Smashing Pumpkins: Tales of a Scorched Earth (Paperback)

~ Amy Hanson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Initially contemporaries of Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Billy Corgan's Smashing Pumpkins outgrew and outlived the grunge scene with hugely acclaimed commercial triumphs like Siamese Dream, which legitimised heavy metal, and number one album Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness. Unlike many of their contemporaries, the Pumpkins were able to withstand internal problems and keep selling records, emerging as the longest-lasting and most successful alternative band of the early '90s. Though drugs and other problems led to the band's final demise, Corgan's recent return with Zwan is a reminder of how awesome the Pumpkins were in their prime. Seattle-based Hanson has followed the band for years and this is the first in-depth biography of their rise and fall.

About the Author

A freelance writer and author Amy Hanson is a regular contributor to the All Music Guide, and Goldmine and Experience Hendrix magazines, for whom she has written extensively on subjects ranging from disco and funk to grunge and punk.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Helter Skelter Publishing (August 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1900924684
• ISBN-13: 978-1900924689
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #608,223 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Even for SP fans this was painful to read, December 18, 2004

By	J. Pletcher - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My girlfriend bought me this book for my birthday and I couldn't wait to get started on it because I'm a huge Pumpkins and Corgan fan. After about the fifth page I was already disappointed. I could hardly stand reading the author's long, drawn out, overly dramatic way of informing the reader. Every sentence felt like work to read because the author goes out of her way to try and impress with her large vocabulary and endless, dragging, dry descriptions on every single event.

I couldn't agree more with all the bad reviews written before me. If you strip all the dry filler from this book you wouldn't have much left, and of that most SP fans probably know 75% of it already. Don't be fooled by the good reviews that attack the intelligence of the people criticizing this book. I understand the words the author uses, but it makes for difficult reading that doesn't flow well at all. Like I said, reading this was like work. I'm very disappointed. I've never liked/disliked a book so much that I would actually write up a review, but I don't want others out there to go through what I did and waste their (or their girlfriend's) money. You can get better information about the band by studying their lyrics and finding interviews with them online.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible, August 23, 2004

By	J. Fieldhouse - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The first, and only biography I have ever read of smashing pumpkins, and the worst biography I've ever read by anyone. Hanson over-utilises long words and skirts around even the slightest hint of any member of the band's private life in a bid to appear intellectual and inoffensive. In actual fact this only serves to irritate the reader. The photo section is the only real piece of green in this boring concrete patchwork, but even that is thin and devoted to the gish days. Although hanson clearly has a respect and perhaps a love of the pumpkins, her over-egging of songs like I am One and Siva is annoying. The real fault of the book though is its effort to appeal to indie kids who think they're clever, but even they would probably hate this clinical trash. I don't normally write amazon reviews, in fact this is only my second, but any prospective fan thinking of buying this book should look towards the mellon collie or adore CDs. Don't buy this, if you see a good review of this book, the person who wrote it was bribed. This is long, boring, irritating and over-intellectual with no real let up.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Meaningless words to describe the meaningful, October 8, 2004

By	Peter Lekousi (Portland, Maine United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is quite possibly the most horrendously God-awful biography I have ever read. Granted, I appreciate the author's brave efforts to encapsulate the Smashing Pumpkins career, but I believe she is not a fan - and maybe even despises them. Regardless, I gave this book the great benefit of the doubt, hoping all through it that it would improve. I thought redundant, senseless ramblings couldn't fill up an ENTIRE book - WRONG! Once I reached page 164 I decided it was time to start jumping through paragraph through dry paragraphs seeking even the smallest tad-bit of information that would stimulate my interest.

Amy Hanson takes you through the Smashing Pumpkins career, but she also takes you down and through rocky, dirt-road detours where her words become the hot dust in the air making you cough. If it was her goal to make the Smashing Pumpkins the dullest topic one could read about, she is the most successful author ever. Hopefully a true fan with the superior thinking and writing skills required to write a biography on the best band of the 90's will create a real bio - one the fans can celebrate and one that the band deserves.

I would recommend this beast only to the die-hardest of pumpkin smashers. Anyone else would be turned off from the band and should check out the SP's online community/FAQ's/Bios before spending money on this brick of pretentious, arrogant prose.

Highlight: the killer black and white pictures in the center of the book & the discography at the end