Billy Corgan: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
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- čas přidán 26. 11. 2017
- Nov. 20, 2017 | Robin Hilton -- Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan is a complicated guy. In the years since that iconic and much-beloved rock band broke up in 2000, Corgan has continued to put out music under various names and projects - including several releases as Smashing Pumpkins, with different lineups - while often stumbling through a bumpy minefield of his own making. To the head-scratching surprise of some longtime fans, he's gotten heavily involved in pro wrestling, talked conspiracy theories during several appearances on The Alex Jones Show (warning of weaponized zombies in one interview), and, over the years, lobbed innumerable grievances about former bandmates, while trashing other musicians and publicly feuding with a revolving cast of celebrities and public figures.
More recently, Corgan seems to have mellowed. He opted to release his new solo album Ogilala, under his (very grownup-sounding) full name, William Patrick Corgan (though he very recently changed it back to Billy Corgan on streaming services and CZcams), and filled the record with beautifully rendered acoustic songs built on piano and strings.
When he settled in for this memorable Tiny Desk performance with a string quartet he'd just met hours before, Corgan was nothing but a good-natured delight. After years of selling millions of records and playing packed arenas, he showed up in a cab with just his tour manager and, during setup and rehearsals, joked about being all DIY now.
Dressed for winter weather in a heavy scarf, hoodie, down jacket and cap, Corgan opened with a stirring rendition of the 1995 Smashing Pumpkins song "Tonight, Tonight." It was a transporting moment that left some fans in the NPR offices a little misty eyed. Corgan then followed with two Ogilala standouts, "Aeornaut" and "Mandarynne," songs about staying strong and true to yourself and soldiering on in the face of a troubled world.
The Smashing Pumpkins always had a soft side, from the more melancholy moments of 1991's "Rhinoceros" to "Sweet Sweet," "Take Me Down" and Adore's gorgeous opener, "To Shelia." But here the beauty and grace of Corgan's poetry and songwriting is on full display.
Set List
"Tonight, Tonight"
"Aeronaut"
"Mandarynne"
MUSICIANS
Billy Corgan (vocals, guitar, piano), Kristin Bakkegard (violin), Livy Amoruso (violin), Paul Bagley (viola), Carol Anne Bosco (cello)
CREDITS
Producers: Robin Hilton, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Nicholas Garbaty, Alyse Young; Production Assistant: Salvatore Maicki; Photo: Jennifer Kerrigan/NPR
For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast. - Hudba
We will never know the temperature of that room.
best comment ever.
it seems you have all four seasons in that room. at once
Very underrated comment
🤣
Is this comment based upon the string section's dress compared with BC's? BC rarely wears short sleeve. I *think* this may be due to his Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome. If so, it'd be just him...which would be no different than most of us who are overly sensitive to our perceived imperfections. -If I am wrong about all of this just ignore me. :)
😂😂😂
The folks who run the sound / eq for these TinyDesk shows are heroes.
I was just thinking its nice to HEAR his voice again.
hell yeah they are :-)
Unbelievable what they do... hats off!!!
Why you dont see events like this at Wal-Mart haha. Somebody at this dang shop is a god and deserves some form of recognition.
Agreed! Wish I could like comment again.
the older I get the more it feels like I'm hearing Tonight Tonight for the first time
Absolutely, what an impressively great song!
I love you.
We thought our heroes would never get old. But they did so did we ...
I feel that too
You can never leave without leaving a piece of youth :)
Big props to Jerry Cantrell on the viola. A humble, dynamic talent.
now i can't stop thinking about a Tiny Desk with AiC
🤣😂
Also for not so subtly eyeballing the cellist a reminder to emphasize the 3 on the opener
I just spit water out on my keyboard.
@@dsmoreira2010 same, that would be insanity.
I remember first finding Smashing Pumpkins when I was in third grade. At the time, I wasn't allowed to listen to secular music (in all fairness third grade is probably a little early for Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness) but Stacy was a fifth grader down the street who wore Chucks and played a Strat and had a giant Nirvana poster and I was obsessed with her. I remember when she gave me a single track tape with Bullet With Butterfly Wings and I listened to it over and over (quietly in my room so my parents couldn't hear) literally until it fell apart in my tape player. I think I cried myself to sleep that night.
