While the Smashing Pumpkins of today have gone through many transformations since the Smashing Pumpkins of yesteryear, one thing remains a constant – Billy Corgan.

In a new interview with The Daily Beast, Corgan ruminates about the future of the Smashing Pumpkins and the possibility of the band forging ahead even without him in the physical lineup. Sounds blasphemous right? No really, Corgan explains his thought process, saying, “The name of the band means more than who’s in it. I have to be there. But maybe there comes a point like KISS where KISS is going to continue on without Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley]. He continued, “Maybe there’ll come a point in Smashing Pumpkins history where this band will continue on without me. I’ll just write songs.”

Corgan also addressed critics who shun him for carrying on with the name, even though he is the only remaining original member. He explained, “I believe in the rightness of it, and I believe I have a right to it. By taking on the negative charge of ‘you can’t do that,’ there’s a transformational aspect that’s possible if you’re willing to accept the truth in it. So when people say, ‘You shouldn’t be touring under the name,’ I say, ‘That’s a really good point.’ I get it.”

In addition, Corgan states that the current rock scene makes it difficult for iconic figures to emerge in this day and age. “If you’re 20 years old and you aspire to be like me or Kurt Cobain or Courtney Love or Trent Reznor, you’re not going to make it that way. You won’t succeed. Let’s say you are the next Kurt Cobain. You will be appropriated on your first album by the Pitchfork community. Your record company will rally around that idea because that’s your marketing platform. But the minute you’re in that world, you’re frozen.”

In the in-depth interview, Corgan also touches upon why rock and roll is such a ‘murderous business,’ the recording of the Smashing Pumpkins latest album ‘Oceania’ and much more. Check it out here.

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