Billy Corgan Mourns Death of ’90s ‘Mythology,’ Wishes Critics Loved New Smashing Pumpkins Record

Like poor old Abraham Simpson lamenting that he used to be with it, but then they changed what "it" was, and now what he's with isn't "it" and what's "it" seems weird and scary, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan feels out of place and unappreciated in the 21st century music scene.

Arguing that the "mythology" of '90s rock is "irrelevant to combat the menace in America right now," Corgan told the Guardian that people just want to listen to electronic dance music these days, and old-fashioned guitars just aren't cool anymore. "People can get rosy and sentimental about something," he shrugged, "but if it can’t compete it doesn’t mean anything."

Adding that EDM is "kicking everybody's f---ing ass," he continued, "Look at the numbers the DJs are making! They're kicking rock bands' asses. And we're sitting here talking about an era from 20 years ago because it's misty in people's minds. Meanwhile, there's 60,000 people in a field watching a guy with lights behind him."

Not that Corgan doesn't feel he's done his part to keep rock vital -- even if, as he went on to complain, he's never been given his proper due. "The joke for me is that I’ve been on the f---ing outside for 25 years," he sighed. "My whole point is -- at what point do I get invited inside?"

Admitting that he expected the latest Smashing Pumpkins album, 'Monuments to an Elegy,' to serve as a sort of critical turning point for his stature in the rock community, Corgan shared his disappointment with the insufficiently glowing three-star reviews he says greeted the LP: "I thought for sure I would get really strong reviews for our new album, based on all the feedback I was getting, but I’m getting the same reviews I got back in the day, these kind of middling, muddling reviews that just won’t f---ing say: ‘This is a f---ing brilliant album from a brilliant artist.’ It’s always got to have a qualifier to it."

All that being said, it's probably worth noting that Corgan added a qualifier of his own after firing back at the critics who just don't get it -- specifically, that he doesn't actually know what the response to 'Monuments' has been. "I haven’t even read the reviews," claimed Corgan. "I don’t even know what they said! But I’ve heard it all before."

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