Billy Corgan might think that The Smashing Pumpkins are a better band than Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters — and he is right, by the way — but the Pumpkins might not even be around much longer. According to a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Corgan hinted that the next Smashing Pumpkins album, Day for Night, could well be the last.
"The next album is like the end, end, end," Corgan says when discussing his "psychic impression of the future" in terms of new Pumpkins albums. "The trite way to say it is I'm over rock 'n' roll. Which is strange because rock 'n' roll is getting back into me."
If Corgan were to end the Smashing Pumpkins after the next album, it would not be the first time the band — project is a more appropriate word at this point — has fallen apart. The Pumpkins initially split in 2000, but reunited in 2006, though guitarist James Iha and bassist D'arcy Wretzky chose not to participate. Corgan is currently the sole original member of the band and the only official member at the moment other than rhythm guitarist Jeff Schroeder.
"Honestly, I think the fanbase is gone," Corgan continues when asked about his fans. "I know it's a prickly way to put it, but I don't think there are fans anymore. I would define a fan as someone who explores the depths of the artist's work, and allows the artist to show you something ... I don't think there are that many of those people who exist. I'd say they're in the low thousands."
The Smashing Pumpkins's most recent album Monuments to an Elegy was released yesteday, Dec. 9. It is the band's ninth studio album overall and the second full-length album in the band's ongoing Teargarden by Kaleidyscope series, following 2012's Oceania. The next Smashing Pumpkins album, Day for Night, is set for release at some point in 2015 and will conclude Teargarden by Kaleidyscope and possibly the Smashing Pumpkins altogether.
You can check out Smashing Pumpkins's "One and All" from their latest album Monuments to an Elegy here:
