Tommy Lee Plays Drums For Smashing Pumpkins

Motley Crue‘s Tommy Lee has taken the position behind the kit on the upcoming Smashing Pumpkins album, Monuments to an Elegy. But is it a good pairing?

There’s no doubt that Lee could handle the task, but he and Billy Corgan just seem like polar opposites. On the one hand, we have Lee, a brash and vulgar rock star if there ever was one, and on the other we have Corgan, a pretentious and whiney wanna-be rock star if there ever was one. Dude, you’re not a damn poet or some existential philosopher, you’re a third-rate rocker in a third-tier grunge band. Of course, that’s my own decades-long contempt for Corgan shining through.

I suppose stranger things have happened than Lee playing on a Smashing Pumpkins album, but considering the Smashing Pumpkins were a part of the grunge scene that buried bands like Motley Crue, I’d rather see a headline like, “Tommy Lee Tea Bags Billy Corgan!”

And who knew that the Pumpkins were working on a new album, let alone still together? Shocker of the year, Monuments to an Elegy (see what I mean about pretentious?) will be their ninth studio album!

Given that the Crue is going on a two-year Final Tour, it’s unlikely that Lee will join the Pumpkins on tour. It’s not known whether or not Mike Byrne will be the touring drummer.

The Smashing Pumpkins announced the pairing and posted a picture (above) on May 7th, via their website:

Here���s a shot from the mission out west. Just finished round 1 of tracking drums with Tommy Lee for the new the Smashing Pumpkins album. Shockla-locka-boom. Yes, that T Lee for all 9 songs of ‘Monument[s] To An Elegy.’

What do you think of Tommy Lee playing on the new Smashing Pumpkins album? Is it weird?

Rock Hard \m/