Los Angeles Times blogger Randy Lewis, writing up a new interview with Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan:

“When we played in New York,” Corgan, 41, said Monday in Hollywood, relaxing backstage after a TV show taping, “people were freaking out and screaming and yelling ‘This sucks!’ yet [New York Times rock critic Jon] Pareles gave us a good review, because we’re still dangerous and we’re still relevant on some intrinsic musical level that can’t even be defined.”

Blah blah, drama we know, but: “TV show taping”?!

HU has learned that the cable program in question is the yet-to-debut “Chris Isaak Hour” on A&E spinoff Bio (f/k/a the Biography Channel).  Guests on other already-taped “Isaak” episodes include Glenn Campbell, Michael Buble, Chicago, and Trisha Yearwood.  Uhm…you can add the Pumpkins to that list, ‘twould appear.

The first word has come in from HU correspondent Seb, on the scene tonight at the El Capitan Entertainment Center in Hollywood for the taping of ABC-TV’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” program.

8:24pm: “They’re soundchecking ‘G.L.O.W.’ for the second time.”

8:25pm: “Hollywood High School’s football team is getting a treat.” I presume that means those young men are In The House. [ed. I presumed incorrectly - see comments.]

8:31pm: “And a third time for ‘G.L.O.W.’ So now I’ve heard it precisely three times.”

8:33pm: “I’m in line with all the other weirdos. It’s actually a surprisingly young crowd.” Hm, who else goes to tapings of late-night TV shows?

8:48pm: “Soundchecking ‘Tarantula’.”

8:51pm: “United States.” It’s the Zeitgeist first anniversary tour!

9:05pm: Seb may try to send a picture, but he’ll have to use a different phone. Sigh! I guess we are in a recession…

9:21pm: “I’m in. Kimmel show being projected on screen.”

9:22pm: “And this now marks the longest I’ve ever watched the Jimmy Kimmel show.”

9:42pm: Is Tom Arnold on yet, Seb?! “Yep. He’s talking about his new movie, in which he plays a child molester.”

9:59pm: “They have taken the stage dressed all in black.”

10:01pm: “G.L.O.W.”

10:02pm: “This song sounds like ‘Spilled Milk’. Not that I’m complainin’.”

10:04pm: “Great performance.” HU, including correspondents: in the tank for Corgan.

10:09pm: “Tarantula.”

10:12pm: “No idea what this song is.” [ed. Hmm…how much does Seb know his stuff?] “They are in good spirits. Billy with rad spider shirt.”

10:17pm: “Speed Kills!!!!” [ed. This was the unknown song.]

10:20pm: “Superchrist”.

10:26pm: “Into ‘United States’ without a hiccup.”

10:29pm: “And there’s the hiccup. Billy made Jimmy stop and slow down, I think.” Haha…

10:39pm: “It’s over. They brought the goods.” And so is this, and so did you, Seb - thanks!

Tonight the Smashing Pumpkins will again appear on television to perform “G.L.O.W.”, but after that (nonfictional) bets are off. The band will play a set of some length for the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” studio audience; sets by other artists in that setting are often five songs in length. After the first song is televised in full, the television audience is usually shown about half of a second song as the credits roll.

We at HU have made contact with a couple fans who will be on the scene, and we hope to bring you a mini-liveblog this evening. The program is not exactly live; taping begins at 7:00pm local time in California (9:00pm Central). Some sort of monologue and interviews with actors Tom Arnold and Shea Whigham (who?) will take place first, but information on the Pumpkins’ performance will hopefully be appearing here on the site well before the program airs on ABC at 12:05am (in all time zones).

All times Central: 11:32pm and 1:32am tonight, 1:32am next Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, and 2:32am next Thursday night/Friday morning. Do not tune in early.

UPDATE: Or, you know, catch it below (YouTube)

Time to watch Spike TV and GET SOME ACTION…

7:50pm: …but for now I am watching Olbermann. They can’t make me switch early!

8:00pm: Shockingly, the first image of the “Scream” awards telecast was one of a writhing, seemingly naked woman. Welcome to Spike TV.

8:04pm: We are here tonight to honor the already hyper-honored figures of the cinematic multiplex. Sir Anthony Hopkins is glad to be a part of it, as well he should.

