follow-up, the double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart. With 18.75 million albums sold in the United States alone,[4][5] The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the 1990s. However, internal fighting, drug use, and diminishing record sales led to a 2000 break-up.
In 2006, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin reconvened to record a new Smashing Pumpkins album, Zeitgeist. The band toured with a rotating lineup of between five and nine musicians through much of 2007 and 2008 before Chamberlin left the band in early 2009. New drummer Mike Byrne and bassist/vocalist Nicole Fiorentino solidified a new lineup with Corgan and Schroeder, toured through much of 2010, and are currently recording the albums Teargarden by Kaleidyscope and Oceania.
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After the breakup of his gothic rock band The Marked, singer and guitarist Billy Corgan left St. Petersburg, Florida, to return to his native city of Chicago, where he took a job in a record store and hatched the idea of a new band that would be called "The Smashing Pumpkins".[6] While working there, he met guitarist James Iha. Adorning themselves with paisley and other psychedelic trappings, the two began writing songs together (with the aid of a drum machine) that were heavily influenced by The Cure and New Order.[7] The duo performed live for the first time on July 9, 1988, at the Polish bar Chicago 21. This performance included only Corgan and Iha with a drum machine.[8] Shortly thereafter, Corgan met D'arcy Wretzky after a show by the Dan Reed Network where they argued the merits of the band. After finding out Wretzky played bass, Corgan recruited her into the lineup and the now-trio played a show at the Avalon Nightclub.[9][10] After this show, Cabaret Metro owner Joe Shanahan agreed to book the band on the condition that they replace the drum machine with a live drummer.
Jazz drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was recommended by a friend of Corgan's.[10] Chamberlin knew little of alternative music and immediately changed the sound of the nascent band. As Corgan recalled of the period, "We were completely into the sad-rock, Cure kind of thing. It took about two or three practices before I realized that the power in his playing was something that enabled us to rock harder than we could ever have imagined."[7] On October 5, 1988, the complete band took the stage for the first time at the Cabaret Metro.[10]
In 1989, The Smashing Pumpkins made their first appearance on record with the compilation album Light Into Dark, which featured several Chicago alternative bands. The group released its first single, "I Am One", in 1990 on local Chicago label Limited Potential. The single sold out and they released a follow-up, "Tristessa", on Sub Pop, after which they signed to Caroline Records.[11] The band recorded their 1991 debut album Gish with producer Butch Vig at his Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, for $20,000.[12] In order to gain the consistency he desired, Corgan often played all instruments save drums, which created tension in the band. The music fused heavy metal guitars, psychedelia and dream pop, garnering them comparisons to Jane's Addiction.[13] Gish became a minor success, with the single "Rhinoceros" receiving some airplay on modern rock radio. After releasing the Lull EP in October 1991 on Caroline Records, the band formally signed with Virgin Records, which was affiliated with Caroline.[11] The band supported the album with a tour that included opening for bands such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction, and Guns N' Roses. During the tour, Iha and Wretzky went through a messy breakup, Chamberlin became addicted to narcotics and alcohol, and Corgan entered a deep depression,[14] writing some songs for the upcoming album in the parking garage where he lived at the time.[15]
With the breakthrough of alternative rock into the American mainstream due to the popularity of grunge bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins were poised for major commercial success. At this time, the Pumpkins were routinely lumped in with the grunge movement, with Corgan protesting, "We've graduated now from [being called] 'the next Jane's Addiction' to 'the next Nirvana,' now we're 'the next Pearl Jam.'"[16]
Amid this environment of intense internal pressure for the band to break through to widespread popularity, the band relocated to Marietta, Georgia in late 1992 to begin work on their second album, with Butch Vig returning as producer.[7] The decision to record so far away from their hometown was motivated partly by the band's desire to avoid friends and distractions during the recording, but largely as a desperate attempt to cut Chamberlin off from his known drug connections.[7] The recording environment for Siamese Dream was quickly marred by discord within the band. As was the case with Gish, Corgan and Vig decided that Corgan should play nearly all of the guitar and bass parts on the album, contributing to an air of resentment.[17][18] The contemporary music press began to portray Corgan as a tyrant.[19] Corgan's depression, meanwhile, had deepened to the point where he contemplated suicide, and he compensated by practically living in the studio.[20] Meanwhile, Chamberlin quickly managed to find new connections and was often absent without any contact for days at a time.[7] In all, it took over four months to complete the record, with the budget exceeding $250,000.[17]
