Smashing Pumpkins: Oceania

[3LB]

I'm really liking this one. Has a 'Melloncollie' vibe to it, though its not as infinitely sad as that one. Sound quality is better than the last Smashing Pumpkins CD I heard, Zeitgeist.

I guess it depends on what kind of Corgan you want to hear; bitter, disenfranchised, venom-spitting Billy or wistful, introspective, cinematic Billy. Not to say that Oceania is a touchy-feely work, and it does rock, though I am hearing a bit more synths than I remember on a Pumpkins album (don't worry, its not a Muse album). I definitely would recommend it to those who loved the more cinematic parts of Melloncollie & The Infinite Sadness. Lots of textural guitar, less dissonance. Wheras as past Pumpkin albums found Corgan in the throws of both angst and longing simultaneously, this album shows us he's not quite the 'rat-in-a-cage' he once was - that's not a bad thing in this case.

[Finch Platte]

I would NOT buy this, even though the reviews (and yours) make it sound like something I would like.

I'm just tired of reading about the guy and his quirks, and I just wish he would fade away into obscurity.

[3LB]

I would NOT buy this, even though the reviews (and yours) make it sound like something I would like.

I'm just tired of reading about the guy and his quirks, and I just wish he would fade away into obscurity.

Oh yeah, I remember. He fired band members, re-recorded band members parts when he didn't like what they played. Quite a megalomaniac.

I should state that I went back and listened to Adore from '98 and Corgan probably used synths quite a bit on that album as well, but I haven't listened to this album in a long time because Adore is such a lanquid album, maybe a tad monotenous - almost reminds me of a Cure album. I never picked up Machina and Zeitgeist never really grabbed me (traded it). Maybe I was just in the mood for Smashing Pumpkins when Oceania came along..