Billy Corgan: How Smashing Pumpkins Recorded "Tonight, Tonight"

[@damuhongmaldita]

Billy Corgan is a very intelligent, articulate man and I can hear it in Smashing Pumpkins music.

[@kjek1]

Billy Corgan is a great guy to listen to. Really original and honest

[@wok138]

Siamese Dream will always be THE album that always have a very special place in my heart.

[@MixtapeMagic]

Same. I remember when it came out. It was life changing for me. I saw them at Lollapalooza in 1994 when I was 15, and they closed with Mayonnaise & Soma, and it was one of the greatest moments of my entire life!

[@-Subtle-]

​@MixtapeMagic I saw them then too. Insane. Beastie Boys, Tribe Called Quest, George Clinton, SP... my favorite concert of all time.

[@CoFFEEmaTT123]

@@MixtapeMagicmayonaise for me is the equivalent of Catcher in the Rye. A classic about a certain time in one’s life that you can never go back to but also speaks to the adult the kid has turned into.

[@pumpkinlover33]

​@@MixtapeMagicI was there too. One the best days of my life!

[@jared7964]

December of 1995 I was 11 hanging out in our garage after bedtime, in the dark, listening to the radio on the Walkman. I was playing with my bike, turning the pedal and watching the wheel spin when I hear "Up next, a new one from the Smashing Pumpkins!" It got my attention because I already liked the song from them that came out a few months eariler. The opening strings hit, the snare drumming, the cinematic score, the melody, the guitars... it was so undescribably beautiful. It replaced my favorite song at the time, Bohemian Rhapsody when it finished. I knew immediately that The Smashing Pumpkins were MY band, and that I needed to start finding more of their music. This is one of my favorite memories from childhood. They have been my all time favorite band ever since.

[@o0Donuts0o]

I was 15 when Mellon Collie released. Billy is talking about being 55 in this interview. I normally don’t care for my age but damn, now I’m thinking about all the years that have passed.

[@rubensano4860]

The cruel irony is that it will go faster the more you age.

[@at0mly]

i was also 15 when it came out. i remember going to the record store at midnight to buy it. that was so long ago now.

[@kcmet79]

similar but 16, born 1979...

[@mailfergal]

A couple of years ago there was a big “anniversary” of the release of Nirvana’s Nevermind. I was like “Wow! Has it been 20 years already?!, wow”. It wasn’t. It was 30. F M L

[@BenBrowntn]

Im about the same age. I feel like we were lucky to have the end of an era of true unfiltered music

[@AnthonyWilliams-ot1yk]

Compelling minds create great artistry. That’s Billy Corgan folks!

[@kirkbrothertonofficial]

I love Billy’s answers about social media and technology in the music industry, unexpected from someone of his age and considering his formidable career

[@dilanabey]

Yeah I'm glad he didn't take Rick's "old man yells at clouds" bait

[@kirkbrothertonofficial]

@@dilanabey exactly! The questions were phrased to coerce him into answering a certain way, but he didn’t walk into the trap

[@ReadyMindsetGo]

I think it could have been a trap question but that's not how it came across to me. To me it's exactly the kind of question that myself and many people would want to ask him. Because it's the question that bothers a lot of us. And it makes the answer that much more useful and relevant.

[@Vordb666]

I think a good perspective is that if we weren't living in this current reality there'd just be some other reality that's not any inherently better or worse for music as an artwork and a career. The music industry from the 1950s-2000s were largely dominated by record labels, radio stations and TV which sucked for artists too

[@dilanabey]

@@ReadyMindsetGo yeah I mean I don't think Rick was trying to trap him - Rick clearly DOES believe there is a difference in "kind" (rather than quality) with current music/the industry. Still I appreciate that Billy didn't just give the more facile/boring answer that those who worry would likely give

[@MarcioNovelli]

This is my favourite Pumpkins song of all time… and one of my all time favourite songs in general.

[@davidrenner6459]

I always find Billy entertaining and really interesting. He's so intelligent and very talented. So glad he sat down with Rick.

[@user-ei9ns9hq6b]

His 90s era music was great. He's always been annoying in interviews though. Way too full of himself.