Despite all the problems in its recording, Siamese Dream debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 chart,[21] and sold over four million copies in the U.S. alone.[22] Alongside the band's mounting mainstream recognition, the band's reputation as careerists among their former peers in the independent music community was worsened.[8] Indie rock band Pavement's 1994 song "Range Life" directly mocks the band in its lyrics, although Stephen Malkmus, lead singer of Pavement, has stated, "I never dissed their music. I just dissed their status."[23] Former Hüsker Dü frontman Bob Mould called them "the grunge Monkees",[7] and fellow Chicago musician/producer Steve Albini wrote a scathing letter in response to an article praising the band, derisively comparing them to REO Speedwagon ("by, of and for the mainstream") and concluding their ultimate insignificance.[24] The opening track and lead single of Siamese Dream, "Cherub Rock", directly addresses Corgan's feud with the "indie-world".[25]
In 1994, Virgin released the B-sides/rarities compilation Pisces Iscariot which charted higher than Siamese Dream by reaching number four on the Billboard 200.[26] Also released was a VHS cassette titled Vieuphoria featuring a mix of live performances and behind-the-scenes footage. Following relentless touring to support the recordings, including headline slots on the 1994 Lollapalooza tour and at Reading Festival in 1995, the band took time off to write the follow-up album.
Corgan worked nonstop over the next year and wrote, according to statements in interviews, about fifty-six songs for the next album.[27] Following this spell of concentrated creativity, the Pumpkins went back into the studio with producers Flood and Alan Moulder to work on what Corgan described as "The Wall for Generation X",[28] a comparison with the 1979 Pink Floyd two-LP concept album.
The result was Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, a double album featuring twenty-eight songs and lasting over two hours (the vinyl version of the album contained three records, two extra songs, and an alternate tracklisting). The songs were intended to hang together conceptually as a symbol of the cycle of life and death.[8] Praised by Time as "the group's most ambitious and accomplished work yet",[29] Mellon Collie debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in October 1995.[30] Even more successful than Siamese Dream, it was certified nine times platinum in the United States[31] and became the best-selling double album of the decade to date.[32] It also garnered seven 1997 Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year. The band won only the Best Hard Rock Performance award, for the album's lead single "Bullet with Butterfly Wings". The album spawned five singles—"Bullet with Butterfly Wings", "1979", "Zero", "Tonight, Tonight", and "Thirty-Three"—of which the first three were certified gold and all but "Zero" entered the Top 40. Many of the remaining songs that did not make it onto Mellon Collie were released as B-sides to the singles, and were eventually compiled in The Aeroplane Flies High box set. As a testament to the band's popularity, Virgin Records originally intended to limit the set to 200,000 copies, but produced more after the original run sold out due to overwhelming demand.[33]
In 1996, the Pumpkins embarked on an extended world tour in support of Mellon Collie. Corgan's look during this period—a shaved head, a longsleeve black shirt with the word "Zero" printed on it, and silver pants—became iconic.[34] That year, the band also made a guest appearance in an episode of The Simpsons, "Homerpalooza". With considerable video rotation on MTV, major industry awards, and "Zero" shirts selling in many malls, the Pumpkins were considered one of the most popular bands of the time.[35][36] But the year was far from entirely positive for the band. In May, the Smashing Pumpkins played a gig at The Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Despite the band's repeated requests for moshing to stop, a seventeen-year-old fan named Bernadette O'Brien was crushed to death. The concert ended early and the following night's performance in Belfast was cancelled out of respect for her.[37] However, while Corgan maintained that moshing's "time [had] come and gone", the band would continue to request open-floor concerts throughout the rest of the tour.[38]
