Can't '90s rock dudes just get along? Apparently not, since Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil took some shots at Billy Corgan and his band Smashing Pumpkins in a recent interview.
Technically speaking, Thayil didn't call out Corgan by name, but it's extremely obvious who he was talking about when speaking to the Dallas Observer. He said [via Stereogum], "We have four guys who write songs here. We have four guys contributing material without someone calling bullshit on it. You follow me? There are many bands out there that are led by one guy who does all the writing? He might have some religious epiphany or some psychedelic experience and he will write all this material that can very easily suck. And the rest of his band feels like they have to play it. That is not Soundgarden. Consequently, we have never made a record that sucked."
Yes, Thayil, we definitely follow you. The "religious epiphany or some psychedelic experience" he is talking about of course refers to Corgan, who has been working on a psychedelically inclined, Tarot-inspired project called Teargarden by Kaleidyscope.
Given Thayil's words about Corgan's religious epiphany, we're guessing he also not particularly impressed with the Pumpkins leader's ambient electronic performances inspired by mystical Sufi poems and a Buddhist novel.
This feud isn't without precedent. A couple of years ago, Corgan condemned reunion acts like Soundgarden as "coming back only to make money." He said, "When Soundgarden came back and they just played their old songs, great. I was a fan of Soundgarden, but call it for what it is."
Last year, Thayil told Gigwise [via Alternative Nation], "If you've got a band where one guy calls the shots, that's a band that's going to suck. Because the guy might have bad thoughts in his head. Well I just came out of sobriety and I've got this idea for a rock record, I just married my third wife and I have this new idea for a rock record."
Thayil might have a point, since we all know that full-band rock records are impervious to sucking, right?
Technically speaking, Thayil didn't call out Corgan by name, but it's extremely obvious who he was talking about when speaking to the Dallas Observer. He said [via Stereogum], "We have four guys who write songs here. We have four guys contributing material without someone calling bullshit on it. You follow me? There are many bands out there that are led by one guy who does all the writing? He might have some religious epiphany or some psychedelic experience and he will write all this material that can very easily suck. And the rest of his band feels like they have to play it. That is not Soundgarden. Consequently, we have never made a record that sucked."
Yes, Thayil, we definitely follow you. The "religious epiphany or some psychedelic experience" he is talking about of course refers to Corgan, who has been working on a psychedelically inclined, Tarot-inspired project called Teargarden by Kaleidyscope.
Given Thayil's words about Corgan's religious epiphany, we're guessing he also not particularly impressed with the Pumpkins leader's ambient electronic performances inspired by mystical Sufi poems and a Buddhist novel.
This feud isn't without precedent. A couple of years ago, Corgan condemned reunion acts like Soundgarden as "coming back only to make money." He said, "When Soundgarden came back and they just played their old songs, great. I was a fan of Soundgarden, but call it for what it is."
Last year, Thayil told Gigwise [via Alternative Nation], "If you've got a band where one guy calls the shots, that's a band that's going to suck. Because the guy might have bad thoughts in his head. Well I just came out of sobriety and I've got this idea for a rock record, I just married my third wife and I have this new idea for a rock record."
Thayil might have a point, since we all know that full-band rock records are impervious to sucking, right?
