Billy Corgan – The Smashing Pumpkins – Musician – 2026 – Far Out Magazine (Credits; John Shaw)
Mon 25 May 2026 22:00, UK
Selling out is a huge point of contention within the music industry and is even more frowned upon in certain scenes and circles. To avoid ever being accused of such a musical misdemeanour, you’ve got to avoid upsetting the gatekeepers, such as a certain Billy Corgan.
Of course, selling out comes in all shapes and forms, and while some people consider the act of pandering to a certain audience in order to ensure that they’re in better standing for making more money or obtaining a larger fanbase to be an example, others believe that needless cash-grabs when a band or artist has nothing new to offer is a far more egregious way of selling out.
Either way, Mr Corgan doesn’t want you to be doing this, and even though one might reasonably try to accuse him and his band, Smashing Pumpkins, of having done this at various stages of their career, he’s adamant that doing this is not the right way of going about your business as a successful rock band.
Speaking at a music conference in 2012, Corgan expressed his disgust at some of the bands who have found themselves being corrupted by greed, and who fail to acknowledge the real motives behind their decision to embark on world tours without there ever being any new material to back it up. However, while a few names came up in his tirade, there was one in particular that took the brunt of his ire, and who foolishly tried to provide a rebuttal.
“I am not in that business, obviously,” Corgan proudly proclaimed about his perceived lack of having sold out over the course of his career, before dragging other acts into his diatribe. “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.”
Billy Corgan
While he wanted to make his stance clear by calling out Soundgarden, the recipients of his criticism weren’t going to let it lie, with frontman Chris Cornell choosing to respond by pointing out that he was the one responsible for handing Smashing Pumpkins a movie deal when they were getting desperate.
As if Corgan and Cornell didn’t already have enough of a clash going on, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil chose to offer his two cents to the situation, stating to The Dallas Observer that while he wasn’t going to name names, he was adamant that Soundgarden weren’t a band whose every move was being dictated by a single figurehead at the centre, seemingly taking a swipe at Corgan’s role in his own band.
Further reading: From The Vault
“There are many bands out there that are led by one guy who does all the writing,” Thayil argued. “He might have some religious epiphany or some psychedelic experience, and he will write all this material that can very easily suck. And the rest of his band feels like they have to play it. That is not Soundgarden. Consequently, we have never made a record that sucked.”
While Corgan may have a point about bands needlessly finding a reason to reform and earn a quick buck, there’s a certain amount of hypocrisy that can easily be pointed out, and when given the ammunition, those acts that Corgan wanted to hit out at were willing to shoot their shot in return, and justifiably so.
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