Smashing Pumpkins Reveal New LP “Teargarden By Kaleidyscope”
9/16/09, 5:53 pm EST

Billy Corgan took to Smashing Pumpkins’ official Website today to reveal that the barely recognizable band has begun work on a massive new 44-song album called Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. You’d figure it’d be a while between now and when you’ll hear the fruits of the Pumpkins’ labors, but Corgan also revealed on an innovative release plan that’ll allow fans to freely download the songs as the band finishes them.

“My desire is to release a song at a time beginning around Halloween of this year, with each new release coming shortly after until all 44 are out. Each song will be made available absolutely for free, to anyone anywhere. There will be no strings attached,” Corgan writes. “Free will mean free, which means you won’t have to sign up for anything, give an email address, or jump through a hoop. You will be able to go and take the song or songs as you wish, as many times as you wish.”

We know Corgan isn’t the most conventional rocker, but to release an entire album of 44 songs for free? That’s extreme. However, Corgan knows his audience, and he knows that there are thousands of fans eager to purchase one or all eleven of the limited-edition four song EPs he plans to carve out of Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. When the album is completely finished, all 44 songs will be packed into a single Kaleidyscope box set. For those plotting to skip the EP process and wait for the complete set, Corgan foils that plan by writing “the box set will not be a recompilation of the limited edition pieces.”

With an album called Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, an instant entry into our Raditude-inspired list of Dictionary-Defying Album Titles, you’d expect Corgan to have an interesting tale to back the title, and Billy doesn’t disappoint. “The story of the album is based on ‘The Fool’s Journey’, as signified in the progress of the Tarot,” Corgan writes. “It is my intention to approach this by breaking down the journey of our life here into four phases as made by these different characters; the Child, the Fool, the Skeptic, and the Mystic.” So essentially he’s making a Hawkwind album, or an LP that “harkens back to the original psychedelic roots of The Smashing Pumpkins: atmospheric, melodic, heavy, and pretty.”

As Rolling Stone previously reported, Teargarden will be the first SP LP to feature new teenage drummer Mike Byrne, who auditioned for and ultimately won the position of Pumpkins’ drummer after the exodus of Jimmy Chamberlin. Ironically enough, Chamberlin left the Pumpkins after being unable to “cash the check,” and by releasing an album for free, Corgan might not have a check to cash.

I sure hope so. Zeitgeist was all heavy - there was nothing melodic, atmospheric or pretty about it. The recent EP was great though so here's hoping for more of that.

Did a spambot come up with the title for this thread?

i'll probably buy this if it's on sale.

a pretentious spambot at that.

dumb albino ass too tall nigga lost all credibility when he opened that batshit crazy new-age website

Free is too high of a price for me to listen to Smashing Pumpkins at this point.

tear as in
or tear as in

you arent Thom Yorke, mister.

Hey, it's free. I'm interested.

In the end, Zeitgeist grew on me. and the middle stuff was OK. So we'll see what comes next.

i hope he gets into variety again... mellon collie's diversity made it such a magical listening experience

i hope he remembers how to make a record sound great too.

Me too.

I'll listen to this, but I won't listen very closely. Dude has drifted big time.

How does no one acknowledge this? It was damned near a perfect post.

This is a Billy Corgan-related thread. There can be no humor.

i stopped reading at "tarot"

Free songs =

I liked most of what he's put out since the rebirth of SP, so I'm interested.

can we post our pick for the number of songs he will complete before quitting?

Smashing Pumpkins, 'A Song for a Son' -- Song Premiere

Vanguards of '90s alternative rock, the Smashing Pumpkins have continued to carve alternate paths down their road of longstanding commercial success. This new track, 'A Song for a Son,' is the first of 44 that will be rolled out, one at a time, as part of their new album, 'Teargarden by Kaleidyscope.' Frontman Billy Corgan says he wrote the song in a flurry of inspiration, composing its basics in just 15 minutes or less.

"It's got something to do about not having any kids and thinking about why I don't have any kids," Corgan tells Spinner. "And then also kind of thinking about my relationship with my father -- there's some kind of connection there, but it's not overt. I didn't set out to write that. It just rolled out of me."

Eventually, all 44 of the new Smashing Pumpkins tracks will be available for free at the band's website. They'll also be splintered and bundled in 11 four-song EPs with elaborate packaging and the works. It's good to see the Pumpkins can still offer an alternative, even in an indie-rock universe. After all, Corgan may be older, but it's not like he's your father or something.

hear the song:
http://www.spinner.com/2009/12/07/smash ... -premiere/

I want to not like this song - I have been immensely disappointed by this so-called Pumpkins reunion - but it's actually much better than I expected it to be. Consider my interest piqued for the remainder of this "album" project. Although the lack of Jimmy is pretty extreme.