I used to absolutely love Smashing Pumpkins back in the day. Siamese Dream, Gish, awesome, awesome. It started to fall apart for me during that “Rat In A Cage” time period. That song sucked so hard - never mind that pop-edgey image they were trying to foster. But I still hold a lot of respect for lead-singer Billy Corgan and his music, and it was very formative during a previous part of my life.

A friend of mine told me yesterday about how Corgan has a new album and a new religious perspective. And while I’m not terribly interested in the album, I always love hearing about what people believe and what it is they’re really after. I tracked down an article at Conscious Choice which delves into the topic of Corgan’s newfound spirituality.

I’m gonna try and do this without being overly critical, but it does all sound a little cliche to me.

Besides writing poetry, he says his new path also includes strumming his guitar with a Tibetan singer and a desire to express the beauty and romanticism of life.

Okay, forget it, this might get critical. I’ll see how long I can hold out though.

Corgan doesn’t draw a line between faith and spirituality. He embraces elements of Catholicism as well as Buddhism and a new global philosophy that integrates spirituality into every aspect of life, but he’s not obsessed with rituals of practice.

When I first read that, I thought - oh shit! He’s gone the way of Maitreya! Luckily though, that is not the case. Turns out he’s not talking about that at all though. It just happens to be a reference to Ken Wilber:

Corgan also has been exploring more unconventional spiritual masters. He has become a devotee of Ken Wilber who promotes Universal consciousness. Wilber provides a link to Corgan on his website: integralnaked.org.

Corgan is a frequent contributor to Wilber’s member-based website and participates in Wilber’s online dialogues between, what Wilber calls, the “most influential, provocative, and important thinkers and leaders in today’s world.”

On his website, Wilber calls Corgan a representative of a new avant-garde.

[…] Wilber also says he believes Corgan will find a new set of fans, those on an equal spiritual level with the singer, and together they will resurrect a better avant-garde. Those new fans may form a smaller group than the MTV crowd, but Wilber thinks they’re more intense and beneficial because they will inspire Corgan to incorporate deeper ideas.

I’m not going to jump into my usual critique of Wilber, so don’t worry. But I do think calling Billy Corgan a part of the “new avant-garde” is a bit of a stretch. And as much as Wilber may mean it, I have to ask myself how much of this stuff about finding fans “on an equal spiritual level with the singer” is really just part of a new marketing image? To me, it just makes it sound like Corgan has turned into a snob. Why can’t people on any spiritual level enjoy his music? Statements like this instantly turn me off.

He points out that his newfound spirituality doesn’t mean he avoids swearing or telling irreverent jokes. And it doesn’t mean he’ll ditch some material pleasures for a life in a monastery or Ashram. Instead he strives to write songs that didn’t hold anything back — truly honest lyrics.

Alright - that I can get behind. If your spirituality is taking you to a place where you’re honest and your pouring yourself out to the world, then that’s something I can resonate with. But I don’t think that’s anything new. I think that’s why his music became popular in the first place.

Chicago Metro nightclub owner Joe Shanahan, recalls when he and other guests were at Corgan’s home. Before dinner Corgan folded his hands and said a little prayer.

“And he’d do it in front of record company presidents, famous models, fabulous photographers,” Shanahan says laughing. “He’s unafraid of anyone who might think, ‘Oh, look at that guy, what’s that all about?’”

I love that people think religion is “edgy” somehow. I mean, fuck, if this was just a couple decades ago, and somebody prayed before dinner, I don’t think anybody would consider it a wild avant-garde statement about spirituality in the modern world. I’m willing to admit that my displeasure with some of this may not be with Corgan at all, but with how the magazine article itself is presenting this whole thing. I’m just so turned off by spirituality when it’s framed in this kind of language and imagery.

He tries to eat only organic foods and he has delved into yoga, although he admits to being “lazy” in keeping up a regular practice.

Ah, here we have it: the classic image of spirituality in the media right now: organic foods + yoga. I’m not saying either of these things are bad or that you shouldn’t do them, but I do think that the image of them has been 100% co-opted by marketers. And that because of that, it seems like one of the very few popular public images of non-mainstream spirituality that we’re even allowed to contemplate anymore.

He confesses to driving a ’70s “gas guzzler,” saying hybrid cars are just quick fixes to make people feel better about themselves, but they don’t effect fundamental change. To him, fighting for a better environment means raising the consciousness level of the public until everyone realizes that change needs to happen.

“Did you know the American army is using 12 million barrels of gasoline in Iraq every day?” he asks. “If I can raise the consciousness level of 100 people who are going to make 100,000 better choices, my energy is better spent than debating whether or not to drive a hybrid car.”

I could go on and on about this, but it sort of sounds like: “If I can get everybody else to make good decisions, then the bad decisions I make don’t matter as much. And that’s karma-power™!”