[@poptya]

I want to have Billy do audio books, his voice is great

[@HolyElkGaming]

Smashing Pumpkins are ingrained into my youth. Your music still hits all the rights spots. I can close my eyes and see the album cover for "Mellon collie and the infinite sadness". Thank you!

[@sawsquaresinetube]

I saw Billy and the Pumpkins at the Spectrum in Philly during the Melon Collie tour in the 90s. I still have a concert T and the ticket stub 😊

[@amanrob]

I remeber watching the MTV awards around that time and they did it live on that show. I just remember how mesmerized I was watching it. Amazing song in general.

[@aunch3]

One of my favorite songs

[@cal_rib]

2:50 “…musical language has devolved in the last 10 to 15 years commensurate to technology but that’s what geniuses are for…”

[@SC-se4mi]

That song is a masterpiece

[@lbtn1]

Fantastic interview!!!! Greetings from Argentina!!

[@daddarioandco]

Always an insanely beautiful guitar.

[@rorypotatochip1373]

Loved their acoustic version live, so beautiful

[@reubennichols644]

My Favorite A R T I S T // Musician To Watch Being Interviewed . He ' s Sooo Well Spoken . . . & . . . Authentic .

[@stephendinon7658]

That song is perfect and magical …

[@simoperini]

I think kids are always gonna gravitate towards excitement...... Nailed it!

[@nv1493]

" a dopamine-rich society.... " A supremely rich description.

[@kbusby4824]

Exactly.

[@keithk1559]

Hense the drug problem, particularly the drugs that release it.

[@dr.markevers8331]

Despite all our rage we are still just rats in a cage…

[@nncoco]

Dopamine dependent

[@J57music]

Love interviews w Billy. Such a G

[@hunteralexander658]

So excited to see them this month

[@jeffreyking279]

Incredible interview.

[@DianeLee999]

Again, it’s the journey that cannot be bettered. The longer I live, the greater the number of areas encompassed and the number of times I arrive at the same truth. 💜

[@mattgrey1373]

I love how certain Billy is about music.

[@JL-go3]

Billy Corgan was one of the reason I picked up the guitar in 1991. Been enjoying guitar 30 +years now.

[@londonmadeeasy]

Me too, as a young guitarist I was massively influenced by his playing.

[@youropionmattersnot]

So you heard Gish and said fuck yeah?

[@londonmadeeasy]

@@youropionmattersnot for me, yes.

[@rumandbass]

Siamese dream was my first guitar teacher

[@vaughanjones5933]

Smashing Pumpkins is such a fondly remembered part of my youth.

[@elusivelectron]

He wrote Disarm in St. Louis. He mentioned it before playing it at the Fox Theater. I was luckily there for that performance.

[@orakeljoe9611]

Interesting to hear how this song was put together...since this song for whatever reason, the lyrics simply mean so much to me and my life. I do not have words to describe what it is or does in me.

[@brianmaher22]

The PSA at the end really helped me hit the subscribe button 🙌🏾

[@CyberneticArgumentCreator]

When I was a kid in the late 1990s, I remember my other music-nut friends talking about bands and gossip they had heard in various places (magazines, on Web 1.0, etc) and hearing about Billy Corgan. How he was mean or an a-hole or whatever the angle was. Now as an adult it's extremely clear that Billy is a smart person with strong stances on things and he says them without a sugar coat. That's the long and the short of it. Being of strong conviction. He was always a very clever songwriter and arranger, and I think that intelligence was eventually what ended his time in the radio spotlight. He didn't lose the ability to write music like his first 2-3 albums, he got bored of writing it. He chose to stop writing that style of music and try to forge new sounds and composition styles. He could have gone the Weezer route and said "you know what? Okay. I'll write stuff that the radio loves from here on out" as a course correction, but he didn't. Both Rivers Cuomo and Billy Corgan are fantastic songwriters from the same era, they just approached music as a job differently.

[@xavierrhcp13]

Yeah, agreed. I've followed Corgan since I was a little 6 year-old kid with Siamese Dream. He's been putting out good albums since. Oceania is slept on HEAVILY! and Monuments to an Elegy was the soundtrack to my life when it came out around 2014.

[@aegisreflector1239]

His new material post 2002 is completely awful and out of touch

[@hippydippy]

That was wonderful & beautifully said!