8:07pm: First references (yes, plural) to autoeroticism, courtesy those guys who currently play loser protagonists in every movie.

8:09pm: First “Hancock” joke. I would say “use your imagination”, but I really don’t think the imaginative faculty is necessary to guess the context.

8:10pm: “Hellboy II” finally receives the sort of accolade its like always has been denied by the elitist snobs of the Academy.

8:13pm: Commercial break! The first ad is for TNA wrestling. The second is for Captain Morgan. The third is for Taco Bell. We are now fully culturally positioned kthx

8:16pm: Nooooooo…it’s the “Saved by Zero” ad for Toyota.

8:19pm: The nominees for Best Violent and Sexy Comic Book are…

8:20pm: “From the movie you’re dying to see, it’s” some guy I don’t know, but he says his new comic/movie/merchandising franchise is now an “unstoppable force.”

8:23pm: Tribute to Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker. You did NOT see this coming!

8:24pm: HU blogfriend Davin helpfully draws some connections between this event and the Pumpkins’ little world:

(8:14 PM) davin: the list for SP-affiliated comic stuff is large too…..watchmen, batman, incredible hulk, transformers…..
(8:14 PM) davin: this should be a good crowd for them.
(8:14 PM) davin: that and the gothic connection
(8:15 PM) davin: i mean, tim burton is being honored (MCIS font and “pumpkin king” from Nightmare Before Xmas)
(8:17 PM) davin: manson is there….he had those stories about billy gettign fucked up with him in the limo, they were both “acknlowedged” in the nin starfuckers video….
(8:17 PM) davin: the SP connections/references abound…
(8:18 PM) davin: manson and billy should gang up and kick sharon osbourne’s ass
(8:18 PM) davin: and lets not forget kelly, who ragged on zwan
(8:18 PM) davin: and whose boyfriend got kicked in the stomach by billy backstage

8:29pm: First AXE commercial (that I’ve noticed).

8:31pm: Announcer says “All hail rock royalty…[holds breath?!]…The Osbournes.” Ah. Cue “Iron Man.” Sharon talking. It’s kind of like listening to Sarah Palin.

8:33pm: “Dexter” wins an award, to be accepted by “America’s favorite serial killer himself.” Who had that title previously?

8:35pm: Character in a movie clip makes reference to “the gift of reason”. At the moment I’m not entirely enamored of that “gift”.

8:38pm: An “ultra-hot cyborg from the future” introduces the first of two musical performances, this one by the “fabulously freaky” Kerli.

8:42pm: Kerli’s xylophones subside. Someone ate this dude’s Volcano Taco.

8:44pm: ON OCTOBER 26TH… WE ARE ALL GUITAR HEROES. Rated E for everyone.

8:47pm: Announcer’s faux-explicable first words on return from commercial break: “Put up your dukes if you’ve got a Stifler.”

8:49pm: Gary Oldman takes down a…an…I don’t know what the trophies are called.

8:50pm: Winona Ryder drops “Beetlejuice” ref, introduces Tim Burton. My clothes spontaneously cease to reflect light.

8:53pm: After a fantastically fiery delay, Burton appears in a basket borne aloft by a bundle of balloons. I’m not sure what it all meant, but that did look cool.

8:56pm: Dialogue from commercial for “Saw V”:

Male voice: “What the hell is that?!”

Female voice: “Our next nightmare.”

9:01pm (halfway home!): Guy flanked by two women says that he grew up reading a lot of science fiction. Women smile politely.

9:04pm: First use of the term reimagined (that I’ve noticed).

9:11pm: Wes Craven is given “the Mastermind Award”. Gory montage ensues.

9:15pm: Craven says that the F-word is “fans”. Awww. Marilyn Manson promptly emerges on stage and twice uses a different F-word.

9:17pm: Manson enunciates the words, “And the winner is: Penis Bitten Off by Vagina with Teeth.” Society soars over shark.

(9:19 PM) davin: no mention of SP since the very beginning, eh?

9:23pm: Announcer: “Please welcome Dexter’s girlfriend.” I guess there’s something to be said for not even pretending to respect the role.

9:29pm: In the race for Best Horror Actress, Jena Malone and her bloodstains lose out to Liv Tyler and her bloodlines. Better luck in your music career, Ms. Malone.

