Interesting news and I bet a few SP fans are happy with this announcement. 44 Songs that should quiet you crybabies

[img] http://www.smashingpumpki...ptych4.jpg [/img]

I'm happy to finally announce the plans for the new Smashing Pumpkins album.

Recording began yesterday, September 15th, 2009 on the new record which will be entitled 'Teargarden by Kaleidyscope'. The album will feature 44 songs, 4 of which are now being recorded. 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. 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 will however sell highly limited edition EP's (of 4 songs each times 11), and details of how those EP's will be made available are still being worked out. Because the songs themselves will be free, the EP's will be more like collectors items for the discerning fan who will want the art itself, along with the highest possible audio quality available. The EP's will be more like mini-box sets rather than your normal cd single. We may also offer other variations for sale, say for example a digital single with a demo version of a song. The commitment that is most important is the one I'm making to you: that the music of 'Teargarden by Kaleidyscope' will be available for free to everyone. All 44 songs: free for ALL.

When the entire album is finished, it will be compiled into a deluxe box set which will also be made available for sale. Those who have bought the EP's need not worry, as the box set will not be a recompilation of the limited edition pieces.

The story of the album is based on 'The Fool's Journey', as signified in the progress of the Tarot. 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.

The music of 'Teargarden by Kaleidyscope' harkens back to the original psychedelic roots of The Smashing Pumpkins: atmospheric, melodic, heavy, and pretty.

I already have 53 songs written for the record, so I am quite confident that I already have much of the material that I would need to undertake such an extensive project. I am very committed to seeing this album through to its completion and very, very excited about the prospect of delivering new Smashing Pumpkins music to you in a unique and exciting way.

[Edited 9/16/09 15:38pm]

sounds excellent. Hopefully Billy can rein in the overkill that kinda wrecked Zeitgeist. More acoustics, more pretty.

oh yeah, and he shouldn't call it a Smashing Pumpkins project, 'cause it's not

oh hell... why do artists even bother with this kind of statement?

guy started recording YESTERDAY. he's got 4 songs recorded. and he's already got it titled and knows how many tracks it's going to be, the release schedule and venue...


nothing against Billy specifically, but this shit ain't gonna happen the way he says it is. he started recording YESTERDAY!

abigail05 said:

I was wondering if it was the original members..this should be interesting.And calling us SP fans crybabies is an understatement, compared to what goes on in here..lol

Teargarden by Kaleidyscope
[Edited 9/16/09 17:34pm]

i'm psyched. i loved zeitgiest.

i love how billy's still going with the bad pun game with the album titles.

that being said, because zeitgeist sucked only in places, and G.L.O.W. was epic, i'm pretty sure this is going to be a decent album. can't wait.

(Teargarden by Kaleidyscope cover)

Corgan Talks Pumpkins’ Plans: “I’d Rather Be Free Than Rich”
October 2009

For someone who once released a double CD, Billy Corgan has had it with the album. “I was never comfortable with the album format,” Corgan tells Rolling Stone. “It always felt so forced and was obviously an economic decision made by others and not an artistic decision made by creators. It can be draining to try to record 15 songs over a six-month period.”


True to his word, the in-progress, psychedelic-leaning Smashing Pumpkins album, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, will be released one track at a time, as free downloads, starting in late October. “No strings attached, no e-mail address need be given, no fees, nothing, totally free,” he says. “A 44-song free-for-all!” Even when it will be available physically, the format will be 11 EPs with four tracks each. “I thought it would emphasize that each song is really important to me,” he says, “and also try to get myself up to the speed of a world that is absolutely devouring information.”


Corgan says he wasn’t inspired by any similar approaches, like Radiohead’s recent move to put out singles and one album online. “I want no limitations on what I can, and will do,” he says. “I think the size and shape of the traditional album is just morphing into something much more in the moment. Four songs at a time will mean I can give my heart over to the music fully without giving away my now happy life.”

Although Corgan says he already written 53 songs, he won’t say whether he’ll be recording them with the latest edition of the Pumpkin or reveal any song titles. “The first four songs are speaking a new language to me, rooted in the psychedelic music I love but still sounding quite modern and like the Pumpkins I long to hear,” he allows. He’s also hoping to have the first track available just after Halloween.

Can Corgan, who parted ways with Warner Bros. last year, afford to give music away for free? “I can’t afford it!!” he says. “But I would rather be free than rich. The [major] labels are dead ghosts walking, and they know it. They never should have left this mystic free, because I am way more of a pied piper than they could ever fathom.”




http://www.rollingstone.c...than-rich/

"They never should have left this mystic free, because I am way more of a pied piper than they could ever fathom."

oh jeez....


I like the sound of the project, though... will definitely get these tracks as they surface.

Copycat said:

I love the cover! And I'm really excited with this project.

I think this is similar to what Prince would like to do artistically, but Billy's probably got a lot more fresh music in him at this point. And kudos to him for making it free, but honestly..I'd rather pay for a physical product I can hold in my hands, and I will.

i hope 2 out of the 44 songs are good.