REVIEW: Zeitgeist by the Pumpkins... song by song inside
GivenToFlyFreak
Posts: 86
****this was taken from Netphoria.org where a poster by the name of Implosion was nice enough to do this***
(After this I am even more excited to hear this record, I didn't think that was possible)
First of all, I've written this with the assumption that you've heard the live shows. If you're familiar with the songs live, there aren't too many huge surprises in the album versions -- except for God + Country. Everything else sounds mostly like a studio recording of the live arrangements, but with more guitar and WAY more vocals.
And just to shed some light on my perspective, I'm somewhat of a musician -- I've played guitar and drums recreationally for about 10 years. When I listen to music, I pay attention to vocals in terms of melody, but I don't care as much about lyrics. So I will probably talk a lot about guitar tone and drum fills, but not a whole lot about lyrical content. You've heard most of the lyrics anyway. I've also been a fan for around 14 years -- saw the band for the first time at Lollapalooza in '94. I was at both the 2000 Metro show and the 2007 Paris show. On the other hand, I don't like everything Billy & Co. have ever released. So I'm a nutso fan, but not an unconditional fan.
So here we go, song by song. I'm going to give each song a score out of 10, which is just to convey an idea of how much I like one song relative to the others.
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Doomsday Clock
Score: 9
I can easily see this song being a single. It's up-tempo, rocking, and has a catchy chorus. The song (and album) kicks off with the same fill Jimmy plays live and dives into some heavy, dark, distorted guitar. After four bars, yet another track of doubled guitar comes in. Tonally, it almost reminds me of one of the songs off the Ransom soundtrack (Spiders? I get the titles of those all confused), but it's the one with the seriously distorted, near feeding back guitar. If you've heard the 20 seconds from that Warner promo video, you already know what I'm talking about. Pay close attention in that clip to the vocals in the chorus. Not only is it a 2 or 3 part harmony, but each part is also doubled. There's simply an outrageous amount of detail worked into the vocals. I said this already, but it's like there's almost as much attention to detail in the vocals on Zeitgeist as there is attention to the guitar in Siamese Dream.
One minor difference between this recording and the live versions is his vocal delivery... When he sings "ev" in "is EV-eryone afraid?" it's a flatter note than what he sings live. And the vocal delivery is a lot lazier... but don't get me wrong, it suits the song really well.
It struck me that Jimmy's snare tone is very piccolo-like; a lot brighter than other recordings. Part of it is that the drums aren't as buried in the mix as previous albums. Imagine the drum sounds of Life Begins Again, and you're on the right track. I'd imagine he's using his Yamaha Signature snare on a lot of songs, and I haven't played one myself, but it's a steel shell and it probably has the really cutting, sharp tone that you hear on this track. Blah blah blah, drum geek talk.
Speaking of which, the fill that leads into the chorus is a lot like the single stroke roll from the lead-in to the chorus in Quiet. Also, in the lead-ins for the verses, Billy does these bends and plays with the whammy bar and gets this kind of cool discordant sound that reminds me of wailing sirens, which suits the tone of the song. He also has a scooped wah sound on the guitar during the bridge, which sounds cool.
Other than the dense vocals and guitar tone, there aren’t any big surprises here.
--
7 Shades of Black
Score: 9
Once again, no big surprises here if you've heard the live version. After listening to the whole thing through 5 or 6 times now, I started hearing some of the songs as pairs. This song matches well with Doomsday Clock -- kind of a similar vibe.
The main riff has the same squealing whammy pedal sound as live, and overall it reminds me vaguely of the main riff in TEITBITE (minus the electro feel). One thing I really like about this song is the synched up guitar stop/cymbal chokes when Billy sings "My black heart". Really sweet guitar production. I also like the tone of that ascending lead guitar riff during in the chorus.
The bridge of this song has a cool (but brief) harmonized guitar solo. Prog-sounding harmonized guitar leads are iconic on this record, especially since it's not something Billy has used that extensively in the past.
Another thing that struck me while listening to this song is how wide the stereo space is. I listened on headphones a couple times and noticed the guitars and backing vocals are pushed far to the left and right. You can kind of get a sense of this from Tarantula too.
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Bleeding the Orchid
Score: 10
Looking at the score, you can probably tell this is the highlight of the album for me so far. Not to say that the album goes downhill from here, but they really nailed this song in the studio. I was at the Arising Roxy show in '99 and was really excited about those songs, and having Jimmy back. I listened to the Detroit bootleg a ton, too. I could not have been more disappointed with those songs ended up being recorded. I don't feel that way about Zeitgeist at all (well, okay, one track, we'll get to that shortly). Bleeding the Orchid ended up with exactly the thing that makes it so great live -- it slowly builds momentum until it reaches huge energy at the end.
The song kicks off with the same keyboard part as live, except instead of a keyboard, it's Billy's voice. It's like a choir ensemble of Billy Corgans "Ahhh'ing" the keyboard parts. Seems awful in theory, but it somehow works. Then the drums and guitar kick in and it mostly sounds like it does live. The rhythm guitar has a pretty heavy chorus effect, maybe reminiscent of I of the Mourning. But don't get me wrong, everything is tracked very crisp and clean. There's no "wall-of-sound" muddiness that I feel plagued Machina.