[@clifforddean232]

I always agreed, The Smashing Pumpkins was and is the last greatest rock band.

[@NESADDICT]

Tonight tonight made me a smashing pumpkins fan. The music video was perfectly aligned with the music.

[@chainbreakerministries8475]

I freaking love this song

[@alvarcap8141]

Ive been loving Billy and the pumpkins for 20+ years. Billy lives in a distorted reality. There is no f way “the world knows” 30/40 of his songs. I’ve encountered pumpkins fans who do not know that many. “The world” knows disarm, 1979 and tonight tonight. Maybe Bullet but that’s it

[@Pickles-s5k]

Billy, I grew up learning guitar on Siamese Dream. I’ve been playing guitar every day for the 32 years. I’m in Chicago and I hear you’re looking for a guitarist. I’d play with you and Jimmy all day long!

[@peppermintpig974]

Link the demo! :)

[@Pickles-s5k]

@@peppermintpig974apparently KZbin won’t let me link. It keeps deleting my post. 😢

[@QuestionMan]

I believe that lowering the bar and reducing the barriers to entry will separate those who love to play and those who don't. Society won't place more value on one or the other. The music will be the music regardless of who (or what) made it. But, those who LOVE their instruments and love to make music with them will continue to do so for no other reason than their love of it. Whether there will be a market for it remains to be seen, but lack of marketability will never render musicianship invalid or obsolete.

[@cmotdibbler8105]

Wow, never realised how supremely intelligent Billy Corgan is.

[@themydnighthour]

Him and Maynard both.

[@Itsyaboy88]

Beyond

[@Tusitala1967]

You get to see that because of how comfortable he is with Rick. Just my opinion, but think back on other interviews you've seen with Billy. He's a chill guy, but he seems especially relaxed here. Maybe he and Rick did some edibles before the camera was turned on. That must be the secret to Rick's interviews. I'm onto you, Beato!

[@aA-gh3fs]

@@themydnighthour😮

[@aA-gh3fs]

@@themydnighthour😮😮

[@pct2025]

Always enjoy listening to Billy, super interesting man.

[@scottsmith1455]

Radio and MTV was my childhood cellphone and it was incredible

[@ricktheexplorer]

Yes...I had a moment like this on our band's latest song. I made a guitar part, a step down that evolved to perfection only at the last part. I wanted to keep it. I like the imperfection until the end's perfection; the evolution that the song naturally took - a journey.

[@fleetwarrior75]

I used to really dislike Billy, but over the years I’ve really grown like this guy!

[@dorsonhess4805]

I f in love the pumpkins. Billy your awsome...

[@youropionmattersnot]

Gish is one of my favorites. Relentless.

[@mailfergal]

Not what I expected, might need a second watch. Great interview, but so weird that it’s the same guy who just tore up the 90’s. Legend.

[@JH-yk5se]

Honestly if nobody had ever heard of SP before and they came out right now I really think they would be even bigger. I so agree with the social media aspect he mentions. They would be perfect front runners for it.

[@peterleventis]

Rick, another fantastic interview (or partial interview)! I like the Pumpkins, but didn't love them, especially live, back in the day. I bet I'd have a completely different take on them now. As for Jimmy Chamberlain improving as a drummer, I think the great ones (and I'm not saying he is; I haven't heard him play in 25+ years) are always learning and improving... look at Neil Peart

[@Harcix]

Really love the track. Its the second track on the album Invisible Touch and is the fourth single from the album. It peaked at No. 3 in the US and No. 18 in the UK.

[@MarkMarkMark]

rick beato is awesome,

[@The_McD]

Billy is one smart cat. Very astute and listening ability..

[@zo62]

I learned three new words hearing this

[@nncoco]

and Kevin Shields

[@robertwoodworth7819]

I love Billy. He’s an American treasure

[@erik.liebenberg]

Remember the days of buying CD singles? I remember buying Smashing Pumpkins singles and always being surprised by the additional tracks. Sometimes other band members would take the lead vocals etc. So good. I think stuff like that is lost on the 'tik tok' generation. They would just gravitate towards what's 'hot' and discard the rest. I could be wrong. Just an opinion. Don't sue me. Lovely interview Rick

[@llornkcor8880]

