Support NeoGAF

[Bebpo]

To be honest I don't really think the album sounds very SP.

I mean it's a good album, and I'm glad SP is back so you can hear the old stuff as well at concerts, but it sounds more like a new Billy/Jimmy band than what SP was.

For instance 7 Shades of Black sounds nothing like SP IMO. That's the way sounds more like something that'd be on TFE, same with God & Country. Then again stuff like Tarantula, Doomsday Clock, and United States DO sound very SP.

So actually I think about 50% of it sounds like SP (maybe even 75% of it), but there's a sizeable chunk that sounds like "new Billy/Jimmy band" than SP.

Just my $.02

 

[siamesedreamer]

also... you didn't like adore!?

Adore was just different.......there are a few songs on there that are pretty good. Considering what he was going through at the time/working with I can't really hold it against him.

You just gotta remember that I regard Siamese Dream as a musical masterpiece - the best album on the 90s by a far margin. Its a little hard to please someone so biased. I'm one of those people who's still pissed we never got Siamese Dream II .

 

[Zilch]

http://www.spinner.com/2007/07/02/video-premiere-smashing-pumpkins-tarantula/

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

well i don't think adore sounded like SP at the time, and i dont think machina sounded like SP at the time. that is what i like most about the band

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

who is the chick w/ the black hair at the beginning of the video? i'd like to have sexual intercourse with her.

also who are all these ****ing people in the vid!

 

[tsp_gatmog]

i like the video

 

[Zilch]

It's not as bad as the still image they released made it look.

 

[tsp_gatmog]

united states
omfg

 

[Dead]

http://www.spinner.com/2007/07/02/video-premiere-smashing-pumpkins-tarantula/

Listening to the album on the preview linked from there.

Doesn't sound like Smashing Pumpkins...at all imo :/

 

[Macam]

What in god's name is with that trainwreck of a video? It's like some Frankenstein mix of the Cherub Rock video, Zwan's Honestly video, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Tell Me Baby video, with a heaping of acid and dung. Ugh.

The album itself (which you can stream on the site with the music video) is solid. I'm really digging the more aggressive prog-rock drums and a number of tracks I didn't really think I'd care for (notably Starz and Bleed the Orchid). It's not as accessible as any of their earlier stuff, but I like what I hear for the most part. As for it not sounding like the Pumpkins...well, you could say that about Adore and Machina as well.

 

[White Man]

The video reminds me of, well. ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EBSGnYhDFM

 

[Bebpo]

The video is ...interesting.


...though I have to like it because HE SHOOTS BEAMS FROM HIS EYES LIKE A GIANT ROBOT.

 

[Dead]

Ok, just heard that solo in Thats the Way. This one was good.

 

[distantmantra]

Tarantula rivals Cherub Rock for worst and most pointless SP video of all time.

 

[Dead]

Heard the whole thing. Keeping in my mind i've been a fan of the group for well over ten years and like pretty much all their material...

I dunno. It was sort of a whole lot of nothing.

Just listening to it, the only feeling I get was of "why do these songs even exist". Theres nothing about em that grabs me at all. It's all just...there, no reason for this album to exist, nothing about it stands out.

I don't think this is better than any other album theyve made honestly. Machina at least had some REALLY stand out tracks that gave the album an identity. Zeitgeist...what did I even gain from listening to it?

I don't even know if I'll be buying this...

 

[White Man]

There's a video for Cherub Rock?

 

[Windu]

well that was a strange one

There's a video for Cherub Rock?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=t1N_qX_r4Iw

 

[big_z]

someone with those red/blue 3d glasses watch the video. does it do anything?

 

[Macam]

Tarantula rivals Cherub Rock for worst and most pointless SP video of all time.

Cherub Rock may have been pointless, but at least the video was passable for the time period and, at least for me, kind of captured some of that raw energy that song seemed to encompass. Tarantula is just a mess of a video from start to finish that does nothing for the song, band, or my interest.

On the album side of things, my least favorite track so far is Pomp & Circumstance which kind of reminds me of The Future Embrace's weakest track, Strayz. I'm curious to see how some of these bonus tracks turn out.

 

[big_z]

I'm curious to see how some of these bonus tracks turn out.

im hoping for a 6 minute version of gossamer.

