Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins Having War Of Words
Posted by Chris Harris on September 30, 2012 in Huh?, News
Billy Corgan
Corgan recently put Soundgarden on blast for cashing in with their reunion tour.
“There are those bands that are essentially coming back only to make money — playing their old albums, and maybe somewhere in the back of their minds they’re thinking there might be a future,” said Corgan during a Philippines press conference.
“I am not in that business, obviously. I condemn anybody who’s in that business but doesn’t admit [he's] in that business. When Soundgarden came back and they just played their old songs, great. I was a fan of Soundgarden, but call it for what it is. They’re just out there to have one more round at the till; same with Pavement and these other bands.”
Seems Billy had an ax to grind with comments Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell made in 2007 — that “he didn’t consider our reunion, in quotations, to be ‘legitimate,’” says Billy. “So that’s something that’s… I kind of have an elephant’s memory when it comes to somebody punching me in the face.”
Now, in an interview with WXDX-FM, a radio station in Pittsburgh, Matt Cameron was asked if he was surprised by Corgan’s critiques.
“I watched a couple of interviews that he did, kind of recently, where he was just talking about the current music scene, and I kind of agree with him on a lot of stuff,” Matt said. “I think Billy’s a super-smart guy. I personally would never, sort of, begrudge another musician for having a gig. Because that’s kind of what we do this for.
“It’s just amazing that Soundgarden has an audience and that Pearl Jam has an audience.
“Ultimately, we do it for ourselves as artists, but when you can connect with an audience, small or large, that’s kind of what keeps you going.
“I mean, I certainly understand why people would question bands that reunite… So, I’ll just leave it at that.”
