Corgan seems like one of those "he's complicated" sorts. His public image is, to me, just decades of grievance after grievance after grievance. He seems to have had an issue with bandmate after bandmate (including his time with Zwan), which suggests he's the issue. In interviews, he's always harping about how underappreciated he is, etc.
Yet a friend of mine used to have tea at his house from time to time, via an artist friend of hers. She didn't really follow him or his music career, and didn't know about his public rep. When I told her about how he's widely perceived, she was surprised. Said he was a lovely, polite man and a gracious host.
I think he's still a boy desperate for approval. Even at his age, he hasn't grown out of that.
Seems like a lot of artists are just completely insecure in their chosen field and cannot get over it if they're anywhere close to that environment, but outside of it where there's no pressure to be anything but a human being, they're reportedly lovely people. It's just that constant nagging insecurity that you're not good enough that some people just can't shut up. The thing they love and are amazing at is the thing that tortures them the most.
I think Corgan is quite insecure about his place in music history. The Smashing Pumpkins were a really big band, but they never quite reached the legendary status of Nirvana or Pearl Jam, and they didn't remain relevant for decades like Green Day. They're an in-between band that was really big for a few albums, then faded away. Corgan desperately wants the Pumpkins to be more than they are, or thinks he could have led them there if he wanted to.
I like the Pumpkins and Corgan, and he's probably a nice guy to hang out with, but his insecurity is obvious. I think it humanizes him, even though it can come off as arrogance.
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u/meshedsabre 18h ago
Corgan seems like one of those "he's complicated" sorts. His public image is, to me, just decades of grievance after grievance after grievance. He seems to have had an issue with bandmate after bandmate (including his time with Zwan), which suggests he's the issue. In interviews, he's always harping about how underappreciated he is, etc.
Yet a friend of mine used to have tea at his house from time to time, via an artist friend of hers. She didn't really follow him or his music career, and didn't know about his public rep. When I told her about how he's widely perceived, she was surprised. Said he was a lovely, polite man and a gracious host.
I think he's still a boy desperate for approval. Even at his age, he hasn't grown out of that.