Billy Corgan is dead, long live Billy Corgan
William Patrick Corgan—“Billy” to his friends, former bandmates, and fans—continues to play the name game around the release of his latest album, Ogilala. When he first announced plans for the record, the former Smashing Pumpkins frontman and teahouse entrepreneur set aside the childish moniker of “Billy” for his Christian name, which was the only suitable handle for his second solo album, middling though it was. Beyond maturity, though, the appeal of the switch was that “it irritated people,” Corgan told CBS Morning. “Then I thought, ‘OK, I’m definitely going to do this.’”