The band suffered a personal tragedy on the night of July 11, 1996, when touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin and Chamberlin overdosed on heroin in a hotel room in New York City. Melvoin died, and Chamberlin was arrested for drug possession. A few days later, the band announced that Chamberlin had been fired as a result of the incident.[39] The Pumpkins chose to finish the tour, and hired drummer Matt Walker and keyboardist Dennis Flemion. Corgan later said the decision to continue touring was the worst decision the band had ever made, damaging both their music and their reputation.[7] Meanwhile the band had given interviews since the release of Mellon Collie stating that it would be the last conventional Pumpkins record,[40] and that rock was becoming stale. James Iha said at the end of 1996, "The future is in electronic music. It really seems boring just to play rock music."[41]
After the release of Mellon Collie, the Pumpkins contributed multiple songs to various compilations. Released in early 1997, the song "Eye" relied almost exclusively on electronic instruments and signaled a drastic shift from the Pumpkins’ previous musical styles. At the time, Corgan stated his "idea [was] to reconfigure the focus and get away from the classic guitars-bass-drum rock format."[42] Later that year, the group contributed "The End is the Beginning is the End" to the soundtrack for the film Batman & Robin. With Matt Walker on drums, the song featured a heavy sound similar to "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" while still having strong electronic influences. The song later won the 1998 Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. Though Corgan announced that the song represented the sound people could expect from the band in the future,[43] the band’s next album would feature few guitar driven songs.
Recorded following the death of Corgan's mother and his divorce, 1998's Adore represented a significant change of style from the Pumpkins' previous guitar-based rock, veering into electronica. The record, cut with assistance from studio drummers and drum machines, was infused with a darker aesthetic than much of the band's earlier work. The group also modified its public image, shedding its alternative hipster look for a more subdued appearance. Although Adore received favorable reviews and was nominated for Best Alternative Performance at the Grammy Awards, the album had only sold about 830,000 copies in the United States by the end of the year, which led the music industry to consider it a failure.[44] The album nonetheless sold three times as many copies overseas.[7] The band embarked on a seventeen-date, fifteen-city charity North American tour in support of Adore. At each stop on the tour, the band donated 100 percent of tickets sales to a local charity organization. The tour's expenses were entirely funded out of the band's own pockets. All told, the band donated over $2.8 million to charity as a result of the tour.[45]
In 1999, the band surprised fans by reuniting with a rehabilitated Jimmy Chamberlin for a brief tour dubbed "The Arising", which showcased both new and classic material. The lineup was short-lived, however, as upon the completion of the album Machina/The Machines of God, the band announced the departure of Wretzky in September.[46] Former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur was recruited for the "Sacred and Profane" tour in support of the album and appeared in the videos accompanying its release. Released in 2000, Machina was initially promoted as the Pumpkins' return to a more traditional rock sound, after the more gothic, electronic-sounding Adore.[47] The album debuted at number three on the Billboard charts,[48] but quickly disappeared and as of 2007 had only been certified gold.[49][50] Music journalist Jim DeRogatis, who described the album as "one of the strongest of their career", noted that the stalled sales for Machina in comparison to teen pop ascendant at the time "seems like concrete proof that a new wave of young pop fans has turned a deaf ear toward alternative rock."[51]
On May 23, 2000, in a live radio interview on KROQ-FM (Los Angeles), Billy Corgan announced the band's decision to break up at the end of that year following additional touring and recording.[47] The group's final album before the break-up, Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music, was released in September 2000 in a limited pressing on vinyl with permission and instructions for free redistribution on the Internet by fans. Only twenty-five copies were cut, each of which was hand numbered and given to friends of the band along with band members themselves. The album, released under the Constantinople Records label created by Corgan, consisted of one double LP and three ten-inch EPs.[52] Originally, the band asked Virgin to offer Machina II as a free download to anyone who bought Machina. When the record label declined, Corgan opted to release the material independently.[53]
On December 2, 2000, The Smashing Pumpkins played a farewell concert at The Metro, the same Chicago club where their career had effectively started twelve years earlier. The four-hour-long show featured 35 songs spanning the group's career, and attendees were given a recording of the band’s first concert at The Metro, Live at Cabaret Metro 10-5-88.[53] The single "Untitled" was released commercially to coincide with the farewell show.