Years later when I got my first job, I realized I couldn't be kept from listening to what I wanted to listen to and staring at my first paycheck in epiphany, I frantically and recklessly drove to the record store in the mall and bought the first album I ever bought with my own money: Siamese Dream. And then I played it until it was almost transparent and too scratched to all hell to make it more than 30 seconds into "Today." So I bought it again. In fact, I bought that album 4 times before CDs became a novelty and now it's just downloaded on my phone.
I don't know what it was about Billy Corgan's voice that hooked me but it got in deep man, and never really let go. So when I say I love this man I mean I love him. I hate how overused and cliche this is but Billy Corgan changed my life.
Well, him and Stacy Pfeiffer from down the street. She was a total badass.
This is one of the best things I've ever read.
Keli Renda you should maybe try getting yourself down to a little more reading...
😿😻👁️🗨️💘
anthony cusinato maybe try not shitting on something other people find positive, you insufferable child
wat?
The recording quality is insane.
little too much on the highs in the mix, but it does sound good.
@@peanutbutterrobot agree but hey….beauty is never perfect.
@@robertadams2365 ain't that the truth
Tonight, Tonight is one of the most beautiful songs ever
Yes it is!
The music!!
I like mayonnaise
I didn't mind Today either....
makes me remember the good old days :) i could cry everytime i hear it
This is probably the best version of Tonight Tonight. The vocals are so sensitive and you can hear Billy's age and maturity in them.
He is going super within performing this 1
a wise comment bud!
1998 at The Grand Ole Opry House...
exactly
Could you imagine being one of the string players finding out you are going to play with Bily Corgan, and then getting the sheet music to "Tonight, Tonight." I've seen some awesome stuff on Tiny Desk but that has to be one of my favorite of all time.
He might be complicated, but his music is simple and magical...
Perfectly said
Musical geniuses are often complicated.....
Well, I wouldn't exactly say his music is simple
@@jett3474 simple-ish chord progressions with really good layering. Although to layer and make songs the way he does one needs a not so simple brain for sure
He's a good guy. SP 'fans'' are the problem. Bunch of ungrateful a**holes
I met Billy during a layover in Texas. I was at a really rough point in my life and he was really sweet and insightful. Amazing person and amazing talent
Whoever got him on Tiny Desk needs a raise!
0:00 "Tonight, Tonight"
4:30 "Aeronaut"
8:03 "Mandarynne"
Ty
Thx
thanks mate
The 90’s... golden era.
So many good memoirs listening Corgan’s voice.
Sound quality on this is simply amazing. Nothing short of a studio recording.
my eyes are watery after hearing tonight, tonight again after a long while... thanks SP
Yes I love this song so much. The official music video is wonderful.
So glad to see William Patrick Corgan play with Legolas before i died.
That violinist operates his stringed instrument like a professional killer.
One of the most talented music composers of any generation. His music will be even more appreciated as time goes on. Thank you for all the work you have done, so much appreciated.
I clicked on this not expecting much, maybe a musician past his prime, in decline. He sounds better than ever and these were beautiful tunes. Loved "Aeronaut" and "Mandarynne", and of course Tonight Tonight. Very well done. You know a great musician when they can play in a situation like this one. It cuts the wheat from the chaff. Doing my shoe gazing days I drove around an entire summer never taking Siamese Dream out of my changer just living that album.
He never declined just a misstep with Zeitgeist but still a solid album
With his 2 recent acoustic solo records & the new Pumpkins album its like he found it again. Thats for sure. And their live performances are amazing. His voice really is great
But even his experimental synth albums Aegea & Siddhartha are intriguing
Corgan's voice has aged like fine whine.
I don't think anybody's going to get that.
