What follows is part two (part one here) of the Smashing Pumpkins’ radio interview with Mancow Muller last Monday. There is some irreverence in this section, so more than usual it is a good idea to listen to the audio for inflection, tone, et cetera.

Mancow Muller: Where are you at now spiritually, Billy?

Billy Corgan: I’m in a really good place, I’m really happy. I know that’s shocking.

MM: Can you write when you’re happy?

BC: Oh yeah! Oh, I write more.

MM: And fame does weird things, doesn’t it? It did weird things to…I know you guys didn’t change, but boy, everybody around you just turned to *bleep*, huh?

BC: Yeah, it’s been shocking. [laughs] It’s been shocking. You know, it changed me to the extent I had to figure out who I was and go back to who I used to be, for sure.

MM: The suicide talk you gave, about…do you want to talk about that? It got a lot of attention.

BC: Sure!

MM: It’s hard for people to relate to. You’re on the top of the world, you’re writing some of the great songs, timeless songs, and yet you were suicidal. How is that possible, Billy?

BC: Well, I think there’s… Like everybody, I’m a human being. I didn’t face certain things. I think fame gave me a free pass on dealing with my problems. Like anybody else, you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, you’re thinking, “You know what, I got all this money, I got all these cars, I got a hot woman, and I’m ready to throw myself off a roof because it just doesn’t matter.” And you know, of course, one of the great artists of our generation, Kurt, you know, took himself out. And I think, there’s this weird thing in America where fame is the new immortality. And look how many of those people are completely miserable. Like the kid who was in the Indiana Jones movie, he [Shia LaBeouf] flipped his car.

MM: Yeah, he’s miserable.

BC: How old is he, 22 years old? You just want to grab the kid and say, “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.” But, I’m sure he’s surrounded with a bunch of people who are making excuses for him already. I just know how that works. Trust me, Mancow: when we were flying, they couldn’t take us out to enough dinners, they couldn’t pat us on the back, they couldn’t tell us how great we were — and the minute it stopped selling like it did, they were gone. And that’s a weird feeling too, because you start thinking, like, “Well, is everybody a liar in my world?” Including bandmates. I’ll give you a perfect example: Our old bandmates, James and D’arcy, constantly complained to the press that I was this crazy dictator and I wouldn’t let them record their music. And they’ve been out of the band for seven, eight years and they haven’t released one song. So am I still suppressing them from a distance? I mean…

Jimmy Chamberlin: [laughs]

MM: Well, you know, the little Asian girl was nice. She was always nice to me. And D’arcy was always asleep, so…

BC: [laughs]

MM: So I can’t really say anything, but I did see you guys in the studio numerous times, and I really wasn’t sure what they did. In fact, early on, I thought they were maybe with the caterers.

BC: Well, they looked good.

MM: They did look good in the videos!

BC: No, I have to say, they did make serious contributions, and it’s not fair to try to go out and denigrate their contributions.

MM: Yeah, but do you enjoy when I do it?

BC: Uhh… [laughs] I can’t argue against you, you know? It’s hard, though, but put it this way: we were all together there for a while and it worked. And God knows why it worked, because behind the scenes it was really impossible. But it did work, and you find yourself thinking there was something to it. But they’ve turned into such thorns in our sides, you know…

MM: Well, they were in the paper yesterday complaining that you haven’t given them money for your ringtones.

BC: Yeah, but see, that’s nice to say in the press, but that’s not really what’s happened. If you notice, they’re not suing me, you know what I mean? And there’s a reason they’re not suing me, because I haven’t done anything wrong.

The “An Evening with the Smashing Pumpkins” tour (redux?) is almost upon us, so we got together for one last podcast before the shows begin.

Again, let me know if you’d like to give us your own tour review via email or Skype.

Listen to the whole show (1:18:04)

(download)(iTunes)

This week’s topics:

Panelists
-Chris, Jason, Jill, and Andrew

News
-Jeff Schroeder is interviewed on sp.com. We talk about Jeff’s fit in the band and his crazy, crazy costumes. (9:15)

-Another lawsuit this week as the podcast edges closer to becoming an episode of Judge Judy. (12:29)

-G.L.O.W. is finished and Billy and Jimmy are no longer writing music for “them”, whoever they may be. Is Billy backing away from slow-selling Zeitgeist? Plus, I invent the word “connotivity” and Jill dishes some celebrity gossip. (24:06)

In-Depth Discussion
-Another fictional $100 challenge: predict the song(s) that will be played on this tour for the first time by the reformed Pumpkins. Andrew and Jason go Gish, while I gamble on the 15th anniversary of Siamese Dream. Meanwhile, Jill is cagey with her inside information and explains how babies love the Smashing Pumpkins. (23:31)

Song of the Week
-Geek U.S.A., April 24th, 1999

Despite my claim at the end of this episode, we will indeed have an episode next week, although we won’t be talking about the tour since we will still be on the road. Instead, we will have a one-off type show to hold you over until we return the following week.

