Zeitgeist Ahoy

The release of Smashing Pumpkin's latest disc, Zeitgeist, is next Tuesday, but you can listen to the stream here and watch the "Tarantula" video here.

I've heard the whole thing, and to summarize: it's good (say "Yay" if you like the return of guitars that sound like motors and engines) but not awesome. The worst bit is that it has poor mastering. There's no dynamic range whatsoever (all the instruments sit in the same space and barely go up or down in volume) and Jimmy's intricate drumwork gets lost too many times for my taste. Sad, but not too much of a surprise considering what Machina and the Zwan disc sounded like.

And to further add to my displeasure, like the comic book companies in the early 90s, it's coming out in about a billion different flavors (i.e. covers), each with a unique song, book, or DVD. I know artists don't necessarily have tons of say in this, but you'd think Billy wouldn't let this happen, considering he released the last batch of Pumpkins stuff for free.