Anthony kiedis voice aged like milk
@@rhysj4926 Kiedis never had a voice
Took me a sec but I see what you did there.
doesn't matter still good
Wow, his voice is strong here. The strings add so much depth. Very moving and we'll done. I wish him nothing but good things
Right? I hope he preserves the voice of Gen X.
Omg, takes me straight back to the hardest point in my life with the music that got me through all the bullshit. Billy was so important to my coming of age.
Was smitten over 30 years ago and still am!
Those violins at the beginning of the amazing performance of "Tonight, tonight" gave me goose bumps.
Love u, Billy.
Mariana Luisina Farias yea the violins make me sad, it hurts. Love this version of tonight.
damn two jackets and a scarf inside
This is the comment I came looking for!!!
Yeah. He has to warm the anti matter of his alt rock gothic heart. He sent a smile over to you and now hes cold.
And he's a bit puffy in figure too. Plenty of natural insulation.
@@closebits billy corgan is not the Michelin man.
Bulletproof vest.
Wonderful version of Tonight, Tonight. It really shows, once again, how great that song is. Thank you, Billy.
yes yes yes
Epic....in every style he plays .... this song will be remembered forever and ever
Juan Carlos Prada i
I'd just like to say that I do, in fact, believe in Billy Corgan.
You ever think about how hard it would be to level a concert like this? Mad skills by the sound engineer
When I was a freshman in high school, there was this awesome upper classman I really looked up to, and she kind of took this nerdy, sheltered kid under her wing and taught me about what was cool in high school in the mid 90s. My education started with music, and she made me a mixed tape. The first track on side 1 was Bullet with Butterfly Wings, and that was my intro to the Smashing Pumpkins. When I started driving myself to school a couple years later, I played that tape on the way to school every morning, always starting with track 1, side 1, until I graduated from high school. I still adore Billy Corgan's distinctive voice, which has really just improved with maturity, it seems.
❤
There's something about Billy's voice that I have always loved
me too
Because it comes from his soul. When he sings, you can tell he feels it.
I love this so much. Wish he would've sang "Galapagos"
Billy Corgan shaped my whole musical world.
What a treat....Billy is a true musical genius...
Aeronaut is such a beautiful song. I hope he never stops writing.
Damn Billy's still got it! Hopefully a reunion next year! I was 17 when Mellon collie and the infinite sadness was released, Miss the 90's!
Who else could hear the Jellybelly guitar intro as soon as Tonight Tonight ended?
Yes! Embedded in my blood!
for sure!
ya no avoiding that, I have to get my kids freaking albums that aren't digital
Lol yep
anticipation sucks; I paused this vid and listened to Jellybelly (instant gratification, plz)
Shout out to the violinists.
And the violist and the cellist....
PuertoBlack their inner and outer beauty is such a counter point to Billy goat gruff
This is all of my wildest dreams come true!!!! His voice is so much more melodic now, his music has aged beautifully
I'm waiting for the Smashing Pumpkins song called "Tomorrow" which brings their trilogy of "Today" and "Tonight" to completion.
Travis Huey maybe we will get a yesterday as well
Maybe it should be called Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow
???
The Before Trilogy of music.
I of the Mourning was a close one.
yesterday - the beatles
today - the smashing pumpkins
tomorrow - silverchair
8:51 This bit reminded me of the end of Hummer (like an echo of that era) - so beautiful thank you! 😍
I'll always have a soft spot for Billy Corgan/Smashing Pumpkins. Crowd surfed for the first time in 1994 seeing them in Fitchburg, MA (then called Wallace Civic Center). Loved the ability of that band to go from raw power to quiet, melancholy in a heartbeat. Wonderful surprise to see him on the Tiny Desk & his new songs are beautiful.
WGBH Music you mean *mellon collie?
:^)
i was at that show! Wow, totally forgot about that. Fun.
Nice! I remember it basically being a hockey arena... the crowd lost their minds when they played Rocket two or three songs in... Siamese Dream was taking over the airwaves. Good times.
Yeah, it was a medium sized hockey arena, I actually played hockey there many years earlier! Which I also just remembered when you mentioned that!!! I remembered being shocked that they were playing in Fitchburg. We traveled down from Umass Amherst for the show. Yeah it was crazy.
