Billy Corgan Claims Rock Music Was 'Purposely Dialled Down' By The CIA & MTV

The Smashing Pumpkins

Smashing Pumpkins ringleader Billy Corgan has shared a theory that rock music was “purposely dialled down” by the CIA and MTV starting in the late ‘90s, leading to its decline in mainstream popularity.

Corgan made the claim in a recent episode of his podcast, The Magnificent Others, where he discussed the state of rock music with writer and cultural commentator Conrad Flynn.

“I think, and I will say it overtly, I think that rock has been purposely dialled down in the culture,” Corgan said. “Again, this gets ‘wizard behind the curtain,’ right? Somebody’s gonna say, ‘Well, how do you know who was the wizard behind the curtain?’ All I know is I saw the gravity shift.”

The singer and musician went on to claim that, in the late ‘90s, rock was replaced by rap music on MTV and recalled allegations from the time that the CIA were involved in the changes.

“If you were at MTV or around MTV in 1997 or 1998, suddenly they decided rock was out when rock was still very, very high up in the thing,” Corgan shared. “And it was replaced by rap… Their standards and practices immediately shifted, so now that things that weren’t allowed were suddenly allowed.

“People were waving guns. Some people assert that the CIA was involved in all that. Again, above my pay grade, but I saw it happen. I did witness it happen.”

Later in the podcast, Corgan pointed to the waning influence of rap music in popular culture, adding that pop music has become “completely dominant.” Meanwhile, he said that rock music is extremely dominant when it comes to moving tickets, “yet there’s almost no representation” of the genre in pop culture.

He explained, “Of course, great music came out of it, so it’s not a barren wasteland where something was pushed in that replaced something. Qualitative things and great artists came in, but there was this overt shift. I saw it happen.

“And then now, rap … seems to be waning in terms of its cultural influence. Pop is completely dominant. Rock is probably the most dominant ticket-selling thing in the Western world, and yet there’s almost no representation of rock in culture. So, why do we have that schism? I think they purposely dialled down the ability of rock stars to have a voice in the culture.”

You can watch the interview below.

Billy Corgan last appeared in Australia for Good Things Festival in 2024, where he performed alongside The Delta Riggs. Before that appearance, he shared an epic shoutout for Amyl And The Sniffers’ Amy Taylor, describing her as a “true rockstar.”

“I hear all the hype. ‘She’s the new Iggy Pop. She’s the female this, she’s the blah blah blah.’ And I’m thinking, ‘I’ve heard this so many times,’” he told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “It doesn't mean I was doubtful, but I’ll wait until I see with my own eyes. I looked at her for ten seconds on stage, and I said, ‘Holy mother of God. This is a true rockstar.’”