Critics tag Corgan for “homophobic” comment at 2nd NYC show
November 10th, 2008 by jjbtags: tour, audio, video, criticism
Echoing remarks by blogger Matthew Perpetua, here’s Kyle Anderson of Rolling Stone:
New songs like “Song for a Son” and “As Rome Burns” got lost in the theater’s strange acoustics, while even favorites like “Disarm” lacked teeth. Clearly losing the crowd, Corgan invited a fan onto the stage to voice his opinion about Thursday’s show. The fan told him, “Last night’s show sucked,” and for a minute it looked like Corgan was going to take criticism in stride for once. But as the fan was walking back to his seat, Corgan shouted, “By the way, I liked that song you wrote. What was it called? ‘Take Your Dick Out of My Ass and Stick It in My Mouth’? That was a big hit in Europe.” For a guy who has made his money airing out his own tales of childhood torment and abuse, it seemed strange and hypocritical for him to resort to playground name-calling and juvenile homophobia.
Corgan then rewarded his devoted audience with the 20-plus minute prog jam “Gossamer” and an utterly ridiculous version of “The March Hare” that devolved into a percussion jam that channeled Stomp.
Thanks to concert taper and HU contributor Zach, you can listen to the exchange between Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan and that young man. Somehow it wasn’t “lost in the theater’s strange acoustics”, and thus by listening we learn that the direct quotation Anderson attributes to Corgan is a reasonably accurate paraphrasing:
And no, I don’t know how Zach got such a clear recording of “As Rome Burns”…
…nor why his recording of “Gossamer” clocks in at less than 15 minutes.
Below: Partial video of the exchange. Anyone know who the young man is? (YouTube)
November 10th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
I couldn’t really make it out for sure but didn’t the kid say he was just kidding, “..it was cool”?
If so, what’s wrong with these writers? Are they purposely distorting things to fit this “tormented genius” characterization they’ve created of Corgan?
November 10th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
I’m not going to defend Corgan’s comment. Even if the kid or Corgan was kidding, it was unnecessary.
November 10th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Does this mean I can’t go around saying “cocksucker” anymore?
That’d be very lame….it’s my favorite cuss word.
What am I going to call my cats when they get out of line?
November 10th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
to quote Local H: “and fuck new york too!”
but srsly, i agree with Cherub Angel. he could have ended it with “btw, i liked that song you wrote. thats a good song.”
November 10th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
That would have been enough to get the point across, no?
but yea, weird the kid ended up saying he was just kidding in the end. What a douche.
November 10th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
hmm…felt staged tro me
November 10th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
tro? to. felt staged to me.
November 10th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Corgan making fag jokes seems odd seeing he was no doubt wearing a dress at the time.
November 10th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
“… a ridiculous version of ‘The March Hare’”…
Is The March Hare a cover?
November 10th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Kyle Anderson is chasing clicks. He probably heard Billy make the “take your dick out of my ass” comment, and thought, “money!” Nothing like a little controversy to draw readers.
November 10th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I don’t think so.
November 10th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Re: “I don’t think so” is about “The March Hare” being a cover. Not about Kyle Anderson.
November 10th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
i agree with kyle anderson. being a gay man myself, i was a bit offended and embarrassed that billy would respond that way to criticism HE INVITED. overall, i feel like billy’s behavior was appalling both nites. whether you agree with ‘a fans expectations’ or not, the fact of the matter is he is advertising this tour as ‘celebration of 20 years’ so of course people are going to expect songs they know and love. fans who are paying hundreds of dollars for tickets should not be treated like utter shit.
November 10th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
I found it quite amusing and not really “homophobic” at all. In short…big fucking deal.
November 10th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I didn’t think The March Hare was a cover… It’s amusing to me to watch critics faking their way through a review.
November 10th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Big Deal Cherub, and Glen. Don’t be so fucking gay.
November 10th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Maybe New York was just getting to Billy.
New York was probably a bad “geological energy center” and they were not vibing with the “planetary resonance” that was being exuded. Pretty understandable, I think.
Juvenile responses deserve juvenile retort. Doesn’t anyone get it, yet? The whole world is a playground and we’re all just brats.
Gaywads.
November 10th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Joking or not, the self-awareness is what I really think grates on the nerves of the casual to more involved fans. People going to concerts and only getting excited to hear the radio song isn’t a problem exclusive to the Smashing Pumpkins. How do you think Tool or Metallica feel when certain “fans” only yell out for their song. Wait, they don’t have that problem because of how they handle their shows. I saw Tool when they last toured and went with a huge Tool Fan and she wished they would have played certain songs. BUt, in the end she loved it because they played enough crowd pleasers plus their “other” songs they kicked ass at. Another friend went and saw Metallica last night, opened with a new song but ended with Seek and Destroy. You can just imagine how many fans wanted to hear their favorite song but didn’t. My friend wanted to hear certain songs but didn’t and still enjoyed the hell out of the show. It’s probably safe to say that there’s the same level of intesnity amoung the SP fans and the previously mentioned. It’s how you handle it that makes the difference. Oh and it probably doesn’t help that Tool and Metallica play in arena sized venues where they can’t hear their fans and the Pumpkins are in theatres.