Oh yeah. One of my favorite Pumpkins songs is "Set the Ray to Jerry" and I stumbled across an imported UK version of the 1979 single in a record store. I think it comes down to the individual, though. I could have just listened to what was on the radio or MTV and that'd be all I knew of a band but I love music and would always dive deeper into a band's catalog if I really liked them. You can do the same nowadays and it's actually easier and cheaper. Almost every band has a KZbin channel with everything they've ever recorded, live streams, full concerts, music videos, interviews etc. If "kids these days" (haha, yeah I'm old) really love music and wanna delve deep into a band there's no shortage of media out there for them to do it. I'm always saying how I wish we had KZbin when we were younger. There was something special about finding a physical copy of something that there was a limited supply of, though. And cutting pictures and articles out of magazines to tape on your wall! Kids will always have the same tendencies but different technology (and crappier music if I might say so lol). Well that was long winded haha.

[@erik.liebenberg]

Awesome reply mate. Couldn't agree more! My favorite surprise pumpkins single was 'Said sadly' with James Iha on vocals. I still spin it every now and then. Such gold to be had if you're willing to dig a little!@@llornkcor8880

[@BBaldwin]

Not a big fan of his music, but Billy is smart as hell. Actually, more than that-I think he’s exceedingly intelligent and love listening to his interviews.

[@fabiobianchi8898]

This man is sooooo Smart!

[@SatanDynastyKiller]

Billy never fails to impress me 🙌

[@vitorhugo1976]

Love the way Billy talks about Jimmy Chamberlin playin' level.

[@windtwist]

Kim Dracula is the best thing to come out of TiK ToK, thus far...though one cannot deny the staying power of some of Billy and friends tunes...Music is Gods work. Keep working it~

[@lynncampbell962]

Say what you will, but Billy has made some amazing music. The full interview was actually very interesting.

[@8ftMan]

Excellent job, again, Rick of getting a great musician to be candid and fluid in conversation.

[@laspilly]

I've always liked Billy

[@banyarling]

Jimmy's playing at his best level. Wow, great. Consider including his playing on the next album since it's been indistinguishable from a drum machine lately.

[@welpiguess]

6:31 listen from here onwards this is such an important piece of audio

[@johnpandolfino8663]

He's quite a character..... I went to that museum....on my honeymoon.....Dali was a brilliant artist....

[@Datamining101]

Impressed by his humble and self effacing nature. He must be a joy to be around. 😂

[@Skylyned]

Need that Smashing Pumpkins documentary!

[@Spookje09]

I was never a huge Pumpkins fan, but I respect them and do love 'Gish'. That recored is and was so exciting. Upon it's release, I was saying "WTF is THIS?" They played like untamed animals, especially Jimmy Chamberlain's drumming, the way it pushed and pulled along with his ferocious chops. He lifted them to the next level. I like Corgan's interviews and the fact that he's a huge Rush nerd, makes me like him more. I would have never thought he was so passionate about them, as SP is nothing like Rush. Nice interview, Mr. Beato!!

[@youropionmattersnot]

Wasup Rush Head? Please stop stealing my thoughts and words. 😅 Been a huge fan of both bands from the start. This applies to both bands....30, 40 years when I listened to them regularly there were always some stuff I did not like at the time. Many times it was the single or the hit that I took issue with. Now? It all sounds great when I hear it. I don't listen to the radio for music anymore.... have not in years. The other day I had to take a company truck out and all I had was the radio. Stairway to heaven came on. 30 years ago I would turn it off. Radio made me not want to listen to that song because they beat it into the ground. It sounded amazing 👏.

[@gadymarcus2362]

Magnifico.💎💎💎💎💎💎

[@jaredmort54]

Great interview! Thank you.

[@pablo_ramone]

music's beauty is that it is unperfectly perfect. If AI steals this from us then we'll have been lost from the real magic. Emotions connecting deeply with the art. We're screwed if going this path 😢

[@nitemareman1]

I'm 50, and I was never much of a fan of this band. I just never resonated with them. The vocal was kinda weird to me. But I was at a festival a few years ago and they were playing. My 13 year old kinda dragged me over to see them. And let me tell you, they were really good. I left the show a bigger fan than I went in. Still not something I'd really reach for, but they are certainly gifted and have become technicians over the course of their career. That Talking Heads cover blew my doors off for sure.

