The Smashing Pumpkins

The Smashing Pumpkins is an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan (vocals, guitar) and James Iha (guitar, backing vocals), the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin (drums, percussion), D'arcy Wretzky (bass guitar, backing vocals), Melissa Auf der Maur (bass guitar), and currently includes Jeff Schroeder (guitar), Mike Byrne (drums, backing vocals), and Nicole Fiorentino (bass guitar, backing vocals) amongst its membership.

Disavowing the punk rock roots of many of their alt-rock contemporaries, the Pumpkins have a diverse, densely layered and guitar-heavy sound, containing elements of gothic rock, heavy metal, dream pop, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, shoegazer-style production and, in later recordings, electronica. Frontman Billy Corgan is the group's primary songwriter, his grand musical ambitions and cathartic lyrics have shaped the band's albums and songs, which have been described as "anguished, bruised reports from Billy Corgan's nightmare-land".

The Smashing Pumpkins broke into the musical mainstream with their second album, Siamese Dream (1993). The group built its audience with extensive touring and their follow-up, the double album Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness (1995), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart. Their following albums are Adore (1998), Machina/The Machines of God (2000), Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music (2000). With 18.75 million albums sold in the United States alone, The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the 1990s. However, internal fighting, drug use, and diminishing record sales led to a 2000 break-up.

In 2006, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin reconvened to record a new Smashing Pumpkins album, Zeitgeist. The band toured with a lineup of between five and nine musicians through much of 2007 and 2008. Chamberlin left the band in 2009 and was replaced by Mike Byrne. Corgan, Byrne, returning guitarist Jeff Schroeder, and newest addition Nicole Fiorentino are currently recording the 44-song Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, which has been released, one song at a time, since 2009. 

On April 26, 2011, Corgan announced via a video uploaded to the band's Facebook page that the band will record and release a new album titled Oceania, labeled as "an album within an album" in regards to the Teargarden by Kaleidyscope project, which will see the light around September.  Also, the entire pre-break up discography will be reissued and remastered, starting with Gish, Siamese Dream, and Pisces Iscariot, expected in late 2011. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, The Aeroplane Flies High, and Adore will be released in 2012, and finally, Machina/The Machines of God and the yet commercially unreleased Machina II/Friends and Enemies of Modern Music are expected to be released in 2013. The reissues will contain extra tracks.[source: The Smashing Pumpkins]

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The Doors

The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 by UCLA film students in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger. The band took its name from Aldous Huxley's book The Doors of Perception. They were among the most controversial rock acts of the 1960s, due mostly to Morrison's wild, poetic lyrics and charismatic but unpredictable stage persona.

The Doors signed to Elektra Records in 1966 and released their first album, The Doors, featuring the hit "Light My Fire," in 1967.  The debut album was a massive hit, and endures as one of the most exciting, groundbreaking recordings of the psychedelic era. Blending blues,  rock 'n roll, classical, eastern music, and pop into sinister but beguiling melodies, the band sounded like no other. With his rich, chilling vocals and somber poetic visions, Morrison explored the depths of the darkest and most thrilling aspects of the psychedelic experience.

The Doors spent several weeks in Los Angeles' Sunset Studios recording their second album, Strange Days, experimenting with the new technology they now had available. The commercial success of Strange Days was middling, peaking at number three on the Billboard album chart but quickly dropping, along with a series of underperforming singles. Strange Days would be the first album to use a bass player for its recording, and every studio album following it would as well. Manzarek explained that his keyboard bass was well-suited for live situations but that it lacked the "articulation" needed for studio recording.

Recording of the group's third album in April 1968 was marred by tension as a result of Morrison's increasing dependence on alcohol and drugs, and the rejection of his new epic, "Celebration of the Lizard", by band producer Paul Rothchild, who deemed the work not commercial enough. Approaching the height of their popularity, The Doors played a series of outdoor shows that led to frenzied scenes between fans and police. The band began to branch out from their initial form for this third LP. Because they had exhausted their original repertoire, they began writing new material. Waiting for the Sun became their first #1 LP. In concert, Morrison was occasionally dismissive of the song, leaving the vocal chores to Manzarek, as can be seen in the documentary The Doors are Open.

The Doors' fourth album, The Soft Parade, released in July 1969, contained pop-oriented arrangements and horn sections. The lead single "Touch Me" featured saxophonist Curtis Amy. 