And so the song builds and builds, adding more and more haunting backing vocals. The vocals sound amazing on this song. The backup vocals that Ginger and Lisa do are there (done by Billy, of course), but multiplied by six. There is lead guitar flowing through the last chorus, which lifts the song even higher -- but the live outro guitar solo section is absent in the recording. It's not a huge loss. This song holds its own amongst the best Pumpkins recordings since Mellon Collie.
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That's the Way
Score: 5
Okay, before I lose whatever credibility I had by gushing too much, I'll shift gears into some criticism. This song did not
make a big impression on me live, and unfortunately, that continues to be the case on the album. I'd say this song is the most Machina-esque of the lot. I keep picking on Machina, but then again, it is the last frame of reference we have for Pumpkins albums. I say it's Machina-esque because it has sort of a washed-out production, which surprised me, because TuralyonW3 (I think it was him) had the complete opposite impression. It's also a lot mellower than the first three tracks, and it causes the album to lose a little momentum. I kind of wish it were sequenced a little later in the album. I'm sure many people will really like this one, it just lacks what I think makes a good Pumpkins song.
As my mind wandered while this song played, I thought about the way lead guitar is used on this album. There aren't sections of songs on Zeitgeist with a prototypical "Pumpkins guitar solo" a la Cherub Rock or Soma. On the other hand, there's a lot of lead guitar here and there, and a lot of fast riffs and, say, a couple bars with a true solo. The technical stuff is still there, it's just applied in a different way. There's a lot of fun and skillful guitar work for people to pick apart and learn.
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Tarantula
Score: 7
Blah, blah, blah. It's all been said before.
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Starz
Score: 7
Okay, so the song starts, and during the main guitar part, on the accents, Billy throws in a couple "Oh!"s, very similar to the way he sings "Yeah!" in the intro to the song of the same name. I shake my head with disappointment. But the snare work sounds great -- you can't hear all the ghost strokes live, so on the album it has a lot more of a marching drum feel -- so I cut it some slack. "The stars above, stars so bright..." okay, that sounds cool... "We are STARZ!!" and I'm a little skeptical again -- the vocal dubs, which are so striking on this album, are pushed just a little to far on this line... but then the distorted
chorus guitar comes in and it rocks really hard (the synth lead is present but not as loud in the mix as live, thankfully) and all is forgiven.
Another verse and chorus pass, and we get to the stick on tom rim pattern that leads into the drum break, and holy fuck the drums sound really good, and then three cymbal chokes pounding against a massive guitar symphony (i.e. what Jimmy was probably describing in one of his MySpace bulletins). This part is so damn prog-rock, and yet is one of the great moments on the album; one of those parts you rewind over and over.
And what better way to follow up one of the highlights of the album by a repetition of an even worse delivery of "We are STARZ!!"... but luckily it only repeats two more times and then back into the heavy chorus outro, finishing off with the last line echoing off with delay and fading out. My summary reads like the song is a bit of a wash, but overall, it's a strong song and not a huge departure from the live recordings.
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United States
Score: 8
The obligatory Pumpkins epic. Though this one has more of a live jam feel than any of their previous "epics," aside from maybe X.Y.U. Whereas a lot of the material on Zeitgeist sounds produced, this could easily pass as a sound check recording with a few overdubs tossed on top, a la the Rock On cover. That's not to say it sounds thin, just that it retains the edge of a performance. Jimmy's drums have the same 6/8 tom centered pattern as live, and Billy comes in with the same chord strum and sustain.
The live feel is done almost to a fault, as the noodley feedback break in the live song is present on the album. It probably could be shortened by half to tighten up the song. It's novel the first time you hear it, considering the Pumpkins have never released an album track with nearly two minutes of pick scraping, pickup tapping, volume and tone knob twiddling, and general "only sounds cool when you're super stoned" guitar fiddling. Meanwhile Jimmy's keeping the pulse with the soft, yet energized tom pattern (complete with the occasional syncopated ride pattern fill he does live). But I can easily imagine getting impatient with this part after hearing it 10+ times. On the other hand, it serves as a really good juxtaposition for the following section of the song which kicks in really hard and heavy. And the last two minutes of the song, when it switches from 6/8 to 4/4... well, I really loved these riffs live, and they don't disappoint on the album. They managed to retain a lot of the live intensity. Nitpickers will probably notice that while the ascending octave riff in the outro is the same, when they do it live, there's a measure where the riff changes to descending octaves, and it's missing on the album. Not a big deal.
There's one addition to this song on the album that's a little obnoxious. During the "chorus", where he repeats "Revolution," there's a backing vocal dub that I don't really like that goes something like:
revolution [da-la-da-da-da-la] revolution [da-la-da-da-da-la] revolution [da-la-da-da-da-la] blues (does he say blues there? Dunno for sure).