9:31pm: “Coming up: Smashing Pumpkins are back, and we’ve got them on ‘Scream’.”

9:35pm: “For 20 years, this band has been melting our minds…” “The lords of intergalactic rock” are at last on stage.

9:36pm: Way too much camera time for the dancers relative to the band…even if it probably isn’t that much. I just can’t take it at this point, haha.

9:37pm: The bridge!

(9:38 PM) pins: so can you feel it?
(9:38 PM) jjb: i don’t know. am i the “you”?
(9:38 PM) pins: i don’t know, that’s the only line i know

9:39pm: Gerard Way on stage to introduce the makers of “Watchmen”.

9:41pm: New “Watchmen” footage makes its “world premiere” to the strains of, yes, “The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning”. Coming soon to a million YouTube accounts!

9:43pm: I’m out, sorry.  That was more than enough.

The Smashing Pumpkins will appear before the audience of ABC’s television program “Jimmy Kimmel Live” for an outdoor “mini-concert” on Friday, October 24. Taping will begin at 6:15pm at the El Capitan Entertainment Center in Hollywood, with music presumably to follow gabbing. Tickets, which are good both for the talkfest and rock show, have already been distributed and apparently none remain.

We know the Pumpkins will perform “G.L.O.W.” for TV viewers, but for how long will they rock the in-person audience? Haven’t seen word from the band on this question, but Internet research suggests that the standard is five songs.

Music-news outlets are beginning to pick up what is presumably a band-issued press release with most of the details. Here’s a writeup by Blabbermouth.net (de-emphasis of all their boldfacing by me):

The five-week run will be highlighted by multi-night stops in such cities as Chicago, Toronto, New York, Washington, Boston, Kansas City and Los Angeles. With such a vast repertoire, the Pumpkins are coming prepared with completely different set lists in each of the multi-night engagements with no songs being repeated over the course of the two night run. Night #1 is being called “Black Sunshine,” while night #2 will be dubbed “White Crosses.” A special two-night ticket bundle will be available for all multi-night engagements.

In Chicago — where singer/guitarist Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin continue to be based — the Pumpkins will play four shows at two different venues. In cities where the band is set to play one night, they plan to deliver a unique one-off set. …

The Pumpkins have also confirmed a national television appearance for Friday, October 24 when they’ll perform “G.L.O.W.” on the outdoor stage at ABC-TV’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

According to the newly minted distributor of official Smashing Pumpkins soundboard recordings (!!) — that being nugs.net LLC’s LiveDownloads.com — the Kansas City venue is the 3500-seat Midland Theatre and dates are November 24-25. You can pre-order your MP3s, FLACs, or CDs of the shows now (!!!).

(With all this going on, perhaps the band’s 21st year will be joyful year #1. )

Strangely, she feels a teensy bit sad over the demise of MTV’s “Total Request Live”.

Just spotted on ESPN.com:

Imagine believing you own the Mona Lisa of trading cards … and not being able to sell it. OTL (9 a.m. ET Sunday, ESPN)

I think I would take ESPN’s own announcement as to what will be on “Outside the Lines” tomorrow morning over that of the Smashing Pumpkins’ website.

Part of an interview with Chicago Cubs fan Billy Corgan will be shown during “Outside the Lines”, airing tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. CT on ESPN.

Cubs-blogger Kurt Evans was also interviewed for the 30-minute episode, and he relates this hearsay:

Billy Corgan, by the way, apparently swore like a sailor during his interview. He also commands great camera presence. [Photographer] Ross [Dettman] apparently wanted to get a shot of him talking and acting naturally, but Corgan exerted his rock star presence any time the shutter went off and would completely shift focus from Conversation to Christ Pose without hesitation.

After the Thursday evening concert in Boca Raton, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan emerged into the Florida night and spoke to a video-camera-equipped YouTube user (mostly dark video here). Here’s what Billy said:

We’re actually thinking about trying to do something really interesting, now that we’re out of the label situation. Our idea right now is to do maybe something like…we would, um…if we could find somebody to do it with us, maybe do, like, um…it’s hard to explain, but maybe some sort of like Internet TV show, where, you know, we would film through the week, and maybe even play on a certain day, the songs, and then every week you’d get to see what the new album’s…like, you’d get to watch the new album being created. So it would be like every week. So you would know, like, if you were watching something live, you know, you’d say, “oh, he just wrote that song two days ago,” or something… I think it would be kind of cool, if we could find the right partner. I mean, if we do it on our own, it would be kind of difficult. But I think we could find somebody interested… I think we’re going to try to find a partner. It could be anybody from VH1 to, you know, uh, some of these HD, uh, Internet channels.

