90s alternative rock-- hard-rock, grunge, the Singles soundtrack-- faded as quickly as Perry Farrell break-danced his way into the new Millennium. Rap-rock substituted the waxed angst that groaners like Chris Cornell could no longer endure and eventually the 80s power ballad began to resurge, except now drawn by the stylistic terminology of Nu-Metal (Disturbed, Godsmack; bands who don't mind military ads in the backdrop of their shows but critically can never explain why. Red bull does crazy things).

I felt weird watching the Smashing Pumpkins the other night on Live Earth. They made alt-rock, for the first time ever, seem incredibly passe. Of course, we are dealing with Billy Corgan. At one point during the show he gave credit to his own lovely Grateful Dead spirit by stating to the audience that they should buy the new SP album, Zeitgeist, and "not download it like you did all our other albums." This comes after the Pumpkins disbanded in 2000, playing their last concert in Chicago and charged their fans over $1,000 to see the grand finale. Corgan wore a white dress, played three hours, cried onstage, and then drove home and began writing his own reviews for his upcoming poetry book. Oh yeah, and then Zwan.

Technically, Zeitgeist is not an official SP record. It includes the same members of SP as the Journey-inspired Zwan did (Jimmy Chamberlin on drums). Corgan has always been a model for that some ol' pseudo-goth, Antichrist strategist that's kept Marylin Manson in business for years. Zeitgeist embellishes this heart-on-the-sleeve warriorism, going as far as even including chopped pictures of Paris Hilton in their liner notes, and with clean rocked-out riffs on the Tool side of the hemisphere, eager fans "probably" won't be disappointed. It does what you ask it to do.

Yet, vocally Corgan's ear-pitching cackling themes about, well, "Me", "the all encompassing Me", "God, country & Me" is nothing new to the odes that SP's fuzzed Machina brought. When Corgan proclaims over & over we need "Revolution" it appears more like a popular slogan than a genuine belief-- an entertainment value with a catchy lyric that would actually benefit a chorus being instrumental. Smashing Pumpkins. The 90s Marillion.

carson