 

[iddqd]

pomp and circumstances kills me.

ill listen to the album a couple more times.. some things may stuck..

but i also get the feeling of "why does this even exist?"

 

[Diablos]

Tarantula rivals Cherub Rock for worst and most pointless SP video of all time.

No it doesn't. I don't see anything that bad about it; surprisingly, I actually enjoyed it. It's certainly better than what I thought it would be.

PS - The Cherub Rock video is cool, dammit.

im hoping for a 6 minute version of gossamer.

If the live shows are an indication it could be 15-20+

"why do these songs even exist".

Because they're good songs Billy and Jimmy wanted to put to tape?

So actually I think about 50% of it sounds like SP (maybe even 75% of it), but there's a sizeable chunk that sounds like "new Billy/Jimmy band" than SP.

If that's how you feel, then they did the right thing. No SP album really sounds like the one before it. You can't tell me that when you first heard Adore and Machina, you honestly thought they blended in with everything else they did. They didn't. Zeitgeist doesn't, either.

Gish, Siamese, and MCIS all have a different kind of sound as well. They've always been this way.

edit: I now have the best avatar ever, lolz! In your face, Macam!

 

[PotatoeMasher]

Diablos is just... wow.

I'm going to give it a few more listens through, but I'm pretty disappointed so far. I've had complete turnarounds before--but those were albums where the sound was something new (think 'Kid A') whereas this just sounds like a bunch of TAFH rejects.

It's not that it's a BAD album, it's just that the whole thing seems like a muddy mess to me.

Maybe I've moved on.

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

"why does this album exist?"

:lol wtf kind of question is that? why does any music exist?

 

[Diablos]

Diablos is just... wow.

OMG I LIKE THE ALBUM!

You can address me instead of acting like you're in another room or something, thanks

 

[Grimmy]

So far....very underwhelmed.

Some songs are warming up to me, like Starz and Bring the Light, but the rest is just so generic. Doesn't seem to have any "spark", just lots of drone with little dynamism. Melodies aren't even all that catchy...

At this point this album is pretty much below everything Billy's done, include TFE (which had great songs like TheCameraEye and Mina Loy) and Mary/Star of the Sea (which has one of my favorite Billy songs ever, Ride a Black Swan).

Maybe it'll click, but after 4-5 listens thus far it doesn't seem likely...

 

[Zilch]

Poor Diablos.

Anyone wanna take bets on how long it'll take him to turn on this album?

 

[Zave]

I've been listening Zeitgeist for the last 48 hours, including a long car-trip that really get some quality with it on my car-stereo.
And i like it, a lot.
Most important: I'm continuosly finding new sounds that I didn't hear in the previous listening, and that's what I usually love in every past SP albums.
So far I'm being surprised by Bring the Light, one of the few songs I didn't heard live in the last weeks/months. Also Pomp and Circumstances is growing on me. What I feel most satisfing is that I'm starting to think at Zeitgeist as the "new sound" of the Smashing Pumpkins, and not just "another version of MCIS/SD/Machina". I'm really happy and I just want to listen once again. And one more time. And still once again.

Preferred songs now:
-Starz
-United States
-That's the Way
-Bring the Light

Love-o-meter: 85/100

 

[siamesedreamer]

That's the Way is my favorite on the album.

United States is growing on me, but its just too damn long.

Pomp and Circumstance will forever be garbage.

 

[AlphaSnake]

OMG I LIKE THE ALBUM!

You can address me instead of acting like you're in another room or something, thanks

Oh don't pretend as if you don't do the same thing.

Anywho, I'm about to listen to the album now.

Spoiler

After I watch Entourage

 

[AlphaSnake]

Half way in...and this album rocks.

 

[IJoel]

The more I listen to the album, the more I like it. Bring the light crossed the line to my faves now.

 

[siamesedreamer]

Half way in...and this album rocks.

Stop there.......the second half pales in comparison.

 

[Bebpo]

7 Shades of Black is starting to grow on me. In fact, the more I listen to the album the more I get very, very close in agreement with the long review song by song breakdown posted a few pages back.

I think Come on (let's go) should be the 2nd single though...