Saw Jane's Addiction there too. Odd little venue but good memories!
Best tiny desk I've seen in a long time, absolutely beautiful, and that chellist...... perfection.
She plays the chello beautifully.
Tonight, Tonight (via Wikipedia): "...the song is addressed to himself [Billy Corgan], who escaped from an abusive childhood against all odds, so as to keep him believing in himself." Knowing that, when he sings (2:25): "...the place I was born." The way he changes the lyric from "you" to "I" gives me chills.
He changed that part of the original song,it Says "you were born"
I read something similar about "Disarm", supposedly about his experience as a foster kid.
No sorry... "the city by the lake the place I was born." is just Chicago where... he was born...
@@Thomas-pu7nl yup, which is next to Lake Michigan. No disagreement there. By him changing the pronoun from "you" to "I" makes the song even more personal.
@@JamesYShih definitely picked up on that too, very subtle but powerful change.
The sound engineering @ NPR Music is superb. Similarly Live on KEXP in Seattle does a stellar job as well. The audio quality is often better than the actual studio recordings or live venue performances.
wow...this is why I love NPR
Brian Anderson you are everywhere
Marry it then
Eh npr blows. However they’ve really nailed it with this series a few times. It bothers me that liberals identify with npr. It’s nothing more than establishment tripe.
Such a unique voice.
what a great voice
A great artist
Whiny, yet whispy. Iconic
Yes! I love his voice.
Dude is a studio singer.
I love love love how this video just straight away opens with Tonight.
Billy never sold out in my opinion, still makes good music & true to his own style, God bless you brother
Did not expect Tiny Desk to bring this legend here! I'm so happy!!!
The 90's.....great time to come of age with great music.
Yep..I miss it...A LOT!
Blasting Cherub Rock before school started, walking the campus, feeling like a fucking badass. Smashing Pumpkins is life
i love the intimacy of tiny desk concerts. They make musical performances feel more personal and warm :)
Seriously what absolute amazing song writing... no bells or whistles just pure talent.
MrRicepaper Billy took these songs to Rick Ruben as “rough” demos. Expecting rick to want more production. He wanted them all stripped down just like this. I’m glad billy went to Rick and put his trust in him. The entire new BC album is Awesome. Rick deserves some credit I think.
So underrated as a songwriter and musician. Shaped a lot of my teenage years with the Pumpkins. Such a diverse talented band no matter how the lineup changed.
David Pearson I think what he means is that not too many people mention Billy’s name when they talk about the greatest songwriters/musicians. I’m just talking about the conversations I’ve experienced though. The smashing pumpkins are not a very popular band where I live and I’m one of the few teenagers that like them. Of course most people where I am know 1979 though. Again, just speaking from my experiences so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s completely different where u are.
Best songwriter of all time
Underrated? He is regarded as an all time great. Make no mistake
WoodrowWilson underrated? He’s a millionaire. I wouldn’t say that’s underrated. Lol.
THERE'S the guy with the "underrated" comment
Damn...I had no idea he was that good. These are fantastic performances...
Waited my whole life to see them in concert and finally did last fall. It was awesome, they were phenomenal and I'll never forget it.
Billy's voice always have a way to touch the listener to bring back old memories. Is it only me?
No its not only you. Billy sounds incredible imo one of a kind.
Agreed
This sent me right back into one of the best times in my life.
I saw smashing pumpkins in 2000 in South Africa! Amazing show!
his voice has not changed with age at all, that's awesome.
Couldn’t have clicked this faster.
I was like "HOLY SHIT!" when I saw it
same ;)
Hell yes.
Same bro
I've always loved Billy Corgans songs. His voice is beautiful.
I love he did "Tonight, Tonight." iconic Pumpkins.
Just imagine yourself standing over there listening to this magnificent and glorious concert.
Corgan is underrated if that's possible. One of my favorite musicians over the years. Great songwriter and lyricist. He's been at it for literally more than 30 years and has somehow remained inspired and able to write songs that make you listen.
