We all know the Smashing Pumpkins are alt-rock, but are they alt-right? That's a question that has been circling Billy Corgan's orbit ever since he made a series of wild appearances on Alex Jones' alt-right talk show Infowars. Now, in a new interview with the New York Times, Corgan has clarified his beliefs.
For starters, Corgan ensured people that he didn't vote for Donald J. Trump. That's because he doesn't vote, and hasn't since he voted for Bill Clinton in 1992.
As for his labels, here's how he views himself: "I'm a free-market libertarian capitalist. I'm not anti-anything except establishment. I find institutions and systems suspicious."
That said, Corgan also used plenty of alt-right buzzwords in the interview. As writer Joe Coscarelli explains, Corgan peppered his conversations with phrases like "culture war," "fake news," "globalists," "Maoists," "purity tests," "left-leaning groupthink," "protected minority groups," "mass hypnosis" and "social justice warriors."
But Billy Corgan doesn't seem to care what you think about his politics. "I'm not going to be defined by other people's version of the shadow world," he said. "I'm not going to sit here and hold myself up as Mr. Pure, nor have I ever. I'm not a virtue-signaler. I have no agenda. I'm not a politician."
Corgan also opened up about the dispute he had with former Pumpkins bassist D'arcy Wretzky earlier this year. He called the public nature of their spat "horrifying," adding, "I think what she did demonstrates why she couldn't be involved.... I was vulnerable and shared things and trusted that there was a reason to give it a chance, despite plenty of empirical evidence that that was not a wise decision."
He added that the bridge with Wretzky is now burned "forever."
You'll find Smashing Pumpkins' full list of reunion shows here.
Delve into Smashing Pumpkins' early years with the deluxe reissues of Gish, Siamese Dream, Pisces Iscariot and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, available via MusicVaultz.
For starters, Corgan ensured people that he didn't vote for Donald J. Trump. That's because he doesn't vote, and hasn't since he voted for Bill Clinton in 1992.
As for his labels, here's how he views himself: "I'm a free-market libertarian capitalist. I'm not anti-anything except establishment. I find institutions and systems suspicious."
That said, Corgan also used plenty of alt-right buzzwords in the interview. As writer Joe Coscarelli explains, Corgan peppered his conversations with phrases like "culture war," "fake news," "globalists," "Maoists," "purity tests," "left-leaning groupthink," "protected minority groups," "mass hypnosis" and "social justice warriors."
But Billy Corgan doesn't seem to care what you think about his politics. "I'm not going to be defined by other people's version of the shadow world," he said. "I'm not going to sit here and hold myself up as Mr. Pure, nor have I ever. I'm not a virtue-signaler. I have no agenda. I'm not a politician."
Corgan also opened up about the dispute he had with former Pumpkins bassist D'arcy Wretzky earlier this year. He called the public nature of their spat "horrifying," adding, "I think what she did demonstrates why she couldn't be involved.... I was vulnerable and shared things and trusted that there was a reason to give it a chance, despite plenty of empirical evidence that that was not a wise decision."
He added that the bridge with Wretzky is now burned "forever."
You'll find Smashing Pumpkins' full list of reunion shows here.
Delve into Smashing Pumpkins' early years with the deluxe reissues of Gish, Siamese Dream, Pisces Iscariot and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, available via MusicVaultz.