 

[CajoleJuice]

Just finished my first listen to the album. It really kicks in damn good. Right off the bat I was like "Oh wow, this rocks." United States is 10 minutes of awesome. Unfortunately, it kinda falls off after that. Gotta give it a few more listens, but I definitely like it.

 

[Windu]

Stop there.......the second half pales in comparison.

:lol yeah thats how i felt, it was great for the first half then average the second.

 

[jumper]

I'm listening to it for the first time (only heard two songs before this - Tarantula and Doomsday Clock), and I'm only a few songs in, but I have to say - this album ROCKS!!!

Yeah, I'm a huge fan, but I can be a critic too. I loved SD, MCIS, & Adore, but hated the production in Machina. But the production here is nice so far - makes you wanna blast it.

Plus, I like how a lot of songs have a 'new' feel to them. If these songs sounded too much like old pumpkins, it would've been disapppointing.

I'll have to give another update when I finish this thing.

 

[Bebpo]

I'm really really enjoying this more each listen. Also for those who say the production is all messed up, listen to it on a good system. In my car it sounds a bit mushy/muddled and the sound seperation isn't that great, but on my home theater it sounds AWESOME; better production than probably any other SP cds I have. I mean SD and MCIS are insanely awesome cds but they sounds like cassette tapes, Adore is a little better and Machina is sorta wierd, but this is clear and all over the place like an NIN x The Cure album or something.

I love how so much of the album just sounds like a jam session. It's almost like it mixes garage band wildness x traditional radio friendly x live randomness and raw power.

Definitely doesn't sound like MCIS/SD/Adore/Machina, but instead it sounds like something of itself that's good, rocking, and that's all it needs to be. The SP name doesn't really matter, this could be "My Fun Band CD#1" with Billy/Jimmy and it'd still be a good, interesting, rocking album.

Death From Above kinda sucks though. I don't mind the lyrics (don't follow religion enough to even pick up on what Diablos was complaining about), and I don't mind the 80's synth (actually love it and wish Billy did more retro 80s synth pop), but the songs just sounds....meh :\

Also I don't want this to sound like I think it's 10/10 or AoTY or anything. I don't really put that much thought into rock/punk cds. If I get a rocking cd that I can sing and rock out to, that's good enough for me

 

[Diablos]

The more I listen to the album, the more I like it. Bring the light crossed the line to my faves now.

Yeah, excluding some of the sappy religious lyrics, this is a pretty brilliant song. It's like SP meets Nightwish or something, I don't know, it just has that really uptempo, part metal, part pop vibe to it. They've never really done a song like this before.

I think the second half is only going to disappoint if you were expecting balls to the wall rock from start to finish. SP always goes through different sounds throughout an album, it's to be expected, and I always appreciate it. ::shrug::

Poor Diablos.

Anyone wanna take bets on how long it'll take him to turn on this album?

Poor me, why? Because I appreciate good music when I hear it?

Also, you're going to lose if you try and make that bet, because I'm definitely not going to "turn" on Zeitgeist. I didn't "turn" on Machina 2, TheFutureEmbrace and Life Begins Again, and I'm most certainly not "turning" on this either.

Anyway, I can't get enough of United States. The climax sounds like the end of the ****ing world, it's amazing.

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

people are going to like the album and people are going to hate it. there isn't much you can do if you are the pumpkins but make the record you want to make. you make something that sounds like any of the previous albums and people say "i liked this album a lot... when it was called siamese dream! 3/10" or you make an album that doesn't sound like the pumpkins and they say "this sounds nothing like sp. generic rock. 3/10"

that's not to say any criticism the album receives is undeserved. if someone thinks the album sucks then what can you do? argue endlessly why you disagree? waste of time.

 

[Diablos]

That has nothing to do with taking bets on how long it's gonna take for me to hate this album.

As for what you said, why not talk about it? I mean if someone says the second half sucks, and I like it, then I'm eager to discuss it. It doesn't mean I am trying to change their mind.

7 Shades of Black is starting to grow on me. In fact, the more I listen to the album the more I get very, very close in agreement with the long review song by song breakdown posted a few pages back.

I think Come on (let's go) should be the 2nd single though...

Well I'm glad someone appreciates my mini-review.