In 2001, the compilation Rotten Apples was released. The double-disc version of the album, released as a limited edition, included a B-sides/rarities collection called Judas O. The Greatest Hits Video Collection DVD was also released at the same time, which compiled all of the Pumpkins promo videos from Gish to Machina along with unreleased material.[54] Vieuphoria was released on DVD in 2002, as was the soundtrack album Earphoria, previously released solely to radio stations in 1994.
Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin reunited in 2001 as members of Corgan's next project, the short-lived supergroup Zwan. The group's only album, Mary Star of the Sea, was released in 2003. After cancelling a few festival appearances, Corgan announced the demise of the band in 2003. During 2001, Corgan also toured as part of New Order and provided vocals on their comeback album Get Ready. In October 2004, Corgan released his first book, Blinking with Fists, a collection of poetry. In June 2005, he released a solo album, TheFutureEmbrace, which he described as "(picking) up the thread of the as-of-yet-unfinished work of the Smashing Pumpkins".[55] Despite this, it was greeted with generally mixed reviews and lackluster sales. Only one single, "Walking Shade", was released in support of the album.
In addition to drumming with Zwan, Jimmy Chamberlin also formed an alternative rock/jazz fusion project band called The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex. The group released an album in 2005 titled Life Begins Again. Corgan provided guest vocals on the track "Lokicat". James Iha served as a guitarist in A Perfect Circle, appearing on their Thirteenth Step club tour and 2004 album, eMOTIVe. He has also been involved with other acts such as Chino Moreno's Team Sleep and Vanessa and the O's. He continues to work with his own record label as well, Scratchie Records. D'arcy Wretzky has, aside from one radio interview in 2009, not made any public statements or appearances nor given any interviews since leaving the band in 1999. On January 25, 2000, she was arrested after she allegedly purchased three bags of crack cocaine, but after successfully completing a court-ordered drug education program, the charges were dropped.[56]
Corgan insisted during this period that the band would not reform, although when Zwan broke up he announced, "I think my heart was in Smashing Pumpkins [...] I think it was naive of me to think that I could find something that would mean as much to me."[57] Corgan said in 2005, "I never wanted to leave the Smashing Pumpkins. That was never the plan."[58] On February 17, 2004, Corgan posted a message on his personal blog calling Wretzky a "mean-spirited drug addict" and blaming Iha for the breakup of The Smashing Pumpkins.[59] On June 3, 2004, he added that "the depth of my hurt [from Iha] is only matched with the depth of my gratitude".[60] Iha responded to Corgan's claims in 2005, saying, "No, I didn't break up the band. The only person who could have done that is Billy."[61]
On June 21, 2005, the day of the release of his album TheFutureEmbrace, Corgan took out full-page advertisements in the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times to announce that he planned to reunite the band. "For a year now", Corgan wrote, "I have walked around with a secret, a secret I chose to keep. But now I want you to be among the first to know that I have made plans to renew and revive the Smashing Pumpkins. I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams".[55] Corgan and Chamberlin were verified as participants in the reunion, but there was question as to whether other former members of the band would participate.[62][63][64]
In April 2007, Iha and Auf der Maur separately confirmed that they were not taking part in the reunion.[65][66] Chamberlin would later state that Iha and Wretzky "didn't want to be a part of" the reunion.[67] The Smashing Pumpkins performed live for the first time since 2000 on May 22, 2007, in Paris, France. There, the band unveiled new touring members: guitarist Jeff Schroeder, bassist Ginger Reyes, and keyboardist Lisa Harriton.[68] That same month, "Tarantula" was released as the first single from the band's forthcoming album. On July 7, the band performed at the Live Earth concert in New Jersey.[69]
The band's new album, Zeitgeist, was released that same month on Reprise Records, entering the Billboard charts at number two and selling 145,000 copies in its first week.[70] Zeitgeist received mixed reviews, with much of the criticism targeted at the absence of half of the original lineup. The album divided the Pumpkins' fanbase. Corgan would later admit, "I know a lot of our fans are puzzled by Zeitgeist. I think they wanted this massive, grandiose work, but you don't just roll out of bed after seven years without a functioning band and go back to doing that".
