How Billy Corgan Won at Life and Won My Heart

By Corey Deiterman Tue., Feb. 26 2013 at 10:00 AM

Get 'em, Billy!

I've previously been critical of Billy Corgan for a lot of the ridiculousness he has engaged in. But folks, I'm here to tell you, all of that changed for me last week when I saw this video of good old Billy and his wrassling federation shilling furniture. Now I get it.

Billy Corgan is not Generation X's greatest embarrassment or their greatest fallen idol, as I've described him before. No, Billy has made it abundantly clear that he's the opposite. He's maybe Gen X's one, greatest success story.

Confused? I was too when I saw all those awful, embarrassing things he was doing. Like that video he did for TNA wrestling, taking one of his most beloved hits and a song that inspired so many young people in the mid-'90s and transforming it into some kind of bizarre slam poetry to advertise a steel cage match.

I mean, look at it. Listen to him. Look at what he's doing. It's almost incomprehensible when you think about the fact that this song once stood for something. It once described what an entire generation was feeling in the wake of Kurt Cobain's death. Maybe it wasn't written for that purpose, but that's what it came to embody.

And then Billy took it and made it a cheap promo for a second-tier professional wrestling federation. Let's not even forget his sham of a Smashing Pumpkins reunion, lacking all the classic members except Jimmy Chamberlain, who finally bailed on Billy a couple of years ago.

With all that in mind, you might wonder what exactly has earned my respect about Billy Corgan, and I tell you again, it's that commercial selling chairs for the Walter E. Smithe furniture store!

Tags:

Billy Corgan, Generation X, Smashing Pumpkins

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rprince85

I heard billy on howard stern and he was hating on this wave of 90s nostalgia that all the other ex-gen x'ers were riding and it made me respect him more. Although I'm not so sure resurrecting his old band name makes him any different (as far as I'm concerned, there is no band without jimmy chamberlain). But, he did sound at ease with himself, and continuing to make music because that's just what he does. I saw a quote from Iggy Pop the other day promoting an upcoming Stooges album and he takes a jab at the Pumpkins, as to imply that his intent is pure and doing it solely "for the tunes," or some bullshit. Did anyone hear that last Stooges album? Mike Watt couldn't even save that ship from sinking. Even J Mascis, who toured with Ron and Scott Asheton playing stooges songs, said that when Iggy reunited with them that it turned into the Iggy show. I guess what I'm trying to say is maybe Billy isn't the ego-maniacal, asshole i always pictured him as...or he is, but he's no worse than any of my other old rock n roll heroes. I know i said fuck nostalgia, but for what it's worth, Siamese Dream was the first CD i ever bought and i still listen to it periodically. At least a whole lot more than Nevermind or Ten.