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

i feel that the first half is better just because that is the style of music i like. i love lots of loud guitars and craziness! perhaps the best part of the record is the part in 7 shades when he says "without fear, i'm without anyone at all" and there is a guitar playing under his voice that is freaking awesome. little things like that are what i'm enjoying most about the record.

also the solo at the end of pomp and circumstance makes me want to jack off onto a strippers chest

 

[Diablos]

i feel that the first half is better just because that is the style of music i like. i love lots of loud guitars and craziness! perhaps the best part of the record is the part in 7 shades when he says "without fear, i'm without anyone at all" and there is a guitar playing under his voice that is freaking awesome. little things like that are what i'm enjoying most about the record.

I guess I'm different than most because I appreciate both sides of the album. You just have to think about it differently. If the whole album was United States I think you'd be complaining even more.

I have to lolz at you for defending Death from Above while saying the second half of Zeitgeist isn't as good. Death from Above is embarrassingly bad, I'm so glad it didn't make the regular album.

also the solo at the end of pomp and circumstance makes me want to jack off onto a strippers chest

:lol I'm not sure if this is a compliment or not.

 

[Nick]

To be honest I don't really think the album sounds very SP.

I mean it's a good album, and I'm glad SP is back so you can hear the old stuff as well at concerts, but it sounds more like a new Billy/Jimmy band than what SP was.

For instance 7 Shades of Black sounds nothing like SP IMO. That's the way sounds more like something that'd be on TFE, same with God & Country. Then again stuff like Tarantula, Doomsday Clock, and United States DO sound very SP.

So actually I think about 50% of it sounds like SP (maybe even 75% of it), but there's a sizeable chunk that sounds like "new Billy/Jimmy band" than SP.

Just my $.02

This post made almost no sense at all.

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

I guess I'm different than most because I appreciate both sides of the album. You just have to think about it differently. If the whole album was United States I think you'd be complaining even more.

I have to lolz at you for defending Death from Above while saying the second half of Zeitgeist isn't as good. Death from Above is embarrassingly bad, I'm so glad it didn't make the regular album.

i never said i didn't like or appreciate the 2nd half of the record. also, united states is on the 2nd half of the record

death from above is not embarrissingly bad. its an 80's style pop song. don't see what is so god awful about it. there are few pumpkins songs i would call god awful but if you want to talk about awful lets talk Because You Are, not death from above.

 

[Diablos]

i never said i didn't like or appreciate the 2nd half of the record. also, united states is on the 2nd half of the record

death from above is not embarrissingly bad. its an 80's style pop song. don't see what is so god awful about it. there are few pumpkins songs i would call god awful but if you want to talk about awful lets talk Because You Are, not death from above.

Even Because You Are is better than DFA.

The song sucks. It sounds bad, the lyrics make me want to stab myself in the neck with a pencil, it just sucks. I never come out and blatantly say a SP song sucks because 98% of the time they don't make songs worthy of such negativity, but this song sucks.

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

The song sucks. It sounds bad, the lyrics make me want to stab myself in the neck with a pencil, it just sucks. I never come out and blatantly say a SP song sucks, but this song sucks.

are you saying the lyrics ruin the song? because if religious lyrics are cause for a song to suck ass then leave bring the light at the door my friend!

and there is no way in **** that because you are is better than DFA

 

[Diablos]

are you saying the lyrics ruin the song? because if religious lyrics are cause for a song to suck ass then leave bring the light at the door my friend!

and there is no way in **** that because you are is better than DFA

The song is too involved in its religious meaning for its own good. Bring the Light is forgivable, the lyrics have some low points but are tolerable. Not to mention, THE SONG (music) itself IS AWESOME. DFA sounds like poop.

 

[jumper]

So I just finished listening to it....

My favorites right now are 7 Shades, Bleeding the Orchid, United States, Starz, Bring the Light, C'mon.
Awesome album on first listen. Pomp and C is very different, but I like it.

Only two songs didn't grab me on first listen - neverlost isn't as memorable as the other more high-energy tracks. And For God & Country seems very TFE-ish, which is okay, but it has yet to grow on me.

Can't wait to buy it...

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

then we'll have to agree to disagree old buddy. im not saying DFA is an incredible song, but it is enjoyable. although i wish he didn't name it death from above cause i was expecting some hardcore rocking and/or rolling!