His respected musical output aside, Billy Corgan — aka William Patrick Corgan — has said some pretty wackadoo stuff in his time. Whether it’s outing real-life shape-shifters, bullying fans and The White Stripes, or railing against the “fake news” in support of Trump, the stuff that comes out the Smashing Pumpkins frontman’s mouth is often confusing at best. Now, he’s expressed what could be his most controversial opinion yet.
Corgan was a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience to promote his new album, Ogilala. During one portion of the chat, Rogan took an easy shot at Canada’s favorite “guilty pleasure,” Nickelback. Perhaps surprisingly, Corgan immediately went to bat for the much-derided rockers, saying frontman Chad Kroeger is “an incredible songwriter.”
(Read: 10 Bands Who Changed Their Name and Found Fame)
According to Stereogum, he continued by labeling the band badasses and essentially saying their songs are musical porn for the pop masses. “I don’t know enough about their world, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong if that’s who you want to be,” Corgan told Rogan. “Pop is predicated on satisfying. I’ve said many times pop is porn. It’s porn, they want to get you off. It’s just how they’re going to get you off. I’m not that concerned with getting you off, I’m just not.”
Stay tuned for the announcement of the Smashing Pumpkins/Nickelback 2018 joint headlining tour. And don’t expect Slipknot to be the opening act.
