Pug

The future.

Pug is probably the only song that actually describes Adore as the Pumpkins "electronic" album.  But it's not really, it's a pop song.  It's dark as hell, but it's still a pop song.  It's probably one of the songs that put people off about Adore, but they're silly, because it's one of the songs that should really turn you on to it.  It's a welcome push for the Pumpkins' direction (unlike, say, Pox, which could end up spelling DOOM for whatever comes next for the band).  Pug, sadly, didn't really point too far in the Pumpkins' future.  The dark-techno-evil genre sort of stopped at In My Body.  

When the song is played live, it's always electric and guitar-heavy, as if to make up for the lack of guitar on the album.  This, I feel, is a grave mistake, and only serves to defang the song.  And without fangs, Pug is nothing.

Someone told me once that the song is about phone sex.  Part of me hopes that isn't true.  The other part of me, I assume, is reaching in my pocket for my cellphone.

(This is the first song I've written about Adore? That's so dumb.  I guess I was holding off because Adore is so boss.)

Autumn Nocturne

I imagine that the collected listener's first reaction to this song is "Wtf!"

But hopefully, they get over it, and give in.

I mean, if there was any other song that it was easier to smile, nod your head, and tap your foot to, then The Beatles probably wrote it.  I guess.  What I'm trying to say is "damn, that was so much fun, I feel seven again!"

Thank you, Billy Corgan from 1994, for making me feel young again.

Why Am I So Tired?

I think the most interesting thing about this song is that it's as long as it is.  

It's clearly something that was happening while the tape was left running.  But the fact that the band kept playing it for over 15 minutes is pretty crazy.  I mean, there's two chords more or less, then it descends into solos upon solos.  It's pretty hilarious.  And then the tape ends, which could imply that they played it for another 15 minutes.  Or a whole day.  Who knows!

I mean, the song isn't going to change anyone's life, but it's fun to listen to, and serves it's purpose for Vieuphoria's credits well.  And Billy & James can really play the guitar.  Fun all around.

Pox

Pox.

Well, it's moderately catchy, but it's ripped right out of the late-nineties.  That whole rocking-but-still-sensitive kind of trite B.S. that was really big for about five minutes.  This song could really be on an Incubus album, or what was that other band? Tantric.  I can't believe I remember them.  That makes me like Pox even less, because it lets me know that I remember bands that I didn't really like.

This song isn't bad, but it's a huge and ill-advised step backwards.

Rotten Apples

Billy describes this song as "a home demo that I just didn't have the heart or energy to go back and record."

To be frank, I don't know what he's talking about.  Isn't "Stumbleine" in the same condition as Rotten Apples? I can't tell the difference between the demo and the album version, and honestly, I'd say Rotten Apples is a stronger song than Stumbleine anyway.  I'm not going to whine about song selection though (or at least not until I get to Set The Ray To Jerry).

Billy also says he's a fan of the lyrics, which is good, because they are pretty killer.  They seem like they straddle the line between pleasant and drippy poetry on paper, but the delivery plants a firm foot on the 'affecting' side.  It's a sad song, but it also has a very defiant side.  After all, the song is a plea to "Love her when your love goes unrequited."

Funny side note: when introducing this song on the Zeitgeist tour, Billy said that he'd never played it before, apparently forgetting that he'd done so in 1998. Ouch.

The Rose March

Happy new year, now we have a new EP to delight in.

I really honestly think that Billy is trying to alienate every remaining fan the Pumpkins have.

I mean, calling your new acoustic EP "American Gothic" is pretty bad, saying that you did so because of "the state of the nation" is even worse, and then you go and give it an album cover that's even worse than Zeitgeist's!!! Please, Billy.  I'm giving you so much leeway. I want to love you, and it just seems like you don't want me to.

Thankfully, at least "The Rose March" is a pretty enough song that I can keep giving him love for a little while longer.  The song is very pretty, worthy of the praise Pete Townsend gave it, but it's easy to see why it wasn't on Zeitgeist.  It's full of the little vocal touches that only Billy can do, the kind that were sorely missing of Zeitgeist.  It's a good case of something that only Billy can get away with.

I'm also glad to hear the song in a full-band arrangement.  I'm assuming that the touring band is playing on this song, and the EP.  If that isn't true, I'll be sort of miffed.  Billy needs more voices, more people on his albums.  The Pumpkins have always been cheifly-Billy, but there were always touches of someone else that kept everything from keeping too stale.  Zeitgeist suffered horribly from that.  And so far, this EP doesn't.

Farewell & Goodnight

The art for Mellon Collie is done up like something intended for children (of some past the world never really had), and while some songs on it have a decidedly "children" vibe, Farewell & Goodnight is a downright lullaby.

It's an incredibly beautiful one, too, and contains wonderful singing from every member of the band, which could be such a hokey idea, but it's done with great effect here.

It's small and quiet, but still has it's grip on you.  At the end, it fades into a piano coda, tying the album up with a musical nod to the first track.  It's little bits like that that you really don't see much of these days, especially in this anti-album era.  On a big double album like Mellon Collie, there needs to be cohesion, otherwise the whole thing is too jumbled and rambling.  The piano at the end of Farewell & Goodnight is the perfect thing to package it all up with string.  

It's also the only fade out I'll ever tolerate, because it isn't truly a fade out.  It's only getting quieter because you're falling asleep.