This week, The Smashing Pumpkins released “Zeitgeist”, their first album of consequence since 2000.  Their “Siamese Dream” album is among my favorite albums of all time, and certainly among the cream of the 90’s grunge movement.  Their later work is fine by me, but trended toward more electronic influence and mellower songs, marking a slight downward trend (to me).

The new album, Zeitgeist, is half of an awesome album.  Which half is awesome apparently depends on your Pumpkins history.  “Cherub Rock”, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings”, “Rocket”, and “Zero” are among my favorite Pumpkins songs, so the thunderous first half of the album is right up my alley.  From reviews I’ve seen, fans of “Disarm”, “1979”, “Perfect”, “Thirty Three”, etc. seem to enjoy the latter half of the album more.  People who never liked band still won’t, and folks who are fixated on the current lineup of the band (only half of the original lineup returns) will hate it, because lead singer Billy Corgan seems to be an odd and contentious dude.

The return of the angry Pumpkins is awesome.  Thick, layered, angry, driving guitars move the songs along, and Jimmy Chamberlin’s intricate, expressive drumming may be more prominent and important to the music than ever.  From the massive opening track, “Doomsday Clock” to the first half of track 7, “United States”, the intensity and quality of the songs should send all the whiny, derivative, emo bands running for the exits (I can only hope).  Radio and mp3s don’t do these songs justice – listen to them on big speakers at high volume.  “United States” clocks in at almost 10 minutes long, and signals the album’s shift into music for patient people – ballads,  jam tracks, etc.  They’re not bad, not a departure from the band’s sound – they’re just not the Pumpkins that appeal to me.

But the first half of the album is entirely worth it.

Much of the U.S. is fascinated by train wrecks, both figurative and literal. From the “rubbernecking” phenomenon in traffic to the obsessive tabloids at the grocery store, we are fascinated by sudden and overwhelming destruction. I’m usually NOT the one obsessed with celebrity culture, and the one who actually attempts to focus on the road ahead more than the wreckage in the emergency lane, but the interruption of an otherwise boring, lopsided national title game between Oklahoma and USC by a travesty of a halftime show has me fascinated for pure, unintentional humor value.

I despise the invasion of privacy conducted by rags like the Enquirer, InTouch Weekly, etc, simply to sell magazines, but public performances are fair game. Clearly, technical difficulties hampered all 3 performers in Tuesday’s Orange Bowl – Kelly Clarkson, Chet Adkins, and Ashlee Simpson, but the train wreck of the night was Ashlee Simpson (which is saying something, given the Drubbing the Oklahoma Sooners received). Her performance made viewers WISH she was lip-synching like the incident that embarrassed her on Saturday Night Live. From the start of her singing career, it has been clear that she should have simply continued the acting career she began on 7th Heaven. On her MTV show, her vocal strains attempting to record “Pieces of Me” should have been clear indications that her singing career should have been short-lived, but MTV flexed their marketing muscle to the masses who are clearly tone-deaf, and a platinum-selling album was born. (As an aside, I grant her sister Jessica, points for having vocal talent. A simple listen to Jessica’s first single demonstrates that the girl has some pipes, even if lacking some common sense and originality.) I don’t wish failure on anyone, but I resent being sold a fake bill of goods, which is what much of modern music is designed to do. Thus I enjoy those rare moments when it’s crystal clear that the emporer has no clothes.

That being said, there are a few links I found this evening that are well worth sharing:

• The full halftime show, not just the last 20 seconds
• an amusing blog entry on the debaucle
• Ashlee Simpson’s Vocal Malfunction – too funny to pass up.