No. 230 – Real Love

Performer: Smashing Pumpkins

Songwriter: Billy Corgan

Original Release: Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music

Year: 2000

Definitive Version: None.

My first exposure to this song came from Rotten Apples, the 2001 greatest-hits collection by the Pumpkins. (By the way, I know Corgan changed the name of the band to THE Smashing Pumpkins in 1998, but originally, of course, it was just Smashing Pumpkins. The addition of the The changes the whole meaning behind the name, from an act of juvenile delinquency to an embrace of glam. I chose not to embrace his embrace.)

However, what you might not know is that Real Love was released originally on Machina II, which never really was formally released in the traditional sense. I loved Machina I and would have bought the second part, but what I didn’t know is that with the breakup of the band and the fact that Machina I bombed in the record stores, Corgan released the whole thing as a free download online.

You might be able to find it somewhere. I did a few years ago after I found out about Machina II. It’s not as strong as Machina I, but it’s worth having for completeness and—at least—this song with its symphonic guitar swale.

As it turned out, the lightning bolt that hit me at the Columbus public library (story to come—nice Pearl Jam reference, eh?) at the time I was unaware of Machina II’s existence wasn’t to write a book. The idea instead involved my website, BaseballTruth.com.

To honor the men about whom I wrote in August 2001, I decided to create a minor-league baseball hall of fame on BBT. The idea was simple: I’d profile about 20 minor-league greats on the website, publishing full stats and some referential background information. Then I’d open it to the public. Vote for as many as you want—anyone who garners at least 75 percent of the vote is in and would be permanently profiled on BBT with perhaps an illustration of a hall-of-fame-type plaque. It would be a separate but joined part of BBT.

Scott embraced the idea and came up with a cool logo for the minor-league section, and I went about the process of beginning the research. Thanks to the glorious book, The Minor League Register, I had a readily available source of basic statistical information about the players I’d profile.

Unfortunately, aside from being at the Columbus library, The Minor League Register—published in 1994—was long out of print. Fortunately, through the all-knowing Internet, I had access to out-of-print booksellers from all over the globe. Forty bucks and a few weeks later, I had my own copy.

This copy of The Minor League Register became my guidebook, and in the 12 years since making that purchase, I’ve written enough notes and information on its dog-eared and smudged pages to fill a dozen legal pads. The first thing I needed to do was add crucial missing data—walks for batters and shutouts for pitchers.

A lack of resources in Columbus—and my goal to have the minor-league hall of fame up and running by 2002—led me to Cleveland, first to the Western Reserve Historical Society and then the Cleveland Public Library and its seemingly unlimited fount of information.

But as my research deepened and the deadline drew near, I had a change of heart: Why was I going to give away this work for free? The minor-league hall of fame should be the basis of my book, not the minor-league encyclopedia I originally had in mind.

I told Scott that I wasn’t going to go ahead with the website section and why, and he thought that was a good idea, although I know he was disappointed that the work that he did wasn’t going to pan out. (The benefit of his pro bono work on BBT was that he’d be able to use that as a work sample to pivot into professional web design.)

Then, I realized, if I were going to do a book, devote the time necessary to do the necessary research, I would have to quit my job at The Dispatch—and I would need to save my money for that transition. OK, I decided, I’ll work the rest of the year, and in 2003, I’ll turn in my notice and head … to Cleveland and the CPL.

And you know (most of) the rest of the story …