I’ve explained in the past how I was once an obsessed Smashing Pumpkins fan, and now I’m a disappointed Smashing Pumpkins fan. Bringing back the band in the first place without James and Darcy (or Melissa) was pretty rough, though sure you could argue that great albums like Siamese Dream were basically just Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin anyway. Now The New York Times is reporting that Jimmy has left the band. No reason has been stated as of yet, but one can only wonder if it was sheer boredom, or maybe not getting a big enough cut from their recent Visa commercial.
Bill has said recently that they’re going to stop attempting to be an album band in a time when very few people listen to albums (opting for their own customized playlist of favorite singles on their iPod.) Hey, if Van Halen can reunite with David Lee Roth (but without Michael Anthony, I still think that’s ridiculous) and Pink Floyd can reunite with Roger Waters for even one show, there has to be hope that we’ll see the original lineup of Smashing Pumpkins again. The question is just how long.
3/24/09 Update from RollingStone:
Days after Rock Daily reported that Jimmy Chamberlin was exiting the Smashing Pumpkins, the drummer took to his official blog to explain his side of the story. “By now you have heard the news of my departure from the Smashing Pumpkins. I will say, without going into any unnecessary details that this represents a positive move forward for me,” Chamberlin writes. “I can no longer commit all of my energy into something that I don’t fully possess. I won’t pretend I’m into something I’m not. I won’t do it to myself, you the fan, or my former partner. I can’t just, ‘Cash the check’ so to speak.”
