Okay, there's a lot of things to hate about Billy Corgan: his tyrranical rule over the Smashing Pumpkins, his public dissing of his short-lived group Zwan, his complaint that he's not as respected as Radiohead-- not to mention all of those bloated, overdramatic songs (think a big chunk of "Mellon Collie," most of "Adore" and all of "Machina"). His new record, The Future Embrace, has received lackluster reviews and earns my vote for creepiest artwork of the year (Put a shirt on, Billy). But I want to give him props for his blog.
The fact that he is basically posting the story of his life, chapter by non-chronological chapter, on his MySpace page has led to a lot of cheap shots by rock critics and bloggers alike. Somehow there is a double standard for blogging. It's all good to be an everyday Joe, writing about your very uneventful daily life (hmmm, that sounds like the Manifesto), but if you are a celebrity blogger writing about extraordinary events that a lot of people are actually interested in, you come off seeming desperate for attention (a la Fred Durst).
If you are familiar with the Smashing Pumpkins, you won't be surprised that Corgan is a very talented writer. I find it tremendously interesting to read Corgan's memories - ranging from his troubled home life to his teenage decision to never have a job. I find myself getting absolutely sucked in, reading entry after entry. Here's a short excerpt from the blog titled In the Court of James:
"My step-mother not so secretly smokes, but she has promised my father who she is deathly afraid of that she has quit...when he is not around, or sleeping, she sends me covertly to buy her cigarettes...she gives me a hand-written note that says "to whom it may concern, please sell my son a pack of whatever brand cigarettes...thank you", and then she signs her name to make it all official...she has sworn me to secrecy, and tells me in no uncertain terms that my father is not to find out she is smoking...the implication is as always that if she gets into trouble, there is much greater trouble waiting for me...when I go to the liquor store, I most often times run into the owner, who works in the back...he is not very nice, and as he makes the sale, I stare at a faded black and white picture of him as a baby, naked on a bearskin rug...I wonder how this mean old man came from this smiling, happy baby..."
The blogs have changed my perspective on Corgan a bit. Yeah, he's whiny, but reading through the what-he-went-through-to-get-where-he-is-now story of his life makes me feel that his intentions are certainly sincere, if not misunderstood, or just misspoken.
You go, Billy. Get your blog on!
By the Way
Whether or not the rest of the band knows it, Billy Corgan says he's reuniting Smashing Pumpkins. Read his letter to Chicago here.
I love this. Walmart's PR director over AZ and So Cal recently resigned after backlash against the company's "Nazi" ad. According to a 