The da-la-la's don't add anything and get a little annoying. But there's also some vocal production tricks that sound really good. First off, Billy's trademark (for better or worse) live echoing vocal howls appear on this song. And on the last word of some of the yelled lines before the outro, they added some delay and pitch modulation, so as the line echoes and trails off, it also descends in pitch, like:
Let me do something real like I SHOULD!! Should... should... should ... shoud ...
This is a really solid song and probably would have scored a nine if not for the slightly too long middle section. It's funny that this song was called "mostly instrumental" in early reviews. It made me believe there were little, to no vocals. After hearing it live, I thought maybe it was rearranged with some Billy rant-style vocals thrown in. Nope, it's roughly the same song as played live. It's as instrumental as Silverfuck.
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Neverlost
Score: 6
As soon as United States ends, this song picks up, creating a sharp contrast to the frenzy of the United States outro. Like That's the Way, this song didn't make a huge impression on me live, but after hearing it on the record, it has grown on me more so than That's the Way. The instrumentation definitely helps. As you've probably heard, the main guitar line is doubled by a vibraphone (or maybe a synth, who knows). There's also an arpeggiated organ line during the chorus (also alluded to by Jimmy in a MySpace bulletin) , and some synth strings, and it all works well. This song also has quite a different drum tone to it; the snare is tuned looser, giving it more of a boxy sound. It actually reminds me, in tone as well as beat, of Morning Bell on Kid A. There are a lot of sweet single stroke rolls on the snare between sections of the song. It's kind of a simple song at it's core, so I don't have a whole lot to say about it.
(After this I am even more excited to hear this record, I didn't think that was possible)
First of all, I've written this with the assumption that you've heard the live shows. If you're familiar with the songs live, there aren't too many huge surprises in the album versions -- except for God + Country. Everything else sounds mostly like a studio recording of the live arrangements, but with more guitar and WAY more vocals.
And just to shed some light on my perspective, I'm somewhat of a musician -- I've played guitar and drums recreationally for about 10 years. When I listen to music, I pay attention to vocals in terms of melody, but I don't care as much about lyrics. So I will probably talk a lot about guitar tone and drum fills, but not a whole lot about lyrical content. You've heard most of the lyrics anyway. I've also been a fan for around 14 years -- saw the band for the first time at Lollapalooza in '94. I was at both the 2000 Metro show and the 2007 Paris show. On the other hand, I don't like everything Billy & Co. have ever released. So I'm a nutso fan, but not an unconditional fan.
So here we go, song by song. I'm going to give each song a score out of 10, which is just to convey an idea of how much I like one song relative to the others.
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Doomsday Clock
Score: 9
I can easily see this song being a single. It's up-tempo, rocking, and has a catchy chorus. The song (and album) kicks off with the same fill Jimmy plays live and dives into some heavy, dark, distorted guitar. After four bars, yet another track of doubled guitar comes in. Tonally, it almost reminds me of one of the songs off the Ransom soundtrack (Spiders? I get the titles of those all confused), but it's the one with the seriously distorted, near feeding back guitar. If you've heard the 20 seconds from that Warner promo video, you already know what I'm talking about. Pay close attention in that clip to the vocals in the chorus. Not only is it a 2 or 3 part harmony, but each part is also doubled. There's simply an outrageous amount of detail worked into the vocals. I said this already, but it's like there's almost as much attention to detail in the vocals on Zeitgeist as there is attention to the guitar in Siamese Dream.
One minor difference between this recording and the live versions is his vocal delivery... When he sings "ev" in "is EV-eryone afraid?" it's a flatter note than what he sings live. And the vocal delivery is a lot lazier... but don't get me wrong, it suits the song really well.
It struck me that Jimmy's snare tone is very piccolo-like; a lot brighter than other recordings. Part of it is that the drums aren't as buried in the mix as previous albums. Imagine the drum sounds of Life Begins Again, and you're on the right track. I'd imagine he's using his Yamaha Signature snare on a lot of songs, and I haven't played one myself, but it's a steel shell and it probably has the really cutting, sharp tone that you hear on this track. Blah blah blah, drum geek talk.
Speaking of which, the fill that leads into the chorus is a lot like the single stroke roll from the lead-in to the chorus in Quiet. Also, in the lead-ins for the verses, Billy does these bends and plays with the whammy bar and gets this kind of cool discordant sound that reminds me of wailing sirens, which suits the tone of the song. He also has a scooped wah sound on the guitar during the bridge, which sounds cool.
Other than the dense vocals and guitar tone, there aren’t any big surprises here.
--
7 Shades of Black
Score: 9
Once again, no big surprises here if you've heard the live version. After listening to the whole thing through 5 or 6 times now, I started hearing some of the songs as pairs. This song matches well with Doomsday Clock -- kind of a similar vibe.
The main riff has the same squealing whammy pedal sound as live, and overall it reminds me vaguely of the main riff in TEITBITE (minus the electro feel). One thing I really like about this song is the synched up guitar stop/cymbal chokes when Billy sings "My black heart". Really sweet guitar production. I also like the tone of that ascending lead guitar riff during in the chorus.
