There are very few alternative rock bands today as prolific as the Smashing Pumpkins, most notably their key songwriter and guitarist/vocalist Billy Corgan. In the fall of '95, the Chicago-based quartet released the double-disc album of eclectic emotional tunes, Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness. Little over a year later, they gathered together five of their CD singles (each with a handful of quality B-sides and exclusive covers) in the top-selling The Aeroplane Flies High boxed set. Within seven months, two new electric-oriented tunes appeared on soundtracks. Like the Beatles and even the Rolling Stones in their heyday, very little of their material could be considered disposable or throwaway, and the high ranking positions of their tunes on modern rock radio and MTV charts, as well as recent Grammy nominations, clearly justifies this mass recognition. Their latest foray into chart-topping success is their industrial-tinged contribution to the Batman and Robin soundtrack (one of two), "The End Is The Beginning Is The End." In fact, the group recorded additional material for the movie, but so far can only be found on the import single of "The End..." With Corgan concentrating on his typically numerous side projects and the other two founding members - co-guitarist James Iha and bassist D'Arcy pushing acts on their Scratchie record label, the band is bound to remain on the forefront of rock for a long while. Ready for a fun evaluation of your Pumpkins knowledge? Take this quiz and find out more about the band.
1. Name the '97 soundtrack song promoted originally to feature only Billy Corgan, but was credited to the whole band on the album's artwork.
2. Which Chicago club was host to one of the Pumpkins' secret shows they did in late June (and where they performed "The End Is The Beginning Is The End" in public for the first time)?
3. Name the side project that Corgan is reportedly collaborating on with
Marilyn Manson.
a. Cinderella
b. Fairy Godmother
c. Fairy
d. Corgson
4. Which renowned band is working on their second major-label efgfort with Billy Corgan as an executive producer?
5. Which balld on Mellon Collie adn the Infinite Sadness comprised lyrics of
an 18'th century-styled love poem that Corgan wrote?
a. "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
b. "Zero"
c. "Muzzle"
d. "Cupid de Locke"
6. Which fellow leading Chicago band attacked the Pumpkins in their tune "Range Life"? (with the line "I don't understand what they mean\And I could really give a f**k")?
7. Who was the Pumpkins' first keyboardist on the Mellon Collie tour and what happened to him?
8. Which celebrities has Corgan not worked woth on their latest projects?
a. Ric Ocasek (of the Cars)
b. Cheap Trick
c. Courtney Love
d. Black Sabbath
9. For each of the three founding members, identify their birthplace out of
the following list: Chicago, Illonois; Elk Grove, IL; South Haven,
Missouri.
Billy Corgan__________________
James Iha____________________
D'Arcy Wretzky-Brown__________
10. Which song on their Mellon Collie tour did the band stop playing for a
few moments, and for the gap to be interrupted by Corgan's shout "And in the
eyes a jackal, I say kaboom..."?
a. "Rocket"
b. "X.Y.U."
c. "Siva"
d. "Disarm"
11. TOUGHIE: Which lengthy '96 song performed by the Pumpkins (before its eventual release) on their Mellon Collie tour featured the lines "I'm disconnected by your smile"?
Answers:
1. "Eye" from The Lost Highway
2. Double Door (they also did a rare performance of "Transformer," one of the B-sides on their "Thirty-three" CD single)
3. c
4. Hole
5. d
6. Pavement
7. Ex-Prince sideman Jonathan Melvoin died July 12, 1996 of a heroin overdose. Melvoin's party-pal and Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was fired from the band as a result. Melvoin was replaced by the Frogs' Dennis Flemion.
8. d
9. Corgan was born March 17, 1967 in Chicago Iha was born March 26, 1968 in Elk Grove, IL D'Arcy was born May 1, 1968 in South Haven, Missouri
10. b
11. "The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)"