A Longwinded Post on Billy Corgan, Zwan, and the Projects of David Pajo, Matt Sweeney, and Paz Lenchantin <> Albums from Slint, Tortoise, Chavez, Bonnie Prince Billy, Brightblack Morning Light, and the Silver Jews

Smashing Pumpkin’s greatest achievement, Siamese Dream (1993 Virgin Records), was reissued on vinyl last November, presenting new liner notes and remastered recordings of the classic songs.  It sounds really great; it brought me back to the awkward days of middle school youth when I heard that thick guitar fuzz for the first time.  I was hooked then and I still am now.  Nobody’s guitar sounded that good at the time; the production on that was simply flawless.

The original recording process of the album is another one of those stories of a diligently obsessive artist who required days of arduous labor for what would often amount to a minute’s worth of final recorded material, but that grueling process and Billy Corgan’s visionary talent eventually produced one of the greatest Alternative Rock albums of the 1990s.   Aside from the drumming, Billy Corgan apparently played almost all the parts on the record; it definitely attests to his talent and ability.  All that to say, I had to buy the reissue of the record, but it pains me in some ways because Billy Corgan has got to be one of the biggest tools of the celebrity cesspool. Regardless of whether it’s ad hominem, I always feel some sense of disappointment when I discover that an artist or thinker whose work has impacted me turns out to be a total failure of a person in terms of capacity for interpersonal decency.  In Corgan’s case, he’s egomaniacal to the core, probably due to the destructive forces of fame, but I really wish Corgan hadn’t turned out to be such an utter tool in the same way I regret that great writers such as Heidegger or Celine could turn out to be fascist anti-semites as well.  Ego is a crazy crazy thing...

Case in Point: ZWAN

D. Pajo

To illustrate the point, take Corgan’s side project of the early 2000s, Zwan, a supergroup that featured David Pajo, Matt Sweeney, Jimmy Chamberlin, and Paz Lenchantin. And the word supergroup here is really an understatement.  David Pajo, for instance, is known as a former member of legendary Post-Rock groups Slint and Tortoise, and he has played guitar with artists such as Will Oldham, Stereolab, Interpol, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  He’s also released several critically acclaimed solo albums. 

Sweeney with Will Oldham 

Matt Sweeney is no lightweight as well.  He was the frontman of the legendary Math Rock group, Chavez, during the 90s, but he’s also played with indie acts such as Guided by Voices, Cat Power, and Six Organs of Admittance. He recorded a critically acclaimed collaborative album called Superwolf (2005 Drag City) with Will Oldham (a.k.a. Bonnie Prince Billy) as well.  In 2008, he collaborated with Neil Diamond on his album, Home Before Dark (American/Columbia), and he has worked with mainstream artists as diverse and random as Josh Groban, Kid Rock, and the Dixie Chicks.  A recent interview from the Village Voice acknowledged his tight relationship with legendary producer, Rick Rubin, calling Sweeney his “go to guitar guy.”  

P. Lenchantin

Paz Lenchantin also has quite the impressive resume.  She joined the hard rock group, A Perfect Circle; she has played with Queens of the Stone Age, the Silver Jews, Brightblack Morning Light, and David Pajo’s project, Papa M, and that’s just some of the highlights. 

Of course, Jimmy Chamberlain’s claim to fame is being the longstanding drummer of Corgan’s Smashing Pumpkins, so knowing all this, perhaps Zwan was destined for disaster; that is a lot of big careers all in the same room. (They broke up within a year, and it was an ugly departure...) The only thing is Pajo, Sweeney, and Lenchantin have proven time and again that they are cooperative, creative artists that have the capacity to work with all sorts of personalities and egos in the music world; just look at the above descriptions of their previous and ongoing work.  Corgan, however, has demonstrated again and again that cooperation, compromise, and the capacity to relate to others are incompatible with the demands of his ever-growing egotism. 

Here’s a good track called “Settle Down”, the 2nd track off their only album, Mary Star of the Sea (2003 Reprise Records):

It’s a good song; the entire album is much better than any release by the Smashing Pumpkins in the last decade. (It’s much much better than the Billy Corgan solo album that flopped two years later...)  It’s too bad they broke up the same year of the album’s release....

Zwan's Mary Star of the Sea

To this day, Corgan continues to slander bitterly the other members of the project, calling them names and accusing them of irresponsible, illicit behaviors, whereas the other members have seemed simply to move on and to continue creating art with a diversity of projects.

I think the words speak for themselves; here’s everyone’s response when asked about the bitterness of the breakup of Zwan:

David Pajo: ...[T]hat's one of the reasons I initially liked the guy—[Corgan] was so arrogant, it cracked me up. He would constantly bring up the fact that he sold 25 million records, or that his hit song was played at the Super Bowl or something. It just made me laugh. You know that character Alan Partridge, the one Steve Coogan played? Billy reminds me of Alan Partridge if he'd made a hit record. But after a while, the joke wears off.

Matt Sweeney: Back in the day, I got off on a great foot with [Corgan]. I met him before he was famous then we fell out of touch. Then we did Zwan and I hate to be negative but I wish it would have turned out differently...whatever you read or hear about him, it became more like that. There was a time when Corgan was really fun to work with and open. It's not up to me...it's between him and his maker. I don't want to trash the dude although he's trashed me.

And then there’s Billy’s response...

Billy Corgan: I am not afraid of dirty, filthy people who have no self-respect or class...never have I met such creatures who feel so entitled to all yet contribute so little, not only to my life but the culture and the world in general...the world is on the brink of wars and mass terror, and their main concern is whether or not their indy friends still like them...