[@Ghostviperz]

How did this guy go from living vampire to music teacher. Pumpkins are legendary.

[@rusmartin]

Billy giving Kevin Shields props for being an innovator... 👏

[@elenbrandt290]

I really love the conversations on this channel. Tasty stuff...

[@Robert19002]

The best thing about the film clip in 1979 was that there was no modern technology being waved around in the film and being present in the moment.

[@mitchweissman5045]

Excellent interview.

[@CoachLitz]

this would be an amazing documentary!

[@rm3266]

I’ve always thought Tonight Tonight sounds just like Starting Over from a band ( I think ) are from NZL called The Desert States.

[@T10elC]

Great discussion.

[@ChrisC-yv8bz]

Dali museum is insane. They have VR tech for your phone that explains his masterworks. Its actually very godly and religious and not just a trippy guy painting stuff. Highly recommend going

[@wellsaidgoodheadfred9843]

It's such a pretty song

[@Jack-j3l7o]

"...watching Ed Sullivan in 1966..." it was 1964. And I was there. One of my older sisters called to me from our living room that night saying "The beetles are going to be on television, come watch!" and my 8-year old self thought it was weird that "beetles" were going to be on TV. An hour later, I knew what the Beatles were...and my life would never be the same. The dreary and depressing B+W world after the JFK assassination became exciting, hopeful, and Technicolor overnight, and the rest is history.

[@EveryBodyHz]

imo Billy Corgan def has that "sacred clown" quality to his personality, so the pre-social media jokes and interactions even up to the wrestling stuff makes perfect sense. a bit of an MC, court jester, circus ringleader keep this concept in mind then go watch the Tonight, Tonight music video again - it's an intro to the circus/freak show (in the best way possible), opening the doors and inviting us in to the Mellon Collie experience!

[@russellbrown1068]

Love William Patrick Corrigan!

[@lemansfrance2678]

Rick Beato 2. Is just as as good as Rick Beato 1! Rick Beato for President!

[@smhdpt12]

Billy needs to check out his vascular system after watching this. His left hand is super red compared to his right. Possible obstruction?

[@caincarpenter3794]

It's a birthmark.

[@Aroundthefire77]

Mellon Collie is the 90s white album

[@UseDgh]

Rick: doesn't TikTok seem completely weird to you? Corgan: No, kids gravitate to what's exciting to them, there will be a Kurt Cobain of TikTok Rick: But aren't you glad that you made it before the internet, cellphones, social media etc etc etc Corgan: No, we'd be even bigger with all that I think this conversation shows why Corgan made it as a musician - it's a great attitude to have and very refreshing given a lot of the content on this channel constantly bashing pretty much anything post millennium.

[@dianeodoherty1720]

Incredible 🎉🎉

[@ryand4533]

Social media is much more wide spread but it’s still just the MTV of its day. It’s the popular medium of the time. They would’ve been mega massive if they had social media back then.

[@MashaT22]

Billy Corgan has always been one of the most intelligent musicians out there. He always makes a very compelling argument. I grew up with this band at their height (and before it!), and I was always glad that they didn’t go for perfect. It’s difficult to have an emotional response to music when it’s 100% perfect. There needs to be an emotional element. I will mourn the day when AI takes over because music will lose the humanism that makes it the art form we all look to for emotional guidance and make up the “track” of our lives. I’m grateful that I’ve lived through culturally rich music that helped shaped my identity - not only from my own era, but even that of my parents and grandparents. I have my favorites for sure, but I appreciate all types of music. That is going to be difficult to experience through the eyes of a computer that hasn’t lived through the human experience, no matter how much humans try to code that into their programs.

[@reecec626]

You know, Rick, I hit subscribe on this second channel before you asked me to.

[@worldwarchamp1959]

Smart dude. Understands how the world works.

[@sirefromtheshire]

I remember Billy said that he encountered a shapeshifter in the entertainment industry and he would publish the story and name of said shapeshifter when he was retired and old. I think that was on the Howard Stern show.

[@kbusby4824]

Interesting tidbit. I hope he does.

[@takat1113]

Good content. I hope Billy lets me audition so I can at least have a rejection story.

[@patrickmoran687]

I just subscribed to 2. Already subscribed to Rick Beato.