S.A. Sebastian: A View From The Bottom

MTV reported Monday that on November 17, in Cincinnati, OH, the Cult’s Ian Astbury announced on-stage that the Cult will be opening for Led Zeppelin in 2008. According to the article representatives for both bands have no comment, but that didn’t stop Ian from dropping the bomb at Bogart’s.

People have been talking about Zeppelin going on tour since they announced that they were doing the Ahmet Ertigun tribute show. Now this will put the Cult’s name on everyone’s lips.

This might be just what the Cult needs to get back on top. In 1988, when Sonic Temple was released, the band was headlining festivals in Europe and arenas in the U.S. Things couldn’t have been better, but the they lost their momentum with the follow-up album, Ceremony, forcing the band back into clubs and the opening slot. Things got worse when The Cult was released breaking up the band for a little while. The Cult have been steadily on the rise since Beyond Good and Evil was released. And it already seems like there is a lot of buzz around the band, and the new album, Born Into This, is being well-received.

If this tour becomes a reality, coupled with Ian’s stint as lead singer of the Doors, the Cult could finally graduate from the world’s most famous underground band to mainstream success.

“I think trying to resurrect the name Smashing Pumpkins ………its all a bit corporate for me.” says Trent Reznor in NME about the Smashing Pumpkins’ reunion.

It’s an interesting statement. Billy Corgan has put out some very cool, critically acclaimed albums with Zwan and his solo record, The Future Embrace, but they didn’t quite have the success of the Smashing Pumpkins. The new Smashing Pumpkins album is also a really excellent album, but it could have easily been a Billy Corgan album, since he is the band’s songwriter. With Zeitgeist he proved he doesn’t need the other Pumpkins to make a Pumpkins album. Jimmy Chamberlain, the only other Pumpkin involved in this “reunion,” had already proven to to not be instrumental to the band’s sound, when he was fired in 1996, and wasn’t part of the Adore and Machina recordings.

So, why call this a reunion when the long-term, core members aren’t part of it? I would have to agree with Trent Reznor, and speculate that the Smashing Pumpkins are resurrected because Corgan’s name alone can’t sell records. Billy Corgan is an excellent songwriter, creative musician and a visionary (take that Jack White). It’s a shame that he had to bring back the Smashing Pumpking to sell records.

Go to iTunes and get your self some of Billy’s music!

Billy Corgan on

Zwan on

Stereogum is reporting (article) that Jack White called in to chew out the radio station that played the new White Stripes album, Icky Thump, to early. Apparently the station , Q101 in Chicago, played the entire album ahead of it’s add date. The DJ who played the album is claiming on her blog that she played the album because she was a fan and excited to hear it and share it with other fans, but that Jack White claims that she messed it up for the entire music business because a fan recorded the broadcast and distributed the album on the internet. There were a lot of comments on the both sites in support of the DJ, saying it should be perfectly fine for her to play the record, and also in support of the White Stripes saying that the DJ should have respected the add date and waited. Who is right in this situation? Was it irresponsible of the station to allow the DJ to play the advance copy of Icky Thump? What’s the big deal? Read the rest of this entry »

So, after having a few days to read more crap about this “fued,” and re-reading my Axl Rose blog I thought have some clearing up to do. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been reading about the Eagles of Death Metal being kicked off/dropping off the GnR tour a bit the last few days. Apparently Axl said that the EODM were shit and would be removed from the tour because of a bad performance on their first night on the tour. Only Axl wasn’t even in the building until about half hour before his set. Jesse from the EODM calls his band “a bunch of happy go lucky sincere and real deal rock and rollers.” Now I don’t know how true that is but I know that Axl Rose isn’t. Axl Rose is more concerned with looking good, jet setting and the after party than he is with performing, his music and his fans. Read the rest of this entry »