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Billy Corgan calls (Them) out for intentionally destroying rock music

Billy Corgan has a theory as to why rock music hasn’t ...
barnabyjones
  03/07/26
...
things from the 90s/00s so ethereal and dreamlike:
  03/07/26
some merit there. Its weird how rock was just removed from m...
SkaddenArse
  03/07/26
It was Boomers killing Grunge because it was Cool and made t...
The Helix Project
  03/07/26
I actually think grunge was a huge problem. It destroyed the...
barnabyjones
  03/07/26
He was damn right to complain imo.
The Helix Project
  03/07/26
180
things from the 90s/00s so ethereal and dreamlike:
  03/07/26
...
lex
  03/10/26
...
but you thought you could fool God
  03/10/26
this. grunge was gay.
Nyuuug
  03/07/26
...
Big Clique Energy
  03/10/26
probably some truth to this but where was rock really going ...
Brother Peter Dimond
  03/07/26
Frances Stonor Saunders’ 1999 book The Cultural Cold W...
MISO HORNY
  03/10/26
...
potluck
  03/10/26
it's weird how you can go back to any given month of high sc...
sealclubber
  03/10/26
I’m not convinced that radio/MTV force-meming of Goo G...
,..,,,,,,....,,,...,
  03/10/26


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Date: March 7th, 2026 1:22 PM
Author: barnabyjones

Billy Corgan has a theory as to why rock music hasn’t been as prevalent in mainstream culture in the 21st century as it was in the ’70s, ’80s, and early ’90s. The Smashing Pumpkins frontman believes that rock was “purposely dialed down” beginning in the late ’90s.

On the latest episode of his own podcast, The Magnificent Others, Corgan discussed the state of rock music with his guest, writer and cultural commentator Conrad Flynn.

“I think, and I will say it overtly, I think that rock has been purposely dialed down in the culture,” began Corgan. “Again, this gets ‘wizard behind the curtain,’ right? Somebody’s gonna say, ‘Well, how do you know who was the wizard behind the curtain?’ All I know is I saw the gravity shift.”

He continued, “If you were at MTV or around MTV in 1997 or 1998, suddenly they decided rock was out when rock was still very, very high up in the thing. And it was replaced by rap… Their standards and practices immediately shifted, so now that things that weren’t allowed were suddenly allowed. People were waving guns. Some people assert that the CIA was involved in all that. Again, above my pay grade, but I saw it happen. I did witness it happen.”

https://consequence.net/2026/03/billy-corgan-rock-music-purposely-dialed-down/



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49723506)



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Date: March 7th, 2026 1:22 PM
Author: things from the 90s/00s so ethereal and dreamlike:



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49723507)



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Date: March 7th, 2026 1:31 PM
Author: SkaddenArse

some merit there. Its weird how rock was just removed from mainstream culture.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49723540)



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Date: March 7th, 2026 1:32 PM
Author: The Helix Project ( )

It was Boomers killing Grunge because it was Cool and made them look really lame.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49723550)



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Date: March 7th, 2026 1:40 PM
Author: barnabyjones

I actually think grunge was a huge problem. It destroyed the confident white male mystique. we went from bandanaed Axl Rose wearing a bullet proof vest on stage and fucking models to kurt cobain complaining about everything while wearing a dress.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49723586)



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Date: March 7th, 2026 1:43 PM
Author: The Helix Project ( )

He was damn right to complain imo.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49723594)



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Date: March 7th, 2026 1:43 PM
Author: things from the 90s/00s so ethereal and dreamlike:

180

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49723596)



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Date: March 10th, 2026 1:37 PM
Author: lex



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49731955)



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Date: March 10th, 2026 1:37 PM
Author: but you thought you could fool God



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49731957)



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Date: March 7th, 2026 1:46 PM
Author: Nyuuug

this. grunge was gay.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49723603)



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Date: March 10th, 2026 1:24 PM
Author: Big Clique Energy



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49731916)



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Date: March 7th, 2026 1:42 PM
Author: Brother Peter Dimond

probably some truth to this but where was rock really going at that point

im sure he remembers what he was doing in '97. he released "eye" on the lost highway soundtrack which is a song he was intending to have shaq(not flame) rap on before david lynch told corgan that "tear"(which ended up on the adore album) wouldnt work for the movie

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49723593)



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Date: March 10th, 2026 1:23 PM
Author: MISO HORNY

Frances Stonor Saunders’ 1999 book The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters (originally published in the UK as Who Paid the Piper?) reveals how the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) covertly funded cultural initiatives in Western Europe and the U.S. from the late 1940s to the 1960s to counter Soviet influence during the Cold War.

The CIA established the Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF) in 1947 as a front organization to sponsor art exhibitions, literary journals (like Encounter and Partisan Review), concerts, and film adaptations (e.g., Animal Farm, 1984).

Funds were channeled through philanthropic foundations like the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations to conceal the CIA’s role, creating a "long leash" strategy to distance the Agency from artists and intellectuals.

The campaign aimed to promote American cultural values—especially freedom of expression—by supporting movements like Abstract Expressionism, which was portrayed as the antithesis of Soviet socialist realism.

Saunders argues that many prominent figures, including George Orwell, Jackson Pollock, Hannah Arendt, Bertrand Russell, and Arthur Schlesinger Jr., were either unknowingly or knowingly involved in this effort, raising ethical questions about intellectual autonomy.

The book sparked significant debate: praised by critics like Edward Said as a "major work of investigative history," it was also challenged for its narrative style and sourcing, particularly regarding the extent of CIA infiltration.

The CIA’s cultural program was exposed in 1967, leading to the CCF’s collapse. Saunders suggests the Agency allowed its exposure, possibly because the campaign had served its purpose.

The book remains a landmark in Cold War historiography, highlighting the blurred line between state power and cultural freedom

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49731913)



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Date: March 10th, 2026 1:34 PM
Author: potluck



(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49731941)



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Date: March 10th, 2026 1:41 PM
Author: sealclubber

it's weird how you can go back to any given month of high school and listen to the top 40 and recognize almost all of the songs

i don't even know if they have a top 40 in the 21st century, but i wonder if even 10 songs in any given month are recognizable?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49731979)



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Date: March 10th, 2026 2:13 PM
Author: ,..,,,,,,....,,,...,

I’m not convinced that radio/MTV force-meming of Goo Goo Dolls or Sheryl Crow was a superior system of music discovery. You can now listen to tons of good old indie stuff that you previously had to live near a good college station to hear, or even more esoteric stuff if you prefer. If you want anthemic radio ballads that is still a business for Ed Sheeran, or you can be a boomer and listen to 90s rock radio until you die.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5842687&forum_id=2#49732094)