The Smashing Pumpkins was never meant to be a small band. It was going to either be a big band, or a no band.

The music business - and I guess you could say any artistic endeavor - usually rewards those who are on the leading edge of where everything is going, but you can't be too far.

If I have resistance to something, it means there's something wrong. The resistance to me is a sign of fear.

People always called the Cure gloomy, but listening to the Cure made me happy. There was something about the gloominess that gave me comfort, and I think we're the same way.

We need to get back to a level of social responsibility that we haven't seen for a long time.

I mean my point as an artist is I'm on my own little weird journey across the sky here and whether or not anybody's listening, or listening to the degree I would like them to, at the end of the day has to be an inconsequential thing because I can't chase this culture.

I've seen foreigners really shift on their view of America, and that's hard for me to take.