The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music
Encyclopedia
The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music is a compilation album by American alternative rock
band The Smashing Pumpkins
. It is a collection of previously unreleased demos and two live tracks which was originally created as a mix tape by Billy Corgan
and passed to a fan with instructions to distribute the songs to other fans.
album, Billy Corgan
gave Smashing Pumpkins Fan Collaborative creator Eric Agnew a 60-minute cassette with explicit instructions to circulate the recordings. The songs overran the end of each side of the cassette, so "Here's to the Atom Bomb" and an untitled instrumental are cut short. The tape was received without a verified track list labeled, so Eric was forced to form one himself based on his knowledge of previous releases and performances.
The online distribution was so successful that when Virgin Records
refused to release the follow-up to Machina due to that album's poor sales, Corgan made the decision to follow the previous route of the original Friends & Enemies and released Machina II in a similar manner.
" single. "Real Love" would appear on Machina II and Rotten Apples. "X.Y.U" and "Where Boys Fear to Tread" are live performances of the songs that appeared on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
. "The Ethers Tragic" is a live performance of the song that appeared as a B-side to "The End Is the Beginning Is the End
" single. "Once Upon a Time" and "Crestfallen" are demo versions of the songs that appeared on Adore.
"Money (That's What I Want)
", "Never Say Never", and the untitled instrumental are the only songs that have not appeared on any other releases in any form.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
. It is a collection of previously unreleased demos and two live tracks which was originally created as a mix tape by Billy Corgan
Billy Corgan
William Patrick "Billy" Corgan, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet best known as the frontman and sole permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins. Formed by Corgan and guitarist James Iha in Chicago, Illinois in 1987, the band quickly gained steam with the...
and passed to a fan with instructions to distribute the songs to other fans.
Composition and distribution
In April 2000 while touring in support of the first MachinaMACHINA/The Machines of God
Machina/The Machines of God is the fifth album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on February 29, 2000 by Virgin Records. A concept album, it marked the return of drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and was intended to be the band's final official LP release prior to their first...
album, Billy Corgan
Billy Corgan
William Patrick "Billy" Corgan, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet best known as the frontman and sole permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins. Formed by Corgan and guitarist James Iha in Chicago, Illinois in 1987, the band quickly gained steam with the...
gave Smashing Pumpkins Fan Collaborative creator Eric Agnew a 60-minute cassette with explicit instructions to circulate the recordings. The songs overran the end of each side of the cassette, so "Here's to the Atom Bomb" and an untitled instrumental are cut short. The tape was received without a verified track list labeled, so Eric was forced to form one himself based on his knowledge of previous releases and performances.
The online distribution was so successful that when Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
refused to release the follow-up to Machina due to that album's poor sales, Corgan made the decision to follow the previous route of the original Friends & Enemies and released Machina II in a similar manner.
Compilation
With the exception of "The Everlasting Gaze", alternate versions of the songs from the entire first side of the tape would surface on Machina II. "The Everlasting Gaze" is an alternate version of the song that appeared on Machina. "Le Deux Machina" was used in portions in the middle section of "Ghost and the Glass Children" from Machina. A full-length and uncut version of "Here's to the Atom Bomb" would appear as a B-side to the "Try, Try, TryTry, Try, Try
"Try, Try, Try" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It was the third and final single from their fifth album, Machina/The Machines of God...
" single. "Real Love" would appear on Machina II and Rotten Apples. "X.Y.U" and "Where Boys Fear to Tread" are live performances of the songs that appeared on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is the third album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released October 24, 1995 on Virgin Records. Produced by frontman Billy Corgan with Flood and Alan Moulder, the twenty-eight-track album was released as a two-disc CD and triple LP...
. "The Ethers Tragic" is a live performance of the song that appeared as a B-side to "The End Is the Beginning Is the End
The End Is the Beginning Is the End
"The End Is the Beginning Is the End" is a Grammy Award-winning song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. It is the first full-band song released as a single by the Smashing Pumpkins in the aftermath of their 1995 album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness...
" single. "Once Upon a Time" and "Crestfallen" are demo versions of the songs that appeared on Adore.
"Money (That's What I Want)
Money (That's What I Want)
"Money " is a 1959 hit single by Barrett Strong for the Tamla label, distributed nationally on Anna Records. The song was written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, and became the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise....
", "Never Say Never", and the untitled instrumental are the only songs that have not appeared on any other releases in any form.