The bridge of this song has a cool (but brief) harmonized guitar solo. Prog-sounding harmonized guitar leads are iconic on this record, especially since it's not something Billy has used that extensively in the past.
Another thing that struck me while listening to this song is how wide the stereo space is. I listened on headphones a couple times and noticed the guitars and backing vocals are pushed far to the left and right. You can kind of get a sense of this from Tarantula too.
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Bleeding the Orchid
Score: 10
Looking at the score, you can probably tell this is the highlight of the album for me so far. Not to say that the album goes downhill from here, but they really nailed this song in the studio. I was at the Arising Roxy show in '99 and was really excited about those songs, and having Jimmy back. I listened to the Detroit bootleg a ton, too. I could not have been more disappointed with those songs ended up being recorded. I don't feel that way about Zeitgeist at all (well, okay, one track, we'll get to that shortly). Bleeding the Orchid ended up with exactly the thing that makes it so great live -- it slowly builds momentum until it reaches huge energy at the end.
The song kicks off with the same keyboard part as live, except instead of a keyboard, it's Billy's voice. It's like a choir ensemble of Billy Corgans "Ahhh'ing" the keyboard parts. Seems awful in theory, but it somehow works. Then the drums and guitar kick in and it mostly sounds like it does live. The rhythm guitar has a pretty heavy chorus effect, maybe reminiscent of I of the Mourning. But don't get me wrong, everything is tracked very crisp and clean. There's no "wall-of-sound" muddiness that I feel plagued Machina.
And so the song builds and builds, adding more and more haunting backing vocals. The vocals sound amazing on this song. The backup vocals that Ginger and Lisa do are there (done by Billy, of course), but multiplied by six. There is lead guitar flowing through the last chorus, which lifts the song even higher -- but the live outro guitar solo section is absent in the recording. It's not a huge loss. This song holds its own amongst the best Pumpkins recordings since Mellon Collie.
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That's the Way
Score: 5
Okay, before I lose whatever credibility I had by gushing too much, I'll shift gears into some criticism. This song did not
make a big impression on me live, and unfortunately, that continues to be the case on the album. I'd say this song is the most Machina-esque of the lot. I keep picking on Machina, but then again, it is the last frame of reference we have for Pumpkins albums. I say it's Machina-esque because it has sort of a washed-out production, which surprised me, because TuralyonW3 (I think it was him) had the complete opposite impression. It's also a lot mellower than the first three tracks, and it causes the album to lose a little momentum. I kind of wish it were sequenced a little later in the album. I'm sure many people will really like this one, it just lacks what I think makes a good Pumpkins song.
As my mind wandered while this song played, I thought about the way lead guitar is used on this album. There aren't sections of songs on Zeitgeist with a prototypical "Pumpkins guitar solo" a la Cherub Rock or Soma. On the other hand, there's a lot of lead guitar here and there, and a lot of fast riffs and, say, a couple bars with a true solo. The technical stuff is still there, it's just applied in a different way. There's a lot of fun and skillful guitar work for people to pick apart and learn.
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Tarantula
Score: 7
Blah, blah, blah. It's all been said before.
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Starz
Score: 7
Okay, so the song starts, and during the main guitar part, on the accents, Billy throws in a couple "Oh!"s, very similar to the way he sings "Yeah!" in the intro to the song of the same name. I shake my head with disappointment. But the snare work sounds great -- you can't hear all the ghost strokes live, so on the album it has a lot more of a marching drum feel -- so I cut it some slack. "The stars above, stars so bright..." okay, that sounds cool... "We are STARZ!!" and I'm a little skeptical again -- the vocal dubs, which are so striking on this album, are pushed just a little to far on this line... but then the distorted
chorus guitar comes in and it rocks really hard (the synth lead is present but not as loud in the mix as live, thankfully) and all is forgiven.
Another verse and chorus pass, and we get to the stick on tom rim pattern that leads into the drum break, and holy fuck the drums sound really good, and then three cymbal chokes pounding against a massive guitar symphony (i.e. what Jimmy was probably describing in one of his MySpace bulletins). This part is so damn prog-rock, and yet is one of the great moments on the album; one of those parts you rewind over and over.
And what better way to follow up one of the highlights of the album by a repetition of an even worse delivery of "We are STARZ!!"... but luckily it only repeats two more times and then back into the heavy chorus outro, finishing off with the last line echoing off with delay and fading out. My summary reads like the song is a bit of a wash, but overall, it's a strong song and not a huge departure from the live recordings.
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United States
Score: 8
The obligatory Pumpkins epic. Though this one has more of a live jam feel than any of their previous "epics," aside from maybe X.Y.U. Whereas a lot of the material on Zeitgeist sounds produced, this could easily pass as a sound check recording with a few overdubs tossed on top, a la the Rock On cover. That's not to say it sounds thin, just that it retains the edge of a performance. Jimmy's drums have the same 6/8 tom centered pattern as live, and Billy comes in with the same chord strum and sustain.
