Bass Thumpin Thursdays: The Smashing Pumpkins

Having sold millions of albums throughout the 1990's, The Smashing Pumpkins, fronted by lead singer and songwriter Billy Corgan, became a voice for a generation that felt disconnected to the trends in music at the time. The Pumpkins broad range of subjects and melodies often traversed different genres and their music videos often defied the conventional approach used by most artists at the time. Corgan has been quoted as saying "We generally resisted the idea of what I call the classic MTV rock video, which is like lots of people jumping around and stuff."

During the 2000's, the group had it's shake-ups and break-ups with all the members eventually disbanding except for Billy himself. Though the sometimes gloomy lyrics of the Pumpkins might have indicated drug use within the band, Billy was the one to stay clear of drugs, having seen their effects on numerous 90's bands like Nirvana and Sublime. Billy even revealed his own father's addiction to heroin in a recent issue of Rolling Stone stating that he was arrested two years ago with a needle still in his arm. Nonetheless Billy has continued to persevere in the face of adversary and is gearing up to to slowly release a 44 track compilation one song at a time through digital downloads. The first four of which can can be purchased on the album Teargarden by Kaleidoscope, Vol. 1: Songs for a Sailor.

Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins have produced some of the most thought provoking and relevant music of the last 20 years and deserve a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In the Rolling Stone article, Billy asks himself: "Do I belong in the conversation about the best artists in the world? My answer is yes, I do," he says. "I've been too productive for too long, and despite what anybody wants to strip away from me, I am influential. I am. So all the Pitchforks in the world can try to strip me of every ounce of dignity, but I belong." Check out some of The Smashing Pumpkins' most influential videos below, as well as the new single "Song for a Son," and see if you agree.

Smashing Pumpkins - 1979

Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight

Smashing Pumpkins - Zero

Smashing Pumpkins - Tarantula

Smashing Pumpkins - A Song For a Son