His words are magic. Probably bc he says he creates his songs as poems before translating them to lyrics
Underrated? He won two grammys (and 12 nominations), he won 7 MTV awards (16 nominations) and more than 30 million albums sold worldwide...
Not only can Billy rock out, but he also writes these beautiful songs!
Billy Corgan is a star
Corgan is fire!!!
I don't always get melancholy when listening music, but when I hear the Smashing Pumpkins, I get melancholied to infinite sadness.
I know it's been 4 years since you said this, but you should know that this stranger appreciates this comment.
This is not the Smashing Pumpkins...this is The Ego and some string players.
Mandarynne mesmerized me the first time I heard it, and it's only gotten better since. I keep coming back.
Crazy to see him older...my era❤
Tonight, Tonight was the first song I taught myself on guitar. Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins are the reason I wanted to learn how to play.
Has anyone else noticed one of the String Quartet bears striking resemblance to Vigo from Ghostbusters 2?
Sitting around a fire with a dozen of my friends on a perfect night listening to songs like Tonight Tonight is one of my favorite memories.
He’s so good. One of the best 90s bands.
I'll never forget my very first concert. Smashing Pumpkins at the bronco bowl in Dallas Texas. 1996 I was 11. I count myself lucky to experience them before their fall.... miss you D'arcy get yourself clean and come back to us.
He manages to tap into what we've all felt. It feels like being in a dark forest. A beautiful one. Eternal fall but finding comfort in the loneliness.
I always loved the strings of Tonight Tonight. Those strings enchanted me at the age of 12 & still am.
I honestly keep coming back to this video. The most beautiful music I've heard ❤❤❤❤
Aeronaut beautifully crushes my soul
Not too bad reminds me of when I was younger.. "the more you change the less you feel"
Let's have beans in every meal.
He’s throwing daggers in those lines, incredible insight on life in his mid to late 20s
Mike Hawk my new tattoo 🤘❤️
1979 is also super nostalgic. Overplayed a bit but I still love it. An acid trip woke me back up to how badass a song it is. This whole album too
@@calebbasile2219 bless
There is still a lot of life left in his voice.
at 8:51....its the ending of Hummer....Billy you absolute legend you've done it again
The soundtrack to my youth was everything Smashing Pumpkins. I know Billy and the band have been through a lot... so it's very heart warming to see him continuing doing his thing. MCATIS and Adore are where I first noticed Billy's softer side and his new solo album looks to be very promising.
Great performance. The string quartet were just as amazing (also love what they did for Alt-J.) Thanks so much for sharing this.
very recently harbored a powerful fascination with this guy and smashing pumpkins
Such a wonderful performance, Billy's sensitive voice together with the string instruments and the piano, totally Smaching Pumpkings.
this man is a genius songmaker. enjoying all the old and new songs from him
Super nice guy in person. Definitely had a fanboy moment when I waited on him at a small vegetarian restaurant in Dallas.
Nursecloudy 108 should have given him a smashed pumpkin drink
Wow, what a neat experience. Didnt know he was vegetarian.
D. Cloudy 108 you’re cute lol
Dallas has vegan restaurants?
That guitar sounds fucking phenomenal. So does Billy's voice. So do the strings.
No need to swear
@@gregkosinski2303 bruh
Honestly, one of my favorite musicians, He's so genuine, talented, passionate, intelligent, and compassionate. Love his music, truly resonates with me.
he still has it
I realize he’s played and sung “Tonight” a million times but it’s got to be an extremely difficult tune to pull off yet he absolutely kills it here. Fucking amazing.
Goodness that cellist is gorgeous.
So beautiful.
He got old but his voice is still young enough
I shocked after listening to his voice
Forever young !!
His voice is still incredible
This version of “Tonight” is so great! One of my all time favorites.
believe.. in the resolute urgency of now.. and if you believe there's not a chance.. tonight.
OUT OF THIS WORLD BILLY CORGAN!!
WOW HOW DID I MISS THIS ONE????
it’s only the first song and i’m crying over my plate of pasta