The live feel is done almost to a fault, as the noodley feedback break in the live song is present on the album. It probably could be shortened by half to tighten up the song. It's novel the first time you hear it, considering the Pumpkins have never released an album track with nearly two minutes of pick scraping, pickup tapping, volume and tone knob twiddling, and general "only sounds cool when you're super stoned" guitar fiddling. Meanwhile Jimmy's keeping the pulse with the soft, yet energized tom pattern (complete with the occasional syncopated ride pattern fill he does live). But I can easily imagine getting impatient with this part after hearing it 10+ times. On the other hand, it serves as a really good juxtaposition for the following section of the song which kicks in really hard and heavy. And the last two minutes of the song, when it switches from 6/8 to 4/4... well, I really loved these riffs live, and they don't disappoint on the album. They managed to retain a lot of the live intensity. Nitpickers will probably notice that while the ascending octave riff in the outro is the same, when they do it live, there's a measure where the riff changes to descending octaves, and it's missing on the album. Not a big deal.
There's one addition to this song on the album that's a little obnoxious. During the "chorus", where he repeats "Revolution," there's a backing vocal dub that I don't really like that goes something like:
revolution [da-la-da-da-da-la] revolution [da-la-da-da-da-la] revolution [da-la-da-da-da-la] blues (does he say blues there? Dunno for sure).
The da-la-la's don't add anything and get a little annoying. But there's also some vocal production tricks that sound really good. First off, Billy's trademark (for better or worse) live echoing vocal howls appear on this song. And on the last word of some of the yelled lines before the outro, they added some delay and pitch modulation, so as the line echoes and trails off, it also descends in pitch, like:
Let me do something real like I SHOULD!! Should... should... should ... shoud ...
This is a really solid song and probably would have scored a nine if not for the slightly too long middle section. It's funny that this song was called "mostly instrumental" in early reviews. It made me believe there were little, to no vocals. After hearing it live, I thought maybe it was rearranged with some Billy rant-style vocals thrown in. Nope, it's roughly the same song as played live. It's as instrumental as Silverfuck.
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Neverlost
Score: 6
As soon as United States ends, this song picks up, creating a sharp contrast to the frenzy of the United States outro. Like That's the Way, this song didn't make a huge impression on me live, but after hearing it on the record, it has grown on me more so than That's the Way. The instrumentation definitely helps. As you've probably heard, the main guitar line is doubled by a vibraphone (or maybe a synth, who knows). There's also an arpeggiated organ line during the chorus (also alluded to by Jimmy in a MySpace bulletin) , and some synth strings, and it all works well. This song also has quite a different drum tone to it; the snare is tuned looser, giving it more of a boxy sound. It actually reminds me, in tone as well as beat, of Morning Bell on Kid A. There are a lot of sweet single stroke rolls on the snare between sections of the song. It's kind of a simple song at it's core, so I don't have a whole lot to say about it.
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Bring the Light
Score: 8
Finally, after eight songs the Pumpkins had played live, one that I knew nothing about -- and actually, a bit of a surprise. I expect an album to start winding down around track 9. A band obviously wants its heaviest hitting songs up front so that the listener is sucked in right away. Doomsday Clock, 7 Shades of Black, and Bleeding the Orchid definitely fill that role. But this song is far from a closer.
It starts of with, and bear with me, a sort of pop-punk, palm muted guitar part, but with soft vocals, from: "Shot down, I stood..." to "fall in love, lest I learn...", then Jimmy comes in with 8th notes on the hi-hat and bass drum kicks on the down beats. And then, boom, into the chorus, "light... bring the light", which is really catchy and has this great hooky guitar lead under the vocals. Reminds me of the "Radio" parts of I of the Mourning. Leading out of the chorus, the beat breaks and the bass drum and crash cymbals accent sustained guitar strums under a final repeat of the words Bring ... the ... Light. There's a lot of guitar/drum interplay like that on the album.
Another one of the highlights of the album for me is the bridge of this song, leading into a short (8 measure), but really fucking amazing, fast harmonized guitar solo, leading into a half-time refrain of the chorus with crazy tom rolls. It's the kind of shit that makes this band great.
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Come On (Let's Go)
Score: 7
Another surprise -- why isn't this album winding down yet? I mentioned earlier about how certain songs have a sonic pair on this record, specifically Doomsday Clock and 7 Shades of Black. Similarly, Bleeding the Orchid and That's the Way pair together, as do this song and Bring the Light. Both songs have a double-time, up-tempo feel, but where Bring the Light is an upper, Come On (Let's Go) is more of a downer.
The main riff (and it's a true riff, not just a chord progression) sounds kind of like a glam rock throwback. I'm going to say Weezer here, but I want to be clear on what I mean. It doesn't sound like Weezer, but it evokes the same sort of adoration for Kiss and 80s cock rock that Rivers Cuomo exudes in certain Weezer songs. Hopefully that makes a bit of sense. Actually, the riff sounds like it could have been plucked from Pastichio Medley.