Corgan and Chamberlin continued to record as a duo, releasing the four-song EP American Gothic in January 2008 and the singles "Superchrist" and "G.L.O.W." later that year.[71] That November, the group released the DVD If All Goes Wrong, which chronicled the group's 2007 concert residences in Asheville, North Carolina and San Francisco, California. In late 2008, the band embarked on a controversy-riddled 20th Anniversary Tour. Around this time, Corgan said the group will make no more full-length records in order to focus exclusively on singles, explaining, "The listening patterns have changed, so why are we killing ourselves to do albums, to create balance, and do the arty track to set up the single? It's done."[72]
In March 2009, Corgan announced on the band website that Chamberlin had left the group and would be replaced.[73] Chamberlin subsequently stated that his departure from the band is "a positive move forward for me. I can no longer commit all of my energy into something that I don't fully possess."[74] Chamberlin stressed that the split was amicable, commenting, "I am glad [Corgan] has chosen to continue under the name. It is his right."[75] Corgan later stated that he fired Chamberlin.[76] Chamberlin soon formed the band Skysaw, which has released an album and toured in support of Minus the Bear.[77]
In July 2009 Billy Corgan formed a new group called Spirits in the Sky, initially as a tribute band to Sky Saxon of The Seeds, who had recently passed away. The following month Corgan confirmed on the band's website that 19-year-old Spirits in the Sky drummer Mike Byrne had replaced Chamberlin and that the pair was working on new Pumpkins recordings.[78]
The group soon announced plans to release a 44-track concept album, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, for free over the Internet one track at a time.[79] The first track, "A Song for a Son", was released in December 2009 to moderate press acclaim.[80][81] In March 2010, Ginger Reyes officially left the band, prompting an open call for auditions for a new bassist.[82] In May, Nicole Fiorentino announced she had joined the band as bass player, and would be working on Teargarden by Kaleidyscope.[83] The new lineup went on a world tour through the end of 2010.[84] In late 2010, all four members contributed to the sessions for the third volume of Teargarden.[85][86]
On April 26, 2011, Corgan announced that the Smashing Pumpkins would be releasing a new album titled Oceania, which he labeled as "an album within an album" in regards to the Teargarden by Kaleidyscope project, in the fall.[87][88] As with the previous recording sessions, all four band members will be contributing to the project.[89] Also, the entire album catalog will be remastered and reissued with bonus tracks, starting with Gish and Siamese Dream in November 2011.[87] The Pre-Gish Demos, Pisces Iscariot, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, The Aeroplane Flies High, and Adore will be released in 2012, and finally, Machina/The Machines of God and the yet commercially unreleased Machina II/Friends and Enemies of Modern Music are expected to be combined, remixed and released in 2013.[87]
The band did a thirteen-city US tour in October 2011 followed by a European tour in November and December.[90]
The direction of the band is dominated by its sole permanent member Billy Corgan, who is the principle songwriter, lead singer, and sonic architect behind the group’s recordings. Corgan has justified his continued use of the name, minus the other original members, by stressing that "for whatever reason, the Smashing Pumpkins, the idea of the band or the spirit of the band, has always pushed me to force myself out of my comfort zone."[91] Journalist Greg Kot wrote, "The music [of The Smashing Pumpkins] would not be what it is without his ambition and vision, and his famously fractured relationships with his family, friends, and bandmembers."[7] Corgan has said he strives for atmospheric soundscapes that essentially tell the listener, "Welcome to Pumpkin Land, this is what it sounds like on Planet Pumpkin."[92]
