Tales from the Turntable: A not so smashing pumpkin 

Welcome to this week’s Tales from the Turntable! While sitting in the library trying to scrape my mind for an idea for this week, one song came up on my playlist that finally gave me an idea. “Range Life” by Pavement, the third single released for their 1994 effort, “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain,” has become infamous over the years for its lyrical content and the events that followed its release.  

The song itself is nothing out of the ordinary for the band, full of twangy and angular guitar riffs and frontman Stephen Malkmus’ trademark croon and cryptic lyrics. Many interpretations have been offered throughout the years as to its meaning; the most commonly accepted theory being that the song pokes fun at stuck-up “old-head” music fans that refuse to adapt to the new sounds of the 90s. 

In the last verse of the song, Malkmus lightheartedly slights two bands, Stone Temple Pilots and The Smashing Pumpkins. It’s unclear whether Pavement actually disliked either of these bands, considering they played several shows together. The song states “On tour with The Smashing Pumpkins, Nature Kids, I, they don’t have no function. I don’t understand what they mean, and I could really give a f**k,” following with, “Stone Temple Pilots, they’re elegant bachelors. They’re foxy to me, are they foxy to you? I will agree, they deserve absolutely nothing.”  

“Range Life” became a minor hit upon its release, being one of the band’s biggest hits of their career. One person, however, didn’t find the insults humorous. Smashing Pumpkins frontman, Billy Corgan, was quick to fire back at the band, saying “I think it’s rooted in jealousy,” and “People don’t fall in love with Pavement, they put on Smashing Pumpkins or Hole or Nirvana, because these bands actually mean something to them.” Some time later, both bands were scheduled to headline the 1994 Lollapalooza festival, which made Corgan furious. The singer threatened to pull out of the event if Pavement took the stage at any point. While Pavement were undoubtedly a massive band, they were nowhere near the level of popularity achieved by The Smashing Pumpkins at the time. 

Lollapalooza management pulled the plug on Pavement’s performance, angering thousands of fans and concert-goers. Both frontmen would continue taking shots at each other throughout the years, before eventually settling their differences and touring together in 2018.  

This wouldn’t be the first time Corgan would cause controversy for his petty personality and loud mouth — whether it’s members of his own band or random bystanders, no one is safe from Corgan’s wrath.  

During the band’s recording of 1993’s “Siamese Dream,” the frontman was often belligerent towards his bandmates, eventually dropping all of their recorded material for the album and re-recording it by himself. As the 90s pushed on, The Smashing Pumpkins would only see further and further success, sending Corgan further and further into a state of delusion, fueled by endless praise for monumental records like “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.” After a myriad of troubles between band members, bassist and founding member D’arcy Wretzky left the band in 1999. 

While explanations differ depending on who’s telling the story, Wretzky’s drug habits had become too much for her and the band to handle, leading to her departure and swift fade into obscurity. While many bands wouldn’t hold a grudge against a member who left for drug-related reasons, Corgan refused to speak to Wretzky for two decades after the event. When asked in an interview immediately following the lineup change, Corgan called Wretzky a “mean-spirited drug addict who refused to get help,” leaving a bad taste in many fans’ mouths.  

Going forward into the 2000s, the singer’s bizarre antics would attract the attention of thousands. Many were equally confused and disgusted by his actions, such as feuds with CNN anchorman Anderson Cooper, Hole frontwoman Courtney Love or the aforementioned Malkmus. In 2009, Corgan hosted a now infamous competition where the winner would get to buy him lunch. That’s right — the winner would take the bill, despite the singer’s multi-million dollar net worth.  

Though it’s definitely fun to poke fun at someone as ignorantly egotistical as Corgan, one must also acknowledge that The Smashing Pumpkins would indeed be nowhere without him, or the rest of his band mates (even if Corgan disagrees with the latter). Records like “Siamese Dream” and “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” continue to be some of the most influential albums of the 90s, and of the rock genre in general.