I'm a little ambivalent about the first half of the song, but I really love the bridge. It sounds similar to the bridge of White Spyder (you gotta get away / to try to stay awake, etc) with a heavy octave riff. Then the lead guitar and vocals do a cool call-and-response thing for the "I wanna love" lyric, the lead guitar does a bend which is followed by that lyric sung mimicking the guitar.
Like Bring the Light, and every other damn song on Zeitgeist, there's vocal dubs and harmonies all over the place. Lots of lead guitar filling in the gaps, great drumming, and just a ton going on. This song is like Tarantula in that there are a lot of different sections, and it doesn't necessarily sound cohesive at first. Then you listen a couple of times and it starts to come together. Like I said, I don't focus as much on lyrics as other aspects of music. Despite the fact that, on paper, this song probably has better lyrics than Bring the Light, I think Bring the Light is a slightly better song.
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For God and Country
Score: 4
For me, this is the nadir of the album. It's going to frustrate a lot of people that are used to the acoustic arrangement -- this is about as big of a departure from that as you can imagine. If anything, it's cut from the same cloth as the Adore version of Saturnine. The song is driven by a heavy, distorted (possibly synth) bass line. There is some guitar in the form of some octave strumming, but it's fairly low in the mix. There's also a fair amount of general ambient synth noise throughout. This song suffers from the same syndrome that turns me off to a lot of Machina; it lacks dynamics and drones on for just a little too long. I think a live drum sound is sorely missed on this track.
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Pause for a second. Do yourself a favor. Leave one surprise for when the album comes out. Don't read about Pomp and Circumstance. Experience the same enjoyment that I had upon hearing it for the first time not knowing too much about it.
I'm going to "hide" the song review in black text. Highlight over it if you absolutely have to. Yeah, yeah, like anyone isn't going to read it.
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Pomp and Circumstance
Score: 8
Holy Shit.
Wow.
Take any preconceived notions you have about this song, and throw them out the window.
Without a doubt, the most unique sounding song Billy Corgan has ever recorded in any project. Almost indescribable. First off, it's a dirge. No drums. No rhythm guitar. If Doomsday Clock conjures a feeling of apocalypse, then Pomp and Circumstance is a song for The Rapture. It starts with a Billy choir (like Bleeding the Orchid) slowly chanting (in 6/8 time) "la-la-la la-la-la la la la". Enter pizzicato strings, contrabass, synth strings, gong-like crashes all awash in cavernous reverb. Think the interlude of Behold! the Nightmare. Imagine the bastard love child of really slow, soft songs by The Flaming Lips, Radiohead, and Queen. There is a definite structure to the song, but it's so airy and vast, it loses any semblance to a traditional soft Pumpkins song. Then, in the end, a really soulful guitar lead (similar in tone to the quiet part in Tarantula) plays under the chanting vocals as the song and album drift away.
This has the potential to be a really polarizing song for people. I can imagine people not liking it, and it's not the type of song I'd typically like. But, for me, the recording is so terrific; I couldn't help but love it instantly. Probably my favorite last song on any Corgan album (you know, aside from Come With Me... that's a freakin' classic).
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This album is not Siamese Dream. It's not Mellon Collie. It's not trying to be those things or to rehash previous successes. If you're hoping for something that sounds like those albums, you'll be disappointed. But unlike Zwan or TheFutureEmbrace, which were purposefully tangential to the Pumpkins aesthetic, this does sound like an evolution of where the band left off. I can imagine why Billy would have wanted to work with Roy Thomas Baker. There had to have been an idea in his mind to focus on the vocals as a centerpiece of the production. That aspect alone makes this album stand apart from previous albums. It's too early for me to tell how it will wear on me over time, but I'm enjoying the hell out of it right now.
my favs are thats the way and neverlost
so we have diffrent opinions
http://www.wishlistfoundation.org
Oh my, they dropped the leash.
Morgan Freeman/Clint Eastwood 08' for President!
"Make our day"
i will wait ...
for the original cd
gkoaswfjhlsdmhd
I couldn't find if it had or not.
http://www.wishlistfoundation.org
Oh my, they dropped the leash.
Morgan Freeman/Clint Eastwood 08' for President!
"Make our day"
no
<listens to Siva>
-Eddie Vedder
6/24/06 Cincinatti, Ohio
6/14/08 Manchester, Tennessee
I had been monitoring that cesspool of filth and hatred, netphoria, because you know when it leaks it will be there, and they will know... but the damn site keeps trying to install spyware on my computer...
It's odd, cause you would think that the hardcore fans over there are in their late 20's to 30's, yet they act like childish teens... STRANGE!
As for the album leaking, wouldn't count on it. The guy who posted the review (under the name Implosion) also wrote this when asked to leak it:
"I managed to get a review copy for the day. I tried ripping it a million different ways (so I could listen longer than just today), but the thing is seriously locked down. I tried every major ripper on Windows and Linux. The damn thing won't even play in any of my DVD players. That's probably a big reason this thing hasn't leaked. I could probably record it through line out/line in, but it won't sound as good and theoretically it's still watermarked, so I'm really sorry I can't share."
you don't blame the hearse.
