July 12, 2007
NYC Album Art: Smashing Pumpkins, Zeitgeist
The Smashing Pumpkins have officially made their return. The comeback (yeah, we're gonna call it a comeback) appears to be met with little fanfare. The new album, Zeitgeist, came out Tuesday - and was met with a lack of good reviews. The cover art is what we're concerned about here though.
Bill Corgan chose (recent interviewee) Shepard Fairey to design the album art for the new album, saying: “Like a great artist can do, Shepard [Fairey] had summed up very simply a lot of complex theme. He also used the type font from our very first single, and I asked him about it and he had no idea. He was just on point.”
Fairey told Billboard more about the symbolism: "I think global warming is an issue that is currently relevant, time sensitive, and a symptom of the shortsightedness of the U.S. As a broader metaphor, the drowning Statue of Liberty, a revered icon of the U.S., symbolizes the eminent demise of many of the ideals upon which the nation was founded. Civil liberties, freedom of speech, privacy, etc. have been decreasing since 9/11. The sun in the image could either be setting or rising and this ambiguity shows that there is still hope to turn things around." He gave Lady Liberty a red hue because it's an "emotionally potent color."
Even if it's a little reminiscent of The Day After Tomorrow
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The sun is setting since it is behind the statue (which faces east), for whatever that is worth.
little fanfare? really? come on guys, have you even listened to the album, cause its actually really good.
"The sun in the image could either be setting or rising and this ambiguity shows that there is still hope to turn things around"
I'm pretty sure the sun isn't rising or setting seeing as how the Statue faces north, thereby putting the sun in the South.
Other than that, crappy album.
little fanfare? really? come on guys, have you even listened to the album, cause its actually really good.
Smashing Pumpkins sucks.
Wow. I didn't realize Shepard Fairey could load his work with such symbolism. I couldn't think of a better artist to do the cover for such a complex album.
Really though, I don't think the album is all that good, and I'm quite surprised that Fairey could build so much around his work... or be articulate for that matter.
You bastards... you finally did it!
... unless global warming somehow made the sun rise on the other side of the earth, the sun is setting.
oh gee, that's really original! (rolling my eyes)
PLEASE!!!!!
how much more obvious and unoriginal can you get?
corgan and his album designer are trying waaaaaay to hard to be "current".
the music isn't bad though. but it does seem heavy for the sake of it as in "look i'm billy corgan look how heavy my music is on this album aren't i cool?"
One of the worst album covers I have ever seen. Fucking Lame.
man, how i used to LOVE smashing pumpkins in grade school.
however, looking back and now forward, i can say Billy Corgan is probably thee most pretensious bastard in rock. he grocery shops with a body guard (i know from experience—as if anyone gives a shit about him!)and his pairing with shepard fairey isn't surprising—he and his (really really boring) art are pretentious and terrible too. his statement sounds like something a first year art school student would write.
[9], with an album titled "Zeitgeist", is it surprising that the emphasis is on being current?
that's probably the most contrived album cover i've ever seen.
indeed #12, but i was referring to the cover art itself and the music.
#11 - add Six points for correctly growing out of the Smashing Pumpkins (as many have.) Deduct Five points for misspelling "pretentious."
I'm somewhat surprised by the underwhelming line-up of underwhelming artists Fairey has worked with. Granted, the covers are solid - but 311? Really? Man I was already denying I had ever seen them live (3 times actually) a decade ago. Black Eyed Peas - sure there's $$$ there, but surely M. Fairey can work with much better people. This cover is also a bit disappointing in that it's message is so obvious, it barely counts as symbolism. Talk about your inelegant, hit-you-over-the-head semiotics. That said, it's well executed and vibrant. Just expect something better from the man.
Gotta say - DCist's reference is AWSOME.
the local media-the NY Post,the NY Daily News and the Village Voice all liked Zeitgeist.And acording to Hitdailydouble.com,the album looks to debut at #1 on next week's chart.Little fanfare my arse.
i too used to be a huge smashing pumpkins fan. then billy corgan found zoloft and jesus and i just couldn't care less.
If you read this piece of crap blog/mag, you suck