Following up on the initial reports of Billy Corgan’s lawsuit against Lester Cohn’s Pure DV Productions, someone who writes for the Sun-Times News Group’s Gurnee (Ill.) Review has completed a closer reading of the legal documents:

The portion of the [footage] that Cohn did provide was “completely unsatisfactory,” according to the lawsuit. In particular Cohn did not organize, catalog or maintain the footage in a way necessary to allow for coordination with music.

On April 1, Corgan’s attorney sent Cohn a letter demanding Cohn return the footage. Yet despite many efforts, Cohn refuses to deliver an improved version of the [already-provided] portion of the [footage] and still refuses to deliver the remaining portion of the footage that Corgan paid to produce, the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit also alleges Cohn is attempting to exploit his prior relationship with Corgan, as well as Corgan’s name for his own personal gain.

However Cohn may be “exploiting” that relationship, it’s not via his LinkedIn profile…

UPDATE: A different Sun-Times News Group article, this one by Beth Kramer for the Lake County News-Sun, adds:

In addition, Corgan’s attorney Marc Silver said Wednesday the Pure DV Productions Web site displayed portions of Corgan’s films, which violated Corgan’s publicity rights.

I can find no such video on the Pure DV site right now, but there is a “Jimmy Chamberlain [sic] Complex” video, which is captioned (my link):

Lester was asked to shoot the first ever show of the Jimmy [Chamberlin] Complex at Double Door in Chicago. This was a no budget shoot but as one of the greatest rock drummers on the face of the planet and good friend it was covered with 2 cameras and the content edited which can also [be] seen on the Jimmy [Chamberlin] Complex website.

UPDATE: The Internet: now with actual Corgan v. Cohn court filing (6-page .pdf).

This week’s installment of “As the Pumpkins Sue” finds litigious band leader Billy Corgan suing suburban filmmaker Lester Cohn for $100,000 in damages because of unsatisfactory work and Cohn’s refusal to hand over footage shot between 2003 and 2005.

Cohn had done previous work for Corgan on the Zwan DVD that was part of the limited-edition version of Mary Star of the Sea.

Today’s news follows on the heels of former members James Iha and D’arcy Wretzky’s lawsuit against Virgin Records regarding royalties and breach of contract.

You’re up, Jimmy!

In related news, HU may be in the market for a legal expert if this keeps up…

Time Warner’s TMZ.com has the filing (quite readable 9-page .pdf), and they summarize the suit thusly:

James Yoshinobu Iha and D’Arcy Wretzky-Brown claims [sic] in 2005, five years after the band broke up, Virgin negotiated a deal solely with frontman Billy Corgan for electronic transmissions (ringtones, download computer files, etc), without ever getting the consent of Iha or Wretzky-Brown.

The filing argues that the 2005 negotiation violated the terms of a May 11, 1998 contract between Virgin Records and the Smashing Pumpkins.

As previously alluded to, my name is Chris, and I am here to announce the latest addition to the HU universe: the HU Podcast. Each episode, the distinguished panel and myself will discuss the latest news and rumors surrounding the Smashing Pumpkins. While the blog is a great way to get information out quickly, I hope that the podcast will allow us to go a little deeper into the news and share our opinions on the events of the week. See the end of this post to find out how you can become a part of the show.

Until we are listed in the iTunes Music Store, you can subscribe to the podcast through iTunes or your podcatcher of choice using the following link: http://www.hipstersunited.com/blog/podcast/rss.xml.

This week’s topics:

Panelists
-Chris, Jason, Jill, and Andrew

News
-Billy Corgan vs. The Presets, the feud that never was (9:54)

-Lisa Harriton interview in Keyboard Magazine (9:34)

-Linda Strawberry covers W.P. in an attempt to become Miss Hooker 2008
-The final leg of the Spring tour begins

Tour Roundup
-Mexico City, MX April 12, 2008

In-Depth Discussion
-Billy sues Virgin Records (20:38)

Song of the Week
-Cherub Rock August 14, 1993

Listen to the whole show (1:03:42)

(download)

Note: Due to technical difficulties, we had problems keeping Andrew on the line for the show and the last 5 minutes of the Virgin lawsuit discussion were lost. Each show we will strive to improve our audio and connection quality to bring you the most informative and entertaining show we can.