The Doors staged a return to form with their their fifth album, Morrison Hotel, featuring a consistent hard rock sound. The album also saw Jim Morrison returning as main songwriter, writing or co-writing all of the album's tracks. On July 1970 The Doors released their first live album, Absolutely Live.

The Doors set to reclaim their status as a premier act with L.A. Woman in 1971. The album contained two top-20 hits and has gone on to be their second best-selling studio album, surpassed in sales only by their debut. The album explored their R&B roots.

On March 13, 1971, following the recording of L.A. Woman, Morrison took a leave of absence from the Doors and moved to Paris with Pamela Courson. While in Paris, he was again drinking heavily and using other drugs. On June 16, the last known recording of Morrison was made when he befriended two street musicians at a bar and invited them to a studio. This recording was finally released in 1994 on a bootleg CD entitled The Lost Paris Tapes.

Jim Morrison died on July 3, 1971. In the official account of his death, he was found in a Paris apartment bathtub by Courson. Morrison died at age 27, the same age as several other famous rock stars, including Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan of the Grateful Dead, Alan Wilson of Canned Heat, and Gary Thain of Uriah Heep. 

After Morrison's death in 1971, the remaining members continued as a trio until finally disbanding in 1973. [source : The Doors]

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Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd were an English rock band who earned recognition for their psychedelic rock music in the late 1960s, and for their progressive rock music in the 1970s. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album cover art, and elaborate live shows. One of rock music's most critically acclaimed and commercially successful acts, the group have sold over 200 million albums worldwide, including 74.5 million certified units in the United States, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

Pink Floyd were formed in 1965, and originally consisted of university students Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Richard Wright, and Syd Barrett. The group were a popular fixture on London's underground music scene, and under Barrett's leadership released two charting singles, "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play", and a successful debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. In 1968, guitarist and singer David Gilmour joined the line-up, and Barrett was removed due to his increasingly erratic behaviour. Following Barrett's departure, bass player and singer Roger Waters became the lyricist and dominant figure in the band, which went on to achieve worldwide critical and commercial success with the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall.

Wright left the band in 1979, and Waters in 1985, but Gilmour and Mason (joined by Wright) continued recording and touring under the name Pink Floyd. Waters used legal means to try to keep them from using the name, declaring Pink Floyd a spent force, but the parties reached an out-of-court settlement allowing Gilmour, Mason and Wright to continue as Pink Floyd. The band again enjoyed worldwide success with A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) and The Division Bell (1994), and Waters continued as a solo musician, releasing three studio albums. Although for some years relations between Waters and the remaining three members were sour, the band reformed in 2005 for what would be a final one-off performance at Live 8. On 10 July 2010, Roger Waters and David Gilmour performed at a charity event for the Hoping Foundation. [source : Pink Floyd]

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Radiohead

Radiohead are an English alternative rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, beats), Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboard, other instruments), Ed O'Brien (guitar, backing vocals), Colin Greenwood (bass guitar, synthesizers) and Phil Selway (drums, percussion).

Radiohead released their first single, "Creep", in 1992. The song was initially unsuccessful, but it became a worldwide hit several months after the release of their debut album, Pablo Honey (1993). Radiohead's popularity rose in the United Kingdom with the release of their second album, The Bends (1995). Radiohead's third album, OK Computer (1997), propelled them to greater international fame. Featuring an expansive sound and themes of modern alienation, OK Computer has often been acclaimed as a landmark record of the 1990s.

Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001) marked an evolution in Radiohead's musical style, as the group incorporated experimental electronic music, Krautrock, post-punk and jazz influences. Hail to the Thief (2003), a mix of guitar-driven rock, electronics and lyrics inspired by war, was the band's final album for their major record label, EMI. The band's first six albums, released via EMI, had sold more than twenty-five million copies by 2007. Radiohead independently released their seventh album, In Rainbows (2007), originally as a digital download for which customers could set their own price, and later in physical form to critical and chart success.

Radiohead's work has appeared in a large number of listener polls and critics' lists. For example, in 2005 Radiohead were ranked number 73 in Rolling Stone's list of "the greatest artists of all time". While the band's earlier albums were particularly influential on British rock and pop music, their later albums brought them a wide audience. [source : Radiohead]

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