In a 2004 Newsweek interview, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan said he turned down "heavy, heavy money" to license his band's hit song, "Today," because, as he put it, some things are sacred:
The record company's literally begging me: go ahead and take these commercials. At this point in my life, I don't feel comfortable. Those songs are the reason I'm alive. If your music is not sacred to the point where it's a really, really, really heavy decision about whether or not you would allow somebody else to exploit it, then what's not for sale?
Times have changed. Get a load of this new Visa credit card commercial, featuring a familiar tune:
Seems an odd time, given the unpopularity of the financial industry, for the Smashing Pumpkins to finally pull what so many fans would probably consider an extreme sellout move. Check out Arianna's recent post, "The Credit Card Debt Crisis: The Next Economic Domino."
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