Remember this guy?

I can't believe how smug Mr. Corgan looks in this photo.(Thanks again, Google images!) I've thought more about the Pumpkins in the last week than I had in the last four or five years.

The well-founded rumor is the SP is back together and recording new music somewhere. My guess is Chicago. It's apparently Billy, Jimmy Chamberlain and some guy who played in Jimmy's band, which I've never heard. No James. No D'Arcy. And no Melissa Auf Der Maur. Hmmm. Sounds like the short-lived Zwan to me.

I'm worried that I really won't like whatever it is BC is cooking up as the next Pumpkins phase. I'm worried that he'll further taint the SP legacy with some James Iha-less incarnation of the band.

Here's why I care: this band was my life from roughly 1995-2000.

-I stood in the July heat with 100,000 other freaks to see them play the Hennepin Avenue block party in '98.
-I slept on the floor of a grocery store in a ticket line to get 12th row seats to the 2000/final American tour show at the Northrop Auditorium.
-I defended MACHINA/The Machines of God record, which, in retrospect, I did on principle. It certainly wasn't because it's great record or anything. A couple great songs, but lots of filler. I've been listening to it in the car this week.
-I drove to Winnipeg and Chicago to see shows on the final tour. About six and half hours to each city. Each way. (I held up a sign at the Winnipeg show that Billy read and responded to.)
-I sat in the City Center in Minneapolis for eight hours to meet SP at an autograph signing for about forty-five seconds. Oddly, it was the first of two meeting with Billy in that month: he gave me a hug after the Minneapolis show.

So, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.

P.S. I added a link to BC's MySpace page. It has the full clip of him playing one of his solo songs on Letterman.

Today: did not ride the bike for 60 minutes. Instead, I worked for 12 hours straight.
Tomorrow: long walk, if it's sunny