Have a topic you want us to discuss? A suggestion for improvement? Want to gripe about the length, audio quality, or sound of our voices? We’re always looking for feedback. Contact Us or leave comments in this post. Responders who leave their real first name and location may even hear their comments on the air.

Well, probably not. But the Smashing Pumpkins are this weekend and next playing at “V Festival” in Australia. “V” for, yes, “Virgin”, the sizable outfit that the band is suing that no longer owns Virgin Records (wtf?). And it won’t only be the stage-flanking signage that quite visibly reps for the conglomerate, as Samantha Healy reports in the Brisbane Courier-Mail:

Today [Virgin Group chairman Richard Branson] will visit the Sunshine Coast where he is building his dream Balinese-style eco retreat on Makepeace Island on the Noosa River.

The Virgin Blue spokeswoman said Sir Richard would inspect the project before jetting off to attend the V Festival on the Gold Coast.

Today’s event at Avica Resort will feature big names like the Smashing Pumpkins, Duran Duran and Queens of the Stone Age.

The lawsuit press tour continues and the interviews get longer…this afternoon, Rolling Stone posted the text of an interview with Billy focusing on music industry issues. I think the questions are timely and important, and Billy lets it all vent out. Here’s a sample:

RS’s Evan Serpick: It seems like the last decade or so, we haven’t seen many superstars emerge. Do you think it’s because of the focus on singles or the fickle market?

Billy Corgan: Number one, I think there’s just too much. I mean, how can you ask an eighteen-year-old to sort through everything that they’re presented with? Realistically, just being hot and talented and having a good single isn’t enough anymore. You really need like the extra story, like Amy Winehouse had, or a Britney freak-out. Like, Radiohead putting out a great album is not enough of a story. Radiohead putting out a free album, and blah, blah, that’s the story. So it becomes more media-driven, event-driven, than music-driven.

I mean, if the Pumpkins were coming out as a brand-new band now I think it’d be very difficult for us to be found like we were found then. There’s no MTV like what it used to be. There’s no way to focus everybody on one thing and get everybody to agree, yeah, this is really good. And sometimes things just take time. [Now] twenty-four hours is too long. Literally a person would have to be born, live, freak-out and die in one three-year cycle for it to work. It’s sad, because there’s a whole generation of music that isn’t there that should be. I mean, I’m not crazy. We should be able to sit here and talk about the fifteen, twenty great songs that came out for the past ten years. And I think we’d be hard-pressed to do that.

Thanks to Cherub Angel for the pointer.

Smashing Pumpkins fans in America’s three largest (sorry, “global”) cities may finally be able to highlight a page on their calendars. Jonathan Cohen of Billboard.com has the news straight from bandleader Billy Corgan:

After a summer break, look for the Pumpkins to return to the road in September for shows in New York, Los Angeles and its Chicago hometown.

Cohen also explains why Corgan and his Pumpkins are taking Virgin Records to court over “Pepsi Stuff”:

The suit says Virgin breached its contract with the band by using the Pumpkins in a “Pepsi Stuff” promotion without its permission. Corgan insists the group has veto power over such deals and has turned them down several times in the past. A Virgin spokesperson said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

Corgan says he has been feuding for years with Virgin over the handling of the Pumpkins’ back catalog, but that the Pepsi/Amazon.com promotion “crosses the Rubicon. You’re going to see more of this playing fast and loose with the rules, hoping they don’t get caught. At face value, it’s not a huge deal. But in terms of precedent, it is, because there will be much more of this coming.”

Read the full Billboard article for more details on the Virgin lawsuit as well as Corgan’s tentative plans to release music from the band’s archives.