November 10th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Boo Hoo
anyone remember Viuephoria with the frogs? “homo’s mmmhmm”?
and who gives a fuck anyway, the time to get worried is when we find out the title of the new album is Third Reich and Roll
November 10th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
have you guys watched wrestling before?
that was completely staged, and is so typically Billy Corgan.
November 10th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
how is that even homophobic, anyway? i wouldn’t be offended if he changed the song title to include references to any other number of sexual acts, both hetero- and homosexual in nature. and, by the way, ass fucking isn’t exclusive to gays.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:19 am
I thought it was staged… the guy didn’t even sound realistically mad to me. It sounded very scripted. I don’t get why they need to resort to that sort of bullshit… publicity stunt?? I thought it was a bit lame, probably fake, but regardless if it was or not I didn’t like Billy’s response to the guy. It’s not necessarily homophobic (although it was a bit offensive), however it was like something my 13 year old students would say as a comeback. Adults shouldn’t need to do that, it was kind of juvenile.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:30 am
after columbus, all bets are off. could be staged, could be not staged, who knows. who cares.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:41 am
I care. But who’s going to do the legwork to find out?
November 11th, 2008 at 4:34 am
It would have been funnier had he left it at “I liked that song you wrote”
November 11th, 2008 at 8:04 am
O man, that entire thing sounded so much like a “pro” wrestling bit. Especially once the audience starts booing.
In the article above though I think the comment about “taking criticism in stride” is kind of funny because it’s not like the fan really offered any criticism other than “last night sucked”.
November 11th, 2008 at 8:06 am
Actually, you can see on youtube some fan vids, after the show when Corgan came to talk with some fans, one of them asked him if it was staged he said no, that he didn’t know what going on..
The guy apparently wanted to do a joke, playing the unsatisfied fan because when Corgan ask him “so do you want your money back ?”, the guy look at him and say “noo, I’m kidding, I’m kidding”…
And about what Corgan said after…it’s absolutely not homophobic, it’s sexual images as we all always do…what about when you say “fuck!!” for exemple…it’s not the first time Corgan talk that way…
and putting di** in mouth or in A** isn’t only gay things as it was said before so…
November 11th, 2008 at 10:16 am
I wasn’t offended….I just thought it was stupid. I’m not sure why Billy felt the need to even invite the fan up there in the first place when he could have been focusing on the fans that were enjoying the show.
Probably just having a bad night. A relapse from the Siamese Dream Tours. :-)
November 11th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Actually I think it’s good that he felt the need to bring this guy on stage because it shows that he cares about people that don’t enjoy the show you know?…maybe it’s his perfectionist side..
I agree that the sentences he said (he = Billy)..are not “clever” or “usefull” for sure..
But You all have to understand that we shoudn’t take his words to the 1st degree ya know what I mean?
He is not serious most of the time, it’s his sense of humour (personnaly I like it)…and whatever his “ego” is, I think he accept pretty well critisms..he doesn’t take himself (and his image) seriously…just look at his outfit….I think it’s obvious that he and the rest of the band are having fun..and want to share it with the fans…that’s all.
They are all good musicians, playing good music , and keep playing with the half of an audience complaining…
Just look at some other band like Placebo for exemple, they rarely take time for fans and not enjoy playing on stage…
I think The pumpkins and Corgan are really generous actually…
and the fact that Billy front “unhappy” fans is quite “brave”, humble I think.
personnaly what I see is :talent, fun and rock
it’s good to see happy pumpkins
November 11th, 2008 at 11:58 am
PS: Sorry for my english by the way…
November 11th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
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November 11th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
TL says “I think The pumpkins and Corgan are really generous actually…
and the fact that Billy front “unhappy” fans is quite “brave”, humble I think”
There is nothing humble about it…and it’s especially not brave when Billy responds after the guy is being escorted back to his seat.
Get serious, I’m a big pumpkins fan too but I can take off the pumpkin colored glasses and see it for what it really is.
November 11th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
don’t expect too much from them..
November 11th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Staged. As someone previously mentioned, the first thing that came to mind what the whole wrestling thing.
The question is: why stage something so lame? If Billy is all anti-negativity, why create it?
November 11th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=R4ogp-3Ahzc
November 11th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
what an embarrassment. and billy wonders why his fanbase is shrinking.
November 12th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
May I point out something rather obvious? If what Billy said was supposed to be “homophobic,” has anyone noticed that it was said in response to “Last night’s show SUCKED, man?” Don’t the people who criticize Billy for referring to anal sex remember what is implied by saying something or someone ’sucks?’ Why isn’t anyone having a cow about that? (Not that I’m being bestial-ophobic, here.)
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