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Corgan says co-guitarist Jeff Schroeder (pictured right) has "impeccable integrity." © Tim Mosenfelder/Corbis

"It's been a while, so I'm looking forward to making one cohesive statement, the idea that you can say something bigger with a group of songs. And if it pushes me harder to write better music, and people only end up listening to the three best songs, I can live with that. In the past that would have really pissed me off.

"The one-song-at-a-time thing has, in many ways, turned this into a singles format. It puts so much pressure on the one song we're releasing, and people then read more into it than they should. For instance, why would we release, say, a cool B-side when we're going to get 50,000 people on Twitter saying, 'This song sucks!'? Maybe they don't get the joke of why we put it out. So I'm really looking forward to getting into some deeper material, and maybe the seventh-best song on Oceania, if it was put up by itself on the internet, it might not get the proper look that it could when it's grouped in with other songs."

Speaking of separate songs, next week you're putting out Owata, which is absolutely gorgeous.

"Thank you."

I'm curious about one lyric, however: "California, look what you've done to me/ Oh Chicago, I'm coming home to you." [Corgan laughs] What's going on there, Billy?

"My life is really more in California now at this point, but there's something about coming home that's really important to me, even if it's just symbolically. California's been really good for me. I've had more positive experiences in California during the last five years than I've had at home. Home just doesn't seem like home to me anymore, in many ways. California feels more like home, but Chicago's where I feel the most myself. California's the land of dreams. You can come here and be anyone you want. [laughs] Actually, in the beginning I thought about reversing the line, but this way felt right to me."

You're pretty thrilled with the The Smashing Pumpkins these days. Everything's working out? Everybody's getting along?

"Our communication is fantastic. They've been incredibly supportive, and everybody is very excited to get in and make this record. If I can try to explain to people where I'm at...I'm at a point in my life where I couldn't be in the situations I used to be in where I didn't have the full support of the group. I have enough confidence in myself where I don't need a band. So if I'm going to have a band, I want it to be a positive experience. I don't want it to be this negative thing where people are fighting over dumb shit. My first 20 years in music was all about that.

"I was doing a lot of the work in isolation, and then I'd have to go out into another room and fight with somebody about the fucking deli tray. I'm at a place in my life where I really enjoy being in a band, and I really like the people I'm playing with. At the end of the day, we'll be judged as a group whether we get it done, and I think Oceania will be a really big statement to prove whether or not we belong. I know a lot of people don't think we belong."

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