07/09/03, 05/05/06, 06/01/06, 06/03/06
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/atoz/2007/06/smashing_pumpkins_zeitgeist_fi.php
Smashing Pumpkins, Zeitgeist: First Listen
Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 05:54:25 PM
Sometimes the mailman graces me with some unexpected gifts – like this week, when the USPS dropped off a top-secret, watermarked copy of the new Smashing Pumpkins album, Zeitgeist. I don’t think it’s leaked online yet (or has it?), nor have I read much on other blogs about how the rest of the album sounds beyond first single, “Tarantula.” So since I’ve been listening to the disc for the past week trying to wrap my brain around it, here’s an exclusive, track-by-track review of the album. I’ll put my thoughts after the jump, in case people want to be surprised when Zeitgeist comes out on July 10.
I will say, however, that those of you hoping that Zeitgeist is an unmitigated disaster will be disappointed: It’s not. Those of you afraid that Billy Corgan made another The Future Embrace (his uber-synthpop, somewhat-cheesy solo album) will be happy: He didn’t.
With drummer Jimmy Chamberlin the lone member of the classic Pumpkins lineup remaining – a good move, as his influence on the new songs is clearly a positive one, at least in terms of keeping Zeitgeist reigned-in and focused – Corgan embraces the quintessential Pumpkins hit-making calculus: Distortion, noise, heavily-layered vocals, and quiet-to-loud dynamics permeate the first half of Zeitgeist, only letting up briefly for one extended period of instrumental wankery – “United States,” a song that ends up functioning as a transition into the second half of the album, which contains keyboard-heavy (and poppier) songs.
What’s interesting about Zeitgeist is that Corgan has all but abandoned the past decade of Smashing Pumpkins experimentation – in particular, the electro-industrial darkness of Adore and Machina’s New Order-inspired Britpop/new-wave – in favor of the sound that brought him critical respect and rabid fandom in the early 1990s. (A move more than a little reminiscent of the “back to its roots” ethos U2 adopted on its two most recent albums, when it conveniently forgot about Pop’s discotheque action and Zooropa’s bizarro-electro-pop ambience.)
In fact, I can’t help but think of U2 when listening to Zeitgeist (and no, it’s not because both frontmen supposedly have raging egos). Like U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind and How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, Zeitgeist is instantly recognizable as Smashing Pumpkins – but it often lacks the songwriting and lyrical synergy that made Siamese Dream and Gish (or in U2’s case, War and The Joshua Tree) classics. Blame it on Zeitgeist’s political focus – I’m sorry, but at this point, do we need another rockstar to weigh in on America and our fucked-up politics here and abroad, no matter how obliquely? – and its sometimes-suspect lyrics.
Now granted, it’s nearly impossible to judge a band’s newest work completely objectively, especially when this particular band is attempting to build on a past that was both wildly successful and creative. At the same time, it’s certainly unfair to expect any group to recapture its early energy and creative bursts – evolution is a necessarily and very welcome evil. But perhaps it’s also almost difficult to parse the scope of Zeitgeist since Billy Corgan's distinctive, nasally vocal timbre and inflections make nearly all music he creates -- no matter if he’s flying solo or in another band (i.e., Zwan) -- feel like a Smashing Pumpkins disc. The band has been away for a bunch of years (and sure, Corgan retired Pumpkins songs live for awhile) although with Corgan's penchant for reinvention, it doesn't feel like they've even been away.
Perhaps this reaction is because Zeitgeist’s tricks aren’t quite as revolutionary today as they were when SP debuted -- much like in the way Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and countless other “grunge” bands sound far less dangerous today than they did to my ears in 1993. On the first few listens, Zeitgeist is a good record – maybe not groundbreaking or life-changing, but good. And for many artists, that’s fine. But for those expecting great things from Billy Corgan because of his legacy and lasting impact on radio and bands, is that good enough? At what point do unrealistic expectations color how an album is perceived?
It’ll be interesting to see how a generation of kids weaned on bands influenced by the Pumpkins – especially Muse, Silversun Pickups and My Chemical Romance – will respond to Zeitgeist. Fans of a certain age (twenty- and thirty-somethings mostly) who were inundated with Pumpkins music in high school and college will find Zeitgeist familiar, if not nostalgia-inducing. But newbie fans who might not be aware of Corgan’s perfectionist reputation or his detours away from distorto-pop (and if you think about it, modern alt-rock radio stations tend to shy away from latter-day Pumpkins) are entirely used to (if not immune to) SP-styled distortion. They may just not be as interested in the band– or find Corgan as relatable an icon as, say, MCR’s Gerard Way, whose misfit-nerd persona Corgan assumed rather well himself ten, fifteen years ago.
Keep in mind that these listens were on a crappy clock radio/CD player – the only thing I own besides my car that played this promo – and that I haven’t read any interviews with Corgan about Zeitgeist or other reviews of the album so far.