Corgan has defined the band’s aim as "trying to find a synthesis of an alternative idealism combined with classic rock musical values, and then somehow take those things into the mainstream in a subversive way."[94] The Pumpkins’ grand, heavily overdubbed production was inspired by 1970s arena rock bands Queen, Boston, and Electric Light Orchestra, while their aggressive hard rock sound and emphasis on virtuoso guitar playing drew heavily from heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath, Pantera, and Judas Priest.[40][95][96] Another strong thread in the Pumpkins’ sound can be traced to ‘80s post-punk and gothic rock bands like Joy Division/New Order, Bauhaus and The Cure.[95] Psychedelic rock has been an influence, particularly on the early era of the band,[97][98] while 1970s progressive rock, notably Rush, informed the band’s technical ambition and songwriting structures.[99]
Many of Corgan's lyrics for the Pumpkins are cathartic expressions of emotion, full of personal musings and strong indictments of himself and those close to him.[7] Music critics have often criticized Corgan's angst-filled lyrics. Jim DeRogatis wrote in 1993 that they "too often sound like sophomoric poetry",[100] although he viewed the lyrics of later albums Adore and Machina as an improvement.[101]
Regarding the band's influence upon other groups, Greg Kot has said, "Whereas Nirvana spawned countless mini-Nirvanas, the Pumpkins remain an island unto themselves."[7] However, many artists and bands have mentioned the Pumpkins as an influence, including Nelly Furtado,[102] Annuals,[103] My Chemical Romance,[104][105] Kill Hannah,[106] and Deftones.[107] Critics have found connections with the Pumpkins' sound in various Deftones albums,[108] as well as in the work of Silversun Pickups and early Feeder.[109]
The Smashing Pumpkins have been praised for being "responsible for some of the '90s' most striking and memorable video clips" and for having "approached videos from a completely artistic standpoint rather than mere commercials to sell albums".[110] MTV's 2001 anniversary special Testimony: 20 Years of Rock on MTV credited the Pumpkins, along with Nine Inch Nails, with treating music videos as an art form during the 1990s. Corgan has said, "We generally resisted the idea of what I call the classic MTV rock video, which is like lots of people jumping around and stuff."[111] The band worked with video directors including Kevin Kerslake ("Cherub Rock"), Samuel Bayer ("Bullet with Butterfly Wings"), and, most frequently, the team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris ("Rocket", "1979", "Tonight, Tonight", "The End is the Beginning is the End", and "Perfect"). Corgan, who was frequently heavily involved in the conception of the videos, said of Dayton and Faris, "I know my [initial] versions are always darker, and they're always talking me into something a little kinder and gentler."[112] Videos like "Today", "Rocket", and "1979" dealt with images taken from middle American culture, albeit exaggerated. The group's videos so often avoid the literal interpretation of the song lyrics that the video for "Thirty-Three", with images closely related to the words of the song, was created as an intentional stylistic departure.[113]
The band was nominated for several MTV Video Music Awards during the 1990s. In 1996, the group won seven VMAs total for the "1979" and "Tonight, Tonight" videos, including the top award, Video of the Year, for "Tonight, Tonight". The video was also nominated for a Grammy at the 1997 ceremony. Fans reacted with equal fervor. Of the "Tonight, Tonight" video, Corgan remarked, "I don't think we've ever had people react [like this]... it just seemed to touch a nerve."[114]
Shortly after the band's initial breakup, the Greatest Hits Video Collection was released, collecting the band's music videos from 1991–2000 and including commentary from Corgan, Iha, Chamberlin, and various music video directors with outtakes, live performances, and the "Try Try Try" extended short film. The band has released several music videos since the reunion to YouTube and other online sources.
See List of The Smashing Pumpkins band members
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