[18:33] pins: you know, there’s some criticism to be made about this lawsuit.
[18:34] jjb: and i’m looking to you
[18:34] jjb: haha
[18:34] jjb: i just don’t care about it
[18:34] pins: well, goodwill with the fans? integrity? not too sure about that.
[18:35] jjb: what?! you think it’s about money?!
[18:35] jjb: haha
[18:35] pins: lol
[18:35] pins: well, goodwill with the fans, like selling 7 versions of the same album?
[18:35] jjb: hey, maybe some people wanted seven versions
[18:35] jjb: just kidding
[18:36] jjb: i would agree that they have not been perfectly assiduous in cultivating an “alternative” image
[18:36] pins: just saying, weird terminology. they’re well within their rights in the lawsuit, but all they had to say was unauthorized usage.
[18:37] jjb: i agree with you
[18:37] jjb: i remember, back with the sharon obsourne lawsuit, people making fun of the terminology
[18:37] jjb: that billy sounded like he was still an abused child
[18:38] pins: heh
[18:38] jjb: and i was definitely reminded of that
[18:38] jjb: reading the press release
[18:38] pins: funny, so pitchfo*k totally just said the same thing i did
[18:39] jjb: oh there’s a shock

“It’s another desperate attempt,” says Jimmy Chamberlin, “by an anachronistic business to generate revenue however they can, legal or illegal. They have neither the wisdom to accept their irrelevance, nor the intelligence to do something about it.” He adds: “Just goes to show that they will do about anything for money. Seems they have long forgotten how to actually ‘work’ for a dollar.”

The Smashing Pumpkins’ official site has issued a full press release with further details about the lawsuit against Virgin (read it here). The release scathingly decries Virgin’s actions as “unauthorized exploitation” which has “”irreparably harmed the group, their reputation and goodwill with their fans.”

Phew. Billy Corgan expresses his ongoing frustration with Virgin, despite years of success with the label — that’s fully expected. However, what I found interesting are the demands they’ve outlined in the suit: “a full and complete accounting of all funds received by Virgin pursuant to the Pepsi promotion” and the band is “entitled to an award of punitive damages against Virgin in an amount according to proof.”

Now, I’ve had a law-school-roommate before, but I’m not going to event try and pretend to understand that one. With bad publicity around Virgin and Pepsi as a result of this lawsuit, what will the gains be for the promotion? How do suits of these nature work? Perhaps there is a HU reader or two out there that can posit some insight into this? I eagerly await comments.

For the *second time in a week,* fans of PerezHilton.com were treated to the Smashing Pumpkins gracing its blogroll. In today’s article, “Suing Mad,” Perez writes:

Does anyone even care about the Smashing Pumpkins anymore???

Well, check out the comments feed, folks. It appears they do. The post has only been up for a few hours and already there are 200+ comments praising the band for its contributions. Here are some choice thoughts from the site:

• mcdave71 says: “Well Smashing Pumpkins have more integrity than you… “
• Jen says: “I LOOOOOOOOVE Smashing Pumpkins! The music is classic since I grew up listening to it and Billy Corgan’s voice just brings out emotion in myself. So YES, Perez, I care and I don’t think I am the only one.”
• mandi says: “this is so hilarious. perez thinks he’s so cool by knowing up and comers, but he knows nothing of the music that probably shaped all these new losers. he did that post about how cool it was that radiohead was releasing their album online, and then posts later was like “has radiohead even done anything in 10 years?” he’s such a dumb fuck sometimes. billy corgan will always be cooler and more relevant than perez fucking hilton.”
• Ms. D says: “SP will always be relevant, especially in the landscape of modern music. Their songs will continue to resonate with people who seek out quality and truth through music. It’s a shame that, because they may not be on the current charts, an entire generation is willing eschew them based on perceived popularity.”
• jyc says: “Perez - its a miracle you are able to retain any credibility when talking about music when you make ignorant comments like that about trailblazing musicians like the pumpkins or radiohead, who still have more relevance in todays music industry than any one hit wonder up and comer you tout on here. i look forward to the day when shallow people turn on you, the way you turn on real musicians, and start asking the question “Does anyone still care about Perez Hilton?”

Affirmation comes from unexpected places. :)

Who says the Pumpkins aren’t relevant? Once they call in the lawyers, they’ve got juice!

This is the second time the Pumpkins have made Drudge, the first having been upon the release of Machina II (which predates the “Drudge Report Archives” site).

This morning brings news over the AP wire that the Smashing Pumpkins are suing their former label, Virgin Records, claiming it “has illegally used their name and music in promotional deals that hurt the band’s credibility with fans.” According to the lawsuit, Virgin’s use of the band in a “Pepsi Stuff” promotion with Amazon.com and Pepsi threatens their reputation for “artistic integrity.” The crux of the lawsuit seems to hinge on the fact that while Virgin retains the rights to sell digital downloads of Virgin released Pumpkins material, they do not have the rights to use the band’s materials in promotions with outside products.

This would seem to be a pretty straightforward case and no doubt we here at HU.com will be watching this story as it develops…