1. “Doomsday Clock”: The noisy Pumpkins are back. In a big way. A strong, solid opening to Zeitgeist, “Clock” is catchy and instantly memorable. Guitars scream in like a bottle-rocket and distort almost immediately, driven by Chamberlin’s Animal-from-Muppets drumming and Corgan’s layered vox – arranged in such a way that he resembles a mechanized robot. The chorus will likely be singled out by multiple critics as a representation of Corgan’s ego: “Please don’t stop / It’s lonely at the top / These lonely days / Will they ever stop? / This doomsday clock / Ticking in my heart / These lonely days / Will they ever stop?” A promising opening.
2. “7 Shades of Black”: The noisy, distorted intro resembles the throttling of Muse (who, judging by Zeitgeist, are way more influenced by early Smashing Pumpkins than most give them credit for). A burst of white noise with no discernible pop structure, save for several lulls where the chaos subsides to let Corgan’s hard-to-decipher rant-screams take center stage. Very reminiscent of Gish. A good interlude between tracks one and three, since it’s not particularly memorable.
3. “Bleeding the Orchid”: An echoing, hymn-like intro with wordless crooning from Corgan bleeds directly into a slower, sludgy song that’s sorta-psychedelic and very 1990s – although one saved again from dirge-y purgatory because of Chamberlain’s influence. Lyrically suspect, however: “As hate forms a sequence / Of one by one / As freedom’s not easy / There’s so much to want / There’s clouds in my shower / Ghosts in my home / Bleeding the orchid.” What?
4. “That’s the Way (My Love Is)”: Sheets of droning (but melodic) guitar heavily influenced by wistful shoegazers – My Bloody Valentine in particular – dominate this song, until the screaming guitar solo on the bridge signals a loud, crescendoing ending. Still, the most peaceful moment on the album, and an early highlight. Another obvious single.
5. “Tarantula”: The monstrous first single. In context with the rest of Zeitgeist, it’s fairly representative of the album as a whole, if not structured a little more traditionally. Hear here and here.
6. “Starz”: Another song with a quiet intro that immediately turns l-o-u-d. Distinguishing characteristics include Corgan whispering “We are starz” (stars?) and guitars with more than a touch of the Scorpions’ “Rock You Like a Hurricane” meedlee-meedlee-mee stuff going on. The bass-heavy live version of the song reveals a bit more of a Bauhaus (or, weirdly, Metallica) influence. Still, generic and obtuse. And it’s more than a little lame to replace “s” with “z,” if you’re over the age of seventeen.
7. “United States”: Quite obviously intended to be Zeitgeist’s epic moment. Ominous drumming and fuzzy riffs reminiscent of U2’s “Until the End of the World” begat phrases like “Revolution, what will they do to you?” and “Revolution, what will they do to me?” (Ooh, symmetrical deep thoughts.) Then turns into a long, extended instrumental jam full of distortion, meandering guitar solos and other bits of wankery. Completely self-indulgent and entirely too long and boring, even if snippets of sound here and there are pleasant enough.
8. “Neverlost”: Features Bowie-esque touches (think a less-glammy version of the repetitive riffs snaking through Scary Monsters’ “Ashes to Ashes”), subtle strings and what sounds like a marimba chiming along in the back. Discernible lyrics include “I’m in touch with you.” A weak song that never really goes anywhere.
9. “Bring the Light”: The most new-wave-sounding song on the album. Smiths-like chiming guitars on the chorus and brisk, danceable beats throughout match wits with Corgan’s vocals cooing chorus phrases such as, “I’ve never felt so really right / Bring the light.” All bleeds into, again, a pseudo-hair-metal breakdown by the end of the song. Should be a booming success – and it is totally catchy, don’t get me wrong -- but somehow feels like Smashing Pumpkins karaoke.
10. “(Come on) Let’s Go!”: Not an Apples in Stereo song, although the fuzzy chord-bombs and compact-pop feel of the song are very 1990s indie-rock. Feels like it should be on a seven-inch single with a hand-drawn sleeve. Most reminiscent of Siamese Dream, i.e. vintage Smashing Pumpkins.
11. “For God and Country”: The acoustic version of this song floating around YouTube doesn’t do justice to the studio version, which might be Zeitgeist’s best song. Ghostly synthesizers – again, very reminiscent of Scary Monsters-era Bowie, or, weirdly, Real Life’s “Send Me an Angel” – and plinking piano mesh well with cloudy drones of guitar and Corgan’s multi-layered vocals. Clearly meant to be a single.
12. “Pomp and Circumstance”: Bombastic. Grandiose. Could be an outtake from Future Embrace. Delicate, syrupy-slow and heavy with keyboards. Corgan sings multi-tracked “la-la-la-la” flourishes over spacey, droning synths -- cue 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love” – while a gong goes off in the background. The electric guitar snaking through the end of the song oddly sounds in texture and tone like Jimi Hendrix’s version of “The Star Spangled Banner,” especially in its unfurling majesty – which is probably deliberate. Painfully self-indulgent, although an appropriate way to end the album.
See These Bones
July 9-th and July 13-th
it is on their myspace page