My thoughts on the Smashing Pumpkins/Jimmy leaving:
Of course, I have never meet any of the Pumpkins in person, much less spent a day with any of them, or more importantly, seen them at work in the studio (except on video), but from their music, interviews with them, seeing them interact on stage, et cetera, I think I know enough to make a comment on this.
Billy is a god. Anyone who knows me knows I pretty much worship the man. He's a heavenly guitar player with the capacity to write extremely kick-ass rock songs and some unbelievably beautiful music that defies placement in any single genre, as well as the occasional dud (like all composers). He pretty much has done all the recording for the group single handed-ly, despite what liner notes say, partly because of his intense focus on music, not leaving room for anything but (hence the failed marriage), and partly because of his perfectionist mentality when it comes to his music. Not many people would be willing to work with someone like that for very long, and that makes no difference with the kind of quality of music we can expect from him in the future. Pumpkins releases have mostly been Billy solo gigs anyway.
What does concern me is...and I don't know quite how to put this nicely, so I'll just say it...Billy needs a leash. He's an intense man, and his ideas can be intense as well. Some of the directions he likes to go musically, while genius, need a bit of grounding to them. He's like a kite free floating on the wind during a hurricane. Without a string and a tail to anchor him and help keep him on course, he's really nowhere. He needs someone around who can stand up to him, tell him when he's being crazy, tell him when an idea needs some softening around the edges, tell him when he's gone too far, tell him when it's getting too dark, too loud, too conceptual...Without a conduit to channel his raw talent in a productive way, he's a nuclear reactor exploding randomly at will, a lot of power without any control.
My assumption is that James was that ground and center for Billy in a big way. I base this assumption on the fact that the songs that were written by Billy and James together are consistently very dynamic, beautiful songs. The ones James wrote alone were never really my cup of tea, the ones Billy wrote alone either really rock, or kinda don't (though the majority are very excellent), but the ones they wrote together are what I consider the epitome of what the Pumpkins were capable of. I think that Jimmy was a ground and center for Billy as well, though not as strongly. I base this assumption on Zeitgeist, which, while it does contain some great music, feels a bit like Billy taking some ideas too far.
With Jimmy now out of the band, the big problem with Billy now is he's a big enough talent that not many around him are willing to stand up to him, and when they do, his ego is big enough that he too easily disregards what they say. He needs a producer, a band member, a friend, a lover, or someone who can help him find the best way to do what he wants to do.
Billy is a god. Anyone who knows me knows I pretty much worship the man. He's a heavenly guitar player with the capacity to write extremely kick-ass rock songs and some unbelievably beautiful music that defies placement in any single genre, as well as the occasional dud (like all composers). He pretty much has done all the recording for the group single handed-ly, despite what liner notes say, partly because of his intense focus on music, not leaving room for anything but (hence the failed marriage), and partly because of his perfectionist mentality when it comes to his music. Not many people would be willing to work with someone like that for very long, and that makes no difference with the kind of quality of music we can expect from him in the future. Pumpkins releases have mostly been Billy solo gigs anyway.
What does concern me is...and I don't know quite how to put this nicely, so I'll just say it...Billy needs a leash. He's an intense man, and his ideas can be intense as well. Some of the directions he likes to go musically, while genius, need a bit of grounding to them. He's like a kite free floating on the wind during a hurricane. Without a string and a tail to anchor him and help keep him on course, he's really nowhere. He needs someone around who can stand up to him, tell him when he's being crazy, tell him when an idea needs some softening around the edges, tell him when he's gone too far, tell him when it's getting too dark, too loud, too conceptual...Without a conduit to channel his raw talent in a productive way, he's a nuclear reactor exploding randomly at will, a lot of power without any control.
My assumption is that James was that ground and center for Billy in a big way. I base this assumption on the fact that the songs that were written by Billy and James together are consistently very dynamic, beautiful songs. The ones James wrote alone were never really my cup of tea, the ones Billy wrote alone either really rock, or kinda don't (though the majority are very excellent), but the ones they wrote together are what I consider the epitome of what the Pumpkins were capable of. I think that Jimmy was a ground and center for Billy as well, though not as strongly. I base this assumption on Zeitgeist, which, while it does contain some great music, feels a bit like Billy taking some ideas too far.
With Jimmy now out of the band, the big problem with Billy now is he's a big enough talent that not many around him are willing to stand up to him, and when they do, his ego is big enough that he too easily disregards what they say. He needs a producer, a band member, a friend, a lover, or someone who can help him find the best way to do what he wants to do.