Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan Backs up Taylor Swift, Sinéad O’Connor: “I Can’t Follow That”

Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan recently defended Taylor Swift, and it’s an unlikely alliance that no one saw coming.

The grunge singer, who is currently touring with The Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer, recently defended Swift’s choice to release a whopping 30-track album, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology. Some found the choice to make such a long album excessive. Corgan, who is also known for releasing lengthy albums, spoke with The Irish Times about his feelings involving Swift.

Corgan Is a Fan of Taylor Swift and Sinéad O’Connor

The interview began with Corgan discussing how much he respects the late Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor, who passed away in 2023. The conversation took a turn towards the trials and tribulations of being in the public eye, which comes with its own set of unfair and occasionally useless criticisms. He recognized O’Connor’s struggle with this, as well as his own. He took it a step further by empathizing with Taylor Swift as well.

“Let’s go back to Sinéad for a second,” he said. “Now that Sinéad’s gone, would it be a bad thing if somebody turned up tomorrow and said, ‘Hey, I just found this tape, and there’s enough for 20′ – or 30 or 50 – ‘Sinéad songs.’ Would that be a bad thing? Taylor Swift is one of the most gifted pop artists of all time. How is it a bad thing that she’s releasing more music? I can’t follow that … You can go on Spotify and just skip it.”

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Corgan compared the backlash Swift received for her album with the backlash he received for the Smashing Pumpkins album Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts. The latter features 43 tracks across three acts and a “Zodeon At Crystal Hall” section.

“People complained about the length of my last album, Atum,” said Corgan. “I thought, Well, just go make your own playlist. Just listen to the record one time – rag over the six or 10 songs you like and make your own record. Why is this such a strange concept? Have some sense of proportionality. This hyperbolic thing – ‘They ruined Star Wars. My God, this is all too much for me to process’ – it’s all a bit childish.”

Photo by Emma McIntyre

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