Hah! All they care about is their “indy friends”.... Translation: they weren’t obsessively worrying about record sales as a determinative factor for the creative process of songwriting and recording.  And calling them “people who contribute so little....??!!?” Really? Just look to the above descriptions of their work and compare it to Corgan’s recent activity. These other guys have given sooooo much more.... 

Corgan goes on to rant the following:

[They were] people who told me they were my friends but were really just there to take, take, take...time will reveal them to be the poseurs they truly are...don't let their dirty faces fool you, they painted them that way...their filth is in their larcenous hearts, if they have them at all...

Wow... What a walking cliche! And his playground, name-calling antics are laughable at best.  The only member he maintained good rapport with was his longstanding drumming partner, Jimmy Chamberlain, but that did not last long... Observe the difference in their responses when asked about their falling out:

Here’s Corgan on J. Chamberlain: Jimmy is a destructive human being, and people who are destructive break things. I don’t see me reaching the highest levels of my creativity if I’m unhealthy and if I have unhealthy people around me....

Chamberlain clearly has a slightly different perspective: In the middle of the last tour, Billy said it was the agent’s fault, then it was the band’s fault, then it was the fans’ fault... Yes, in the past, I was a destructive human being. I was a complete drug addict and a complete loose cannon, but I’ve taken responsibility for my life. In the grand scheme of things... [I]t's a few Gold records and a bunch of money... I have a wife and kids and I am completely happy.

Like I said, I think all of that speaks for itself, and the audacity of Corgan’s arrogance is too much to handle.  He released one historically important rock album, namely Siamese Dream, and the rest is a mere footnote. For him to hold that over the heads of such accomplished bandmates is egregious and groundless.  To prove my point, here’s a selection of my favorite albums that feature the work of Pajo, Sweeney, and Lenchantin:

Projects of Paz Lenchantin:

Nathan Shineywater & Rachel Hughes

Paz Lenchantin played bass on Brightblack Morning Light’s self titled 2nd album (2006 Matador Records). Hailing from Northern California, the band was formed by Nathan Shineywater and Rachel Hughes in 2005.  The duo has invited many musicians (including Paz Lenchantin, of course) to record and perform with their namesake, and much of their music has been described and grouped as part of the 60s psyche-folk revival of recent years.  In fact, Shineywater helped start the “Quiet Quiet” music festival, an event that’s featured performances by artists like Will Oldham (Bonnie Prince Billy) and Devendra Banhart. I personally think the band could just as accurately be described as mellow, jazzy post-rock. This album is killer; definitely worth a listen.

Brightblack Morning Light s/t

Dave Berman

She also played on the Silver Jews’ album, Tanglewood Numbers (2005 Drag City).  When I first discovered Silver Jews years ago, I mistakenly thought of the group as a Pavement side project.  This is because Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich helped the Silver Jews’ frontman, Dave Berman, form the band in 1989 in NYC. The Pavement members played on the first couple albums but soon departed, so Silver Jews was always Dave Berman’s project.  The group played Pavement-esque indie rock but with a more country-oriented direction. Tanglewood Numbers, Berman’s 5th album, marked the return of Pavement players, Malkmus and Nastanovich, as well as the addition of Paz Lenchantin to the equation.  The mix made for a great Silver Jews record, the best in years for sure. Give it a listen.

Silver Jews' Tanglewood Numbers

Projects of Matt Sweeney:

Matt Sweeney was the frontman of Chavez, and Gone Glimmering (1995 Matador Records) was their debut album.  The band formed in 1993 in New York and were active most of the 90s; they’ve apparently reformed in recent years, but no new material has been released.  Their music could be compared to acts of the Louisville Math Rock scene, bands such as Slint, Rodan, or Crain.  The music is loud, angular, and rooted in the American Post-Hardcore tradition.  Check out their first and perhaps finest release.

Chavez's Gone Glimmering

In 2005, Matt Sweeney teamed up with Will Oldham, perhaps better known as Bonnie Prince Billy, to record Superwolf (Drag City), an album that received enthusiastic reviews; the rich dorks of pitchfork gave it a solid 8.4....  This is one of my favorite Bonnie Prince Billy releases, and I think Sweeney is part of the reason why.  For those that don't know, Will Oldham (a.k.a. Bonnie Prince Billy) is a prolific singer/songwriter that has released folk, country, and rock records at an impressively swift pace over the last decade.  This is undoubtedly one of his best; it's an essential for everyone...

Matt Sweeney's & Bonnie Prince Billy's Superwolf

Projects of David Pajo:

Slint

There was an earlier post about the louisville music scene; like the previously mentioned Rodan, Slint was a legendary Math Rock group of middle America that emerged to national recognition in the late 80s.  The band was formed by former Squirrel Bait members, Brian McMahan and Britt Walford, with guitarist David Pajo, and it all started in Louisville, Kentucky.  Their second (and last) album, Spiderland (1991 Touch and Go Records), is a celebrated landmark of 90s underground music. It’s been repeatedly cited as a seminal influence on Math Rock, Post-Rock, Noise Rock, and independent music in general. This one’s definitely a must have...

Slint's Spiderland

  

After the breakup of Slint, Pajo joined Chicago’s Post-Rock masters, Tortoise, and recorded two albums with the band: Millions Now Living Will Never Die (1996 Thrill Jockey) and TNT (1998 Thrill Jockey). Tortoise is a group that defies all labels; they explore electronic minimalism, jazz, psychedelic rock, and have been hailed as one of the great forerunners of the recent Post-Rock genre. The albums with Pajo are my favorites, and I particularly like their jazziest effort, TNT.  Definitely check it out...

Tortoise's TNT