Billy Corgan believes that The Smashing Pumpkins are “one of the most misunderstood bands in the history of rock ‘n’ roll”.
The 57-year-old rocker is convinced that his band’s music will be appreciated more in years to come as he pointed out the resurgence of once-derided acts such as Nickelback and Creed.
Speaking on ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast, Billy said: “You’re about to see that Nickelback and Creed are about go on a huge run of business… They survived (the hate), and now comes the inevitable moment of, ‘It was really good’… they wrote a lot of great songs.
“It’s kind of how I feel about my musical life. Time will tell my story much better than I did.”
Corgan later added: “We’re probably one of the most misunderstood bands in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. That sounds like a wrestling statement, but it’s fairly accurate.”
The ‘Cherub Rock’ artist thinks that the image he cultivated when he was younger has contributed to the misunderstanding.
Billy explained: “I think it has a lot to do with the issues of Gen X, and it has a lot to do with a relationship that I set into motion with the media when I was a very young person, playing kind of a funny game – like doing my own version of Andy Kaufman or Bob Zmuda. Because I thought it was all s*****, so I was just like, ‘I’m just going to play with this like a toy because I think it’s kind of funny’.”
He continued: “I didn’t realise that the coming culture was going to kind of almost be attracted to people who are willing to immolate themselves on the public stage.
“Most people who are attracted to fame, they want to run towards the shiny part of it. I was attracted to the non-shiny part, which is, ‘Okay, I’ll light myself on fire and see what happens’, or, ‘I’ll light you on fire and let’s see what happens’.
“So, it kind of worked in the 90s when everybody was rolling and moving along. Well, here comes Napster, the music business craters, then a bunch of people die, and there you are at 40 years old, you’re supposed to carry some flag for a generation that doesn’t even know who it is anymore.”