The one-two punch:

• Lead singer Robert Schneider rocks the Obama tee; I wonder if Jim DeRogatis will now be classifying Schneider with Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke as a “poseur”.
• Keyboardist John Ferguson is, like omg, dressed in some kind of futuristic cape.

So the question is this: How is it that Apples in Stereo is the coolest band in the universe?

VH1 just got through airing their five-hour doculist “100 Greatest Songs of the 90s”, online content from which is accessible through their “Greatest” series page via the link pictured below:

Despite this hyping blurb, there is no mention of the Smashing Pumpkins…

• In the list of the “100 Greatest Songs of the 90s”, or…
• In a video playlist titled “50 That Almost Made It”, or…
• In an accompanying “90s: Alternative” playlist, or…
  
• In an accompanying “90s: Lollapalooza” playlist, or…
• In any of the “Extras”, including discussions of “What songs are missing from the list?” and “What is the quintessential ’90s album?”

So, I have given up on trying to find exactly where the Pumpkins were mentioned. If anyone saw a mention of the band in the TV broadcast or finds one that I missed in the online package, please comment about it and get VH1 off the hook!

We had a short show this week as preparations have begun for next week’s Adore anniversary show.  As a reminder, send me your audio clips or questions for the show as I posted last week.

Listen to the whole show (43:05)

(download)(iTunes)

This week’s topics:

Panelists
-Chris, Jill, and Andrew

News
-Billy enjoyed his time off from touring by…playing guitar with Duran Duran.  Could Simon Le Bon be a very special guest this Fall? (3:09)

-We spend more time talking about 6234 than all previous conversations combined.  Was Jason right about the bogus song title?  Plus, I pose an obscure trivia question to the group and am subsequently fired again.  (6:44)

In-Depth Discussion
-Billy has mentioned plans to release early demos this Christmas, but what early demos aren’t already out there?  Would we buy songs we already have?  Plus, are the Pumpkins becoming primarily a live band, and I break the bad news — casual fans don’t want to hear Spiteface. (20:48)

This Week in Pumpkins History
-Homerpalooza and the Ava Adore single.  Plus, the squirrels that power Andrew’s internet connection get tired.  (5:05)

Song of the Week
-Razor August 25, 1990

Join us next week for a decidedly less geeky show.  I may even be able to make it through the whole thing without mentioning The Marked.

In an excerpt from his forthcoming doorstopper Ha-Ha Logic, LiveJournalist mickelwhite educates the “springfield” community:

You see, ‘Smashing Pumpkins’ is the name of the band that Billy Corgan is in, so he’s identifying himself by his band name. ‘Smashing’ is also a verb, so it seems to Homer that Billy is identifying his actions as ’smashing pumpkins’. That is why Homer replies the way he does, because he is describing his own actions; smiling politely is exactly what he is doing.

Homer doesn’t seem to understand what Billy is saying about the statement he’s making, he’s just doing a silly stunt that he’s been told he qualifies to do. He also doesn’t understand that Billy is a member of this band, that’s exactly why he is smiling politely; he has no idea how else to respond.

Jessica Rosenthal of Fox News Channel yesterday saw her report on the “RockWalk” induction uploaded to the web. The report (above) includes clips from an interview with Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin.

In her voiceover, Rosenthal says that the band is plotting to release a new album during 2009, but the relevant portion of the interview itself is not shown. I wonder if she was attempting to condense what was said, or if the band indeed was exploiting the leeway present in phrases such as “I don’t think we will” and “we may not” to substantively back away from recent anti-album rhetoric.

The interview clips include this remark from Billy in response to a generic Looking Back On Your Career interview question:

If I had it to do over again, I think I’d probably try to create more harmony with the bandmates. Just…I think that was…that’s the thing that’s probably the most painful is that, where the, where the business and the lifestyle that we were living at the time got in the way of sort of making sure that the relationships were going to survive. Not that we’d necessarily all have to be in the same band today, but that we would sort of all be on good terms.